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Facilities

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Signs & Maps

Established Camping

Grandview Campground

23 Reviews

About

National Forest

Inyo National Forest

Grandview Campground is nestled in low hills covered with Pinyon and Juniper. A large open area in the middle of the campground gives a truly grand view of the night sky. The combination of 8,600 foot elevation and no intrusive city lights make this a popular site for star gazers and astronomy groups. Campers are asked to minimize their use of generators and lights so everyone in camp can enjoy a peaceful night of stargazing. Grandview is also the nearest campground to the Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest, just 5 miles to Schulman Grove. The campground has 23 sites spaced on two loop roads. Most sites are flat and sandy with ample shade. Each site has a table, fire ring, and parking for one or two vehicles. Firewood sources are limited. Do not collect wood from live or standing trees.

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Location

Grandview Campground is located in California

Directions

From Big Pine go east on Highway 168 approximately 12 miles. Turn left on White Mountain Road and drive 5 miles. The campground will be on your left. Highway 168 is very narrow and steep.

Coordinates

37.33351917 N
118.187267 W

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Access

Drive-In
Park next to your site
Walk-In
Park in a lot, walk to your site.

Stay Connected

WiFi
Unknown
Verizon
Unknown
AT&T
Unknown
T-Mobile
Unknown

Site Types

Tent Sites
RV Sites
Standard (Tent/RV)
Group

Features

For Campers

ADA Access
Trash
Picnic Table
Toilets
Alcohol
Pets
Fires

For information regarding reservations, contact this campground directly.

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Contact

General Info

Trl G.

Traveler

Reviewed Mar. 15, 2024

Quiet, beautiful White Mtn skies

I pulled in here for a quick overnight stay and ended up staying 3 nights. It was so quiet and folks in other spots were quiet as well. It got busy on a Saturday night with folks coming in but but majority of them left the next morning early and the camp got almost empty again. Clean restrooms, bring your own water (none there) camps are private and you are pretty well hidden by pinions. It does get breezy up there and the pinions make for good wind break.

This campground is a minimal noise site and is noted around camp. The skies at night are amazing! Not too far from main trails of the White Pine Bristlecone forest. Lots of other places to explore.

No cell service, pack out your own trash (no bins), no water spigots (bring your own) there was no fee when I was there but may have changed. Ranger drives through once a day, pretty nice folk they are. Chat with them and they can give ya the heads up and places to adventure to in the area.

Siteend of camp near the old mine trail head.

Month of VisitOctober

Beth M.

Guide

Reviewed Oct. 6, 2023

Near Glory

This campsite sits below one of the most magical places, the Ancient Bristlecone Forest. On the way up, there is an awesome vista where you can watch the sunrise in the South Sierra. There is a good Verizon cell signal there and an even better one at the pullout just past the vista point. Both are flat and have good parking. There's endless dispersed camping on the road.

SiteRoadside

Month of VisitNovember

James N.

Ranger

Reviewed Jun. 15, 2023

Beautiful place to camp among the trees!

Nice campsites on either side of a small "meadow" (for lack of a better word). Peaceful, clean, nice tables, fire ring.

Would stay here again and again.

Month of VisitJuly

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Laura M.

Legend

Reviewed Oct. 1, 2022

Good For Tents, Vans, and Adventurous RVs

Great campground. No fee, but they request a $10 donation. Zero cell reception in this entire area. Vault toilets at campground, and you pack out your trash to the dumpsters off of Hwy 168.

We made it up here in our 26ft RV fine. Note that there are few/no places to pull over to let people pass along hwy 168, so I was glad traffic was very light for us. The road up is winding and narrow and steep, but all paved and doable in an RV.

None of the sites at this campground were level. The sites are in a big loop and they are sloped slightly downward towards the center of the loop.

Nice hiking trails in the area, and it's very quiet and peaceful. We were there midweek and there were only a couple of other campers but it started to get busy by Thu.

Overall a nice place to go to get away from the heat at lower elevation and to visit the cool bristlecone forest. The visitor center was nice and had several interesting hiking trails.

Site18

Month of VisitNovember

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Cliff

Guide

Reviewed Jun. 12, 2022

Plenty of room and quiet

Claimed a spot early in the day on our way to the Bristle Cone Schuler Grove.

Campground pretty basic, essentially a place to camp that does include outhouse (seems like only 1 was open), tables, and a fire pit.

