Are you looking for a place to stay in Porterville with your horse? Whether you own a horse or are joining a tour group, equestrian camping is an adventurous and unique way to experience the city. These scenic and easy-to-reach California campsites are perfect for your horse camping excursion.
$20 / night
Horse Creek Campground is located on the Kaweah River in the foothills of central California's Sierra Nevada Mountains. The Terminus Dam on Kaweah Lake is three miles east of Lemon Cove, CA.
Kaweah Lake offers boating, water skiing and sailing. Horse and walking trails are available during low water. Anglers can fish for largemouth bass, crappie, bluegill, catfish and rainbow trout.
The campground is settled on the river in a broad, arid valley with few trees. Shade is limited.
The Horse Creek campground is 11 miles from Sequoia National Park's southern entrance station. Visitors enjoy viewing the inspiring Giant Forest Grove and mighty General Sherman Tree - the world's largest tree in volume. It is one hour more past the entrance station to reach 5,000' and the mightly Sequoias. __Note: Vehicles over 22' will not be allowed up Highway 198 through Sequoia National Park. It is a 1930s, two lane, switch back, road on the side of a mountain. __Larger vehicles need to use the northern route on Hwy 180 thorugh Sequoia National Forest to Kings Canyon and Sequoia National Park. In this area you can view America's Christmas Tree, The General Grant Tree and access the other areas. The Visitor Center is shared with the Forest Service and National Park Service.
$20 - $40 / night
$25 - $45 / night
The last RV park before the Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Park North entrances! We are open year round, 30 & 50 amp full hookups, extremely large lots (double of normal parks), 40+ RV sites, accommodate up to 80’ RV, level pull-thru sites, WiFi, good cellphone reception, shower, laundry, trails around seasonal pond, club house with microwave and sink, postal box on site, 30 seconds driving to gas station/minimart/coffee shop, 5 minutes to steak house/bar/brewery/pizza restaurants. We also have late check out time of 6pm if the park is not full (normal time is 11am. We provide services for daily, weekly, monthly and even yearly stay. Tent sites are available in both walk-in or drive-in with electricity options.
$40 - $55 / night
Backcountry sites around this 9.4-mile round trip hike that climbs over 2,500 feet to visit the picturesque pair of high-elevation lakes.
7600-foot elevation. 41 campsites. Horse Corrals. Near Cherry Hill Road 22S12/23S10. Maximum RV length 22 feet. Special food storage rule in effect because this is black bear country! Check current fire restrictions before venturing out.
Keysville (formerly Keyesville) is a historic mining area that offers a wide variety of recreational opportunities. Set in rolling terrain amidst a blue oak and foothill pine woodland, Keysville is dissected by the lower Kern River. A little exploration can turn up a wealth of historic resources, including a variety of mining structures and features, a historic fort, and the famous Walker Cabin. Keysville offers commercial and noncommercial white-water rafting opportunities as well as fishing, recreational gold panning, and dispersed camping. A network of over seventy miles of trails provides for mountain biking, equestrian, and motorized recreation use.
All motorized use is limited to designated roads and trails. For a map of Keysville area designated routes, see https://www.blm.gov/documents/california/public-room/map/keysville-recreation-management-area.
To Be Updated
Guide
If you like to be off the grid amidst the trees this is the place for you. We like to camp next to the creek. Fishing is plentiful and the air is great as long as there’s no fires near.
Scout
We had a flat tire on a Sunday morning and permanent resident was more than helpful with taking the tire off and giving us a ride to the tire place to get it fixed and put back on. Beautiful view of the mountains and very close to the park
Traveler
We chose this campground to be an easy "getting back to camping" campground since it was supposed to be developed and even have showers.
Cons: The central restrooms/showers have been non-operational for over a year based on the maintenance log of the porta potty. While the porta potty was well maintained, there were no hand wash stations or anything to make up for the loss of sinks and showers. The tap outside the building didn't work and neither did the water fountain.
The host was not there for check-in. Thankfully, we ran into a very kind maintenance worker that gave us the predator rundown for the area and told us how to get to our site. The host eventually showed up, but was not there for at least 5 sets of campers who were trying to check in.
Nearly every campsite has a major hill, so most will not have a good flat area for a tent. Site 61 is flat and a couple of others have flatter grounds, but many will have you sleeping on an angle.
