Visit for the day or stay overnight this is a gorgeous place to visit. At the base if the mountain you’re camping amongst tall pines and a running river falling from above. Visit the store for a souvenir or a breakfast for the hike. Campground is set on a winding amongst the trees with developed sites. Bathroom areas etc Gets busy and is a first come first serve so have a backup plan in the summer.
this is a great campground to use as a base camp before you summit Whitney. The staff is friendly and helpful and the portal is just a few minutes away with the store and small restaurant. Lone Pine is close about a 10 minute drive away.
The Whitney Zone has an other-worldly feel to it. You can start your adventures to this unique place in the High Sierras by camping at the end of the road, just before the trailhead. The elevation is high enough to make it substantially cooler than Lone Pine, and it also has plenty of shade. The drastic climate difference here should acclimate you for even colder weather and altitude, if you're hiking up into the Whitney Zone!
There are plenty of bearboxes, sufficient pit toilets, and it tends to be quiet. Most people who stay here use it as a launch pad to hike into the backcountry early in the day. So, in my experience, you won't run into boisterous parties, and the campground is fairly spread out.
Just a reminder to obtain permits before you head into the Whitney Portal!
Great camp ground. no running water that time of year. Toilets were clean and bear boxes were easily accessible.
This is a great place to stay a couple of nights if your looking to acclimate a bit before going Mt. Whitney. It's also just a beautiful campground in general. There are hiking trails from the campground itself, a gorgeous river flowing through it and the camp sites are spacious. It is a short drive from the Whitney Portal Store which has the biggest pancakes I've ever seen and if you go the other way, you can easily get to the Alabama Hills or the cute town of Lone Pine. The sites are shaded and there are pit toilets. It's a terrific campground for families or people just looking to get away from the hustle and bustle of the city!
This camp ground is at the base of a very magestic mountain. Because Whitney is the tallest peak in the lower 48, this is a busy area. But it is still very relaxing and beautiful. And the camp host, Bill, is amazing. Very friendly, helpful and patient. The camp ground,itself has a beautiful stream running,through it, which ia stocked periodically with trout. It is close to Whitney portal, alabama hills, onion valley, and many other hiking/backpacking destinations. We took out 7 and 9 year old boys and they had a blast.
I have two issues with the camp ground is the site are small. It took some creativity to get out tent to fit.
There are two camp grounds in the portal. One about half way up and the other at the end of the road before you start your ascent up to one of the tallest mountains on the northern hemisphere!
The camp site that’s half way up has a stream running through it with hand made fire pits and bear cages per camp site. This site is truly stunning while star gazing and watching the sun just kiss the peak of Whitney in the early morning. Truly inspirational to get your day going.
The camp site above is immersed in the tall pine trees that sit right before the rocks take its place because of the lack of oxygen due to the elevation.
A fun area to day hike but if you are planning on going up you will need a permit.
We parked our rig and looked around and were speechless. Whitney Creek runs through the campground, and the Sierra Nevada mountains rise up all around it. For those hardy souls who want to hike up Mount Whitney, the highest point in the Sierra Nevada range, this is the place to start. For the rest of us, it was just an amazingly beautiful place to spend a couple of nights, do a little fishing and a little hiking. One caveat is that it is at 8,600 feet and the road up from Lone Pine is pretty scary.
One of my favorite campsites that I have been to. I stayed at the Backpackers spots near the entrance of the Portal and the spots were perfect for what I needed before and after I climbed Mt. Whitney. There are plenty of spots for a reasonable $10-15 with plenty of shade and coverage. The surroundings are gorgeous and you could have a great time staying here and just walking around looking at the river and waterfall at the campground. The store at the Portal has great options in terms of food if you do not feel like cooking or if you forget anything. The people inside are also very friendly and willingly to assist you in any way you may need. There are only vault toilets and I did have to filter all my water while there because of E.Coli threat but that just happens sometimes. When there isn't an E.Coli threat they also have showers available for use! For the price however, you can't find a more enjoyable and gorgeous site to camp at. I was a solo female and I felt extremely safe and comfortable. Bonus for the bear lockers by your car!
My visit was very brief. This was one campground I visited just to try and find an opening for one night. Just by driving through and cruising the sites, I would stay here for sure, especially during the summer months. This site sees quite a lot of shade and the river is really a sight to see. Just uphill from the campground is the Mt. Whitney trailhead, a small restaurant, a day use area with grills, a small fishing pond, and a very beautiful waterfall.
Wirhout staying here I can tell you to do your reasearch before staying here. The sites are mostly surrounded by large boulders and there isn't much room to park more than one vehicle and maybe one camper. Some sites have barely enough space for one tent so plan accordingly. Some driveways are narrow too because of the boulders. The campground is nestled within the trees so there should be plenty of shade.
I sure will keep this site in my list of places to camp in the future for summer getaways.
