Starlink Mini – Scampgrounds

High Altitude Spring Expedition

https://scampgrounds.com/wp-content/themes/osmosis/images/empty/thumbnail.jpg 150 150 gavin gavin https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/99f9cd14e6ca957f921a5ace7d1dcdf0fccde566155f0e4da610ff0b7f10e2b0?s=96&d=mm&r=g June 20, 2026 June 20, 2026

By: gavin

June 20, 2026

High Altitude Spring Expedition
May 31st – June 18th, 2026 (17 nights)

Almost a year has gone by since our fantastic Fourth of July Lake Tahoe trip last summer and, it was so great, we thought it was worth repeating. This time we planned it to be even bigger and better, although not during the 4th of July weekend. We’ve introduced some new locations and new campgrounds and extended our stay time at Lake Tahoe. Additionally, we shortened some of the drive time by taking Highway 395 (which we typically avoid during the summer due to high temperatures in parts) and strategically chose a couple of campgrounds which are known to be beautiful and typically “not too hot” during spring and summer.

Whitney Portal Campground (8,300’ elevation)
This campground is only about twenty minutes up Whitney Portal Road from the quaint town of Lone Pine. But, to get here, one must drive the treacherous steep mountain road which climbs over five thousand feet from Lone Pine to the base of Mt. Whitney. It serves as the base camp for climbers hiking Mt. Whitney (the highest mountain in the continental US at a height of over 14,000 feet). Due to the campground’s elevation (at around 8,300 feet), it is usually about 20 to 30 degrees cooler than campgrounds surrounding Lone Pine (at about 3,000 feet elevation). On this trip, it was in the upper 80’s when we arrived in Lone Pine and enjoyed lunch at the popular Alabama Hills Cafe, but only in the 60’s when we arrived at our campsite at Whitney Portal Campground. This makes summer camping possible in the high desert Lone Pine area in the warmer months. Note: we greatly enjoyed staying in the famous Alabama Hills (free dispersed camping right outside the town of Lone Pine) on a past trip, but it’s too hot there this time of year.

The Whitney Portal area is absolutely stunning with magnificent sheer granite cliffs standing thousands of feet in all directions above the campground. The area feels very similar to Yosemite, which is about 155 miles away by road. The Jon Muir Trail connects the two areas via a 211 mile trail.

Whitney Portal Campground is a small USDA Forest Service campground with 43 campsites. Lone Pine Creek runs right through the middle of the campground, which makes it nice to fall asleep to the soothing sounds of rushing water. Most of the campsites ($34/night or $17/night with a Lifetime Senior Pass) are small, so it’s important to check the pad length when making reservations on recreation.gov. (although even on the reservation website it may be hard to tell the exact length). We walked the campground and our favorite site (which we think will fit our Scamp 13′ and Volvo XC40 tow vehicle) is campsite #28 due to partial shade / partial sun and magnificent views of the granite mountains which loom thousands of feet above the campground. We had campsite #17 on this trip, which is a nice shaded campsite within the pines (pad length about 28′). There is a water spigot close by this campsite and, with the host’s permission, we connected our three water hoses to connect this spigot to the Scamp. There are no dump stations or electrical hookups. Verizon mobile service is poor here — we were able to get one bar (enough for texts without images). We were able to use our Starlink Mini dish, but even this wasn’t optimal as the campground is heavily forested with pine trees. Even still, the Starlink speeds were fast when positioned flat looking straight up.

This campground is an active bear area, so all food and scented items should be stored in the metal bear box at each campsite. We were told it was probably ok to keep toothpaste and shampoo in our Scamp as well as items in the refrigerator. The host told us he’s been working at this campground for the past six years and has seen car windows smashed, car doors opened, and other bear vandalism (but never a bear attacking a person). He said the black bears here are like racoons and generally avoid direct confrontations with campers. He did also say the bears are opportunistic and will swoop in when people aren’t watching and grab food or a backpack. The first night we were here we were told a bear stole a climber’s backpack in the middle of the night. The host told us the bears only come out at night here. Currently there is a mama black bear and two cubs that like to frequent this campground during the middle of the night. The host told us that sometimes a bear might stand on their hind legs and put its paws on the side of a camper and shake it.

Plan to take it easy on the first day or two as the campground is at high elevation (around 8,300 feet) and altitude sickness may be possible (this sickness has no correlation with fitness levels). The campground is beautiful, nestled within the pines, and a river rushing through it: a great place to set up chairs and/or hammocks to laze away the afternoons.

There are lots of hiking opportunities right from the campground, even if one isn’t hiking Mt. Whitney. One of the popular hikes is the Meyson Lake Trail, with the first lake being about 5 steep miles up from the campground. It’s a highly demanding 11.5 mile out-and-back “acclimation” hike used to prep for hiking Mt. Whitney. The trail climbs over 4,000 feet of elevation to a stunning alpine lake, offering gorgeous Eastern Sierra views. Campers can also take the campground hike to the Whitney Portal Store & Grill, yum! The trail to the store/grill is steep with plenty of obstacles, so a good alternative is to walk the main road or drive up to the Whitney Portal Store & Grill (which is located right next to the Mt. Whitney trailhead). We enjoyed a couple of meals here — 1) a breakfast which included their “World Famous” giant pancake (cake-like delicious and about 14″ in diameter), easily feeding four people, and 2) great burgers for lunch.

Gull Lake Campground (7,600’ elevation)
We had several things to do and stops to make before checking in at the Gull Lake Campground (right on the shores of beautiful Gull Lake, near the quaint town of June Lake). We filled our Scamp’s fresh tank before leaving Whitney Portal Campground, stopped for gas at Fort Impendence, and shopped at the well-stocked Manor Market in Bishop for more essentials. Lastly, we stopped at the “hard-to-find but free” dump station at Convict Lake (on the left side when climbing the hill towards the campground and right before the campground starts).

