Volcanic Tablelands

There are a few Boondocking spots for larger rigs right on the road and more for vans/tents on side roads. Stay a few days to explore the incredible rock art. Don’t follow Google’s instructions. Take the five Bridges Road which turns to the left and becomes Casa Diablo Mine Road. We went in a mile after the pavement ends. Unless you have four-wheel-drive, you won’t want to go to much further past a mile and a half. Bishop is a great place to stock up. There was some truck traffic during the day

First it is very beautiful there but I don't believe we would stay there again because of the moths. Our bus was a moth house for the last two days we were then two more days to get rid of them. The washboard road are difficult but doable. There is plenty of spots and lots of privacy. We did see horses on the first day being herded up. Very quiet and lava rock makes a very unique landscape. They had caves we climbed into as well. Bring in all your items you need cuz again prices are high there.

The Volcanic Tablelands area has plenty of places to camp, and although we arrived very late afternoon we found a big pull through three miles up the washboard main road. Yes, it was a fairly sandy spot but the winds were calm so no issues.
The view? Unbelievable! Waking up to the snow capped Sierra Nevadas from an isolated hilltop is what this lifestyle is all about for us. Having said that, we do live in the digital age and planning where to go next is a lot simpler with internet access…
We use Consumer Cellular for phone and data plus a TMobile hotspot as an alternate signal and our Wi-Fi was outstanding!
As has been mentioned by others the town of Bishop has whatever you may need…food, fuel, propane, etc.
This time of year can be gorgeous in eastern California, but be advised that high profile vehicles should allow extra days for potential weather delays. We are traveling the Highway 395 corridor up to Reno and have encountered high wind warnings as well as off and on tire chain requirements.
If we could stay here for a month, we would. It is a fantastic spot!

We love this spot. If it weren’t for the 14 day stay limit, we would just live here. Incredible views of the Sierra Nevada Mountains. 10 minutes to gas, groceries, restaurants, and even Starbucks in Bishop. 15 minutes to a free dump station, fresh water, and propane at the Arco in Bishop. The road in is washboard, but nothing our 2wd sedan couldn’t easily handle. Large pull off spots. Plenty of sunshine for solar. Very quiet. We were able to work using both our Verizon and T-Mobile hotspots but needed our booster.

First off I like to point out the easiest route to Volcanic Tabletop from Bishop is to take Main street to US Highway 6 to Casa Diablo Road. We initially used the Waze app to navigate in and it took us in the back way from 395, which I can't deny was a beautiful drive along the river and I imagine makes for great fishing, if you're looking for that, however this route was about 6 miles of extreme washboard road which took our rig about an hour to finally reach our site. All in all (without the absurd drive in) this is a very quiet, expansive, peaceful, location with 360 degree views just as everyone has mentioned.
Unfortunately we arrived during a week if 100 + degree weather and only stayed one night, but would definitely stay again during cooler temps. Note: No water or hookups, dry camping only. Oh and I'm sure the wind can pick up here, but our visit was fairly calm not sure if it has to do with the time of year.

This review could just as well serve as the review for Boondocking in Bishop.

We started off by attempting to camp off of Buttermilk Road, but fled (read our review here on Campendium). The City of Los Angeles owns the land up and down Owens Valley (water rights). Due to this, you’ll see a lot of “closed to camping” signs. However, camping can be found after these signs on both Buttermilk, and Casa Diablo Rd.

We ended up at the Volcanic Tablelands, which is the same area as the other Campendium locations of Casa Diablo Cliff Side, and Casa Diablo Rd. Our specific location ( 37.430667, -118.423207) is not here on Campendium. There are a total of about 9 useable locations here that can fit all but the largest 5th wheels. With the road as bad as it is, we still saw an, oddly enough, tour bus roll right by us with a group of students of some sort. One of the oddest things we’ve ever seen in our boondocking adventures.

This is land is managed by the BLM, and is free. I’m not sure where the past reviewer paid to camp, but it wasn’t here at the Volcanic Tablelands. Our location is off of Casa Diablo Rd, not Chalk Bluff Rd. Chalk Bluff Rd is a long washboard road that leads down to small parking lots for the Happy and Sad Boulders for climbing, and is the turn to the left before heading straight into the Volcanic Tablelands.

The road heading up into the Volcanic Tablelands (Casa Diablo Rd) is not in great shape, but doable. Our location was right off the road, with 360 degree views of the Sierras and White Mountains.

37.430667, -118.423207

This location is before the other Compendium listing for Casa Diablo Rd, and after Casa Diablo Cliffside.

It’s under 15 minutes into Bishop where amenities are plentiful. Water and dump at the Arco (Shell), also listed here on Campendium. Internet came in at 50 mbps on AT&T (Verizon continues to trail behind in performance everywhere we’ve been). The road is pretty busy, mainly climbers accessing the Sad Boulders from the small spur leading from Casa Diablo Rd.

Now the not so great parts. The wind here was the strongest we’ve ever been in. Gusts to 70mph had us retracing our slides for the first time ever (we boondock 100% exclusively). We also had a problem with Kangaroo Rats for the first few days. The ultrasonic unit wasn’t repelling them, and we weren’t able to trap them safely, but some peanut butter in those old fashioned mouse traps finally worked. 5 in one night. After that, all was quiet.

One thing that’s very important to note, was that the BLM patrols this daily. So much to the point that it made us uncomfortable, especially when she took pictures of us on the 13th day!! She was actually taking attendance. I chatted with her afterwards, and she confirmed that they do enforce, very strictly, the maximum 14 day limit. She explained that the 14 day limit was per BLM ranger district, per year, which means, and she very clearly stated, that if you stayed here, you could not stay in Alabama Hills over 60 miles away until a full year later.

After my own research, turns out this is indeed true: https://www.blm.gov/office/bishop-field-office

“Dispersed camping is limited to 14 days per year within the Bishop Field Office boundaries.”

How they enforce this is anyones guess, but by taking a picture, it seems plausible.

Our family loved staying here. It's primitive, but there are privys, and garbage disposal. We chose a pay site, just because it was so perfect, river right off site, but in the future, there are tons of free options. BLM and USFS in Bishop provided maps and advice.
Hiking there Volcanic table lands and Happy and Sad Canyon, seeing the Paiute Shoshone petroglyphs was a profound experience. Only saw a pair of climbers and a rattlesnake hiking up Happy and Sad Canyon, and one other hiker in four hours of glyph hunting.
Bishop is close for amenities, Keough Hotsprings is a must.We explored from our site the surrounding Eastern Sierra sights. Mammoth Mountain is cool, Mono Lake is unusual and worth the stop on the highway, Bodie ghost town was closed when we went through, super disappointed, Travertine hot springs was great hiking and gorgeous, but the springs themselves were crowded, luke warm, and people had their dogs loose and roaming...Ancient Bristlecone Forest was closed due to snow also. The campsite can get kinda trafficy, but it wasn't bothersome. Breathtaking scenery, shooting stars at night, the most lovely experience.