Best Dog-Friendly Camping near Sierra National Forest

Great little campground right next to King's River in Sierra National Forest. Twisty paved road wraps around Pine Flat Reservoir to get to the campground. Picnic tables, fire rings, vault toilets, and occasionally... cows wander through. The main loop has several sites and there's a section off to the right with much more secluded sites among the trees. Popular raft take out spot from the river. There's a small beach just past a paved cul-de-sac. The river is cold and moving  quickly, the sounds of the rushing water reach the campground and make for easy sleeping. Love this place.

This 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.

Nice drive thru RV’s sites. Friendly Staff and good staff especially Jennifer. Very nice dog park, not a lot grass but good running area for dogs.

Location less than 30minutes from the National Forest entrance. We got up early on the road @645 am to the park was back by 11am. Only went as far General Sherman.

Only negative point was pool was closed for cleaning. Just bad timing

Rv camped in winter. Not all loops open but there weren’t a lot of people there so it was ok. Lots of long rv spaces. Nearby exploring is plentiful

Remember pets on leashes on trails.

We stayed at Sequoia RV Ranch this past weekend with high expectations, based on the stellar reviews.  The campground is fine, but not five stars.  As others have noted, this campground is close to the entrance of Sequoia NP and close to the town of Three Rivers which has a few restaurants and markets.  We had site 6 for the first night (water and electric only) and site 54 (a river site with full hookups) for the second night.  The campground is small but clean and the staff is helpful. There is a fenced dog park on-site, a nice touch.  There are clean bathhouses available and a laundry too.  The showers are coin-operated.  Another plus for this campground is the natural spring-fed swimming hole in the North Fork of the Kaweah River, just a short walk from the campground.  The rest of the river along the backside of the campground was dried up, due to drought conditions.  The signage within the campground needs to be improved so download a map of the campground before you arrive, especially if you are arriving after dark.  We had issues with low voltage from the electric post on site 6 which caused our RV's electrical system to cycle on and off every minute or two.  The onsite techs diagnosed an issue with the city-supplied power and mentioned sites 1 through 10 had issues with power, mostly on the weekends.  The camp staff moved us to site 54 which solved our power issue.  The campground was full, but everyone observed the no noise after 10 PM rule.  All in all a nice campground conveniently located near Sequoia NP.

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

Neat spot just outside Yosemite NP. The campground host was very nice and the cold stream nearby was perfect to cool down after hiking in the park.

A park tour bus stop was a mile south of the campground and can take you all through the park or drop you off and pick you up on the way back at the end of the day.

The camp sites were roomy with plenty of green and trees between sites.

Pet friendly.

Spent 5 nights at Azalea and had an absolute blast. The America the Beautiful access pass knocks the price down from $22/night to $11/night, so if you don't have it, get it! There were TONS of trails immediately accessible from most camp sites, and a short walk from the rest. Campground has potable water, flush toilets, sinks for doing dishes, dumpsters/recycling, and Verizon service was fair/good throughout our stay. Pets are allowed too! This spot is going in our favorites list for sure!

If you’re looking to camp in California, Sequoia National Park should be one of your top destinations. They have cabin and tent camping. I have stayed in both. There are trails galore and GIGANTIC trees bigger than your car. This beautiful setting is worth visiting year round and I recommend camping during the less touristy times in early Spring and Fall. You are near lakes, waterfalls, and an array of bodies of water. I recommend coming up the back end up the park for an easier ascent rather than via the 198. The 198 takes you up a steep, but beautiful, hair pin turn ridden road. If you get car sick easily, take the route through Fresno.

We had the pleasure of staying with Jason and his family at the Shooting Star Sanctuary. Jason was kind and super helpful since the moment we contacted him.

As far as amenities go: There is Wi-Fi throughout the property which is free to use. The bathroom and shower inside the house are available at all times. Jason has also fitted a full kitchen outside on his porch which happens to have a gorgeous view for watching the sunrise/sunset.

Extras: For starters, the friendliest family you’re ever gonna meet at a campground. There are plenty of farm animals in the sanctuary which Jason lets you feed and play around with. A bunch of friendly cats and kittens.

Basically, come here. It’s a great time and totally worth the money!

Somewhere up near the starry night a pinecone the size of a cat begins its descent to the soft, needle laden ground below. It softly thumps against a branch, and then another, and still another. What seems like minutes, indeed enough time to walk a ways down a path, or find the restroom, or toss a ball many times with kids, the soft thumping grows a little louder, and boldly becomes a clunk…clunk…thunk…until the pinecone emerges from the cover of limbs and lands…bouncing…on the ground at my feet. This is the mighty sugar pine; a tree whose girth is so large in its own right that our family of five cannot manage to stretch our arms, hand-in-hand, around the whole of the tree. And yet, like the small dog that mercilessly barks, the giant sugar pine displays its fantastically large pinecones as a means to say, "I am here", rather than get lost among the biggest trees in the world by volume---the giant sequoias.

This isn't just a land of giant trees. Sequoia and King's Canyon boast some of the most grandiose monuments in all of the continental United States: the deepest canyon, the tallest mountain, incredible caves, the view from Morro Rock, a collection of some of the highest mountain passes, and an expansive backcountry wilderness. Despite the many wonderful park visual aids to teach visitors about the size of these great sequoias, and even standing at the foot of these great trees, I found it impossible to comprehend their size. The extremes of this beautiful place bring with them a sense of humility, much like standing at the edge of the ocean, and all that remains is peace and serenity. While we found this park to be far more awe-inspiring than Yosemite, really than any of the any parks we've visited, it is far less touristed and crowded.

And then there is the wildlife. California Black Bears were resting in every meadow that we walked by, usually making a meal of grubs in the rotting logs. We stopped to let a mama Quail pass with all her babies in a row behind her. Marmots greeted us from the hidden nooks, running here and there to find something to nibble.

With a national park like this, I'd be willing to sleep in my car! But I didn't have to, fortunately. We stayed in a cabin in Grant Grove, centrally located in the park. The cabin was furnished perfectly, and included all that we needed for bedding. There was a lovely fire fueled stove outside on the covered patio. The showers were good enough and there was a place to wash dishes. Grant Village has a large market for groceries, a restaurant and a visitor center. There is a free shuttle that runs through the park to alleviate any concerns about parking. This review is for General Grant Cabins, which are reservable from a separate entity via the National Parks system. However, it is alongside a campground area where tents and RVs can be parked. This is marked cabins only due to the NPS divisions--search for the campground to learn how to set up a tent or park an RV at the very same location.

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.

Great camping spot, dogs allowed on leash. Clean restrooms. Respectful neighbors. Would come back!

Secluded with very little traffic. Especially good if you're traveling with dogs to let them roam around. There's a stream and waterfall downhill that makes for great hikes.

Great place and experience. Bathroom are the best I’ve seen by far. Large dog run which was amazing. Personal just a bit expensive 100 ish for a rv spot with 30 amp an water.