Gull Lake Campground (USDA Forest Service, elevation 7,600 feet) sits next to small picturesque Gull Lake within walking distance to the little town of June Lake. This area is aptly named “The Switzerland of California” for it’s beautiful alpine lakes, meadows and snowcapped granite peaks. Seagulls can regularly be seen flying along the shores, thus its name. There are 11 campsites ($32/night or $16/night with a Lifetime Senior Pass) and a number of them are directly on the lake (our lake front favorites – #7, #9, #10, and #11) . There are no hookups or central dump stations. There are water spigots (painted blue). Verizon mobile phone service was good during our stay. We had campsite #10 which even has it’s own small boat launch! Note — because there are only a small number of campsites here, it’s difficult to get a good one. We were only able to reserve one adjacent to the main road, but we saw a “See Host’ sign on a great river adjacent site (#10) and we asked the host and she switched us!

There are lots of fun activities to do at the campground including hiking, paddleboarding, fishing, and boating. There are a couple of trails here — one goes around the lake (about an hour walk) and the other trail heads into town (5 – 20 minutes). The Gull Lake Loop is an easy, mostly flat nature trail with spectacular alpine and mountain views. If walking into town, make sure to try some of the delicious gourmet meat and fruit pies at Pinos Pies. Kayaks, paddleboards, and pontoon boats can be rented at the marina (47 E. Granite Avenue — short walk from the campground).

Fallen Leaf Lake Campground (6,342’ elevation)
We stayed at this beloved “bear country” campground last year and came back to visit our friends Kat & Dave, who we met last summer at Nevada Beach Campground (and attempt to see a bear this time). Our friends have incredible knowledge of life on the road with a travel trailer as they spend most of the year in their Airstream at campgrounds. On this trip we were able to get a campsite (#80, $47/night or 1/2 off with a Lifetime Senior Pass) right next to theirs. There’s a central RV dump (currently $10). There was little to no Verizon mobile phone service at our campsite but we used our Starlink mini satellite dish (pointing straight up as trees surround our campsite) for fast internet and phone calls. There are water spigots throughout the campground.

Fallen Leaf Lake is a beautiful small lake adjacent to South Lake Tahoe. Our campsite is within an easy walk to the lake. Campers can swim (cold water), stand up paddle board, kayak, and fish on Fallen Leaf Lake. There’s a nature center close by and bald eagles are sometimes seen. There are many bike paths that wind along Lake Tahoe’s beaches. Having a bike is a fun way to wander through the campground and along the lake. There’s a large private campground next door, called Camp Richardson, which has a very popular ice cream shop. Last summer a bear broke into this shop and was found behind the counter eating all of the strawberry ice cream.

Camping at Fallen Leaf Lake has at some campsites become synonymous with “almost for sure” bear encounters. It’s common to hear campers banging pots and pans and blowing air horns to scare bears away during mealtimes. Food is required to be in the bear box at each campsite. We had a close encounter of the bear-kind while staying here on this trip! The female black bear was very large and walked toward us while grazing on shrubs and berries on the outer perimeter of the campground. We kept some distance, making sure not to startle her. The bear looked at us calmy and continued foraging. Currently there are no grizzly bears (AKA brown bears) in California. However, a California senator currently wants to reintroduce them because the grizzly is on the state flag, but this would make bear encounters and camping much more dangerous, as grizzly bears are regarded as much more aggressive than black bears (and they can be much larger). Note: Bear types can’t be accurately identified by color, as black bears can be many colors (including brown or cinnamon like the one we saw). The way to identify the difference between a brown and black bear is by anatomy (grizzlies have smaller ears, wider faces, and large humps on their backs).

Sugar Pine Point State Park Campground (6,229’ elevation)
About 30 minutes north of Fallen Leaf Lake, Sugar Pine Point State Park Campground is the largest state park campground in the Tahoe area. The park has about 2 miles of coastline on Lake Tahoe’s west shore and spans 2,339 acres with a primeval forest, sandy beaches, and the historic Hellman-Ehrman Mansion. It is located about 10 miles south of Tahoe City. The area (then owned by the Ehrman family) hosted the cross-country ski and biathlon events for the 1960 Winter Olympics. The legacy continues at the park as the biathlon and cross-country courses were built within the current campground area. About 15 kilometers (about 25%) of the original 1960 Olympic Nordic trails have been restored for hiking, biking, and cross-country skiing. The campground is one of the only California state parks in the Sierra Nevada to allow winter camping.

This is now one of our all-time favorite campgrounds. We love it because the campground is positioned in a pristine forest on Lake Tahoe’s beautiful West Shore within easy reach to many area highlights by bike (accessible by taking the West Shore Bike Trail). One can even ride the bike trail to Tahoe City (about 10 miles north). There are a myriad of enjoyable hiking trails within the campground’s forest and beautiful beaches within walking distance. There’s a free RV dump station when driving into the park. The Verizon mobile phone reception during our visit was adequate (about 2 bars). We had campsite #131 ($35/night) which is a good one and the park is very spread out so it doesn’t feel crowded (despite its 175 campsites). There are water spigots throughout the campground. We found this campground much more accessible (e.g. easier to make reservations) compared to some area local area favorites, like Nevada Beach Campground (which was recently rated by the popular RV camping website, The Dyrt, as the most difficult campground to get reservations at in the entire country!).

We took a drive north to Tahoe City (about 20 minutes by car) and spent the day checking out shops, museums, and restaurants. Tahoe City feels like a very nice upscale village which sits right above the water. There are a couple of malls (Cobblestone Center and Boatworks at Lake Tahoe) which have boutique shops and restaurants which are worth a visit (including a chocolate shop specializing in home made chocolates). We had a fantastic lunch at Mountain Slice Pizzeria and Creamery, which included a crunchy thin crust pizza featuring truffles and onions, and for dessert homemade mud pie and banana chocolate chip cream.

On our last day at the campground, we toured the historic Hellman-Ehrman Mansion ($15/person at the time of our visit). It was sold to the park by the Hellman-Ehrman family in 1965. The family completed the building of the estate (also known as Pine Lodge) in 1903. The Mansion is over 11,000 square feet and sits on a hill looking down on Lake Tahoe’s west shore. This historic summer home features Craftsman architecture, extensive use of local pine, and a massive two story fireplace as well as modern indoor plumbing and electric lights. The tour takes about 50 minutes and is very historically interesting (how American elite families vacationed in the early 1900s).

