Government Campgrounds

Government parks, which include State and National Parks, Bureau of Land Management, State and National Forests, etc, have the advantage of being located in the most scenic areas in the country. However, the quality and price can vary greatly. And some can also be quite crowded, especially in peak season. Despite this, most of these parks are treasures, and we’re grateful to have them. We especially enjoy the dispersed camping areas run by the Bureau of Land Management as well as campgrounds built by the Corps of Engineers.

Below are government campgrounds we’ve stayed in most recently.

Eastern Sierra Tri-County Fairgrounds - Bishop CA

RATING: ♦♦

Dates: Apr 24, 2019 – Apr 26, 2019
Length of stay: 2 nights.
Cost per night: $35.
Discount: None.
Hookups: 50 amp electric, water, sewer.
Site number/quality: #7.
Park Quality: This is just a parking lot with hookups. Sites are narrow and short. Definitely overpriced. However, the town of Bishop is very nice.
Access: Directly off US-395 in the center of Bishop.
Connectivity: Verizon-OK, AT&T-Poor, T-Mobile-Varied.
Return yes/no?: No.
Notes: We had planned on boondocking at Independence Creek, which is an Inyo County park. However, the sites were unsuitable for a rig our size, even though the website said otherwise. So we drove to Bishop and stayed at the fairgrounds until we could find someplace more suitable.
Website: Eastern Sierra Tri-County Fairgrounds

Alabama Hills (BLM) - Lone Pine CA

RATING: ♦♦♦♦♦

Dates: Apr 14, 2019 – Apr 21, 2019
Length of stay: 7 nights.
Cost per night: Free.
Discount: N/A.
Hookups: None.
Site number/quality: This is dispersed camping. Sites are simply wherever there is a place to park off the road. Each site is unique, and the number of places to camp are countless. Some sites are much better than others, and it can take a while to find one that’s suitable. We spent an hour finding ours, which turned out to be a nice level site on a slight rise next to the main dirt road. It had great views, plenty of space, and good cell service. The only negative was occasional vehicle dust and noise.
Park Quality: The Alabama Hills Recreation Area is a great place to boondock. It is located in the the high desert among endless rock features, including the famous Mobius Arch. The park is on the eastern side of the Sierra Nevada, up against Mount Whitney. There are 30,000 acres with three designated campgrounds, along with open-desert dispersed camping throughout. We like the dispersed camping, even though there are no amenities: no water, no trash, no pavement, and no facilities whatsoever. This also means there are no fees.
Access: Our dispersed camping site was along Movie Rd, so named because of the many movies that have been filmed here. It is a wide, fairly smooth, dirt road with a network of side roads branching off. These side roads were initially cut by the movie companies to access the hills with their film equipment. Visitors can now use these same roads to access fantastic camping sites. Some are suitable for big rigs, and some aren’t. Movie Road runs off Whitney Portal Rd, which runs between Mt Whitney and US-395 in the center of Lone Pine.
Connectivity: Cell service is hit or miss, depending on what rocky hills block the signal. One of the reasons we choose our particular site is that we were able to get a good signal from AT&T. Verizon and T-Mobile were non-existent at our site, even though they were both strong in town.
Return yes/no?: Sure hope so.
Notes: While here, we visited the Lone Pine Film History Museum, which documents the long film history in the area. Over 400 movies and TV shows, mostly Westerns, were shot here. This history is reflected in the place names. Our camping area was in Roy Rogers Flats, and our main view overlooked Lone Ranger Canyon. We streamed a couple of episodes of Hopalong Cassidy and recognized several locations. Also portions of Star Wars and Ironman were filmed here.
Website: Alabama Hills

Sawtooth Canyon (BLM) - Lucerne Valley CA

RATING: ♦♦♦♦♦

Dates: Apr 5, 2019 – Apr 10, 2019
Length of stay: 5 nights
Cost per night: Free.
Discount: N/A
Hookups: None.
Site number/quality: There are 12 semi-developed numbered sites with shaded tables and grills, plus a number of unmarked primitive sites with just fire rings. The campground does not take reservations, first come – first served. When we arrived, all the numbered sites had been taken, so we stayed in one of the primitive sites. But it was very nice, tucked away in a rocky hollow. By Sunday, half the spots were empty, and by Tuesday, we were all by ourselves.
Park Quality: This is a first rate boondocking site on BLM land. The sites are well marked, either with covered tables or with stone fire rings. There are lots of interesting hiking trails that run up into the rocky hills which surround the camping area. Becky climbed a few, while I watched from our site below.
Access: The campground is off CA-247, about 15 miles south of Barstow. The camping area is at the end of a mile-long dirt road. Before we attempted to take the rig down the dirt road, we parked it just off the highway, and took the car in to check it out. It was rough and washboarded, but manageable as long as we drove slowly, about 5 mph. We got in without issues.
Connectivity: AT&T was not available, but T-Mobile was usually OK, especially when sitting outside.
Return yes/no?: Absolutely. This is the kind of place that makes boondocking worth the effort. Quiet, relaxing, and beautiful.
Notes: At the far end of the campground is an area known as New Jack City, which is very popular with rock climbers. On the weekend, it was packed with climbers. So a group of three men and the two women came over to our site and started climbing on the rock wall next to us. We sat out under our awning, and enjoyed the show. They were amazing.
Website: Sawtooth Canyon Campground (BLM)