Lone Pine

Beautiful views!

We stayed at this location for 2 nights. It wasn’t crowded, restrooms were clean, and overall great camp site. You can park right next to your campsite, each one has its own picnic table, bear box, and fire pit. The campsite is along a creek which sounds lovely at night.

The campground did not have water during our visit but seems like it does certain times of the year

Great campground with views of Mt Whitney from camp. Had everything we needed for a comfortable night and we enjoyed exploring the rocks and little stream nearby. The ground is fairly hard and not much shade - plan your gear accordingly. We needed bug spray in April for mosquitoes. Our little Ford Fiesta did fine on the dirt roads to access the campsite.

Spent one night and a morning and it was everything I expect in a USFS campground - water, pit/vault toilets, fire ring, picnic table. The morning view of the Sierra’s was amazing!

I’d like to start by saying I’ve camped here since I could remember. I’ve watched it change throughout the years and it never has disappointed me.

Nicely spaced sites, wonderful lil stream that can be hit or miss with fish. I’ve had years where I’ve caught 20 and years with not a single bite.

Sites are spacious and most are set decently apart. Lots of hiking up and downstream as well.

The best part of this CG is being able to sit in the shadow of the highest peak in the lower 48. Watching the sun rise on its tips and vanish behind in the evenings is worth every bit of it.

The campground was nice, quiet. There was a nice stream you could fish with some trout. There are a couple big boulders the kids can climb on and around. Clean restrooms and a easy drive up to Whitney Portal. Would recommend staying.

The campground gates are shut and all the bear boxes are placed outside of the campground. There's a note that says campground closed for water testing, but there's no indication for how long. I'd imagine it'll be open up again soon because the website shows that it's open. Just a heads up. Maybe call ahead before planning on staying there.

While visiting Alabama Hills Recreation Area (AHRA) we made Lone Pine on our next stop for our second campsite and to relax for my 44th birthday 🎂

Since the terrain is a little different it was a nice change up from the desert, sandy, rock that was AHRA. There were more trees, a little snow on the ground, and more wooded areas that brought a new look to our campsite. Mostly car camping still, we had beautiful views of Mt Whitney and the surrounding mountains. It did feel a bit colder then say AHRA esp at night but it was a great campsite that brought some cool vistas. Bc of the snow on the ground we could gather a bit of potable water to use and def enjoyed the clear skies at night and crisp clear mountain air coming from nearby Whitney Portal. We were close to the road but felt at ease given how close we were to the small town of Lone Pine where you could find supplies, food, drink 🍷, and firewood 🪵. Look forward to coming back and exploring more of the area including Mt Whitney when they open the roads and other campsites after the Covid lockdown.

A friend and I camped here - I as a first time real camper (in a tent that was not in my back yard), and she as a first time camper as an adult - at the end of June, and it was great for us! Our camp host Don was very nice, there was firewood available to buy at the camp site, and the bathrooms were always very clean. The bear boxes were big and easy to use, and the campfires had grills on them already, which saved us after our propane stove refused to work. It is also very close to the town of Lone Pine, which has a little market and several restaurants in case you accidentally forget anything or don’t bring enough food.

The views of Mt. Whitney are stunning, and it is close by a small but really beautiful (and so clear!) creek, though there were only a few spots that allowed you to walk to it without doing some bushwhacking. The camp grounds also have some large boulders to climb on if you are a boulderer.

Obviously, it was very hot when we went at the end of June (80s-90s in the day and fairly cold at night). Depending on your individual campsite, there may not be a lot of shade available to you, so plan accordingly if you are going in the summer. We were lucky the adjoining campsite had a pine tree in it whose shade we could steal in the afternoon.

All in all, an excellent place to go for your first foray into overnight camping or for someone who wants a low maintenance camping trip!

Beautiful. Cheap. Mellow. Nice creek running straight through. Perpetual views of Whitney. All around a killer spot. If it weren’t for the Alabama hills being even better, even cheaper, even more private, it would be a no brainer. But if you want any facilities....