Nevada Beach Campground (6,100’ elevation)
Nevada Beach Campground was named in 2024 by the popular online camping website The Dyrt as the hardest campground at which to get a reservation in the entire country! To learn more about how we secured a reservation, click here.

We stayed at campsite #11 ($47/night, 50% off with a Lifetime Senior Pass) for five nights. It’s a prime campsite with a lake view and a short walk to the lake. There is good Verizon mobile internet as well as water within the campground (threaded water spigot near the bathroom). There’s no RV dump station here, but there is one a few minutes down the road at Zephyr Cove Resort ($10). We did notice many people using outdoor showers within the campground so as not to fill up their grey tanks. A ranger I asked said this is OK as long as biodegradable soap / shampoo is used (since the shower water falls directly onto the ground).

This is one of the most beautiful campgrounds we’ve ever been too – the combination of striking views of Lake Tahoe with dramatic snowcapped mountains in the background and awe-inspiring trails through meadows and pine filled forests is amazing. And, the beach is very beautiful. Dogs are even welcome on part of the beach! With only 54 campsites the campground never feels crowded. Definitely bring your bike (our new rack worked out really well) as there are fantastic paved paths through wonderful pines to enjoy. Walking is fine too if you don’t ride. You can even ride your bike or drive into town and do some shopping at The Shops at Heavenly Village.

Looking across the lake, one can usually spot the snow high up on a peak in the shape of a “T” on the mountain (Mt. Tallac). The “T” on Mt. Tallac is a cross shaped snow formation visible in spring and summer associated with interesting folklore, particularly among the Washoe people. The Washoe people considered Mt. Tallac sacred. One legend says that if the snow melts out of the cross completely then a harsh winter will be coming to Lake Tahoe. This natural phenomenon is particularly famous because it was used as the backdrop for the opening sequence of the classic TV show Bonanza (aired 1959 – 1973); the specific location where the opening sequence was filmed was Nevada Beach!

Mammoth Lakes (7,800’ elevation)
Mammoth Lakes, located seven hours north of San Diego by car, is an outdoors playground high up in the Eastern Sierra (almost 8,000 feet above sea level). During the winter and spring, there is fantastic skiing/snowboarding at the world famous Mammoth Mountain ski area as well as opportunities for cross country skiing, snowmobiling, snowshoeing and sledding nearby. Spring, summer, and fall allow for camping, hiking, mountain biking, fishing, horseback riding, canoeing, paddle boarding, as well as many more activities (such as leaf peeping when the leaves change colors to vibrant yellows and oranges in the fall)! Click here to see our fall leaf peeping adventure!).

This was our second stay in town at New Shady Rest Campground (note – there is also Old Shady Rest Campground right next store). New and Old Shady Rest campgrounds are run by the Inyo National Forest service. The campground is right in the middle of all the great things Mammoth Lakes as to offer, so it makes for an excellent location for exploring. There are no hookups at this campground, but there are water spigots and central dump station ($12). We reserved site #158 ($32/night, half price with a Lifetime Senior Pass) which is very spacious and at the top of a hill. We received two bars of Verizon mobile phone service. There is a water spigot close by and the spigots are threaded: so, we were able to use our hoses to pump the water to our trailer, instead of having to use our dolly.

New Shady Rest Campground is within the town center of Mammoth Lakes and the 7.8 mile paved Town Loop bike path is right at the campground as well. The Mammoth Lakes Welcome Center is walking distance and offers a lot of information on things to do (including trolley maps) as well a nice tourist shop. We brought our mountain bikes (hitched to the back of our Scamp 13’) and enjoyed riding from the campground through town as well as on the paved Town Loop bike path. The path leads high up above town and offers spectacular views of the Eastern Sierra (still snowcapped in mid-June). We road our bikes to the Warming Hut restaurant one day for lunch and enjoyed some great meals! There’s also a nice mostly flat paved trail that goes from the campground through a Jeffrey Pine forest to Shady Rest Park (about 1 mile each way). We enjoyed walking this path every day during our stay. The smells of the pines are wonderful. Although we were warned about bears, we never saw any. The last bear seen in the campground was a day before our arrival. The black bears are mostly regarded as a nuisance in the campground by foraging for food, but are rarely aggressive towards people.

Mammoth Lakes has an excellent free trolley system which traverses all over town as well as to the lakes. Some of the trolleys even look like the old fashioned bright red trolleys with open sides! Each trolley route is designated with a color, so it’s important to get a map at the Mammoth Lakes Welcome Center (or view online) to determine which colored route is the right one for your destination. Some of the trolleys even have bike racks, so you can bring your bike with you. The trolley stop right up the street from the campground is designated #12. We found most of the trolleys, regardless of colored route, go to The Village, where one can catch the Lake Basins trolley to the lakes. The Village is designed like a posh European alps village and has various stores and eateries. We had fun taking the trolley up to the lakes and hiking the Panorama Dome, which features spectacular views of the mountains, Twin Lakes, and waterfalls. We also took the trolley to the last stop and enjoyed a picnic lunch on beautiful Horseshoe Lake.

Although we only stayed three days in Mammoth Lakes, there are so many fun things to do, that one could easily spend a couple of weeks here and not get bored. In the late spring, there is great biking, fishing, hiking, boating, shopping, restaurants … to try. Don’t forget about taking the shuttle to the Devils Postpile National Monument and hiking to Rainbow Falls. And, Yosemite is less than an hour’s drive away! We also found it very relaxing sitting in a comfortable chair at the campsite and watch the puffy white clouds pass high above the tall Jeffrey pines. Whatever, you choose to do, make sure to get outdoors, inhale the fresh air, and wonder at the beautiful natural surrounds. The sign at the entrance of town has it right as it says, “The mountains are calling, … John Muir”.

Big Pine Creek Campground (7,700’ elevation)
The last stop on our way home was Big Pine Creek Campground, which is accessed via a steep high mountain road with plenty of switchbacks, climbing around four thousand feet from the town of Big Pine, which sits on the desert floor of the Owens Valley. It was 96 degrees in Big Pine when we started our ascent up the windy mountain road to the campground. When we reached the campground the weather was in the upper 70’s and much more comfortable.

