Best Tent Camping near Independence, CA

I stayed here May 10-12th with my two dogs. I chose a site right along the creek which was wonderful to fall asleep to the sounds of rushing water. Many sites are quite spacious and offer a sandy area for tent set up. Most sites have a picnic table, fire pit, & metal bear box for food storage. Vault toilet available that were surprisingly clean. Camp host was friendly and had firewood on site available for purchase for $8/bundle. The website lists nightly rate as $21/night but when I arrived the sign had been updated to $23/night. This was the perfect basecamp for some day hikes up Big Pine Creek Trail to some beautiful blue lakes.

Great location, centrally located for exploring both Kings Canyon and Sequoia National Parks.

Nicely shaded spots and the higher elevation is nice for cooler nights during the hot summer months.

Great views of the sunset from the back of the campground.

Grant Grove Village is very close by with market and restaurant.

We stayed in site 32 which was probably the worst spot in the campground. Very hilly spot with one flat spot for a tent right next to neighbors picnic table and fire pit. Both 32 & 34 are tent only spots and right on top of each other. The other sites nearby were much more flat and looked much nicer.

We camped at site 13 between 2/12 and 2/14. There were restrooms and a large sink that is useful to dump bear attracting water located pretty close.

The campsite itself is fairly large. I would say it lends itself more to tent camping than car or RTT camping. The site is located on a significant slope, this includes the paved parking area and the grass. There are a fire pit, bear box and picnic table located at the site. Be wary, when we went there were numerous large holes that were definitely a trip hazard.

While there were rangers and employees of the park driving around, there were no actual rangers at the kiosk. Additionally, there wasn't a reservation list posted.

Beautiful small campground at the foot of the mountains, easily accessed from the small town of Independence and about 45 min drive north to Bishop.  

Campground is currently open (March), but in winter operation mode. No water, no host, no firewood, and no fees.  Campground open date is April 25, not sure when winter season starts. Price is $25 when open.

There are toilets but they are closed at this time and there are porta potties instead.

There are trash bins that are unlocked, but the website says that there is no trash service during the winter season so be prepared to pack out your trash if needed.

Each site has a picnic table, a fire ring, and a bear box. Some sites have a cool rock oven/stove.  Each site has a unique configuration, some being more private and surrounded by brush, and some more out in the open.

A really nice small creek runs behind the campground.

We arrived on a Monday in late March and had the entire place to ourselves for a night.  The next day several other campers showed up.

Cell service is very iffy, especially for Verizon and T-Mobile. AT&T mostly had 1-2 bars of 4G.  However, just a few miles down the road on the way to Independence there is excellent service from all carriers. 

Really nice campground. $25 seems a bit high but this would be a great place to stay while exploring the surrounding mountains.

This was a beautiful campground. The only thing negative I could say about this campground is that a lot of the campsites are very close to each other. But if you choose wisely, as my friend and I did, then I have no complaints. Surrounded by trees and wildlife, we were visited by deer and entertained by a family of quails as we sat around our fire. Our campsite had a fire ring with a grill, two picnic tables and a bear box. The restrooms, which had flush toilets, were clean and well maintained. There was potable water near our campsite and an additional bear box was nearby if needed. There were also trash bins, including separate waste bins for recycling glass and plastics nearby. There was no cell reception in the campground but there was a pay phone next to the ranger station where you check into camp. Though I do not know if it was in working condition so I would not rely on it. If you were planning on hiking to some of the less traveled spots in the park, this campground was nice because there were several trails that you could access from within the campground.

This is a really cool little campground near the entrance of Sequoia National Park. The sites are tent only, so no hookups or anything like that. Pretty nice sites though, a lot of space. I think there can be fire restrictions in the summer since it can get so dry, so just be aware of that. As far as places go, it wasn't too pricey. I think we paid about $20 a night. There are bathrooms with running water, and the sites have picnic tables and fire rings. Each site also has storage lockers for your food, so be sure to lock it up in order to keep the bears from getting into it.

As for stuff to do around here, you obviously have to check out the trees. Go look at General Sherman and all the other Sequoia trees. They're so amazing and honestly it humbles you a little. Also check out Moro Rock Trail. The view from the top is amazing. You'll also probably see a fair amount of wildlife while you're hiking around, so be careful of the bears. Out of all my trips to California, I've seen the most bears here in Sequoia. They are super cool creatures, just keep a respectful distance and of course don't feed them.

While I did not camp here, I did drive through and checked out the sites.

I was looking to get a bit further on my driving or I would have happily set up camp.  

I even picked out the site I would have set up camp.  26, huge stump of a tree, bear boxes, fire rings, picnic tables, water on site, flush toilets.  Nice sites for sure.

Some sites are right on top of each other and others are a bit more spread apart.  Drive around and check them all out.

In Mid Sept there were only a handful of campers and the majority were in campers just a few tent campers.