Best Dog-Friendly Camping near Benton, CA

Beautiful overall, great access to many back country inlets and lakes. A wonderful place to witness one of the many Yosemite thunder and lighting storms. If you can leave your pet at home you will have a better time, the majority of lakes and trails in the Yosemite area do not allow dogs, some are leash restriction such as campsites. If you're heading up to lake Tenaya the pups can't go.

Great place to spend the night while traveling threw. No frills but clean ! Great price , Nice people and quite. Pet friendly which is a plus. Be mindful it’s bear country so wonderingl around at night not so wise lol

This camp ground is smaller relative to some of the other camping options in the area, but still well maintained. It is close to the road but still quiet. Each site has a table, fire ring, and a food storage locker. There are two vault toilets. Bring your own water. You cannot reserve sites ahead of time.

If you want to experience the Yosemite area with your dog, camping in the Inyo National Forest is a great option, because dogs are allowed to join you anywhere you go in the area, as long as they are leashed or well trained to verbal commands. Since the Yosemite NPS does not allow dogs on trails, these national forest campgrounds are a better pet-friendly alternative.

If you like fishing, there are great fishing spots at the nearby stream and lake.

Because this campground is actually a part of the national forest, you can stay here for up to two weeks, in addition to the two week maximum enforced for camping within the NPS limits. So in total you could can stay in "Yosemite" for a month by combining camping at this site (or other nearby national forest sites) with camping inside the park, which is why we stayed here for a long rock climbing trip.

General: 27-site RV park plus eight-room motel. Restrooms and laundry facility. Pets are allowed and the WiFi signal was decent. 

Site Quality: All sites are gravel, back-in, and appeared level. A few in the rear of the park looked like they might be slightly skewed sideways. All are full hook-up, although we did not use the hookups. Our site (and several others) had nice birdhouses in the trees.

Bathhouse: Small but clean. Two stalls, one sink, and one shower. There is no additional cost to use the shower, but you are asked to keep it short to conserve water. 

Activities: Close to the turn-off to Bodie State Park and also the town of Bridgeport. There is a horseshoe pit and large campfire area which I imagine would be in use during the summers when the park is full. 

Be aware that you will hear road noise as this RV park is located on Highway 395, but it did quiet down later in the night. We normally do not stay in RV parks, but this was just an overnight for us and because there were only a few people there when we were there, our site felt more private. Becky, the owner, was very accommodating for our last-minute stay request.

Camped in August. Busy little spot for dispersed camping. Tents and vans were there. Views on one side are mountains. Views on the other are rolling fields / foothills with lots of cutie vocal Moo Moos and Alkali Lake! You can see other hot springs in the distance. No shade. Lots of flies and red ants. Found this spot just driving side roads off of Benton Crossing Rd which is off the 395. Amazing sunsets and sunrises. The crab cooker hot spring was a little confusing to find. Once you find it... it’s TINY. 3 people comfortably. And HOT HOT HOTTTT!

RANGER REVIEW: Mountain House Spaghetti with Meat Sauce at Gladys Lake Backcountry Campsites, Ansel Adams Wilderness, CA

CAMPGROUND REVIEW: Gladys Lake Backcountry Campsite, Ansel Adams Wilderness

Backcountry camping often offers great hiking, epic scenery, serene solitude and otherwise missed sights. Depending on location, backcountry campsite locations can offer their own challenges, whether through the permitting process, preparation of gear and meals, logistics, or difficult terrain…but the trade offs can pay out big dividends.

Leaving behind the din of packed campgrounds…getting unplugged from electronic encumbrances…relaxing beside an untouched alpine lake where the only sound you hear is the whir of dragonfly wings as they dart about.

Only a set number of backcountry permits are issued daily, so crowds and impact remain minimal to nonexistent.

Permits are necessary for all backcountry overnight stays in the Inyo National Forest. https://www.fs.usda.gov/main/inyo/passes-permits

Whenever backcountry hiking/camping in California, do yourself a service and go online https://www.fs.usda.gov/detail/inyo/passes-permits/?cid=stelprdb5139009 and take the California Campfire Permit test to acquire your certificate and possess it when in the backcountry.

