French Camp Campground

I a not picking on French Camp but it is an example of most all of the Inyo National Forest Campgrounds, their has been absolutely no improvement of infrastructure or amenities since the 1970”s other than maybe a storm repair or clean up. Paved roads are an embarrassment for the taxpayers of CA. Broken down picnic tables etc. Some are so bad, like East Fork up the road that they should be closed. People are too easily impressed these days regarding rating campgrounds, handing out way too many 5 stars…but maybe what they see to today is all they have to relate to.

But of course the price keeps rising and getting nothing for it.

This campground is quiet (in late September) and had plenty of sites to choose from. They seem spread out enough for peace and quiet.

I choose one on the side near the creek and it had a beautiful giant tree in the site as well!

I have t-mobile and service is usually horrible in most places I camp and I get great reception here! So I imagine Att and Verizon are good as well!

This used to be one of my favorite stops in the Eastern Sierras but they just put new dirt in all the pitches--and it is DIRT. Six- to 12" of fine, awful stuff that sticks to everything. Not loose rock, sand or gravel. And when the wind blows, the fine dirt blows along with it. Not sure why pad type says "asphalt", it has never been asphalt for a decade now. :-)

But still has a great location and a little creek running through. Pitches are well spaced but a little challenging for the bigger rigs to get into. (Sign warns you of this at the entrance.)

I wasn't as enthused as the other raters of this camp ground. It does have nice rest rooms, and water is readily available throughout the camp. That said, the road going through the camp is rough as heck and narrow. Large boulders line the roads and the site driveways so watch out backing in that you don't clip one. Sites are right on top of each other with little privacy. We ended up next to those folks who use the F word as a noun, verb and adjective, so the close quarters were slightly more aggravating. I wish we would have drive further up the creek. There are several more forest service camps that would have been more peaceful. Remember, forest service camps are half price if you have a national park pass. Day use areas are covered as well with the passes. We payed $13.50 instead of the normal $27.

Stayed here to meet a larger group on a longer road trip. It was the only proper campground we said in, which initially scared me as we are more boondockers but this campground we great.

Some of the sites are on top of each other but other are nice and the site we stayed at was covered with noise from the creek across the street.

This is the first campground among MANY on the same road and all the locations are great. I would stay here again.

There are a lot of options when you turn up to Toms Place off the 395 and head up Rock Creek Road. The first campground you come to is French Camp which is great if you don’t want to head up into the 8-9000 ft elevation. It’s 80-some spots with about 30 of those being walk-ups. Reserving online will ensure you get a spot big enough if you’re an RVer, but there are some walk-ups that would be suitable. This is a dusty, alpine campground with lots of granite boulders scattered about (bring your outdoor rugs!) so be prepared to find dust/sand on everything. Some sites are close enough to hear Rock Creek rushing by. Sites vary a lot with some being very private to others being good for two groups side by side. Or if you’re not friends with the neighbors, you soon will be because the fire pits are close enough to listen in on each other’s conversations. Sites 33 and 34 as well as 36 and 37 are good examples of this. Regardless, we had a great weekend here and our site 36 was plenty big for our trailer. Driving up to Rock Creek Lake or Mosquito Flats/John Muir Trail is a must do. There is an RV water fill shortly after driving past the first loop, however there are water spigots placed throughout the campground that could also be used since they’re threaded for hoses. There is a dump station just across the campground on Rock Creek Road that can actually handle two rigs at a time in opposite directions. It’s free for those who stay in any of the campgrounds in Rock Creek or $8 for those that didn’t. There is also a potable water spigot in that same area, but if you have a short hose you’ll have to maneuver over to it. Even though the photos seem old, check campsitephotos.com if you want to try and do a little recon before heading in there. The campground doesn’t appear to have changed much. We will no doubt be back!