Reservations now required for Merced River camping at Briceburg

If you want to go camping along the Merced River Recreation Area it is going to cost you more — and you will likely have to plan ahead.

Beginning March 1, most campsites will require advance reservations through Recreation.gov. Reservations can be made up to six months in advance.

A limited number of campsites, about 20 percent, will remain first-come, first-serve, said a spokesperson for the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). That is roughly two sites in each of the three campgrounds that are accessed through Briceburg suspension bridge.

The Cable Rock Day Use Area is unaffected and remains free of charge.

The McCabe Flat, Willow Placer and Railroad Flat campgrounds will now have an overnight camping rate of $20. Recreation.gov charges an $8 transaction fee for each reservation.

The current overnight camping fee is $10.

The changes have provoked strong reactions on social media, less so for the cost than the need to book reservations, perhaps months in advance.

Social media users expressed concern that reservations will be completely booked, preventing locals from spontaneous camping trips.

Camping along the Merced River has long been seen as an alternative when Yosemite National Park is crowded.

The reservation and fee changes are the result of the Merced River Recreation Area Business Plan that BLM adopted in July 2023.

The fee increase is intended to offset maintenance costs for the campgrounds which total $165,000 a year.

The current fee brings in an average of $21,000 a year, which contributes less than 13 percent to operating costs.

With the new fees and increased compliance efforts, BLM hopes to recover between 50 to 75 percent of operating costs.

The BLM business plan also calculates financial projections if the camping fee is raised to $25 and $30 in the future.

“The Mother Lode Field Office has adopted the same reservation system as Yosemite National Park to provide a consistent experience for visitors across federal campsites within the Merced Watershed,” wrote a BLM spokesperson.

According to BLM, most visitors to the Merced River are from local and economically under served communities. On average, 1,352 use permits are issued every year.

While the bureau doesn’t maintain comprehensive visitor demographics, a decade of observations have led it to estimate that more than 50 percent of overnight use comes from the Central Valley, more than 10 percent from Mariposa County, 15 percent Bay Area/greater California, 15 percent from other states and 10 percent international visitors.

The Merced River campgrounds are open year round, but most visits are from late April to early October.

Occupancy rates vary between 30 and 45 percent during the week but are generally full on weekends during peak summer months.

The campgrounds are especially popular during three-day weekends like Memorial Day and July 4.