Tuttle Creek Campground, near Lone Pine, California, is a fantastic spot for those looking to immerse themselves in nature without the frills. With 81 sites available on a first-come, first-served basis, it’s a great place to pitch a tent or park your RV while soaking in the stunning views of the eastern Sierras.

This campground is all about the scenery and the experience. Visitors rave about the clean restrooms and the ample vault toilets scattered throughout the area. The lack of drinking water and showers means you’ll need to come prepared, but the trade-off is the breathtaking dark skies perfect for stargazing and photography. As one camper put it, “Beautiful panoramic views!” 

If you’re up for some exploration, Tuttle Creek is just a stone's throw from Alabama Hills, where you can hike, rock climb, or simply enjoy the unique landscape. The nearby creek adds a lovely touch, providing soothing sounds as you unwind by the fire ring at your site. Just be ready for some wind, as it can pick up at times, but that’s all part of the adventure!

## Overview

 $10.00 per site per night. No reservations. Open all year. Tuttle Creek Campground offers 83 RV/tent sites, with ten pull-through trailer spaces, maximum recommended RV length is 30 feet. All sites include a fire pit, picnic table and a lantern holder. No hook-up. Potable water is available seasonally. Dump station fee is $10.00, no passes accepted, closed in winter. Closest amenities are 5 miles northeast in Lone Pine. Tuttle Creek Campground SignTuttle Creek Campground siteTuttle Creek Campground equestrian site One group site is available for $30.00 per night. The group camping area is approximately the size of four sites combined, with six picnic tables and four fire pits. Tent camping will accommodate up to 15 people comfortably. RV and trailer space within the group site is limited to approximately four. Adjacent sites may be rented upon arrival. Please call for group site reservations (760) 872-5000. Two horse corrals are available for $10.00 per night, including the associated site. Weed-free hay is required. Reservations accepted. Camping for a period longer than 14 days at any one campground, not to exceed 28 days per calendar year for all Bishop Field Office campgrounds, is prohibited without the written permission from the Field Office Manager. A California Campfire Permit is not required for fires within established fire rings in developed campgrounds. Seasonal fire restrictions may prohibit campfires during periods of high fire danger. Please check the BLMs website for information on current fire restrictions or call the Bishop Field Office at (760) 872-5000. Off Highway Vehicle Regulations Visitors are responsible for knowing area rules and regulations. The regulations are enforceable under U.S. Code of Federal Regulations and violations are punishable with fines up to $1,000 and/or imprisonment for not longer than 12 months. Within the campgrounds, all motor vehicles must adhere to the 10 mph speed limit. No motor vehicle shall exceed 15 mph within 50 feet of any campground, campsite, or concentration of people or animals. Emergency Information: In case of an emergency, call 9-1-1 Inyo County Sheriff (760) 873-7887 Mono County Sheriff (760) 932-7549 Private Lands Surrounding the BLM lands throughout the Bishop Field Office Resource Management Area is land owned by the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power or private landowners. Please obey signs and stay on trails. Please respect the rights of private landowners and signs posted in these areas.

Tuttle Creek Campground — Alabama Hills

Searching for the best camping near Alabama Hills, CA? Camping, hiking, biking: however you want to spend your days near Alabama Hills, you'll find great campgrounds with The Dyrt. Discover great camping spots near Alabama Hills, reviewed by campers like you.

Alabama Hills

The Best Camping Near Alabama Hills, California

Simple camp ground and beautiful. A view of Mt. Whitney behind it. A seasonal creek runs through. Super cheap camping and a nice place to be. Not far from the the Mobius arch area to hike around. 

Great spot

Simple campground that was close to Alabama Hills for our group to go climbing. Clean bathrooms. Quite while we were there, nice people did pull up a few spot down.

Lovely Campground

Amazing First Come First Serve campground. Amzing views of the Eastern Sierras including Lone Pine Peak. Town is a 10min drive in case you forgot something at home. Half the campground is closed in the winter, but we never had a problem finding a site.

Tuttle Creek

Beautiful and perfect set up campsite. Regular bathrooms, Food bag hook and one fire pit. It's first come first serve. 

Mt. Whitney Views

Absolutely beautiful and cute campground. Regular bathroom,  food hook, and fire pit. First come first serve. 