There are many similarities with this campground and Whitney Portal Campground. Both campgrounds are located high up a mountain above towns which sit along the desert floor. And both campgrounds are surrounded by stunning snow-topped granite mountains which are perched thousands of feet above them. Additionally, both campgrounds are small, limited space USDA Forest Service campgrounds with roaring creeks running through them.

Big Pine Creek Campground only has 30 campsites ($26/night or half off with a Lifetime Senior Pass), which are nestled along Big Pine Creek. Like all the other campgrounds we stayed at on this trip, all food must be stored at the bear box at your campsite. Although this is listed as an active bear area, we didn’t see any bears. During our visit in mid-June, the creek was moderately full, flowing rapidly, with the sound of rushing water creating a relaxing atmosphere. We had campsite #25 which is nicely shaded but very difficult to pull into (very narrow campground road and obstacles like rocks and trees on each side of the road and campsite). Our favorite sites are #21, #22, and #24 which are situated along the creek and would all likely be able to accommodate our Scamp 13′ and Volvo XC40 tow vehicle. Campsite #30 isn’t right next to the creek but is close and scenic.

Because there are few amenities here (only trash receptacles), make sure to bring plenty of water and dump your trailer before arriving. Bring solar panels if your “travel trailer house batteries” don’t have plenty of capacity for a couple of days (e.g. lead acid batteries). The water spigots at the campground are not functioning. We made sure our Scamp 13′ had a full fresh tank before leaving Mammoth Lakes (and we also filled two 6-gallon jugs) and we dumped at Convict Lake dump station before arriving. Bring your Starlink Mini if you want internet and mobile communications (there is no mobile carrier service here up in the mountains). We received fast Starlink speeds at our campsite by pointing our dish straight up (in the North direction).

Next door to the campground is the private Glacier Lodge, which is a tiny store with a sometimes operating small grill and also rents cabins. We asked about a meal during our visit and were told they ran out of food over the weekend. They said they sometimes also have outside BBQs on the weekends. The Glacier Lodge Trailer Park is an RV area on terraced dirt pads ($55/night) next to the lodge which have water and electricity. Unless you need these hookups, the Big Pine Creek Campground next door is much greener with well-spaced campsites by the river (at less than half the price).

Campers here come to enjoy 1) fishing for trout from the North Fork of Big Pine Creek, which runs through the campground, 2) hiking spectacular mountain trails, and 3) relaxing by the creek on its private beaches. We saw many families with children who seemed to also enjoy fishing at the The Trout Pond next to Glacier Lodge. The hiking here is phenomenal as the area is a launching point for the John Muir Wilderness, which is tucked into a massive alpine bowl directly below a wall of majestic 14,000 foot snow capped peaks. The Palisade Glacier which sets the backdrop for the campground is the largest glacier in the Sierra Nevada and the southernmost perennial glacier (the farthest south a block of land ice can exist while surviving the summer without completely melting) in North America.

The hiking route of most interest here, the North Fork Big Pine Creek Trail, is the one that goes up to Lakes 1 through 7. These alpine lakes are collectively known as the Big Pine Lakes. It’s an out-and-back trail which is about 14 miles round trip. It’s rated as a challenging hike, with altitude gain of about 4,000 feet of elevation. The lakes are famous for the turquoise blue-green waters and the trail features spectacuar alpine scenery. Lakes 1 and 3 are directly fed by the melting waters of the Palisade Glacier. As the glacier grinds down the mountain, it creates super-fine rock powder called “glacial flour” or “rock flour”. This flour stays suspended in the water and scatters sunlight, producing a stunning, milky turquoise color (most intense during late summer and early fall). Since Lake 7 receives mostly normal snowmelt and fresh rainwater it looks like a classic, clear Sierra lake (dark blue, emerald, or deep forest green depending on the sky and surrounding trees). Allow a full day for a hike up to Lakes 1 – 3 (13 miles round trip, about 7 to 9 hours). We didn’t have time to complete the full hike on this trip, but we plan to come back to reach the lakes!

Final Thoughts
This trip was definitely filled with unusual travel adventures and exciting times. Being prepared through extensive planning and having the right gear made our travels flow smoothly. Although weather can be hard to predict, scheduling this adventure in early June and picking campsite locations strategically resulted in optimum conditions (not too hot or cold). We were able to make a direct path up Hwy 395 through the high desert, choosing high altitude locations along the way for lower temperatures (e.g. Whitney Portal Campground above Lone Pine and Big Pine Creek Campground above Big Pine). This strategy allowed us to traverse the hot Owens Valley while staying cool (and still being in beautiful locations!).

Careful equipment choices also made things easy on this journey. 1) The new epoxy coated magnets we substituted for the old steel ones work much better by preventing corrosion in the shower (used for holding down the shower curtains in the Scamp 13’s wet bath). 2) Having two propane tanks allowed us to stay warm at night throughout the trip where average nightime temperatures were in the 40’s and the Scamp 13’s furnace and hot water heater kept us comfortable. Two tanks allowed us to refill one at Lake Tahoe when it was empty while the other was in use. And the new propane regulator we recently installed automatically switches between tanks when one runs out. We ended up using over two full tanks of propane on this trip, which is a record for us. 3) Although we packed rain gear (e.g. water proof rain pant shells, waterproof jackets), we never needed it (although it’s always good to be prepared; it snowed in Lake Tahoe the week before our trip started!). 4) Having the Starlink Mini allowed us to stay connected with friends and family while also not wondering what was happening in the world news while we were in remote areas. We maintained a balance of only using it at select times during the day so it wouldn’t distract from the adventures. 5) Having a 100Ah lithium battery and DC-DC charger is a game changer — we can spend almost 10 days without electric hookups or solar panels and can charge the battery while driving at 30% per hour (while running our 12V refrigerator!). This allows us to easily stay at state campgrounds (which often don’t have hookups) witihout the trouble of placing solar panels on the ground.