Stayed here a few days before hiking Whitney. Great place to acclimate, second to Whitney portal campground. We camped at one of the walk-in sites. Enough space for the 4 of us, 2 tents, and the family pup. The parking spots are only 50 yds away and next to the restrooms. The campground sits in a ravine like space so if the winds pick up it can whip through pretty good. Good trail that connects to Whitney portal on the ridge above, good for the dogs to run on as well. No cell service besides the top of the ridge if you need to call/text. I’ve been coming to the Sierra’s all my life but never stayed here. I’d come back for the views alone.

Campground Review:

This campground lies about 10 miles to the west of its namesake town, Lone Pine in the Owens Valley to the east of the Sierra Nevada range.  It is a very popular campground to use as a base camp for climbing Mt. Whitney especially if the Whitney Portal CG is full. which was the case when we were there.  If you can't get a reservation or walk in site at Lone Pine CG, then Tuttle Creek, and the Alabama Hills would be your closest places to camp if you're not planning on climbing Mt. Whitney.

Now on to the actual campground!  Now since this is a few miles from the actual trail head to Mt. Whitney it has more RV camping sites than tent sites.  Campsite range in price from $25-$65 for single tent sites, RV sites, and 1 group site, respectively.  Each campground has a large bear proof box to store all of your food and  smelly items in addition to a picnic table and a metal fire ring.  The campground had potable water spigots and vault toilets spread throughout.  You could also purchase firewood from the camp host, which is recommended due to the possibility of spreading pests.

To list all of the activities you can do in this area would take a book so I'm just gonna touch on some of the things we did!  Our main goal for the trip was to try and summit Mt. Whitney by the Mountaineers Route.  We got pushed back however due to hard route finding and soft avalanche prone snow.  We ended going around 10 miles but the regular hiking trail is 13 miles one way!  After getting beaten down by the mountain we were able to eat some great food at the Mt. Whitney Restaurant which had Americana and diner food. 

Since we stayed at this campground in the middle of June the temperatures weren't too hot but I would really try to camp higher up at the portal if you plan on coming here in July or August as it could be really hot and there wasn't a ton of shade.  Also be doubly sure to book your campground ahead of time as I doubt there will be any sites if you show up after 3 or 4 without a reservation.

Product Review:

Being a Ranger for the Dyrt allows us to test and review gear from time to time!  This time we were testing out the Adjustable Neck Gaiter from Eclipse sun protection.  This was honestly one of my favorite pieces of gear I've been able to test for the Dyrt!  

Pros: 

• Simple design that replaces $100's of sunscreen in it's lifetime! (never washes out)
• Is multi functional and can be used as a gaiter, headband, buff, and so much more!
• Super lightweight and doesn't need to be reapplied or leave you greasy
• It is super cheap and includes a Velcro strap to adjust to smaller neck      

Cons:

• The only flaw I could find was the sewing along the neck was a little weak and I ripped it slightly before realizing I needed to be a little more delicate pulling it on

Other than that one con I would say this is an amazing product that helps keep you from spending 100's on a temporary sunblock and helps keep all those nasty chemicals out of nature, the waterways, and the oceans!  I definitely think we'll be trying out the sleeves for fishing as my fiances arms can get pretty burnt sometimes.

Hit this up in March for a quick overnight after hiking in Big Pine and Whitney. Nice camp ground, quiet that time of year. Friendly people. Bathrooms are vault toilets.

I took a chance and drove to the Lone Pine Campground just below Mt. Whitney on Memorial Day weekend of 2017. After circling the campground twice I asked the campground manager if there was an availability. After double checking his paperwork I managed to snag a site 43 which was at the far end at the top of the grounds.

This site is meant for group camping and it really is quite large with a picnic table made for 20 people to sit at. There is a fire ring to accommodate a very large fire. It may have been 4 feet across, I didn't have a tape measure.

The drawback of this site is that you will have to walk everything at least 100 feet uphill. Not ideal for a lot of comfort gear. On the plus side, the bathroom isn't far away and they are clean.