Mt. Whitney views 

Arrived late on a Thursday night and there was plenty of sites still available. We enjoyed our night, there was a breeze, plenty of space in the site. In the morning we could only see two others in the campground. There were beautiful views. For the price ($8.00) you can't beat this place and the entry road is paved. 
No shade, showers or water but the vault bathrooms were really clean and had plenty of paper. 

Stayed for one night

For only $8 you get picnic table, fire pit, vault toilet, and access to water and waste dumping. And view of Eastern Sierra that has been seen in movies such as Iron Man. I almost want to keep this a secret...

Dirt cheap price on priceless view 

I was motorcycle camping and this campground is awesome in the spring. Its not too high in elevation so you wont freeze overnight. Its only $8 a night but you need cash or check like any normal forestry campground. Beautiful view of the sierras and Mt Whitney. About 15-20 drive to the Mt Whitney trail head from here. If you’re planning on summiting Whitney, I wouldn’t recommend this campground because the elevation is low, I would camp at cottonwood lakes just south in the sierras to acclimate to elevation. There are normal forestry pit toilets, fire rings. No reservations, first come first serve. 

Super Chill and Cheap

This site was awesome! My boyfriend and I stopped up here several times passing through. It’s a fantastic stop! The park is well maintained and is always problem free. I’ve never had problems with other spots, bathrooms, or even finding a spot. The view waking up is AMAZING and the sunset cresting the Eastern Sierra is always the best! 10/10 recommend!

Great Spot!

For just $8 a night you can enjoy the Eastern Sierras with plenty of room to spare between you and your camping neighbors. This place is a favorite for us, with fishing, snow capped mountains, and the cutest little kangaroo mice I have ever seen! It’s a fun get away and recommended for friends and family. No service here, no store or place to buy firewood at the campground but you’re a stones throw away from Lone Pine a Western town nearby for fishing, food and any other camping needs. Restrooms are available here and are kept clean, just bring a flashlight at night as it is pitch black. In the Summer this place can get pretty toasty and the sun is incredibly strong, I’d recommend taking a canopy with your camping supplies, with little to no trees for shade in this area.

A Favorite

Tuttle Creek is a BLM campground. Open all year, no reservations taken. Has pit toilets, water, fire rings, tables in each site. $8 a night. $4 if you have a pass. The first night visited was very windy, but you take your chances. Great views of the Eastern Sierra, they got there first dusting of snow for the season. Close to Alabama Hills Recreation Area. Lone Pine is a neat little town with plenty of things to see.

Basic Campground, nice views.

Lots of spots.  First come first served.  A nice creek running through the campground offers great chance to refresh even in the hot part of the year.  Even if it’s so cold getting in is almost impossible.  Campsites are too close and even on the 4th of July weekend wasn’t closed (albeit this is during Covid-19). Views of the peaks surrounding Whitney makes for wonderful scenery.  Only $8/night.  Although yes, Alabama hills are right next door, totally free, and even better.

Great spot in the shadow of Whitney

We didn’t stay the night, but we could have. There’s a dump station, water fill up. The campground is up on a geological ledge and every site has the opportunity for a great view. 

Fancy BLM

Very nice campground like it says $8.00 a night, you can’t go wrong in my opinion. You drive up to the entrance and take a spin around the camp sites to see which ones are available then you return to the entrance fill out an envelope to make a payment and put the site number you are in  and that’s it . We chose this campground for our first one due to the fact that they provide potable water and have restrooms available. Restrooms were very well kept and dispersed throughout the campsites. highly recommended.

Can’t go wrong with this one!

I stopped here for a night on a road trip, and it was a highlight of the trip. Stunning views of the Sierras, campsites are not too close to one another, the bathrooms were clean and not to smelly, the creek was a delight. It was easy to get to (paved roads and not too far from the highway) but still felt a bit removed. I hi gilt recommend. I took the first loop, easily found a few empty campsites at about 5pm on a weekday, and never realized how big the campground was.

Beautiful creek and Mountain Views 

We arrived on a Saturday afternoon and there were at least a dozen spaces still open. Good bathrooms. Was here 10/10-11 and it was still very smoky. Would come back here.

Mountain Views

Cheap camping with five star views! Potable water spigots run most of the year (bring a filter for the creek too), and the bathrooms are basic but do the trick. There isn't much shade, but it's accessible - just a few miles off 395. Sites come with a fire ring and picnic table. 