Cons Site 61: The previous group was very disrespectful of the site and left glass shards everywhere. We had to sweep it away from our tent site and kept finding more as we were using our site. It was especially a problem since we brought our dog, so eventually we just laid tarps out to let her walk on instead of the dirt for her safety.
No shade at all. While most other sites had trees or an aluminum awning to provide some sort of shade, Site 61 had nothing. Thankfully, we planned for that, but definitely worth mentioning for other campers. Most sites on the inside of the loop had good tree coverage, so if that's what you're looking for definitely book one of the inner loop sites like 63.
For those looking to be fully removed from the world, you should know this campsite is RIGHT off the highway, so there is traffic and some headlights if drivers have their brights on. That didn't bother us, but we've lived off of major streets for years, so we tune it out pretty well.
Pros: There was running water, but you had to find it near other campsites. (Closest one to ours was near Site 63, which was very convenient)
Pros Scenery: The stargazing is beautiful. There is some limited light pollution emanating from the other side of the foothills, but because you are surrounded by foothills you get some good, dark surroundings to really appreciate the stars. Similarly, the sunrise and sunset were slightly late/early because the sun was contending with the surrounding hills. When the sun was rising over the hills, there was a beautiful glow to them.
Pros Site 61: You have absolutely no neighbors, which gives you more privacy and the ability to face out in any direction and enjoy the scenery.
Predators: Coyotes, rattlesnakes, meat bees (bring cheap canned meat to set out during the day and they will leave you alone for the most part)
Cool Wildlife: Various birds, though I was never able to get a good enough look to identify them. There were also bats at night that really helped with the bug problem and created a cool ambience while stargazing. My husband loved listening to them hunt!
Overall: We enjoyed the site, but were extremely grateful that we are redundancy packers. If we didn't have our extras, we probably would not have had a good time since it was 100+ degrees every day we were there and the grounds weren't totally as advertised. (Toilets, showers, etc)
ScoutVery pretty spot 😊 could hear coyotes At night. Warm showers 😁. All awesome except for the fact you have to reserve one night in advance 😔
Scout
We were robbed from this location while out hiking and rafting for the day. Lost thousands of dollars in gear, clothes and personal items. Literally everything was gone, they plucked up the whole tent and took it all, nothing left but some tent stakes once we returned. The location is convenient to town and it is nice next to the river BUT BEWARE and don’t leave ANYTHING. We have a feeling it’s people who know the area and do quick grab and goes, not other campers.
ScoutClosed as of 6/30/23 (most likely temporarily)
Guide
Still a bit of a mess after the flooding and no staff. Very scenic and beautiful though. Sites are not very level so come prepared.
TravelerVery helpful
Guide
I’ve camped in a few different areas along Big Meadows road. It’s a great spot, this pin location gets Verizon signal along with some of the higher sites if you pull off the road. Higher sites are pretty private and have enough sun coverage for solar, the ones by the road get traffic passing by daily.
Montecito Bay Lodge just down the road has an all you can eat buffet Breakfast/Lunch $9 Dinner $20, the closest supplies are Kings Canyon Visitor Center, and Stony Creek Gas Station (closed oct-apr).
You might want to double check with the Visitor Center if this road is open when it’s snowing.
ScoutWe visited this camp late July 2022, hot temperatures although nice breeze. Google map is not updated/ accurate since it shows lake bend is closer to campsites which is not. The drought have made it too far to my liking we had to drive 3 miles up where the river flows to cool down , restrooms facilities are not maintained regularly. There are 2 restroom facilities (with showers) for 75+ sites.. too many people waiting in line to use the restrooms . Security was excellent rangers were patrolling very often, drinking water was available on sites…
GuideVery pleasant rv campground. Typical California foothills hardpan and dead grass sites - large and able to accommodate very long combo rigs and have enough width to disconnect and park adjacent to the towable.
We had electric service issues and camp hosts, Carlos and Luz, we on it within 20 minutes at 10:30 at night. They worked as a team and showed pride in their park.
Our 4 night stay was pleasant - the park is very quiet and road noise minimal. Water, power and sewer as advertised. If tent or dry camping, showers at the office building.
