French Meadows

We went on the weekend of Sept. 18 through Sept. 20th, 2021. The drive wasn't as bad as I thought, I actually enjoyed it. The campground was nice, the host is nice as well, not a lot of other people where there so it was fairly private. Our site was by the lake, while it was a beautiful site the wind that day was hitting us like a train which made setting up a bit difficult. Once set up we were able to enjoy the scenery.

The only complaint I have is some of the restrooms had no skylight or lights so even using them during the day you would need your flashlight and depending on where your site was the walk to the water was steep.

Nonetheless, it is a nice campground.

To get to French Meadows you have to take some winding roads along the mountain side.  I went during all the fires, and it was very smoky, which made it seem like I was driving out there at dusk.  It was a little unnerving on some parts!  But once I got to there, it was definitely worth the drive!  There was not a lot of people there, which made it seem like a very private campground.  The site I stayed was pretty big with lots of options for setting up the tent.  It was easy to get to the water from my site.  The downside for me, was that my site was by the toilets, and people could not figure how to not slam the door in the middle of the night.  The camp host was good, he stopped by each day to do a check in and kept me updated on weather (lightening storms!), fire conditions and possible evacuations.

We were here in August. Slightly long to get to on the windy roads at night time, but during the day the drive back wasn't bad. Loved the water access, and water was perfect temperature for swimming for our toddlers even. Great amenities(fire ring, table, bear box). Water pumps were good in the locations where water was present, but due to lower water levels, the pumps on the higher grounds had no water; had to walk to the lowest pumps(which had water, all but the last day when a big RV connected to it, and filled up the entire tank, leaving zero water for tents). Thought that was inconsiderate, and should not be allowed during drought season. Not sure if rangers can prevent that or ask RVs(who are more mobile than tents) to fill up tanks at neighboring campgrounds. Also we arrived late on Friday, so went to buy wood on Saturday morning(around 8 am). No firewood available for purchase left. If we knew that, we would have brought and purchased own wood at a grocery store(nearest town an hour away). However, we know most campgrounds don't allow outside wood, not to contaminate with non-native bugs, etc. Thankfully, there were enough dry logs in the forest nearby that we could scavenge to burn. Overall, great location, with great swimming, but some things could be improved with better facilities management.