Aspen trees for miles…read more I always make a point to stop here just to witness the Aspens changing color, a breathtaking transformation that typically peaks in late October. It's absolutely worth the short detour. Located approximately 20 mins from Yosemite's entrance at Tioga Pass. These golden groves are located just before the entrance to the campground. While I'm not much of a camper myself, I did stroll through the site to get a feel for it just incase I ever change and become a camper. It's serene, quiet, and beautifully nestled alongside Lee Vining Creek. The area is shaded by trees and offers amenities like restrooms and picnic tables. If camping is your thing, I recommend checking out their website for more details. Even if you're not into camping, catching the Aspens in their autumn glory should be on your list if you're in the area between late October and early November.

I'm very hesitant to review this campground, because we wanted to keep this special Eastern Sierra…read moreNevada hideaway all to ourselves. We arrived on a Friday afternoon without a reservation, and began to mildly panic one we learned most of the sites had already been taken. Luckily we came across some super friendly Aspen Campground regulars, who invited us to share their double site which just happened to be situated in a prime spot right next to the beautifully bustling river - SCORE! The Big draw to Aspen is hands down the fishing. It just so happened that right before we arrived the local hatchery dropped a load of fresh trouts, ready to be hooked! This was my first time fishing, and I was able to catch (and Cook) my very first fish! If you like to fish and you like to camp, going to Aspen is a no brainer. The trees are also large and plentiful, so if you come, don't forget to pack your hammock!

We were able to get a site same day. The park is beautiful. We woke up to mountains dusted with…read moresnow. The facilities; bathrooms and showers were clean but dated. The owners were very pleasant and helpful.

Nice place for an unplanned stop. If you come in after hours they have a board that lists available…read moresites. NOTE - they ONLY take cash or check. No cash apps, no credit card. That alone may turn you away. Our site was near the entrance with water and electricity hook ups. The grounds are simple, lots of trees to keep shady, though the trees are an obstruction for any satellite connections you may use. The sites are small, and a little tight. There are public restrooms that are spacious and clean. We didn't use the public showers. Overall a good place to stay - recommend an interior site as the park is off the main road, our site near the entrance had a lot of traffic noise.

Mono Lake wasn't originally part of our trip, but we decided to stop, and I'm really glad we did :)…read moreI came here as a child but coming back with my own family and friends was awesome. We checked out the Discovery Center with the kids first, then headed down to the lake. It's such a cool place to see in person. The lake is super salty, so you can actually float, which my husband and the kids thought was so much fun! I wasn't brave enough to get in One thing to know before you go, there are tons of tiny brine shrimp in the water, so don't be surprised! They're harmless, just part of the lake's ecosystem but when they got out there were tons in their pockets The tufa towers are really unique and make the whole place feel unlike anywhere else. It's definitely worth walking around and taking in the views and beautiful for photos. If you're driving through the area or anywhere nearby, I'd definitely recommend making a stop. It's a really neat place to see, especially if you've never been before!

As part of our quest to visit all 63 U.S. national parks, we set off on a six week road trip. I…read morehave a personal rule: I only count a national park as "visited" if I actually spend time there, hike or walk through it, and truly experience it. While Mono Lake is not a national park, it became one of the most memorable stops of our journey. On our way from Lassen Volcanic National Park to Death Valley, we made a stop at Mono Lake, which happened to be right at the doorstep of Yosemite National Park. It was the perfect opportunity to explore this incredible area, and we were also able to spend a few hours visiting Yosemite along the way. Wow. Mono Lake was a place unlike anywhere else we had visited. The first impression is simple: it looks like another planet. Mono Lake is a very unique landscape, with its ancient waters and strange limestone formations called tufa towers rising from the shoreline. These formations look almost like sculptures created by nature, and walking among them feels like stepping into a different world. The combination of the lake, the white tufa towers, the mountains in the background, and the changing light creates an almost surreal experience. For me, this visit had an extra special meaning. My favorite album of all time is Wish You Were Here by Pink Floyd, and Mono Lake appears on the inside cover of the album. Seeing this place in person was a wonderful and unexpected gift. It felt like visiting a landscape that had been part of my imagination for decades. We spent time walking around the lake, taking in the silence, the unusual scenery, and the incredible contrast between the desert-like surroundings and the dramatic Sierra Nevada mountains in the distance. Mono Lake may not be a national park, but it absolutely deserves a stop. It is strange, beautiful, peaceful, and unforgettable. Sometimes the places that stay with you the longest are not necessarily the biggest or the most famous, but the ones that make you stop and say, "Wow, I have never seen anything like this before."

A 5 star worthy hike! To get to the trailhead, drive all the way to end of Lundy Lake. There,…read moreyou'll see a small dirt road. Take that all the way to the parking lot at the end. The actual beginning of the trailhead begins just up from the outhouse. After a short distance, you'll come to a fork. You can go straight (which I recommend) and after a 30 second walk you'll reach what I dubbed as, "Lundy Pond". You'll get a commanding 360 view from the beach. Hard to beat. When you're finished taking in the view, head back to the fork and take the main trail that leads to Lundy Canyon. This isn't a difficult hike as some would have you believe. As long as you're in decent shape and have just a bit of hiking experience, you'll do fine. I've seen everyone from small children to elderly folks on this trail. Be sure to take this trail all the way to the Cascades. It was simply gorgeous and worth the extra effort. All told, I did about 6 miles round trip. Highly recommended.