Quiet, not crowded, clear skies and lots of stars.

High elevation. One of 4 nights in a row for us where we camped between 8500 and 10000 ft.

Month of VisitJuly

Shane C.

Traveler

Reviewed Jun. 6, 2022

Beautiful and quiet

Really lovely spot. Bring all you need - this is leave no trace camping. No water or garbage service. Great base camp for White Mountain adventures!

Site16

Month of VisitJuly

Kiley S.

Guide

Reviewed Jul. 18, 2021

Perfect Stop Between Vegas & Reno

Perfect midway stop for us on a drive from Vegas to Reno. Nothing for miles… so quiet, picturesque and serene. $10 in the Ranger box at the front. Decent amount of first-come, first-serve sites but I think we snagged the very last one (on a Wednesday evening in June). The sunset was breathtaking and we really enjoyed riding our bikes on the service roads around the campground. Fire rings and picnic tables at each site. We slung up the hammock and fell asleep under the INSANE stars. Like the angels kicked over multiple bottles of glitter. AH! In the morning, we loved checking out the bristlecones and looking over the ridge at the dry lake in the distance. Spacious sites- enough that even with every site occupied it was still an incredibly quiet and peaceful night. Vault toilets, no sink.

Site3

Month of VisitJuly

Greg B.

Ranger

Reviewed May. 16, 2021

There are NOT enough stars for this review......

I was cruising up 395, wanting to see the Ancient Bristlecone Pines, but really thought they were still gonna be snow-bound. In Big Pine, I saw it was OPEN...so up I went. As a motorcycle traveler, 168 is some serious fun, but watch out for the 'tar-snakes'. I arrived at this dry-camp, set up camp, then continued up the road to the Schulman Grove. Absolutely Amazing. And the little gem is that there is cell service at the magnificent vista point. Back in camp, however, wonderful off-grid solitude. The magic happened after dinner, while walking around the little vale, enjoying a cigar, I met a member to the White Mountain Astronomy Club. With him was a 18" reflecting telescope. I was invited back and saw amazing celestial objects (Leo Trio, several Messier galaxies & Ring Nebula)

Site18

Month of VisitJune

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Darcy M.

Guide

Reviewed Aug. 12, 2020

Closed

Closed, looks permanently

M W.

Guide

Reviewed Oct. 30, 2019

Quiet, great for stargazing.

Basic forest service campground. Pit toilets, fire rings. Trees for shade. Good site separation. Open all year.

Month of VisitOctober

Anthony S.

Scout

Reviewed Oct. 11, 2019

Quiet and Serene

This campground is on the way up to The Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest and White Mountain. It is nestled back in a quiet little enclave that is easy to drive past if you are not looking.

It's quiet and peaceful here. And it is about 8,000 above sea level. So, in the summer, it gets hot in the day and cooler at night.

There aren't many amenities here. Just some stone toilets, but, no showers , and not places to purchase food, or water.

Take what you need with you. Enjoy the serenity and the beautiful nighttime sky. Without all of the " light pollution", you can see the stars and wonder at the universe around you.

Month of VisitSeptember

Amy and Alan R.

Guide

Reviewed Sep. 7, 2019

Awesomely quite!

Up in the mountains, between the Death Valley and Lone Pine. We spent five days here in June and loved it. The campgrounds consist of two loops, one being much smaller than the other. Moderately treed with scrub brush. Many sites can hold multiple vehicles and or tents, there are picnic tables , fire rings (bring your own wood, locally sourced please), and pit toilets. No water available so bring your own. Gorgeous night skies for star watching. Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest is close by or take a drive down to the old mining area, but I would suggest a four wheel drive, mountain bike or good hiking shoes drive for this. Wild flowers abound on the drive up here when we came in June of this year. Definitely the place to be if you want little traffic and plenty of space between sites.

Month of VisitJuly

Anthony S.

Traveler

Reviewed Aug. 28, 2019

Alpine Scenery and Quiet Surroundings

We spent a few nights and days here while getting acclimated to decreased oxygen content at higher altitudes. We were getting ready to make our "assault" hike on White Mountain Peak. The scenery is beautiful and the campground was very quiet. There are not many amenities here, no showers or running water. But, bring a solar shower bag, your own water and enjoy the peace and quiet.

But, remember, you will be at approximately 8000 feet above sea level and the air is thinner up here. Plan your activities accordingly.

