Best Campgrounds near Swall Meadows, CA

Paved 2.5 mile road from 395 to campground and paved roads in campground/sites good condition. Approx. 1/2 sites close to level for 24' RV... 1/2 better suited for car/tent camping. Good clean flush toilets. Picnic tables / bear lockers in good condition. Hosts sell $10 firewood bundles. Sites are below lake but most still have nice view of mountains that surround lake. Generator hours till 10pm but thankfully only hear sounds of nature at 7pm. Nice mostly level walk around lake. $35/night... $17.50 with Senior Pass.

This is a great location, I was here mid week and there’s hardly anybody here, I imagine on the weekend it probably gets more crowded and is an ATV/off-road area that’s probably a little more loud on weekends as well. There are a few cell towers around so I had full coverage with T-Mobile as well . You’ll need a 4 x 4 to reach a lot of the area areas that are up on the hills.

There is a small parking lot & a turn around for cars, it’s not as “dispersed” as advertised. We were able to get our van to the side of the turn around and have no immediate neighbors, but the main “lot” holds about 8 cars & is the trailhead to a hot springs. Night time was quiet, but definitely lots of visitors during the day for the hot springs.

Lot of people and cars in and out all afternoon until dark. About 7 camping vans and small class C's here overnight.

Good: friendly staff, hot showers, nice big trees, level sites, close to town Not Good: need to pay extra for shower and dump station.

Came here on a Friday mid March. Mostly empty. Many sites near the creek. Some sites are super close together. I would not want to be in those sites when it is full. Some sites are first come first serve others are reserved online.

Super quiet and peaceful. Enjoyed hearing the creek all night. A nice respite from months in the desert.

Lots of visits from cows, literally walking through my site

The winds were forecasted to be 70 mph tonight so we were happy to find this place. $40 and $50 fir two vehicles. A bit pricey for just water and 30 amp but very welcome. Camped along a gurgling creek. Very nice.

Good amount of spots. Some soft gravel/sand areas, but made it everywhere fine with fwd. The area was dry when I was there. Nice views.

Showed up on a Monday evening & there was so many amazing spots, all had picnic tables & flat ground to open up our RTT. Camp Host, Keith was the best & checked on us to make sure we were good. Over all such a perfect spot to stay away from a crowded campsite & for a fraction of the cost.

If there’s snow you’ll have to park on the road and walk in. Not sure grew it us when the road’s clear

  We stayed at this campground may years ago (2006-2008) and it has remained one of our favorites.

  Our most recent stay was for a small rally of 8 class A RVs from 34' to 43' in length all with tow vehicles. Wishon was able to accommodate all of us. The drive to Wishon starts with a long climb to Shaver Lake.  Past Shaver Lake the road becomes windy for the remainder of the drive.  Expect at least a 40+ minute drive from the Shaver lake turn off. On the way you will pass a grove of Giant Sequoia trees with a pull out to walk or picnic among them.

  All sites are gravel and have full hook ups.  Some sites have 50 amp service but it will rarely be needed because of the elevation of 6800 feet. All sites will accommodate the RV, vehicle, boat, and more. Wishon also has tent sites with or without platforms. 

  There are many activities available from this campground. Hiking, mountain bike riding, Jeep trails (Dusy-Ershim Trail), and fishing.   Two reservoirs are nearby, Wishon and Courtright. Courtright at 8200' opens later than Wishon at 6600'. Rainbow and German Browns can be caught.

  Wishon Village has a nice store with most necessities and sells fishing licenses.

We went here for a change. We like the idea of dispersed camping and this one fits the bill. Free. Roads are not clearly marked so a little sketch finding spots. But wait it's all dispersed so we found a cozy spot atop a mountain and made camp. Was really awesome one other camper we saw he was a mile away. The roads did get some cars as we where in fall harvest time, Lots of photographers buzzing around. Other than that amazing spot. SHHH don't tell everyone.

Quick stopover on our way to Death Valley. Vela got a chance to play ball. Found the site easily in the dark. Very quiet night for sleeping with the sound of a creek running behind our camper.

Was going to stay at the truck stop overnight , till I opened up the dryt app and found this campground that was only 5 miles away. There was only 3 other campers there. Easy pay with kiosk pay station with credit card. There was also an artisan well for amazing water and a stream running thru camp

Lovely campground. Nice creek sounds and beautiful large trees. Couldn't get a hold of host and sites aren't very private. Otherwise really solid choice for location, amenities (bear lockers were great) and maintenance.

Pull into a spot and relax while you listen to the creek, close to the road easy access

We stayed in site #17, it was pretty private as we didn't really have anyone around us. The bathroom was clean and the site itself was well maintained. Firewood was for sale at the camp store or through the hosts. Gets super cold at night! Showers were available at the camp store as well as laundry.

This was such a beautiful spot. It was our first night on our trip, and we knew we had to find a spot sooner than later. We drove through the campground to find a wonderful spot right by the creek. A day user was just leaving, and they said it was the best spot for fishing. The attached parking was uneven, but we found a few rocks that helped even us out. The spot is a bit windy as it is in kind of a canyon, but it died down as the sun went down.

I have T-Mobile and had absolutely no scerive until we got back on the 395.

There is a small vault toilet that was near the site, and I don't know where they buy their toilet paper, but it was quality stuff. There is a bunch of signage inside the vault stating the area is bear territory, and we needed needed to be bear aware.

We spent 1 night and was hoping to spend another except for an unexpected rainstorm that brought of course rain and high winds. It is a windy area as it is in a canyon, but it had settled after the sun went down, and we were able to build a beautiful campfire. Our site was very large and it might have been a group site but there was only 1 post on the site. The vault toilet was just across from the campsite. The site was quite private and had a small walkway down to the stream where you could fit maybe 4 or 5 chairs and just enjoy the endless stream. I have T-Mobile and I had absolutely NO service.

As night approached, we had to find a campground. We were also looking for something maintained but scenic which this campground was. There are no actual views of the lake from the camp ground that we saw, but some of the sites have a stream flowing through. Even though it was late in the day (5-6pm) and the campground was basically all reserved, we did find a few open spots that you could pay for at the pay station. Each spot has a nice parking spot big enough for a small trailer. Not all spots were leveled, but we did find one that was leveled enough that we didn't need to make any additional adjustments. They all had fire pits, table, and bear lockers. All in all, it's a great campground. I want to mention there is a restaurant close by, but expect to pay upwards of $100 for a meal. It might be best to bring in your own meals. I have T-Mobile, and I was able to get a text or two, but I had absolutely no service until we got back to the 395.