Boondocking/Dispersed camping recommendations for California area

[mtedelen]

Areas I am most interested in are as far South as Sequoia National Forest, Inyo National Forest, Stanislaus National Forest, Mammoth, Sierra's, etc....I think mountains, lakes, streams, etc where I can do some real boondocking.

[mtedelen]

Areas I am most interested in are as far South as Sequoia National Forest, Inyo National Forest, Stanislaus National Forest, Mammoth, Sierra's, etc....I think mountains, lakes, streams, etc where I can do some real boondocking. Any recommendations will be appreciated..... I had originally posted this in the campground section but not a single hit so maybe better luck in the Boondocking category.

[nunyadamn]

Try -https://freecampsites.net/

[DanNJanice]

Boondocking/Dispersed camping is allowed on most national forests and most BLM land. There may be guidelines regarding "where" this is allowed so you need to check with the local ranger if you are concerned about it.
In general don't get too close to streams and pick sites that are/have been used previously. Do not go out and bushwhack a new campsite in the wilderness.
On the east side of the Sierras there are good places in the Lone Pine area all the way up to Bridgeport.
Our general plan is to start with google maps and survey the area, you would be surprised how much you can find that way. When we have a general area in mind, we stay the first night (usually) in a paid campground. We go out and examine the areas we are interested in without the trailer. Once we find a good spot we go back, hook up the trailer, fill the tanks, dump with waste tanks and go to the site.

[mtedelen]

Originally Posted by nunyadamn

Try -https://freecampsites.net/

I like the website, thanks for the tip!!

[mtedelen]

Originally Posted by DanNJanice

Boondocking/Dispersed camping is allowed on most national forests and most BLM land. There may be guidelines regarding "where" this is allowed so you need to check with the local ranger if you are concerned about it.
In general don't get too close to streams and pick sites that are/have been used previously. Do not go out and bushwhack a new campsite in the wilderness.
On the east side of the Sierras there are good places in the Lone Pine area all the way up to Bridgeport.
Our general plan is to start with google maps and survey the area, you would be surprised how much you can find that way. When we have a general area in mind, we stay the first night (usually) in a paid campground. We go out and examine the areas we are interested in without the trailer. Once we find a good spot we go back, hook up the trailer, fill the tanks, dump with waste tanks and go to the site.

That's great advice, thank you!! I'll have to check out Lone Pine area, as I have heard good things about it.

[northwindone]

Originally Posted by mtedelen

Areas I am most interested in are as far South as Sequoia National Forest, Inyo National Forest, Stanislaus National Forest, Mammoth, Sierra's, etc....I think mountains, lakes, streams, etc where I can do some real boondocking.

Older thread, but we are interested in the same areas, especially between Lonepine and Bishop. We have attempted to boondock in the Alabama Hills, but after getting the trailer setup in a perfect spot between some rocks overlooking the valley we got chased out by a swarm of bees and ended up back at a pay campground that night (Diaz Lake). We probably would have just gone inside and waited for them to disperse, but it was hot and my wife is allergic.

Diaz is actually a perfect base camp we've found for exploring, no hookups and only water, but it is only $5/night and it is almost empty outside summer when we use it.

Originally Posted by nunyadamn

Try -https://freecampsites.net/

I'll have to look into this site.

[mtedelen]

Originally Posted by northwindone

Older thread, but we are interested in the same areas, especially between Lonepine and Bishop. We have attempted to boondock in the Alabama Hills, but after getting the trailer setup in a perfect spot between some rocks overlooking the valley we got chased out by a swarm of bees and ended up back at a pay campground that night (Diaz Lake). We probably would have just gone inside and waited for them to disperse, but it was hot and my wife is allergic.

Diaz is actually a perfect base camp we've found for exploring, no hookups and only water, but it is only $5/night and it is almost empty outside summer when we use it.



I'll have to look into this site.

Diaz lake looks nice, i'll have to add that none to my list!!

[northwindone]

This was taken at Diaz in the fall (November 2014 I think) and there was no one within a couple hundred feet on each side of us.