Excellent views

Breathtaking views! Spacious first come first serve sites. Arrived shortly after noon and was able to snatch the last two sites available. Will definitely be back(earlier in the day) restrooms are vault toilets, very clean with disinfectant foam available. Beautiful Mount Whitney in the background. Right in the middle of many trails and sites to see, not to mention a quick skip away from Lone Pine. 

Amazing

We drove through reward mine and stayed here to camp! The whole experience was mind blowing!! Alabama hills has thousands of dispersed camping spots and amazing views of mount Whitney. It can get very cold here during fall and winter and very hot during spring and summer. 

So awesome!

Awesome view of Whitney and a great place to camp prior to hiking Whitney. First come first serve. Pit toilet. Quiet campground. Great view of the sunset as well.

Whitney 

Cheap $5 nights, fire rings, tables, a hook for lamps. Pretty windy but obviously not something you can control. The views were incredible although you can’t really see Mount Whitney if that’s what you’re looking for. Bathrooms are clean and stocked. Campground wasn’t trashy either

Quiet winter camping

Perfect... $5 winter camping. Water is at Portuguese Joe's county campground.

Perfect in early spring 

Nice campground. Filled up fast on a Saturday. Got here around 1pm and I think I got the last spot. Lots of hopeful ppl circling until midnight. Get here early! 
It was very windy but for the views of both mt Whitney and the desert floor/mountains to the East you can’t complain. Not to mention I don’t think you can have two different pressure regions so close without the wind. Tore a hole in my shade structure, and broke two of my neighbor’s shade structures. I probably should have noticed no one else had shade structures when I arrived and kept mine in the trunk, oh well. 
Not too warm during the day in mid April but a little chilly at night. I was in just a tent and didn’t need anything more than an extra blanket on top of my sleeping bag. If I had put the rain/wind cover on I could have done without the extra blanket but wanted to see the stars. 
All in all very picturesque and full of nice ppl who looked out for each other, highly recommended. 

Windy!

Great campground first come first serve and cheep.  Awesome views of Mt. Whitney.  Close to Alabama Hills and Mt. Whitney, Lone Pine is a cute little town as well.  Pit toilets available and water available seasonally, RV dump station for extra $, and there are dumpster.   Easy access with any kind of vehicle. 

Close to Mt Whitney and Alabama Hills

My only complaint is other people are very rude. Untrained pets, music from other sites... the sites are far apart, but there is no vegitation to buffer the sounds of other people.

Wonderful

This spot is great if you want easy access to Alabama Hills but don’t want to deal with having no toilets and no reservations. Still beautiful views throughout the campgrounds. It’s a bit easier for families here. 

Easy spot near Alabama Hills

This is my favorite campsite so far! Just epically beautiful, quiet, remote and amazing. The best of what our country has to offer and it’s BLM so $8 first come first serve. It’s boondocking so have water. The Alabama hills are such a find. Naturally beautiful and a lot of history. 

Amazing!

A little windy but quiet. The only sounds are the birds and the creek. 

Tuttle Creek Blm

I thought this was a great campground at the right time of year. The spaces are huge and a nice distance from your neighbor. Vault toilets were kept clean, full of toilet paper and hand sanitizer. We were there in mid-March and the water was not turned on yet. Next to each picnic table was a post to hang a lantern on or anything else you may need to hang. Cell reception was pretty good.

  

There was very little shade at this campground which was great in March, but would be a big concern as the weather warms up. Our first night there was very windy and we realized the campsites on the southern side of the creek would have been a better choice as there was some shelter from the wind there.

Great Campground at the Right Time of Year

We came in late and found a clipboard, picked our spot, lots were available, came in wrote our name and spot and paid the $8. Bathrooms were very clean. Views in the morning were gorgeous. Seemed like everyone we met there has been coming for years treasuring this gem. Great spot. Very close to Alabama hills dispersed which would have been difficult to navigate in the dark without disturbing others there. This campground was great!! When you drive in, spots on the left have a little creek. 

Beautiful & mellow vibe, clean bathrooms 

We chose a site in which the creek ran across 2 sides and had a couple of small trees. Really lovely. The view was amazing since you sit up a bit on the landscape. The porto-potty was clean and maintained. This campground was in a great location to explore Alabama Hills, Mt Whitney, and Manzanar.
It was however SO WINDY we couldn’t hang outside much.