Month of VisitSeptember

Aura C.

Scout

Reviewed Jul. 28, 2019

It’s a different world.

This campsite has amazing views. It was clean beautiful sights well maintained. Bring water because there is no running water anywhere. You are a short drive to the ancient Bristlecone pine Fores. Great place to go if you want to see the oldest living thing on the planet. The trees are magical out of this world. The hike is easy but the high altitud is what gets you. Take your time.

Susan V.

Ranger

Reviewed May. 29, 2019

Away from it all, near some of the oldest trees on Earth

This campground is on the way to the Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest in the Inyo National Forest. (While the elevation is high compared to the valley, it can still be quite warm in the summer. And bear in mind that the Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest itself doesn't open for the season until the snow melts.) While these are the White Mountains, it's more desert-y chaparral and brush than what you think of with a pine forest.

Sites here are mostly pretty private, with some shade and separation from the brushy vegetation. This is a dry camp, so you have to haul in all of your water. There are pit toilets. It's about a 45-minute to one-hour drive to Big Pine, the closest town for supplies.

Month of VisitAugust

Wutang P.

Guide

Reviewed Dec. 8, 2018

Methuselah mission

Nice and quiet campsites at over 8,000 ft elevation. Worth the drive up some windy roads to wake up close to the ancient bristle cone forest.

DeAnna G.

Scout

Reviewed Nov. 14, 2018

The best for off season.

This is our favorite campground to escape to in the off season. We are usually completely alone. And it’s close to home.

Month of VisitDecember

Anthony S.

Traveler

Reviewed Oct. 31, 2018

Nice, Quiet, Beautiful

Bring water, solar showers or lots of baby wipes. There is no water or showers on site. Campfires are allowed. Relatively small campground, get there early, then go exploring. Bring insect repellent, lots of flies live here.

Very quiet site, well laid out , on the road to White Mountain Peak and the Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest. Definitely visit the Forest and hike the Methusala op Trail.

Month of VisitSeptember

Anthony S.

Traveler

Reviewed Oct. 31, 2018

Nicely Laid Out and QUIET

We stayed here before hiking up White Mountain Peak, past the weather research station.
Even at 8000 feet,asl, it was hot during the day and cooler at night. Beautiful scenery, but the flies were terrible. The restrooms were clean and well maintained, so that was not an issue. No showers, though.
Mostly, it was quiet and relaxing. Well worth the drive up here.

Month of VisitSeptember

Colleen C.

Scout

Reviewed Sep. 7, 2018

A quiet night among the stars

Excellent campground and basically your best option if visiting the bristlecone pines and wanting to stay overnight. Grandview has about a dozen sites, spread about in a big circle. The whole campground is dry, so bring your water! You'll get a great view of the stars and could acclimate to the elevation.

We got a great spot early. In the middle of summer, I recommend setting up your spot before visiting the pines. There were lots of shrubs for shade, but even at about 9000 ft it was still hot. For some reason we also had a lot of flies. Everyone was quiet all night and the stars were gorgeous.

Month of VisitJuly

Valerie D.

Guide

Reviewed Aug. 17, 2018

Amazingly Dark Night Sky*

Awesome campground located outside of the bristlecone pine forest visitor center. Plenty of stars and fresh air. Nice campground with gravel road. Getting to this spot was a series of ribbons of roads and somewhat challenging in a 25"rv. Well worth the effort this campground offers great views and plenty of trails to discover old mine equipment and history. Breathtaking views.

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Lindsay C.

Guide

Reviewed Aug. 18, 2017

I came to see the old trees.

This is your basic campsite. It's only open when there's not snow on the ground. I live at sea level so I don't sleep wonderfully at this kind of altitude, but that isn't the fault of the campground. It's quiet and on a clear night you can see a bazillion stars.

You have to do the Methuselah hike. It's short and there's not a lot of elevation gain but I did it on the first day at altitude so it was more challenging than expected. We were fine, but we passed a lot of complainers. It's worth listening to the ranger's talks at 11 and 2pm.

Month of VisitAugust

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Krista R.

Guide

Reviewed Aug. 25, 2016

Beautiful part of the world

With amazing views of the Sierra Nevadas, and lots of exploration potential in the Inyos, this is a wonderfully situated campground. The campground itself is nice, with your standard vault toilet, and great sites! There are lots of trees for shelter, which is handy as it did get a little windy.

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