We had one neighbor pull in 2 sites down at 6 or 7 in the evening and they were gone at 6 am the next morning. We have been there in late fall and late winter/early spring and never had anyone next to us. We have however driven past in the summer and it is very full. But by then it is in the 90s and we head further north up to the Mono Lake, or June Lake area.

[Ela1948]

Taboose Creek campground is a county dry camping campground that we love. Near Independence off of US 395 in the Owens valley.

[jackofall]

From this week in Alabama hills.

[Ela1948]

[QUOTE=jackofall;388879]From this week in Alabama hills.[/QU

Sweet!!!

[mtedelen]

Originally Posted by jackofall

From this week in Alabama hills.

Love the photos, will definitely have to check that place out. I think it's about a 5 hour drive from where we are in Reno. Love the drive down old 395!!!

[northwindone]

Originally Posted by jackofall

From this week in Alabama hills.

Looks like you found a great site! We are planning on being at Tuttle Creek this coming weekend. Will probably scout out some more sites out at Alabama hills though for next time.


Not looking forward to the construction on Whitney Portal road though, hopefully it isn't backed up too bad enough to affect traffic to Tuttle Creek or Alabama Hills.

[mtedelen]

Originally Posted by jackofall

From this week in Alabama hills.

Not dispersed camping but because your down that way you might have an answer. What's the best route for getting a trailer into Yosemite?

[jackofall]

Originally Posted by northwindone

Looks like you found a great site! We are planning on being at Tuttle Creek this coming weekend. Will probably scout out some more sites out at Alabama hills though for next time.


Not looking forward to the construction on Whitney Portal road though, hopefully it isn't backed up too bad enough to affect traffic to Tuttle Creek or Alabama Hills.

Hey, we're in Ridgecrest too! We may be up there this weekend again too. lol Traffic wasn't an issue at all. The first bridge was single lane with stop signs or a flag man depending on time. Other than that no issues between the turn off for Tuttle or Movie Rd at this time. We dump at Tuttle before heading home.

[jackofall]

Originally Posted by mtedelen

Not dispersed camping but because your down that way you might have an answer. What's the best route for getting a trailer into Yosemite?

I've never pulled a trailer into Yosemite as I don't care for the crowds. However, I can't remember there being any real issues getting a trailer in on 120 out of Lee vining (the only way in from the east side). Most direct to the valley would be 140 from the west if I recall correctly.

Here's a link to some tips/restrictions.

Vehicle Restrictions - Yosemite National Park (U.S. National Park Service)

[northwindone]

Originally Posted by jackofall

Hey, we're in Ridgecrest too! We may be up there this weekend again too. lol Traffic wasn't an issue at all. The first bridge was single lane with stop signs or a flag man depending on time. Other than that no issues between the turn off for Tuttle or Movie Rd at this time. We dump at Tuttle before heading home.

Is the dump station actually open and $5 as it states on the site?

We were up there for Veteran's day 2014 and they had 2/3 of the campground closed as well as the dump station for some big cleanup project. The first loop was open but was completely full and we weren't the only rig that drove up and had to make a U-turn and head back out. I was very mad since there was no mention of it on the site! We ended up going to Diaz and that was how we discovered it. It was our first trip with a TT, so I wasn't happy doing all that driving around.

Hopefully our first trip with this new-to-us trailer will go a bit smoother. The one thing I love about RC is how close to the mountains we are and the fact we can camp pretty much year round here!

[jackofall]

Originally Posted by northwindone

Is the dump station actually open and $5 as it states on the site?

We were up there for Veteran's day 2014 and they had 2/3 of the campground closed as well as the dump station for some big cleanup project. The first loop was open but was completely full and we weren't the only rig that drove up and had to make a U-turn and head back out. I was very mad since there was no mention of it on the site! We ended up going to Diaz and that was how we discovered it. It was our first trip with a TT, so I wasn't happy doing all that driving around.

Hopefully our first trip with this new-to-us trailer will go a bit smoother. The one thing I love about RC is how close to the mountains we are and the fact we can camp pretty much year round here!

The dump was open and $5. Both loops were open.
The rv park across from Diaz also will allow you to pull into a site and dump for $10.