Lone Pine Campground

How she stands there, pristine and clear in the morning, and as the sun closes in on zenith begins to fade away like an ancient picture. Mount Whitney looming makes this place every cent worth the $19 the forest service is charging for vault toilets and no hookups.

Tenters, all with identical matching tents, filled up the best RV spots--those nearest her view, despite another tenting-only area being yet closer still--but through that disappointment I managed to find site 37, long enough to fit our 31' Airstream and then just barely enough room to creek our van in perpendicular. It was an even better spot for viewing, through a few black locust trees she stood proud every day, occasionally covered in wisps of cloud as weather came from the west and dissipated before making it to the Eastern Sierras.

Other than the tenters, and the campground host, the campground was empty. We ran our generator ambitiously, no one could hear and no one could mind. We'd climb to the top of the ridge, this campground set down in hollow, to get cell service, or wait for it to occasionally flutter through our site.

As night rolled in, the tenters reveled loud in their partying, right up until 10pm, quiet hours.

The second night the weather made it over the mountain, even in May, and we woke to snow and freezing temperatures. No tents in site.

This is the most beautiful campground I can remember staying at, more than the great ones in Big Bend State Park and Tucson Mountain even, more than those in Canada's Rockies or Golden Gate Canyon.

Even when the wind did whip, our site was surrounded by boulders which kept us and our fire safe from the worst of it. There are cheaper (and free) public spots nearby, but this is the place people go to just be completely enshrined by the shadow of Mt. Whitney and I could stay here forever if the weather hadn't decided to play so much colder than just a few miles down the road in the Alabama Hills.

Stayed here on a Tuesday night before Labor Day weekend (as well as several other times) and there were 5 sites taken in the entire camp. Needless to say it was very quiet. Most of the sites are too small for a larger trailer, and the camp road is narrow and tight, but there are a few sites that are fine for our 28', (actually closer to 30') Airstream, if you don't mind threading the needle. Reservations are accepted here so you can reserve one of the larger sites ahead of time.The roads and pads are made of the finest crumbling pavement, but hey, it still keeps the dust down. Cell service fluctuated between 3g and 1X.

The part that makes this a 5 star campground is all about the view. It has the most incredible view of Mt Whitney you will find anywhere, and it's your's just by looking out your trailer (or tent) door. Oh, did I mention the clear, babbling creek too? It's yours as well. This campground is near Tuttle Creek Campground, but is at a higher elevation so is a bit cooler.

The sites have some great fire pits and also old style wood-burning camp stoves that you don't see in many campgrounds anymore. There are bear boxes in each site too, as black bears are present. There are plenty of water faucets with threaded hose bibs to attache a hose for filling tanks. There is no dump station, but there are very clean pit toilets. The camp host kept the place very clean.

I could sit in this campground and look at Mt Whitney all day. It's a photographers dream.

This was one of our first stops when we set off on our trip across America eight months ago. We have camped in 12 states since and Lone Pine is still one of the best! Spaced are very tight but pretty easy to manage in a 25' travel trailer. The proximity to Mt. Whitney is tough to beat and the campground views by far are the main selling point of the campground. Most sites seem to require a bit of leveling but the extra few minutes are worth the morning sunrises on the mountains.

Lone Pine Campground is breathtaking. Mt. Whitney looms right over you and there are creeks on both sides of the campground that were full of rushing water which provided excellent white noise and a real sense of peace. We have a 26 foot airstream with a super crew cab tow vehicle and parking was....difficult. Larger rigs should aim for site numbers in the 30s. Even though many sites were large enough to accommodate our setup, the road was too narrow to actually complete the back in.

The pads are asphalt on sand and in terrible shape. I am sure that this last winter did them no favors, but it's a real issue. The asphalt is crumbling and the sand is a bit shifty. This made leveling a very stressful experience. Ultimately I did not have enough blocks to get us level with all four stabilizing jacks on the ground. This is why we stayed only one night. If we had a better spot, we would have stayed longer. If they repave the spots, this place would be a dream location.

The campsites have great fire pits and forest service oven/hotplate setups for forewood. The camp host was great and helpful and the other campers were also great. We have a full moon lighting up the snow on Mt. Whitney and views of stars during our evening campfire. Pure magic. Can't wait to get a better spot.

The campground is in a low-lying ravine. Can’t be seen from the main road. There are walk-in sites and a group site. Most are very short. 15-25 feet in length. Difficult to maneuver an RV. Best for car or tent camping. Great stay for fishing. Gorgeous views. Best for spring or fall.

Old campground with small spaces. We were able to get in a Site with our 24” class c. Paved road and sites. Vault toilet. No running water.
The view of Mt Whitney is AWESOME

The pads are pretty small and not too level, so if you're towing, it can take a little patience to back into your site. That being said, the views are worth it, and the creek that runs next to the campground will lull you to sleep at night. It's a great area for exploring, with proximity to the Alabama Hills and Whitney Portal. The camp host, Don, was very nice and helpful. Vault toilets (clean and large), and water at the spigots.

We were here on 6/22/19. This is a campground really close to our home, so we stop here frequently our first day out if going up Hwy., 395, or make it our last stop before hitting all the traffic and people as we get closer to LA or parts south.
The host is very accommodating and helpful. When we arrived - naturally without reservations as we never know where we're going to be, We found a nice spot that looked like it was open for the one night. Turns out it was already reserved and the host had not yet changed the tags.My first reaction was that I was irritated and did not want to move - but came to my senses realizing anyone can make a mistake.I could tell he felt really bad and we did not want to add to his burden. He found us a really nice alternative and we apologized for being so snippy - it all turned out well.and we had a great one-night stay.

Stayed here May 9, 2019. Easy to reach with paved roads and pads, good drainage. Right alongside Lone Pine Creek. great hiking up towards Whitney Portal. Clean but sites are a bit rundown. Don the host is accessible, cordial and knows the place like the back of his hands. The FS cops rolled through too on a routine patrol. Not sure what that says about the place. Seemed chill to me. Sites to the east of entrance are real tight with lots of pitch and roll. No go for our rig. We were in site 2 (sites 4 & 6 were equivalent) which is pretty level with lots of outside room. The weather was cold rain with a bit of snow. Awesome.

Three nights in Lone Pine campground at site 38 - a very enjoyable experience.
The road into the campground is a bit rough, narrow, and twisty. We got our 24' trailer with an F150 in without much problem, but I think too much larger would have been challenging. Pay attention to the length limitations on the RV sites - some of them are very short, and would not accommodate a TT even as long as ours.
Campground was quiet and well maintained. Very clean pit toilets. Water faucets situated throughout the campground, with the requirement (stated clearly at the gate) "please don't fill up your RV fresh tank with a hose from the spigots." First, you'll block the road while you're filling; second, the water is from a well, and the supply is limited. But we didn't have any problem carrying a 5-gal jerry can two sites down to top off our tank when we needed to.
Cell service in the campground was very limited - we had trouble sending texts and emails, although walking up the road to the high point at least got us enough signal to text our friends up at Whitney Portal.
The campground is just 15 minutes (or so) drive from Witney Portal campground (where I would NOT take a trailer or RV) which provides some beautiful hiking. It's also not far from the Alabama Hills, which provides some nice desert hiking as well.
There aren't a lot of activities in the Lone Pine campground itself. Clearly this campground is a favorite of people who come to the area for the off-roading - we saw a LOT of dune buggies, dirt bikes, etc in camp. There was a bit of midday noise with these off road vehicles coming and going from camp toward the weekend, but people seemed to be generally courteous about not disrupting the campground with undue engine roar (at least not into the evening).