Twin Lakes Campground

Got site 47 in Lower Twin Creek. Upper was way too hilly and hard to level. Lower was perfect. We booked via Recreation.gov. Could only get 1 night, yet 8 sites were reserved but NEVER SHOWED UP. This really pisses us off.

Lakes are nice, small, great views and waterfall. Hiked leave right from the campground. Bike trails are nice and free shuttle to the upper lakes is great - ride back down! Kayaks and boat rentals are all over. No showers, but good water. No dump for RVs, local lodge charging a lot for using their dump station.

Campground was nice, some room between sites. Bear showed up at campsite behind us. Horns, alarms,pot banging ensued. Bear was right in camp by picnic table. Very bold and not scared of noises. Idiots leaving coolers and boxes out all over. Bear came back at night and the next morning at 5 AM someone saw it again and AGAIN noise horns blaring, it’s freaking ridiculous. Woke the whole camp up!

This is a spectacular place. Amazing view of the twin falls and the lakes. Crystal clear water. All naturals lakes within hiking distance. Free shuttle runs all day long to and from upper lakes and the Mammoth lakes town. So many places to hike and see around the region. Facilities are modern. Store has shower $8 per person and dump is $15. Site 88 has severe grade which is very difficult to back in with any trailer bigger than a pop up trailer. Check the driveway grade before reserving. Most sites are great. We just got unlucky. Call service is spotty but works most of the time with Verizon. No internet though.

We had a 3 day reservation here and left after the first nite. I gave it two stars because of the location to mammouth and hiking. It took a long time to park our 24ft trailer. The site was narrow and uneven. The upper loop, which is where we were was just too narrow of a road and hilly. The weather wasn’t great either but can’t blame the campground for that. Showers cost $8.00 and the propane was $6.00 a gallon. They were selling yummy tamales from the camp store. We left 2 days early and took a chance for a nearby campground at convict lake. Luckily we got in with no reservation and stayed for 2 nites.

We stayed in the lower twin lakes campground, across the bridge on the west side of the lakes. Generally the campsites on the west side of the lakes were much better than those on the east side (near the general store). Most campsites are alpine -- dry rocky dirt surrounded by pine trees, but those nearest the lake shore are damp and surrounded by thick brush, giving great privacy. 70 was one such site. The campground is 3 miles straight uphill from Mammoth Lakes town. Very accessible via bike path (on the way down) and via trolley (on the way up).

Visited Twin Lakes campground during the first week of October 2017. The area is absolutely beautiful. We stayed in campsite 90. The site is a tight fit for a 29 ft travel trailer and Ford F150. Once the travel trailer was in place, we had to park the F150 on an angle so the truck didn't stick out on the roadway. The site is set up nicely with a picnic table, storage locker and fire pit. The Twin Lakes General Store is a short walk from our campsite and the store has row boats available for rent. The cost is $20 for the first hour and $10 per hour afterwards. The general store offers propane and a dump station ($10). The Tamarack Lodge is located right next to campground. There is a small lodge bar and dinner restaurant. Dinner prices listed as of 10/1/17 ranged from $42-$52 per entree. Dinner menu is limited, rib eye, fish and chicken dishes. We did not eat in the restaurant however we did enjoy the lodge bar. The town of Mammoth Lakes is a short drive from campground. Plenty of gas stations, restaurants and grocery stores within 5-6 miles.

While this campground was beautiful, for me it had a couple of flaws. Many of the sites were pretty small and my fifth wheel is 32' long. Site 17 I would not recommend for a trailer my size, even though the website said it was long enough. If I didn't have 4 wheel drive, I would have never got in my site. Once in had a beautiful week. There are other sites here that would work for rig's my size. It's a very old National Forest park not laid out for big rigs.

The lake is only a short walk away and many hiking trail in the lust forest around the campground. Also Mammoth lakes is very close and many businesses are there to take your money (prices are a little high). The weekend was packed with people visiting along with the campers, which made the tight area even tighter.

As for site 17, it was a paved slab with tall, very old trees all around. Solar is doable, but only if you have a portable one you can move around. Basically you're dry camping, no utilities at the site. Water is available and rest rooms are older vault toilets. I didn't visit the shower in the main building, but one is available. There is a dump for a small fee for your RV.