Inyo National Forest
Dispersed camping is generally allowed
On national forest and grassland, camping outside developed campgrounds is generally permitted unless an area is posted closed or a local order says otherwise. Stay on existing surfaces, camp away from water and trailheads, and check the forest's current orders before you go — fire restrictions change through the season.
Rules change with fire season and local order. Checked 2026-08-05. Confirm on the managing office’s official page
- Area
- 3,277 sq mi
- Managed by
- Forest Service
- Campgrounds
- 80
- Longest rig
- 60 ft
Where the land is, and what fits
The official Forest Service boundary with every campground we hold inside it. Tell it how long your rig is and the map keeps only what takes it — public land rarely matches the shape people picture, and neither does what you can actually get into.
Official unit boundary · USDA Forest Service · 80 campgrounds shown
- Aerie Crag Picnic Area and CampgroundFirst-come, first-served
- Agnew Meadows CampgroundFirst-come, first-served
- Aspen CampgroundReservations accepted
- Aspen Group CampgroundReservations accepted
- Big Bend CampgroundFirst-come, first-served
- Big Meadow CampgroundReservations accepted
- Big Pine Canyon Group- Clyde & Palisade GlacierReservations accepted
- Big Pine Creek Campgroundto 45 ft · 30 sites · Pull-throughReservations accepted
- Big Trees CampgroundReservations accepted
- Bishop Park Campground... · Reservations accepted
- Bishop Park Group Campgroundto 22 ft · 1 sitesReservations accepted
- Bitterbrush CampgroundReservations accepted
- Cedar Flat Group CampsReservations accepted
- Coldwater CampgroundReservations accepted
- Convict Lake Campgroundto 55 ft · 48 sites · Pull-through · Bear boxesReservations accepted
- Cottonwood Lakes Walk in CampgroundReservations accepted
- Cottonwood Pass Walk in CampgroundReservations accepted
- Crowley Lake CampgroundSeason not published
- Crowley Lake CampgroundSeason not published
- East Fork CampgroundFirst-come, first-served
- Ellery Lake CampgroundReservations accepted
- Forks Campground... · Reservations accepted
- Four Jeffrey Campgroundto 40 ft · 106 sites · Pull-throughReservations accepted
- French Camp Campgroundto 35 ft · 84 sitesReservations accepted
- Glass Creek CampgroundSeason not published
- Grandview CampgroundReservations accepted
- Gull Lake Campground11 sitesReservations accepted
- Hartley Springs CampgroundSeason not published
- Holiday CampgroundReservations accepted
- Horseshoe Meadow Equestrian CampReservations accepted
- Intake 2 CampgroundReservations accepted
- Iris Meadow CampgroundReservations accepted
- Junction CampgroundReservations accepted
- June Lake Campgroundto 60 ft · 28 sites · Bear boxesReservations accepted
- Kennedy Meadows CampgroundSeason not published
- Lake George CampgroundNot Reservable, Register at Campground. OPERATED BY: RRM-CLM Services, DBA Inyo Recreation, 11811 N Tatum Blvd, Phoenix,
- Lake Mary Campgroundto 21 ft · 48 sites · Bear boxesReservations accepted
- Lone Pine Campgroundto 50 ft · 28 sites · Pull-throughReservations accepted
- Lower Grays Meadow CampgroundReservations accepted
- Lower Lee Vining CampgroundFirst-come, first-served
- McGee Creek Campgroundto 35 ft · 28 sites · Pull-throughReservations accepted
- Minaret Falls CampgroundNot Reservable, Register at Campground. OPERATED BY: RRM-CLM Services, DBA Inyo Recreation, 11811 N Tatum Blvd, Phoenix,
- Moraine CampgroundFirst-come, first-served
- Mosquito Flat Backpacker CampgroundSeason not published
- Mountain Glen CampgroundReservations accepted
- Mt. Whitney Trailhead CampgroundReservations accepted