TravelerLovely place in the Sierra very close to the National Park. Great place to stay for your visit, to start or end your adventure. Manager is very helpful and welcoming. Nice facilities and good internet. Fair pricing. Easy to reserve. You get to pick your site upon arrival.
RangerWe spent 2 nights here on our way to Sequoia/Kings Canyon NP. The spot was nice, right on the lake with nice mountain views. Sites were generally not level as it is situated on the hill down to the lake. Bathrooms were messy and half were out of order due to a maintenance project. The RV Dump station was also unavailable (same reason). During peak season I'm sure this is a great spot, but at the time of our visit it was a bit out of sorts. If we pass by again in the future we'll give it another try.
ScoutThis place is awesome and knowing that certain times of the year it actually goes underwater. So it's just knowing that ur camping on an actual lake is pretty damn cool. Plus it's clean. And the scenery is spectacular
ScoutWe had a long and fantastic day in sequoia national park and were really tired! Just wanted to stop in the end and finish off with a lovely evening and some sleep. Despite being full, the hosts were really kind and accommodating and said they try to keep a few pitches spare for unplanned overnighters like us. Really great welcome and service. Great hot showers too! 😀
TravelerWe had a great time. We were very welcome.
RangerBeautiful spot conveniently located only a couple miles outside of town. Dumpsters and put toilets provided on both sides of the Kern River. A larger group site on one side and dispersed sites on the other. Great, reliable Verizon service. Road access is rough in some places, but passable in our low-clearance rig. Days are typically windy so tenters beware. Some of the sites on the dispersed side could use some TLC, but for the price you can't complain. Seems like a great fishing spot, and there do appear to be hiking trails in the area. Glad we made the trip out, if we pass it again we will definitely stay again!
GuideClose to the north entrance of Sequoia/King’s Canyon National Parks.
Wide spaces, easy to park. Hookups are completely ass backwards but otherwise ok for a night or two. Quiet. Low water pressure in bathroom showers.
TravelerThis place has a somewhat shabby feel. But the bathrooms and kitchen area are clean, it was quiet and felt safe.
TravelerThis is a small place with very few campers. Some of the sites (75, 76 etc..) look out on Lake Kaweah. It’s clean and well organized. Some highway noise.
GuideStayed here for a couple nights, the warm weather has been quite appreciated. No wind either. Lots are spacious and all have a great view. Supposedly the lake is full up to here at other times in the year. For now it’s quite the ways but you can see it far off near the dam.
ScoutFrom Google November 2021, “I stayed here for about 6 months while working for the USFS across the street. Carlos and Luz, the hosts, really make this place feel like home, such authentic and kind people. I am grateful to have found this place. It's very quiet and safe, neighbors are friendly and kind and very respectful. Spaces are large and grassy, a huge plus. Thanks for the stay Carlos and Luz, blessings!”
TravelerIt has bathroom, shower, fire ring and a picnic table with shade. Got a little T mobile signal. Need to check in with the ranger when arrive.
RangerNice campground on the lake but too hot 100 plus degrees in the summer
Available depending on water level of the lake
Decent fishing and great for boating and watersports
GuideWe stayed here last May and was fully mesmerized by the view of the lake and the mountains. Nights were equally gorgeous as we watched all the stars. Will surely plan our next visit here.
GuideThis would be a great place if it was clean. Lots of junky trailers with junk & garbage. No dog park area, no doggie bags. On positive side, staff is friendly & sites are roomy.
GuideWe are working out way north through CA and Horse Creek was in a convenient spot. Site very clean and well managed and overall its a pretty spot. Only 2-3 large and dispersed bath rooms. A number of large groups around the site which looks fun but it felt more like an urban park than being in nature.
Horse camping in California offers a unique way to explore the state's stunning landscapes while enjoying the company of your equine friends. With a variety of campgrounds catering to horse enthusiasts, you can find the perfect spot to set up camp and ride the trails.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which is the most popular equestrian campsite near Porterville, CA?
According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular equestrian campground near Porterville, CA is Horse Creek Campground with a 4.1-star rating from 10 reviews.
What is the best site to find equestrian camping near Porterville, CA?
TheDyrt.com has all 12 equestrian camping locations near Porterville, CA, with real photos and reviews from campers.
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