Lower Pines campground is in the Yosemite Valley, so scenery and ambience can't be beaten. The campsite itself is better than I'd expected; I'd heard sites were close together with not too much privacy--but some sites were fairly private, with lots of nice tree cover. Lower Pines is pretty near the road, a big disadvantage--you might want to look at Upper Pines. We were at "Double 1" which is quite a nice site. If you google for "yosemite campground photos" you'll find someone who's taken and posted pictures of every campsite--very helpful. The campsite is on the river (lovely) and near lots of great hikes. You can see half-dome and the amazing valley walls--a deer walked though our campsite past 10 people 25 feet away and didn't bat an eye. Unfortunately, bears are similarly unwary of humans, and dealiing with packing and unpacking the bear box got pretty old (better than the alternative!) Also, in the middle of the night we were awakened by somebody (ranger?) yelling at the bears. The only other disadvantage is the fine dust covering the ground. We camped with small children, and pretty soon they (and we) were covered in a layer of fine dust. All in all, completely worthwhile for not much money. Be sure to reserve first thing in the morning (6:55 am and start refreshing your browser!) 5 months before your camping date, because these sites go fast!