Several ways to get to Gladys Lake exist…

1. John Muir Trail (JMT) thru-hike permits NOBO or SOBO

2. John Muir Trail section hike permits

3. Wilderness Permits Day hike permits

You could enter from Reds Meadows and follow the JMT north to Gladys Lake…or better from Agnew Meadows and follow the Shadow Creek Trail (https://www.fs.usda.gov/recarea/inyo/recreation/hiking/recarea/?recid=21272&actid=51 ) up and around Shadow Lake and then south on the JMT past Rosalie Lake to Gladys Lake. Each access trail has a daily quota…such as Shadow Creek, which has a daily quota of 30…18 secured through reservation and 12 walk-ups. So if you are choosing to walk-up, have some flexibility of starting days.

We had a JMT SOBO permit acquired six months in advance through the NPS permit lottery. But next visit, I will likely enter through Agnew Meadows via day permit.

Most hikers will stop and camp at Rosalie Lake, which is a wonderful option and a much larger lake. Some would suggest a more picturesque lake than Gladys Lake…but that is all in the eye of the beholder.

August of 2018 saw little precipitation and the winter snowfall was below expectations, so lake water levels were lower and surrounding shoreline not marshy or soggy. Which made for dry and mosquito free conditions.

The effects of local forest fires did cover surrounding mountain views during certain times of the day, and brought with it a bit of lung burning and eye stinging. Early morning and late evening hours brought clearer skies.

Be forewarned that seemingly every backcountry campsite brings with it a steep uphill slog, but worth it. Gladys Lake is at 9600 ft elevation.

I believe there was one other camper at Gladys Lake the night we stayed…but we neither heard nor saw them. It was a perfectly peaceful evening!

Amenities? Well, no showers…no toilets…no water spigots…no electricity…no picnic tables…one lonely stone fire ring but open fires are not permitted. No cell service or WiFi…no general store or local grocery store. However, Gladys Lake water was refreshing both to wade and drink (filtered). You are surrounded by fragrant conifers that buffer sound. A perfectly peaceful location to relax and dream.

PRODUCT REVIEW: Mountain House Spaghetti With Meat Sauce

https://www.mountainhouse.com/

As a frequent user of Mountain House freezes dried dinners, and being a creature of habit, I often settle into a couple favorite meals and don’t deviate to new offerings. Mundane and boring?…perhaps.

But…after winning $100 worth of Mountain House meals through an early season TheDyrt.com contest… and with my daughter as my hiking buddy, I selected several different meals to avoid mutiny.

One of these meal pouches was Mountain House’s Spaghetti with Meat Sauce.

I admit, I was a little suspect as to how freeze-dried spaghetti with meat sauce would taste, but we were both very pleased with the sauce flavors, seasoning and the amount of meat in the sauce. The only thing I would add is a couple slices of toasted garlic bread.

If the next rotation of Mountain House Spaghetti with Meat Sauce was easily located in our bear canisters, we would’ve likely had a second helping…but sadly, it was not.

In pairing down weight before our backcountry hike, I removed the contents from Mountain House’s original packaging and utilized a commercial vacuum sealer to make smaller, lighter meal packs as 11 days of food needed to fit in a bear canister. It worked, but the distinct drawback was not being able to prepare the meal in the resealable pouch. A pot was necessary to allow the freeze-dried contents to soak in the boiling water. So clean up was more extensive than it would’ve been by using the Mountain House resealable pouch. It was a trade off and we made it work.

If you are new to Mountain House freeze dried meals, directions are printed plain and simple on the pouch.

•Measure out the prescribed amount of water

•boil water

•open meal pouch and remove moisture packet

•pour boiling water in pouch and stir contents thoroughly

•seal pouch for prescribed time

•open pouch and stir contents

•serve and enjoy

It doesn’t get any easier.

We are full-timers and have a 36 ft Class A with a Cherokee Trailhawk tow. We stayed for two nights here in mid May to enjoy the spring. This is a nice comfortably hot spring with no odor and two stage lake with Coots and lots of little fish. They are in the process of putting up barriers to prevent people from camping right next to the Hot Well, but there is plenty of dispersed camping around it. Also, unfortunately, there is a new sign(the old one was shot up) that reads“This facility will be closed and filled in if the vandalism and killing of wildlife continues”. Some people are just bent on ruining things for everyone else. There were only a couple other people here during our stay. There is absolutely no light pollution here, so the skies when clear are awesome, as was the view of the snow capped White Mountains to the West. 

