We made an extra camping trip during Fall this year. We usually spend July up near Lee Vining, but we wanted to see what camping in October was like. Getting to Upper Sage isn’t tricky, it’s just very inconspicuous. You drive up Hwy 395 to a little town called Big Pine. It’s about 15 miles before Bishop. You turn left on a little residential street that takes you buy cute little homes of Big Pine. You’d swear you made the wrong turn. Then, you’ll continue on this worn little road for a few miles. It goes up quickly. Again, it seems you’re on the way to nowhere. After about 7 miles up, you’ll see the canyon with trees and campgrounds. It’s really pretty. Almost to the end of the road you’ll find Upper Sage Flat. We camped in sites 2 and 4. Both were real nice and next to the creek. The bathroom is close but not right next to your site. There’s only one bathroom so it’s nice to have it so close. As it turned out, there might have been 4 sites taken up, but that’s all. We had the place to ourselves. If you like to fish, the sites 14-19 are perfect. There are some beautiful hiking trails nearby, especially the Big Pine Creek Trail. The campground is paved, which is nice for bikes. Also, right up the street a little is Glacier Lodge, a place where you can rent little cottages. It’s old and looks worn, but it’s clean, looks taken care of, and they even have a little store. We only stayed for 3 days but they were wonderful. James the CG host was FANTASTIC! He pretty much doesn’t bother you and just asks you keep it clean and don’t get out of control. He was so nice we supported him by buying wood. He says he makes more with recyclables, so recycle when you’re there. All in all, we had a wonderful time and the CG was well worth it, in October at least. If you decide to do some Fall camping, Upper Sage Flats will not disappoint you.

The Eastern Sierra entrance to Yosemite National Park is short and sweet. From Hwy 395 it is only 12 miles. The turn off to drive to the front gate begins at a little town called Lee Vining. About 4-5 miles in you come to a campground sign and a road called Poole Power Plant just past the Inyo National Forest sign. You can only turn left. In front of you sits the name of two campsites. Moraine to the left and Big Bend to the right. Take a right and the campground sits about two miles up on a partially paved/dirt road. The road takes you past a beautiful meadow where deer come out at early morning and evening. You will pass another campground called Aspen Campground. This is a wonderful place with over 40 sites. However, Big Bend offers the same amenities with only 17 FC/FS sites. As you reached the unpaved section of road, you drive along Lee Vining Creek. It’s wonderful and full of trout. You can fish along the road there any time. You’ll reach Big Bend when you come to a small waterfall. I say small because I visited Yosemite this time, but it is a pretty good size. As you turn left into the campground you will find that 16 of the 17 sites are next to it within 50 ft of the creek. Fishing is so easy from the campground itself. The campground host was one of the nicest people I have ever met. Try to get to know him and he will tell you if the many things located close to the campground, like Beaver Pond within 20 minutes from the CG and a mountain spring creek with some of the best tasting water you’ll ever find within a 1/4 mile from Big Bend. With only 17 sites, the host is able to keep the bathrooms very clean and constantly check for any problems. He resides across to street from BB and checks at least 4 times a day to make sure all is well. If you drive a mile farther up the dirt road, at the end you will find a working power plant owned by SCE. It’s an old building and is in wonderful condition. Along the way you will find more spots to cast your line in. The campground isn’t that big and if it’s full it can feel crowded. However, the sites are well marked out and most are big enough for a 30’ trailer. For tent camping, it’s perfect! With only a few sites that are all FC/FS, you might find it hard to get in. We got there on a Monday and had about half the sites to choose from. When we left 7 days later, we had a line of 3 campers ready for sites to open up. All in all, this is one of the best CG to stay if you’re planning on going to Yosemite, being only 9 miles from the entrance and 6 miles to a place to get coffee and gas. Lee Vining town is a half mile farther. Along the way, there are so many other places to visit.