Being flexible allows one to make adjustments when necessary to keep the adventure going strong. Because of some last minute scheduling changes in Lake Tahoe with our friend Bruce, who we were visiting at Nevada Beach Campground, we decided to leave after five nights (leaving us three nights to schedule somewhere else). Having the recreation.gov app on our phone made the process easy. There was no charge to reduce the number of days from 8 to 5 nights at Nevada Beach Campground and we got a full refund back on our credit card for the unused nights. Using the same app, we decided to reserve a few nights in Mammoth Lakes since it was almost four hours south in the direction home and we enjoy the town. This made the drive home easier, reducing the number of driving hours in one day.

So, everything we did in preparation for this trip made it a lot smoother and more fun. A famous ancient philosopher (Sun Tzu) once said, “Plan for what is difficult while it is easy.” We find this advice to be very true.

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Camping Outside (and inside) the Box in Los Angeles

By: gavin

April 5, 2025

Camping Outside (and inside) the Box in Los Angeles
March 22nd – 26th 2024 (4 nights)

What started out as a planned weekend to celebrate my friend’s birthday in Los Angeles, evolved into a trip leading us to discover some hidden campground gems. Los Angeles itself has very few campgrounds for travel trailers. According to The Dyrt, there are no public campgrounds in Los Angeles! One usually has to travel to the distant foothills or the coast to find any places to park a trailer. We found this to be the case too for many large cities we’ve visited, including San Francisco and Portland. However, we did discover two nice campgrounds very close to Los Angeles that provide for beautiful natural experiences!

Valley Village, Los Angeles
We needed a spot to stay overnight in the center of Los Angeles since we planned to hike at Griffith Park on Sunday morning. However, after finding no public campgrounds in the area, we brainstormed possible solutions. We first tried Harvest Hosts (a subscription service which offers free stays at farms, museums, restaurants, etc.) and found nothing. We don’t subscribe to their partner service, Boondockers Welcome, which lists private driveways, so we couldn’t determine if any driveways were available to rent. We also tried Hipcamp, but nothing there either. Since we grew up in Los Angeles, we thought of relatives living in the city who own homes that might be close to the park and have a driveway. We got lucky — a relative living only 6 miles away from Griffith Park in Valley Village (a city in the San Fernando Valley) let us to stay on his driveway for the night!

We had a nice quiet evening at our relative’s home with our Scamp 13’ parked under a beautiful large Magnolia tree. We enjoyed walking the quiet streets of this safe neighborhood in the early evening and morning. Valley Village dates back to the 1930s when workers at nearby motion pictures studios built homes here. The area was known for its apricot trees, orange and walnut groves, peach orchards, and cornfields. It gets hot and dry here in the summer, but fortunately we had good moderate temperatures during our visit in March. We probably wouldn’t stay in the San Fernando Valley during the summer months, but if we did we would definitely bring our portable AC for our Scamp 13’.

So, if you are travelling and need a place to stay where none exist or it’s not economically feasible, you might be surprised to discover you already have a close friend or relative living in the area who may provide you accommodation.

Malibu Creek State Park
Our friend’s birthday celebration dinner was at Paul Martin’s American Grill, a popular restaurant in Westlake Village (a city a bit north of Los Angeles). In reviewing the location and campground map, we found Malibu Creek State Park a beautiful campground located halfway between the ocean and the valley in the Santa Monica Mountains. The campground is only a short drive (about 15 minutes) from Westlake Village but feels worlds away from any city, isolated in a beautiful meadow in the Santa Monica Mountains. Malibu Creek SP exceeded our expectations in many ways. The campground is isolated from the rest of the park, so it’s very quiet. And, it’s located in a beautiful meadow surrounded by tall mountains which light up at sunrise and sunset (reminding us a little of Yosemite). Many television shows and movies have been filmed here throughout the decades, including M.A.S.H. and Planet of the Apes, with trails and signs leading to the filming locations and providing details.

Campsites at Malibu Creek State Park (no hookups) are $45/night. We had campsite #62, which looks out directly over the meadow at the mountains (a great campsite). There’s a central dump, which we were told costs $10 (we didn’t need to use). Instead, we used our Holy Grail Portable Grey Water Tank Solution which effectively allows us to stay off grid for about five days. There was acceptable, but not fast, Verizon mobile service during our stay (decent enough that we didn’t need to activate our Starlink Mini service). We stayed here a couple of nights.

On our first day here, we visited our friends who were displaced from their home in Pacific Palisades due to the historic fire which burned down a significant portion of Pacific Palisades on January 7^th, 2025. Our friends were fortunate in that they quickly found a beautiful beach condo in Malibu which they have rented for a year while their home is being rebuilt. Our friend Bruce gave us a tour of the fire destruction on the Malibu coast and Pacific Palisades. Even though we’ve seen images of the aftermath of the fire numerous times on television, seeing the devastation in person was extremely impactful. Walking through the Palisades village (where we grew up) felt like what we would imagine touring a war zone would be like. Pictures of the scenes can’t adequately describe what it’s like in person. After the tour, my friends joined us at our campsite and we sat outside on the grass under the oak trees and enjoyed each other’s company nibbling cheese, crackers, and sipping cold drinks. While savoring the warm sunny spring day, we noticed a couple of campers having difficulty starting their tow vehicle. A couple of rangers came by to help them start it with their battery jumper, but after a half hour they gave up. I walked over and had a chance to use our Hulkman Smart Jumper Starter for the first time. Being able to deliver up to 2,000 amps peak current, this jumper can even jump 8.5L gas / 6.oL diesel engines! The Hulkman had their tow vehicle started in under a minute! The campers were extremely grateful and the rangers were super impressed!

We spent our second day in the campground and park. The Main hiking trail is up Crags Road, which follows the meandering Malibu Creek. The small Visitor Center is open on the weekends (we only looked in the windows) and features information on the area. We hiked up past the Visitor Center, through Ape City (where scenes from Planet of the Apes was filmed), and onto the M.A.S.H. set (a very popular television series which ran from 1972 to 1983 about a medical unit serving in the Korean War). The weather was perfect and the trails are beautiful. The Crags Road Trail up to the M.A.S.H. set is easy to moderate with only the last short section a bit challenging due to small rock fields (care is needed to prevent twisting ankles). The hike was about 6 miles round trip from the campground, with an 837 foot climb, and took about two hours.