We had zero AT&T service. Starlink had speeds up to 8 MB/s and we had DISH coverage on all of the western satellites. We didn’t try any OTA channels with our fixed omni antenna.

I went here solo camping with my dog in may 2021. Great little spot. Pretty busy on the weekends though. It was also crazy windy which I think cooled off the hot spring a bit.

4th of July weekend was warm and a little buggy but this campground is strewn with little streams and one of our favorite places so far. Bathrooms were incredibly clean and trash was empty even on a holiday weekend.

the seven lakes hike is nearby and amazing but difficult. Dog friendly is also a plus.

Spacious rv and trailer sites, with water and electric but no dump station. That would be a plus if they added the dump station or sewer hookups. Lots of trees for shade, a small creek runs through the site. Hot showers and clean restrooms. Laundry is available on site as well. Nice place to stop for a night or two. We stopped here for one night with our kids and two dogs in a 26 foot trailer.

This campground was a great place for our family to hang out and hike for three days. So many cool trails lead right out from the campground and they’re cool with dogs too (on leases of course)! The camp host-Gary, was friendly, enjoyed his safety speech and helped us get acquainted with the grounds. You can walk to Devils Postpile (about 4 miles) from this campground. Only downside is that there is zero cell service!

Not sure else what you'd come here for. Great rock climbing across the 395, but PVR is mostly for the float tubers. There is an awesome little wild trout section where you can get a hold of the colors of the sierras, otherwise the reservoir is a steep sided sketchy lake. Don't bring your dog. The land kinda just moves around as you approach the sides, whole area is marked enter at own risk by LADWP. Bring sunscreen, year round it gets deathly hot out down here. The sites are well distributed around a creek.

There is Pleasant Valley Campground, and if you cross the street and drive a little bit in you can get to Pleasant Valley Pit. This place has no shade, no trees, but amazing view of the Sierras. Dogs are allowed. Bathroom available. And is only 2$. This place is also close to other attractions like hot springs, Happy Boulders area and local hikes.

You will find mostly two groups of people: rock climbers and fishers. Around 20 min drinking from Bishop, it makes a convenient place to relax from your recreational activity or road trip. Sunsets are amazing.

We stayed here for four nights.  Full hookups are nice, easy and clean.  We did not use the bathrooms or showers due to the pandemic.  The check-in staff was very friendly and informative and nice.  The spaces are a little bit too close together, but on pavement with a picnic table at each site.  Trash disposal available as well as a small area to take the dogs for their business.  There are a lot of amenities in the campground.  Even a fish-cleaning area for those who like to fish in the many local lakes and streams.  The park is located on the north side of town.

This is one of the most beautiful places I have camped. We have stayed here in a RV and a tent. Tuolumne Meadows is a little removed from the hustle and bustle of the Yosemite Valley area but worth the stay. The sites are booked online but assigned by the ranger when you arrive. Try to get one by Tuolumne River. No hookups is the only negative thing I can say but if you stay at National Parks often then you are used to this. There are many great hiking trails across from the camping area to Lembert Dome and Dog Lake.

As is with most of the camping in the area, summer months are pretty hot and dusty, and this campground does not offer much shade unfortunately. Very popular with RV campers. All sites are first-come, first serve. There are vault toilets, and water is available March 1st to October 31st. In terms of scenery, the view of the eastern Sierras is stunning! Dogs are welcome throughout the area as long as they are leashed. Depending on the weather, the wind can get pretty intense here, so if you have flexibility for your camping dates, check the weather forecast and plan accordingly. Sites are pretty well spaced out, so you can expect a pretty quiet and private camping experience.

We camped here with a group that had two trailers and a large RV. We decided to camp further away from the lake (towards the back of the campground), as there were less people and it was more quiet and secluded. The year-round folks and the crowds tend to camp closer to the lake. They were strict about dogs being on their leashes. We love to fish here, both on shore and in a boat (def bring your boat if you have one). The views are insanely gorgeous!!! Bring water toys for the kiddos. The small beach is perfect for hot days. Be sure to put food and garbage away before bed- we had a bear come visit!!