Windy but awesome

Very nice rustic campground with pit toilets, fire ring and picnic table at the sites. Try to get one of the sites next to the creek, you won't be disappointed. Amazing views of Whitney as well as up and down the valley. It's a great alternative to Alabama Hills for just $10

Beautiful Viewsas up and 

**General:** 81 BLM sites within the shadow of the eastern Sierras. All are first come, first available with a 14-day limit, but we had no problem finding a choice of sites on a Monday in early April around 12:30 pm. You can’t beat the price of $10 ($5 with a Golden Age Pass)! Surprisingly good cell coverage (Verizon)! The views of the mountains are awesome!

  

**Site Quality:** Gravel and most looked level. No hookups of any kind. A fire ring (with grill), lantern hook, and large concrete picnic table complete the site. 

  

**Toilets:** More than an adequate number of vault toilets sprinkled throughout the campground and at least the one by our site was clean and had hand sanitizer. 

  

**Activities:** We spent our day exploring nearby beautiful Alabama Hills (about a 10-minute drive from the campground), driving out Movie Road, and taking a few short hikes. 

  

Just several things to note (but they did not detract from our stay): 

1\. since our site was near Tuttle Creek, the mosquitoes came out in droves at dusk, 

2\. you will hear (but not see!) a steady sound of fighter stealth jets from Edwards Air Force Base flying overhead from about 8 am to 8 pm) and 

3\. There are gnarly speed bumps on the road into the campground. Other than that, the unpaved road is well-maintained.

  

I wish we had planned to spend another night here!

Million Dollar views for bargain basement prices!

Quite possibly the most beautiful campground ever. We spent 10 days in Tuttle Creek and the vault toilet bathrooms had yet to be cleaned when we left. The host was there checking every site to make sure the sites were paid for tho.

What is the job of a campground host?

We ended up at this site by chance, but were so glad we did. Beautiful panoramic views!

Stunning views!

Nice, out of the way campsite. 81 sites on Tuttle 
Creek. Clean restrooms. No showers or drinking water. Near Lone Pine, just off Whitney Portal Road, adjacent to Alabama Hills, so lots of exploring opportunities! Great dark skies for stargazing and photography.

At the approach to Mt. Whitney 

Camped here before hiking Mount Whitney the following day. Think we got one of the only sites with a “tree,” but the grounds were well maintained and area was quite. Enjoyed camping here.

Quick stay

Just a couple miles from the Alabama Hills. $10 a night BLM campground. Vault toilets. Both water and dump station are closed 80+ sites and all have great views. But no shade.

Right next to the Alabama Hills

Great views all directions...  Most sites are very close to level. Packed dirt roads around campsites in good condition. Picnic tables have pole to hang lantern. Good spacing between most sites. Dump station closed until May. Clean pit toilets in weather protected buildings. $10 / night... $5 / night with Senior Pass. 

Great Views

Nice campground $10 half price with senior pass. No water or dump.

Near a small creek. 

Beautiful campground. We were in site 28. Clean pit toilets. Stunning views. But we were invaded by deer mice. They got in our campervan. We killed more than 10 of them. One popped its head out of a hole in the pillar and looked at me! Two fell out of the door wells when we opened the driver’s and passenger’s side doors. Our dog caught one. There was a poster on the vault toilets warning about hantavirus in the area. 
We left after 2 days of a losing battle. 

Great, but MICE

Labor day weekend and half the campground is closed, water faucets are locked, and dump station is closed.  We specifically chose this campground for the convenience of water and dump station. Otherwise, the sites are spread apart and the scenery is beautiful.

Scenic but misleading

New camp host arrived a day after us very well maintained clean dump station easy access 

Clean and mostly level spots

Quiet, beautiful view, vault toilets, close to a 5m trail, packed gravel roads and camp spots. 
Spots backing onto creek are nice to hear water flow. 
Ended up here because very few spots are now available for overnight camping in Alabama recreation area. Signs everywhere for no camping or just day use.  
Big rock climbing area and people preparing to hike Mount Whitney. 
You do have to drive around to see if you can find an empty spot.  I would suggest trying early in the day.
YouTube @TKCompass


Formal spots $10 a night

I loved hearing the creek just 30 feet away from my campsite. The views were fantastic and the CG was near the rock formations and trails.
Vault toilets clean, no water.

Photos of Tuttle Creek Campground — Alabama Hills

Real photos from real campers