- New Shady Rest Campgroundto 41 ft · 94 sites · Bear boxesReservations accepted
- North Lake CampgroundReservations accepted
- Obsidian Flat Group CampgroundMid May - September · Reservations accepted
- Oh! Ridge Campgroundto 50 ft · 143 sites · Bear boxesReservations accepted
- Old Shady Rest Campgroundto 58 ft · 45 sites · Bear boxesReservations accepted
- Onion Valley Campgroundto 25 ft · 30 sitesFirst-come, first-served
- Palisade Group CampMay · Reservations accepted
- Pine City CampgroundNot Reservable, Register at Campground. OPERATED BY: RRM-CLM Services, DBA Inyo Recreation, 11811 N Tatum Blvd, Phoenix,
- Pine Glen Group CampgroundReservations accepted
- Pine Grove CampgroundMay · Reservations accepted
- Pumice Flat CampgroundNot Reservable, Register at Campground. OPERATED BY: RRM-CLM Services, DBA Inyo Recreation, 11811 N Tatum Blvd, Phoenix,
- Pumice Flat Group CampgroundReservations accepted
- Reds Meadow CampgroundFirst-come, first-served
- Reversed Creek Campgroundto 45 ft · 16 sites · Pull-throughReservations accepted
- Rock Creek Lake CampgroundReservations accepted
- Rock Creek Lake Group CampgroundReservations accepted
- Sabrina CampgroundReservations accepted
- Saddlebag Lake CampgroundReservations accepted
- Saddlebag Lake Trailhead Group CampgroundReservations accepted
- Sage Flat CampgroundSeason not published
- Sawmill Walk-in CampgroundReservations accepted
- Sherwin Creek Campgroundto 60 ft · 85 sites · Pull-through · Bear boxesReservations accepted
- Silver Lake CampgroundReservations accepted
- Table Mountain Group CampgroundReservations accepted
- Tioga Lake CampgroundReservations accepted
- Tuff Campgroundto 45 ft · 34 sitesReservations accepted
- Twin Lakes Campgroundto 55 ft · 94 sites · Pull-through · Bear boxesReservations accepted
- Upper Grays Meadow CampgroundReservations accepted
- Upper Pine Grove CampgroundReservations accepted
- Upper Sage CampgroundReservations accepted
- Upper Soda Springs CampgroundNot Reservable, Register at Campground. OPERATED BY: RRM-CLM Services, DBA Inyo Recreation, 11811 N Tatum Blvd, Phoenix,
- Whitney Portal Campgroundto 35 ft · 47 sitesReservations accepted
- Whitney Portal Group CampgroundReservations accepted
- Willow CampgroundReservations accepted
Inyo National Forest
Inyo National Forest is a United States National Forest covering parts of the eastern Sierra Nevada of California and the White Mountains of California and Nevada. The forest hosts several superlatives, including Mount Whitney, the highest point in the contiguous United States; Boundary Peak, the highest point in Nevada; and the Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest, which protects the oldest living trees in the world. The forest, encompassing much of the Owens Valley, was established by Theodore Roosevelt as a way of sectioning off land to accommodate the Los Angeles Aqueduct project in 1907, making the Inyo National Forest one of the least wooded forests in the U.S. National Forest system.
Extract from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA. Agency description not published.
No vehicles past these lines
Designated wilderness is closed to every wheeled vehicle, including bicycles. You can walk in and camp; you cannot drive or park a rig inside one.
- Golden Trout Wilderness305,395 acres
- White Mountains Wilderness230,672 acres
- Inyo Mountains Wilderness74,133 acres
- Owens River Headwaters Wilderness14,698 acres
- Boundary Peak Wilderness10,467 acres
Byways through this country
Places worth pulling over
National parks close enough to pair
Drive to Inyo the long way
Byway plans the road in, not just the destination — real places along the way, weighted to what you like, with nothing invented.