We left Malibu Creek SP feeling refreshed and very satisfied of our visit. The experience felt like being in a very remote location even though it wasn’t too far from any city.

Crystal Cove State Park (Moro Campground)
We learned the street in front of our house was scheduled to be repaved the day we were supposed to arrive home. So, instead of having to deal with parking our Scamp 13’ on the street and leaving it sit overnight, we decided to extend our stay and chose this beautiful location in Laguna Beach to spend the night. Moro Campground (Crystal Cove SP) is usually booked solid year round, but we got lucky when a premium hookup campsite (#8) opened at the last minute on just the day we needed. The premium sites are pricey at $75/night + reservation fee, which comes out to about $83/night (Electric / Water). We normally don’t pay anywhere near this amount, but did want to try this campground as it has an excellent reputation and is in a beautiful area. The central dump here is free (and we were surprised the park has 3 dump stations for just 28 designated RV and trailer campsites!). The Verizon mobile service here was very fast during our stay.

The rangers at this campground are very strict on arrival time (we’ve only seen this strict adherence to the time once before – at Pismo Beach North Beach Campground) – check in is at 3 p.m., and if you show up any earlier (like we did), you are directed to park in one of the beach parking lots (we parked for free at Rock Ridge Beach parking lot and had lunch in our Scamp 13’ and then took a walk along the bluffs overlooking Crystal Cove SP). The campground itself isn’t particularly notable (though some of the front sites have ocean views) as it’s high up on a bluff away from the ocean and the sites themselves are close together.

The main draw of Crystal Cove SP are the beautiful beaches and bluff trails. There’s also the historic district along the beach featuring beach bungalows (which can be rented) built in the 1930’s. There’s a parking lot above the beach and one can either ride the free shuttle to the beach or walk down through a tunnel. One of the beach bungalows (#13) was featured in the 1988 movie “Beaches” with Bette Midler. The bungalows each have tags that have a number and the name of the bungalow. The Shake Shack restaurant sits up a flight of stairs from the beach. It’s usually crowded with tourists and locals forming lines to buy their popular milk shakes (they also serve hamburgers, fries, …). If one tires of the beach, there’s a free trolley which runs through downtown Laguna Beach (plenty of shops and eateries).

Conclusions
Sometimes a short trip can be configured to become a fun adventure. When no locations to stay at seem apparent, sometimes out of the box thinking can be rewarding. You may have a close friend or relative who can accommodate a night’s stay or there may be private alternatives for parking your camper. Exploring campground maps, like the one available on The Dyrt, can also provide ideas and alternatives for new campsites. In this trip, we probably wouldn’t have gone out of our way to stay in Los Angeles without the need to attend a friend’s birthday party. But, it forced us to keep an open mind and find options where none seem to exist and we ended up finding some hidden campground gems. So, throw away the box, and let your thinking carry you to new horizons!

Falling for Color in the Eastern Sierra October 13th – 20th 2024 (7 nights)

By: gavin

October 26, 2024

Falling for Color in the Eastern Sierra
October 13th – 20th 2024 (7 nights)

One of the most spectacular places in the country to see the annual fall leaf color change is in the high Sierra. Leaf peepers from all over the world come to the Sierra to feel the chill in the crisp fall air and observe the vivid colors which pop in yellows, oranges, and reds. October is usually the month to go, but the actual timing per location varies. One notable website tracks the color changes by offering onsite reports (the website published two feature articles about our adventure on their website during our trip). The first article was about our experience at Sabrina Lake — click here to see the article with our photographs. The second feature was on our visit to Lundy Lake Campground — click here to see this article with our photographs.

In order to get a good chance of seeing some fall color, we scheduled stops at various locations in the Eastern Sierra. Our leaf peeping locations included two sites in the Aspendell area (above Bishop at around 9,000 feet elevation–at Sabrina Lake Campground and Four Jeffrey Campground), a stop at Lundy Canyon Campground an hour north near Mono Lake (elevation 7,800 feet), and lastly a visit to Convict Lake Campground (7,500 feet) near Mammoth Lakes.

Many of the campgrounds are either closed or closing at the middle to end of October, so it’s very important to research which campgrounds are still open if planning a visit this time of year. Winter can bring extremely strong storms, including snow, and this area often becomes inaccessible after the first storm or two. And, it’s not uncommon for a surprise snow storm to hit even in early October when campers are still at the campgrounds so it’s important to pack accordingly (this happened to us at Lundy Canyon Campground)!

Come prepared with your propane tanks full (ideally two tanks) as the weather can get very cold at night. It was sunny and pleasant during our visit with temps in the high 60’s / low 70’s, but the evenings and mornings were cold (in the high teens and low 20’s)! We set our furnace to keep us warm at night and early mornings, and were very glad we were sleeping in our 2020 Scamp 13′ instead of a tent! We set a record on this trip by burning through an entire tank of propane in just six days!

Fuel stop tips: we discovered a few good low priced gas stations during our drives — 5 Points Petroluem (Adelanto, CA), Fort Independence Travel Plaza (Independence, CA), and Yuhubi Nobi Gas Station (Bishop, CA). Gas stations in Mammoth Lakes and Lee Vining (which we avoided) were significantly more expensive (around $2 more per gallon) than the service stations listed above.

Food stop tips: the Alabama Hills Café (can be crowded on weekends) for great American food (Lone Pine) and the Lemon Food Truck for great Mexican food (Independence) make good stops for nourishment and help break up the long drive into the Eastern Sierra. Glen’s Taqueria Food Truck (Independence) was also recommended to us, but we didn’t get a chance to try it.

Lake Sabrina Campground
This is a first come, first served campground with about 20 campsites. There is no cell phone service here, but they do have potable water spigots, trash cans, and vault toilets. Note: the Cardinal Village Resort down the road offers free Starlink WiFi service (good enough even for phone calls). We arrived at around 2:45 p.m. on a Sunday afternoon, figuring most people would have left the campground by the end of the weekend. However, when we arrived, we found only two sites available! Fortunately, the site we selected (campsite #20, $34/night) was not easy to spot, yet a very good one (we drove right by it on our first pass and the campground host showed us where it was)! Make sure to bring either cash or a check for the iron ranger box. The campground is very scenic and is situated along the Middle Fork Bishop Creek. The abundant aspens in the campground had already starting turning color, with popping yellows.

