Description

Tent dweller? RV devotee? Whatever you are, there's a spot for you at Whitney Portal Family Campground. It's located 13 miles from the town of Lone Pine off of Whitney Portal Road.

Whitney Portal Campground has 43 single campsites. Some may be reserved in advance, but others are only yours on a first-come, first-served basis. They make sure you're stocked up with the goods, providing firewood, fire grates, piped water, and restrooms.

When you're done roasting those marshmallows at the end of the night, store your fixins in the provided bear box. The area is known to have a high level of bear activity, so make sure Smokey knows he's not invited.

Campsite area
Tent or RV sites
29 sites
Up to 15 guests per site
Up to 6 vehicles
No wheelchair access
Essentials
Campfires allowed
Toilet available
Pets allowed
Amenities
Potable water available
Picnic table available

Activities

Offered near the campground.

Biking

There are single tracks and dirt roads here, offering something for bikers of all levels. The easy trails include a 1.2 mile lo...Read more

Boating

Sabrina Lake has a boat launch, rentals, marina and tackle shop, and there are no fees! Ideal for summertime fishing. The...Read more

Fishing

Did we mention there are over 400 lakes and 1,000 miles of rivers and streams? No? Well, you can imagine how great the fishing ...Read more

Hiking

There are so many trails here! You can explore the breathtaking mountains, see the hundreds of lakes and never run into another...Read more

Horseback riding

There are a good number of horse campgrounds to stay at, as well as pack stations that will give you all of the info you need, ...Read more

Paddling

Many of the lakes allow non-motorized boating, which means kayakers, canoers, and other small paddling boats are welcome out in...Read more

Off-roading (OHV)

There’s an expansive network of routes for off-road vehicles to explore: spanning 2,000 miles, you can drive up into the mounta...Read more

Climbing

Mountain climbers and boulderers will find enough ground to play on. Mammoth Lakes has some moderate climbs, with great names l...Read more

Snow sports

Thanks to the abundant snowfall, cross country skiers have plenty to explore, especially in the Mammoth Lakes area. Gorp offers...Read more

Swimming

June Lake has a swimming beach to suit all your swimming needs, and there is a solid number of campgrounds that offer swimming ...Read more

Wildlife watching

The Inyo forest is home to black bears, mountain lions, mule deer, pine marten, pika, coyotes, raccoons, bobcats, martens, foxe...Read more

Terrain

Natural features you'll find at Whitney Portal Family Campground.

Beach
Desert
Forest
Hot spring
Lake
River, stream, or...
Waterfall
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19 Reviews

750
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Drop some Whitney Portal Family Campground knowledge on us.
Hipcamper Will
Will B.
didn't provide a recommendation.
October 15th, 2023

Great place to camp before hiking whitney

Hipcamper Jake
Jake O.
recommends this listing.
August 31st, 2017

You don't have to be summiting Mt. Whitney to enjoy this spot! But since you're here.....

Hipcamper Brenda
Brenda N.
didn't provide a recommendation.
August 6th, 2017

Area is absolutely beautiful. Drive is easy, just 10 minutes off the 395 North. Campsites are all full of trees, lots of shade. You can hear the rush of Whitney creek even when you're not right next to it. We stayed in the first site you come to as you drive into the campgrund--site 42. It was a Wed. in August and no one was in the sites around us. Even with use of bear box and keeping food within arms reach, bear came within 2-3 feet of my friend and took our food. Bear would not be scared away even with yelling and rocks being thrown. We went to find campground host, and the sign on the door said: Don't knock for bears. I can do nothing. In the morning, had conversation with host and he said bear encounters were happening every day.

Hipcamper Jeremy
Jeremy F.
didn't provide a recommendation.
March 1st, 2017

We were able to grab a site right next to the creek, which actually makes for a lot of "white" noise at night, but was nice during the day. There are trout in the creek, which is cool to see. We did not see any bears, but were told by the camp host that a mother and two cubs came through during the night. So it is important to keep all food and toiletries in the bear box.

Hipcamper Alex
Alex F.
didn't provide a recommendation.
October 24th, 2016

Stayed here at site #7 in mid-October. The site was well laid out with plenty of space for two or three tents plus a bench and fire pit. It is also a drive up site so unpacking was easy. We had a few close neighbors but were also situated nearby to the stream which was pleasant to have throughout the night.
The site itself is at 8K+ feet and gets quite cold at night - especially in October. Come prepared as we did not see any rangers there.

Hipcamper Terra
Terra C.
didn't provide a recommendation.
January 4th, 2016

camped here in mid-October. It is a great campground, quiet, spacious spots. We stayed in #11, close to spigot & bathrooms. I would warn against trying to arrive in the dark, the road is narrow and numbers hard to see. We didn't get the chance to eat at the Whitney Café, but kept hearing good things. Also if they don't have what you need, just remember its about a 25 min drive back to town. We weren't here to conquer the summit, just to get our hike on. Made Lone Pine lake our destination, beautiful colors since the season was changing

Hipcamper Grace
Grace D.
didn't provide a recommendation.
August 21st, 2015

A pristine campground with a neighborly but not necessarily nosy camper population. We had site 33, across from the spigot and vault toilets. The one downside of this campsite is its direct proximity to an RV space and our little bit of paradise next to the babbling creek was compromised by multiple turnovers of RV campers. Saw no bears but we keep a clean site. The campground hosts were sweet, the maintenance folks were exemplary in keeping the entire facility, most especially the vault toilets, hygienic and litter free. Go up to the Whitney Portal Cafe for burgers and bigger-than-your-head pancakes!

Hipcamper Paulina
Paulina D.
didn't provide a recommendation.
April 22nd, 2015

Reserve a site off the main section of camp for more seclusion and closer access to the creek. Lots of bears here so make sure all your stuff is packed away.

Hipcamper Paul E.
recommends this listing.
September 27th, 2018
Hipcamper Dan L.
recommends this listing.
July 14th, 2018
Hipcamper Monica M.
recommends this listing.
May 15th, 2018
Hipcamper Aaron S.
recommends this listing.
December 20th, 2017
Hipcamper Joshua G.
recommends this listing.
October 16th, 2017
Hipcamper Laura B.
recommends this listing.
September 22nd, 2017
Hipcamper Brenda N.
doesn't recommend this listing.
August 6th, 2017
Hipcamper Luis B.
recommends this listing.
August 3rd, 2017
Hipcamper Ed G.
recommends this listing.
July 26th, 2017
Hipcamper Adam B.
recommends this listing.
May 10th, 2017
Hipcamper Jeremy F.
recommends this listing.
March 1st, 2017
Park
Inyo National Forest
State
California
Country
United States
Phone Number
760-937-6070
Directions
View on Google Maps
Official Website
View Website
Coordinates
36.59° N, 118.23° W
Unknown price
Tent Only - Hike In: 1 Site
(Up to 6 people per site)
Unknown price
Tent Only: 12 Sites
(Up to 6 people per site)
Unknown price
Tent / RV / Trailer - Group: 3 Sites
(Up to 15 people per site)
Unknown price
Tent / RV / Trailer: 13 Sites
(Up to 6 people per site)