Spring Camping in Bishop
You’re getting the itch to go camping in the Eastern Sierra, but unless you’re the hardy winter camping sort it’s a little too early to head up into the high country. Perhaps you bought some new gear recently or you need to dust off the old stuff and get things prepped for the summer.
Spring in Bishop is a wonderful time to get back into the camping groove.
Pack up your RV, hookup your trailer, or toss your tent in your car and head to Bishop. Bring the kids, dogs, bicycles, and all your outdoor gear and be our guest in our big backyard.
There are plenty of campgrounds that offer a delightful range from full hookups to semi-primitive. Campsites are spacious with stunning views. Night skies are spectacular. Many are within walking distance of public lands where fishing, hiking, cycling and more can be enjoyed by the whole family.
Spring is delightfully unpredictable in the Eastern Sierra. Make sure to check weather reports and road conditions here, and confirm campground availability through the links provided for each campground below.
Downtown Bishop is no more than a 20‑minute drive from any of the campgrounds listed here. Forgot something? You’ll find it here. This welcoming, walkable town offers a delightful mix of lodging, dining, shopping, and entertainment.
Brown’s Town Campground
Brown’s Town is a fun resort-style campground located one mile south of Bishop on Highway 395. Open from March 1 to November 30, it boasts 150 grassy, shaded campsites for tents and RVs, clean restrooms with hot showers, a coin-op laundry, electricity and water at selected sites, and dump station.
The country store and café serves hot and cold sandwiches, old-fashioned ice cream, homemade pies, fine candies, souvenirs, camping supplies and fishing tackle. Stroll the old west replica Main Street displaying antiques from old Bishop. A short walk next door gets you to Bishop Country Club where you can enjoy 18 holes of golf or a meal on the restaurant patio.
Millpond Campground
Six miles north of Bishop on Sawmill Road is Millpond Campground. Situated in the Millpond Recreation Area it offers full-service camping amenities in a park-like setting. Features include tennis courts, ball field, horseshoe pit, disc golf, kids’ playground, and a large fishing pond with accessible fishing pier. It’s the perfect place for a family to unwind and let loose.
Hiking and mountain biking trails run right by the campground and will take you out across the sagebrush or up into the Tungsten Hills. In spring the snowcapped peaks of the Sierra Nevada shine brightly on a moonlit night and the gentle burble of a nearby creek fills the quiet night with a liquid melody.
Keough’s Campground
Keough’s Campground has 10 water and electric sites and several dry camping sites nestled among mature trees with most on well-maintained grass. Located alongside Keough’s Hot Springs, campers receive discounted admission to the natural hot springs pool. Accessible facilities include hot showers, gift and camping supplies shop, and snack bar.
The hot springs and campground are 8.4‑miles south of Bishop just off US-395.
Easy access to trails for hiking, trail running, and mountain biking, and good paved roads for road biking makes this a great spot for high altitude spring training.
Benton Hot Springs
Imagine…your own private, natural, spring-fed hot tub at your campsite! Imagine no more. You can have it at Benton Hot Springs.
This historic resort has seven rooms at the Inn, a historic miner’s cabin, four houses with private hot tubs, and 13 private tub sites for overnight camping. The hot tubs are fed by natural hot spring water and camping sites have a picnic table, fire pit and grill. No hookups or dump station are provided.
This beautiful and tranquil resort is in the historic town of Benton, one of the oldest existing towns in Mono County, just 38‑miles north of Bishop on Highway 6.
Explore the old mining town, go for a hike or mountain bike ride in the surrounding hills, or ride a road bike on the lightly trafficked local roads. It’s sublime.
Pleasant Valley
Pleasant Valley Campground is a gorgeous gem just 6‑miles northwest of Bishop on quiet stretch of road along the Owens River adjacent to Pleasant Valley Reservoir.
Open year round on a first-come-first-served basis the automated pay stations accept credit cards and cash. This spacious 75 site campground has several vault toilets, each site has a table, grill, and fire ring. Site number 75 is group site that can accommodate up to 10 vehicles and 36 persons.
It’s a prime location fishing in the river and reservoir. Tracks and trails for hiking and biking are numerous and. World-class bouldering is just a few miles east along Chalk Bluff road where several canyons and washes cut down from the Sherwin Plateau.
An extensive network of over 2,200 miles of OHV trails and roads leading though almost one million acres of the Inyo National Forest can be accessed from here. Excellent maps have been produced by the California Trail Users Coalition and are available free of charge at many of the trailheads and at the Bishop Information Center.