The trail at the end of the campground off of North Lake Road led us through some spectacular fall foliage in magnificent red, orange, and yellow leaves. We also drove up North Lake road to North Lake (a small lake popular for fishing) and enjoyed some stunning scenery of the fall color changes. Sabrina Lake is about a mile and a half up the road. There’s a trail that goes around the lake as well as a boat rental house. The high Sierra mountains pose magnificently in the background thousands of feet above the lake. One of the most popular activities here is fishing for trout, and even in October we saw a number of fishermen and fisherwomen. But, probably the most popular activity in this area was taking photos in front of the lake and several leaf peeping worthy backdrops.

Another trip highlight included testing out a new tech toy. We purchased a Starlink Mini for this particular trip and had ample opportunity to try it out at Lake Sabrina Campground. There is no phone service near here and it was nice to conduct some additional research of the area, stay up to date on the news/weather and emails, and contact friends and families via calls and texts when not hiking or exploring the area. The Mini is great because it is very compact (about the size of a laptop), the router and power supply are internal, and it uses low power (we can run it for hours on our Jackery 500). We are able to store it in the small closet cabinet we constructed in our 2020 Scamp 13′ along with our laptop and tablet. To set it up, just point it north and use the app to make fine adjustments. We found the speed to be very fast (over 100Mbps download and around 10 Mbps upload). We chose the roam plan which, at the time of this writing, is $50/month for 50GBs of data (additional GBs of data cost $1/GB). We only used 11GB of data during our entire eight day trip (including streaming a few news broadcasts from Sling). The plan can be paused (by the month) when not travelling. The upfront cost of the Starlink Mini hardware is currently $599.

Camp Four Jeffrey
Just about fifteen minutes down the road from Sabrina Lake Campground towards Bishop, Camp Four Jeffrey is off South Lake Road in the direction of South Lake. Camp Four Jeffrey is a larger campground (with only the first 30 campsites reservable during the time of our visit) and has potable water spigots and an RV dump station (with two dumps) — dumping is free if you are camping here. There’s no reliable cell phone signal, but signals come and go throughout the day and night in various locations throughout the campground. For a more reliable cell phone signal, there’s a utility access dirt road across the main road that climbs for about 1/2 mile and overlooks Forks Campground down below. We’ve found a reliable signal here on this as well as a past visit. (Link to previous report). Additionally, there’s a cell phone lot between Camp Four Jeffrey (although we didn’t try it) as well as the free Starlink service at the Cardinal Village Resort. Or, if you have Starlink yourself, it works great at the campground.

This is one of the most dramatically scenic campgrounds we’ve been to as it’s surrounded by high Sierra mountains (covered in snow most of the year, with very little snow visible this fall). Also, aspen trees grow throughout the campground, and were presenting full fall yellow popping color. There’s a creek that runs through the campground and many campers enjoy fishing here. We chose campsite #45 (not sure why we were able to reserve it since it’s not in the first thirty campsites and no other campsites were able to be reserved in this loop when we made reservations) because it sits high above all the other campsites and has dramatic views. Some of the water spigots at the entrance are threaded and we used one to fill up our Scamp 13’s fresh water tank on the way into and out of the campground. There are also unthreaded water spigots through the campground.

We spent a couple of days here and enjoyed hiking through the fall colors in the area as well as at Cardinal Village Resort. While staying here, we decided to go back up to the Sabrina Lake area (since it is only about 10 minutes away from Camp Four Jeffrey) and drove up North Lake drive to North Lake. We were rewarded with vibrant fall foliage at the lake. There were quite a few people wading into and fly fishing in the lake. After exploring, we enjoyed a satisfying burger lunch at the Cardinal Village Resort (they make pie daily here too).

Lundy Canyon Campground
After a couple of beautiful days at Camp Four Jeffrey, we made our way down the mountain to refuel in Bishop (Yuhubi Nobi Gas Station) and then drove north on Hwy 395 for an hour to Lundy Lake Campground (passing Mammoth Lakes and June Lake) . We heard the leaves were changing color here too. The campground is up Lundy Lakes Road just past the town of Lee Vining and Mono Lake. Cell phone coverage ends shortly after entering the canyon and climbing up towards Lundy Lake (Lundy Lake is about five minutes past the campground, with hiking trails).

Lundy Canyon Campground (7,660′ elevation) is primitive with rough roads and no amenities. There’s not even a camp host. Instead, once we found a campsite we liked (#10) at this first come first serve campground (36 campsites along a 0.8 mile long scenic bumpy road), we took our cash ($16/night) for our two night stay and deposited it in the iron ranger box which is located near campsite #20. Campsite #10 is surrounded by aspen trees that were bright yellow during our visit. Most of the campsites were empty while we were here midweek in mid-October. An evening rain storm made many campers leave as we were arriving, including a camper with a Scamp who left early fearing the Tioga Pass could get closed by snow.

After lunch, we drove around with the intention of checking out Lundy Lake, but the storm was fast approaching with fog and drizzle making hiking and taking pictures challenging. So, instead, we headed down the canyon road to Mono Lake to check out the Tufas! The Visitor’s Center was closed for the winter, but we briefly surveyed the gift shop which had a lot of books, t-shirts, and other souvenirs available for purchase. After our store visit, we drove to the South Tufas, which are incredibly otherworldly rock like figures which naturally inhabit the shores and waters of Mono Lake (a must see). Parking is either $3/person or free with an America the Beautiful Pass (which we displayed in our windshield).

