Evening at Fleming Meadows is the lawn above Don Pedro Lake's swimming lagoon, the kids back in the water and the day's granite still in everyone's legs. In the morning the motorhome climbs CA-120 out of the oak-and-grass valley and up the Sierra foothill grade toward Yosemite's Big Oak Flat entrance. By midday you're under the Valley walls, and by dark you're back at the lake with dinner on the grill.
Sleeping at the lake is what makes the week work in a family-size motorhome. Yosemite's campgrounds have no hookups, and a July afternoon in the foothills is hot enough that you'll want the air conditioning running the minute you pull in. Don Pedro's Fleming Meadows and Moccasin Point campgrounds both have full-hookup RV sites on 30-amp service, and Moccasin Point has a dump station, so the week's tank chores stay at the lake.
Fleming Meadows is the larger of the two, and the lagoon and lawn make it the family pick. Moccasin Point is much smaller, worth a look when Fleming Meadows is booked. Either way, alternate park days with lake days. The round trip on the grade is plenty for whoever's driving, and a slow day at Don Pedro lets everyone reset before the next run up the hill.
Up the grade to Big Oak Flat
Priest Grade is the steep climb on CA-120 up from the lake. Take it in a low gear both ways, which saves the brakes on the way down, and let faster traffic by when it's safe. Plan the return for daylight. Past the Big Oak Flat entrance the road runs on toward the Valley, where El Capitan is the first of the big walls you pass.
Yosemite Valley itself, its campgrounds and the park's rules for a big rig, is covered on the California RV page. The rule to know from a Don Pedro base is on the side roads. Glacier Point Road, Mariposa Grove Road, and Hetch Hetchy Road restrict some RVs and most trailers, and only RVs 30 feet and shorter can go past Sentinel Dome or park at Glacier Point. If that cap or a trip for two argues for something smaller, the Modesto campervan page sizes down, and its trip stays close to town at Modesto Reservoir's ski water.
Lake McClure and Lake McSwain on the CA-140 side
Lake McClure winds back into long inlets under the foothill hills, and a week here is spent on the water with the rig parked the whole time. From the Barrett Cove shore you look up those arms of the lake, and a boat can fill a whole day exploring them. Below the dam, Lake McSwain is smaller and calmer, the easy water for a slow paddle. The park is still a day trip from this side, in by CA-140.
Barrett Cove has 89 water-and-electric sites with 50-amp service available, and they book through book.lakemcclure.com, so hold one before settling the rig's dates. Lake McSwain adds 65 water-and-electric sites of its own. Wood fires aren't allowed at Lake McClure as of September 2026, per the operator, so pack propane or charcoal for the grill.