FAQ - Yosemite Summer Trip

Why does it cost so much to take my family camping?
To help explain the cost – we spend hundreds of hours planning this trip – there is a lot of coordination to get all the sites, get permits, work with the park, and all the general administrative details that go into planning a trip this size. We also provide staffing while we are there to organize hikes, activities, and to act as a liaison between the park and our group. We also provide most meals, fully catered.  In addition to the meals the fees cover other substantial event related costs, such as the all the supplies, tables, chairs, equipment and consumables such as lanterns, batteries, trail aid supplies, and the myriad of other items, pre and post trip expenses, etc. 

BAS incurs huge up front costs for this trip and we have done everything possible to price this as a value for everyone and still cover all our trip related expenses with minimal financial risk to BAS.

The addition of the Membership Program at $99 (one per family and good for a year) is to help support the BAS ministry as a whole (our liability insurance alone is over $15,000 per year!) We are very limited in what we can do for fund raising to support BAS. Although we are a ministry out of Bayside Church, we are 100% self-funded right now. Our thinking is that the addition of the Membership Program is a win-win in that it goes to support BAS and provides huge benefits for members through discounts at some of our sponsors as well as other benefits. You can see our Membership page for benefits. 

Yosemite is one of the events that we use to help support our ministry. We have done extensive research to see what other outdoor organizations charge for a trip into Yosemite – and we are still a fraction of the cost – even with all we offer. We look at this as a full-service vacation in one of the most exclusive locations in the world!

How do you get so many sites in Yosemite Valley?
We coordinate a large group of our participants to help us secure reservations through Yosemite’s online reservation system (recreation.gov). We receive no special treatment and are we are going for the sites at the same time as the general public. We usually only have a 30-35% success rate of actually securing sites – but because we have so many people helping, we get plenty of sites for our trip!


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