Tufas are formed when calcium flows up from springs under the lake bottom and bonds to carbonates in the lake water, forming calcium carbonate (a type of limestone). The calcium carbonate builds up on itself over time, gradually forming a tufa tower. When the lake level drops, the exposed tufa stops growing. A visit to the South Tufas is a fantastic way to explore the scenery and observe the magnificent and fascinating tufas. There are paved paths and boardwalks which meander along the shore for at least a quarter of a mile. There is free dispersed camping in the area near the lake, but the bookstore was unable to provide a detailed camping map. Certain areas are off limits to camping, including the South Tufas and Navy Beach (where you can kayak), so further research is needed before planning a camping visit near the Tufas. There are a lot of trails in the area including Panum Crater, so lots to do for a fun few days. We hiked the rim of Panum Crater (entrance is one mile from the bumpy dirt road and driving speeds are less than 10 miles/hour). It was, however, worth the drive to see the stellar views of Mono Lake below. The crater was formed by a volcano that blew its top, leaving a ring around a crater and a plug (volcano top) in the middle.

A cold rain storm swept through at night. It was about 30 degrees around 7 a.m. in the Lundy Canyon Campground and our car was covered with slush. By 11 am the sky had cleared, it had warmed up to 60F, and we travelled up the road to Lundy Lake and took the Lundy Canyon trail hike. The road going up to the trail head was in disrepair with large holes and big deep puddles, so we parked right outside the Lundy Lake Resort (closed for the winter) and hiked up to the trailhead. We spent a couple of hours walking the road and then up the trail to the third lake and back to our car. The most scenic part of the hike was the lower part just above Lundy Lake Resort — there’s a pond and a fantastic view of a tall newly snow-capped mountain top.

On our last evening at Lundy Canyon Campground, the wind blew and we could only see white looking out our Scamp’s windows. We enjoyed a good movie with our furnace keeping us toasty inside our Scamp. The wind howled all night. The campground and mountains were blanketed with snow the next morning. The temperature was down to 19 degrees at 7 a.m.

We met a couple of ladies at the campground who encouraged us to drive 30 minutes further north to Bridgeport and walk the charming town with shops and especially the trading post (they had purchased some fine Navaho turquoise jewelry there which they were proudly wearing). They also recommended taking a soak at the Travertine or Benton Hot Springs in that area as well. We filed this information away for a future trip as we were just about to leave camp! Next: Reservations at Convict Lake Campground were awaiting us!

Convict Lake Campground
Convict Lake is beautiful location with dramatic mountains surrounding a pristine lake. The area has been featured in some commercials including Nature Valley and Delta Airlines as well as a number of movies including Star Trek: Insurrection (1998).

On the way up to Convict Lake, make sure to use the free RV dump station (if necessary). This RV dump station is not labeled and easy to miss (we drove right by it on the way up to the campground). The dump station is on the left just past the Convict Lake Resort (on the right side) and is notable for a number of orange metal posts. There are two dump stations (side by side) along with a separate area for potable fresh water (threaded hose).

Convict Lake Campground has views of dramatic mountains which tower over the lake. From the campground, it’s easy to walk to the lake and the Convict Lake Resort (which has a fine dining restaurant {$$$$} as well as a bar / lounge for simpler less expensive food). A number of the campsites here are first come first served which can make the campground look fully booked when trying to reserve a site online even though there may be first come first served spots available. We found that there were plenty of open campsites on the weekend and we selected campsite #7 ($37/night). Campsite #7 has good space around it and spectacular views of the mountains (the lake is slightly above the campground, so it’s not visible). There’s minimal to no cellphone service here (but free WiFi at the resort as well as an open sky for great Starlink). There are water spigots within the campground as well as bathrooms.

We had a great salad and pizza dinner at the Convict Lake Resort next door (the bar/lounge section). In the morning, we enjoyed taking the easy 2.5 mile hike around the lake (which took us about an hour). Convict Lake is about fifteen minutes away from Mammoth Lakes; so, it’s easy to spend time doing other fun things in Mammoth Lakes if one has extra time or wants to try some different eateries, ride bikes and/or do some shopping (see our June trip report for more information on Mammoth Lakes).

Since it’s a long drive back home from Convict Lake (about eight hours with stops), we decided to split the trip in half and spend the night at either Fossil Falls Campground (BLM, $6/night) or Red Rock Canyon State Park Campground. We first tried Fossil Falls (which we have stayed at in the past) on a late Saturday afternoon, but it was full (there are only a limited number of campsites that suitably accommodate RVs – sites 4, 5, 6, & 8). The dirt rocky roads at Fossil Falls were in much worse shape than when we previously visited, so we would no longer recommend a stay here. Instead, we continued on about an hour further south to Red Rock Canyon State Park campground. It’s a beautiful desert campground with towering red rock cliffs. Many of the campsites are at the base of the cliffs. The campground was almost full when we arrive late Saturday afternoon, but we did find a nice pull-though spot (#24 / $25/night)! More information on both of these campgrounds can be found on our previous trip report here. We are really glad we broke up the trip home as it made the drive much easier. We left Red Rock Canyon SP early on Sunday morning (5:30 a.m.) and were home for breakfast (9:30 a.m.) and with plenty of time to wash our Scamp 13′, Volvo XC40, and do our laundry!

This trip was remarkable in many ways. There’s something special about travelling off season in the fall with crisp mountain air and beautiful fall colors. We were very fortunate in that the leaf color change was peaking at most of the locations we chose. The fall colors were so dramatic during our visit that it was inspiring. And, experiencing a surprise snowstorm at night and waking up with snow covering the ground was awesome! We also learned about new locations which we may explore next July when travelling to Lake Tahoe (these locations include Mono Lake dispersed camping, Bridgeport, the Travertine hot springs, and Bodie Ghost Town). We expanded our communications options to include satellite (with our new Starlink Mini) and will never look back. Each of the locations on this trip had very limited or no cellphone reception and we greatly appreciated the ability to connect when off grid for an hour two each day (including the additional safety having communications provides). Lastly, getting up in the Sierra mountains brings a form of serenity which is hard to achieve anywhere else. The remote location, natural beauty, and fresh air reinvigorate the soul. John Muir described this feeling well in his quote: “Climb the mountains and get their good tidings. Nature’s peace will flow into you as sunshine flows into trees. The winds will blow their own freshness into you and the storms their energy, while cares will drop off like autumn leaves.”