Horton Creek
The towering peaks of the Sierra Nevada are the backdrop by day, and the shimmering Milky Way and sparkling night sky are the canopy by night. Horton Creek campground, just 12‑miles from town, feels wonderfully remote.
It’s open from May 1 to October 30 on a first-come-first-served basis. Amenities include vault toilets, campfire rings, tables, and lantern holders. There are no hookups, but potable water is available. A dump station is available for use for a nominal fee.
The nearby Tungsten Hills are great place for hiking and exploration. It’s a favorite place for rock hounding and crystals of red garnet can still be found here. Birdsong heralds the start of spring as large populations of breeding songbirds nest along the willow-lined stream. Spring brings the desert peach into bloom with its pink blossoms and jasmine-like scent and the bitterbrush presents its yellow color and spicy perfume giving soft color and sweet fragrance to this arid landscape. Herds of mule deer, which have wintered in the foothills to feed on the tender shoots of the bitterbrush and sagebrush, may wander nearby as they make their way back up to the higher elevations.
Bitterbrush Campground
Bitterbrush Campground is situated along the banks of Bishop Creek in Bishop Creek Canyon. At 12.4‑miles from town on CA-168 W. (W. Line St.) it is the lowest, and closest to town, of 12 excellent campgrounds maintained by the US Forest Service. Read about them all here.
It’s open for camping year-round as it’s frequently below the snow line or has only light snow coverage in winter. A camping fee is charged from April to October on a first-come-first-served basis. The vault toilets and drinking water are available in season. Winter camping from November to March is free and campers are required to be self-sufficient and pack out what you pack in.
Big Trees
A little further and higher up Bishop Creek Canyon, Big Trees Campground may still have snow on the ground and it could still cold overnight when it opens in spring. Spring is always unpredictable in the Eastern Sierra and the higher you go the more you may be subjected to rapidly changing conditions. Big Trees is located 14.5‑miles from Bishop on CA-168 W (W. Line St.) in Bishop Creek Canyon.
Named for the very large Jeffery pines that grow here this campground gets you up into the sub-alpine zone and into bear habitat. It’s a popular campground with some sites in the cool shade and others in open sunlight. It offers 16 campsites, drinking water, trash service, one flush toilet and one vault toilet.
Spring could deliver the opportunity for cross country skiing, snowshoeing, or perfect hiking and trail-running conditions for avid adventurers. It could bring warm spring days and starry, starry nights for a quiet, nature-filled weekend.
Pleasant Valley Pit
Located 8‑miles west of Bishop off Pleasant Valley Dam Rd. Pleasant Valley Pit Campground has a commanding view of the Sierra Nevada and Owens Valley. It is large, boasting 75 sites, and inexpensive at $5 per night. Each site has a picnic table, lantern holder, and fire pit and the campground has vault toilets. It has no hookups, drinking water, or dump station; and there is no tree cover.
It’s a popular campground for its proximity to Bishop’s world-class climbing areas. RVs larger than 30-feet are not recommended.
Tri-County Fair & Event Center Campground
Camp in town! Grab a first-come, first-served camp spot at the Tri-County Fair & Event Center with a gorgeous view of the Sierra Nevada. Enjoy the convenience of walking to restaurants, coffee shops and even the grocery store.
Choose from spaces with full or partial hookups all with access to clean bathrooms, hot showers, and free WiFi. It’s pet friendly and horses and livestock are welcome. Boxes and open stalls available to rent.
Know Before You Go
Fire safety is vitally important. Be sure to check fire rules and restrictions wherever you go. Review our Responsible Recreation page here.
This US Forest Service interactive online map is an excellent tool for road and trail identification describing route designation, length, surface type, status, jurisdiction, and accessibility. It is a wonderful resource for planning a camping, hiking, cycling, or off-road driving trip.
Check out our camping page here for more about camping in our big backyard.
We Can Help
Call us (760) 873-8405 or come into the Bishop Information Center at 690 N. Main St. and let our friendly, knowledgeable staff help you make informed decisions for the best camping experience.
Written by:
Gigi de Jong
Gigi is “crazy mad in love with Bishop.” Since moving here in 2006 she has made it her mission to participate in as many of the outdoor activities as possible. She learned to snowboard, improved upon her very average climbing skills, took long hikes, has driven up and down innumerable mountain roads and 4x4 tracks, cycled and occasionally tumbled down mountain bike trails, taken to the roads on a bicycle or motorcycle – sometimes for fun and sometimes to commute, and successfully completed her first attempt at a triathlon. She spent 10 months touring the western US and Canada on a bicycle and after 4,000 plus miles returned to Bishop – for the beauty of the place and the spirit of the community. “My soul belongs here,” she says.
