Lone Pine Campground

Spent 8 nights from June 1, 2022. This is a quiet campground tucked into a small valley right off of Whitney Portal road. Incredible view from our large campsite of Mt Whitney. Pit toilets where extremely clean and even smelled good. Roads and campsite pads where in rough shape and the whole campground could use new pavement. Very nice creek running along the north edge of the campground. No cell service in camp, but could get 2 bars if we hiked to the top of the entrance. 8 nights was a little long for this area but would definitely come back.

We made reservations ahead of time for May 4-6. The campground is ideally located 8 miles from the town of Lone Pine and 7 miles from the Whitney Portal camping area. We had two vehicles (a large pickup truck and a Class B RV) that fit perfectly into the driveway pad. The road through camp is paved, as well as the parking pads, but some are in need of repair. Several sites could only accommodate one vehicle. The camp is nestled in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada range, with Mt. Whitney clearly visible in the background. There is a clear stream (Lone Pine Creek) to the north of the campground and apparently you can try your luck at fishing. There is now potable water spigots througout the grounds and three pit toilets, one at each end of the camp and one at the entrance. The toilets here were exceptionally clean and had no odor. I do not know what the camp host used, but it was nice to not have to hold your nose. Each campsite has a picnic table, fire pit, bear locker, and what appeared to be a wood stove. Some have said that there is a dearth of trees, but some sites do have shade provided by big pine trees. At the time we were there, there were no kids, and the camp was quiet and peaceful. The one generator near us observed the rules and did not use it between 10 PM and 6 AM. As some have stated, the sites are close together, but there is some privacy due to the abundant growth of sagebrush and some large boulders and pine trees. There is a camp host. Firewood is available for $8.00 per bundle. At the west end of the camp there is a trailhead leading to Mt. Whitney for those who want to hike the entire trail. This adds five miles to the journey and connects with the Whiney Portal campground. Seven miles up the road by car, the Whitney Portal campground has a small store and showers.

They list 44 campsites available, most with reservations but some first come, first served. Supposedly RVs up to 40 feet can camp here but it will be very tight and you must find a spot with the longer parking pads. We spent the full day exploring the Alabama Hills movie locations and took a 4 mile hike along the Whitney Portal trail.

We found free camping at the Lone Pine Campground, Inyo National Forest in California. Lone Pine Campground sits at the foot of Mt. Whitney just inside of the Inyo National boundary and offers free camping off season. The winter season starts November 1st and the Lone Pine Campground was completely free at the time of our visit. In addition to the free camping we found several serviceable vault toilets and trash receptacles along with a campground host. This free campground offers breathtaking views of Mt. Whitney, the highest point in the continental United States. A speed test failed due to poor connectivity for Verizon, AT&T, and T-Mobile at this location.

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).

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.

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.

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.

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.