Visited 10/10/21 and WOW! If you want a nice, peaceful hike this is a great spot. It's not as well…read moreknown as Mammoth, Rock Creek, Little Lakes valley, etc, so you won't have to deal with crowds, but it's still a beautiful hike that's just 5 miles off the 395. The road starts off paved and becomes dirt. Some parts look intimidating but it's very do-able in a 2WD sedan as long as it hasn't had heavy rains or snow. I have a 2WD SUV and made it just fine....just drive slow as there are rocks and dips. The fall colors are amazing here!

We didn't see 20 lakes in the basin but enjoying nine peaceful mountain lakes during a single day…read morehike was darn fabulous. Located outside the eastern entrance to Yosemite National Park, 2.5 miles of dirt road is crossed to reach the trailhead at the closed Saddlebag Lake Resort at 10087 Saddlebag Lake Road. As a former resort, the location has lots of parking but since the closed buildings meant no running water and an outhouse toilet. The often-closed Tioga Road (aka Hwy 120) must be open to get to Saddlebag. For a longer and harder hike, the basin loop can be reached by going up Lundy Canyon located north of Lee Vining and might be an alternative starting point if Tioga is closed. The loop can begin by heading left across the dam, but we went right around eastern side of Saddlebag Lake - the largest and only man-made lake of the hike. The western side is rocky talus while the eastern trail around Saddlebag Lake is longer but has a more comfortable walking surface that was preferred by people fishing in the lake. The remaining lakes appear at regular half-mile intervals with each having their own flavor. The first set of lakes were small and serene Hummingbird Lake, deep and eerie Odell Lake, and classically graceful Lake Helen. We then took a worthwhile and brief side trip down to Lundy Canyon to the cascading Lundy Canyon Falls. We resumed on the loop to see our favorite Shamrock Lake with multiple little peninsulas poking into the lake which was followed by narrow inlet-like Excelsior Lake, cliff-sided Steelhead Lake below the Sphinx-ish Shepherd Crest, unremarkable Wasco Lake, and meadowy Greenstone Lake before returning along the opposite side of Saddlebag Lake. Maps showed two trails between Steelhead and Wasco Lakes. The western trail is incomplete but also led to the best geology with bold green layered rocks. Our hike was 9.3 miles to circle around nine lakes and one waterfall. The elevation varied from 9,900' to 10,400'. Never steep, the terrain rolled up and down which felt like a 1000' elevation change hike. The paths were mostly exposed with few trees. Located in a true basin, the lakes were surrounded by peaks and ridges. Icy snow pockets that survived the summer ensured water flow through the creeks and lakes.

Hiked this as an overnight backpacking trip with 2 friends in late July, it was the most beautiful…read moreamazing hike I've done and seen in a very long time. Drove up from San Diego the night before and tried to get a camping spot at ~7K feet altitude to get adjusted but all the campsites were full, so ended up camping overnight at disbursed camping down the road (still up at altitude, just no facilities and no fires allowed). Woke up in the morning and made a quick stop at Whoa Nellie Deli to use the bathroom, fill up on water etc. And then drove the very rocky road up to the trailhead. I have a Subaru Impreza, all wheel drive but not a lot of lift, so it was doable, but would have definitely felt better in an SUV, although I also saw a Prius in the parking lot so any car can make it I guess. Parked in the parking lot, there are bear boxes there to leave everything from your car that you're not bringing with you on your backs (also bring a bear canister if you're doing overnight!). Then we headed out. We hiked around the north side of Saddlebag lake, which was beautiful, and a little more crowded as a lot of day hikers just hike that lake. We then took the turn off to the right to head up to the rest of the lakes. On day 1 we did about 6 1/2 miles. We kept passing beautiful lake after beautiful lake. There was a point where we were hiking down a pretty steep climb and it started hailing on us! I was relieved we were hiking down at that point and not up with our packs on. I'd recommend having alltrails map downloaded as there are literally no trail markers, there would have been really know what to know which way to go without it. So we kept hiking and climbing, up and down, around more and more lakes. And then we setup camp for the night around Greenstone Lake. Night 1 was Friday night and was very quiet, no other over-nighters around. Night 2 was a Saturday, and it got a bit more crowded. Nothing too crazy, but there were definitely others in sight and ear-shot. We setup for 2 nights, and then did a day hike the next morning up to Conness Lake which was actually possibly the most beautiful lake I've ever seen in my entire life. I even went swimming in the freezing water! On our last day we woke up in the morning, packed up, and hiked out the remaining 3ish miles back around the bottom of Saddlebag Lake.

Many thanks to AIC for making our first experience in RV'ing a great one!!! The RV was dropped off…read moreon our site before we arrived and was very clean and had all the necessary comforts of home. It rained the first day of our trip so we were thrilled that we had the RV to hunker down in until it subsided. All my thanks to the AIC staff that helped make these first time RVer's into repeat customers!!!

Fantastic experience. Totally worth it over renting a camper and driving it in. Driver did a…read moregreat job setting it up and pointing out the features. Some tips for renters: 1) We used most of the clean water just washing dishes. 2 nights and no showers and we just about ran out of water. Don't wash dishes. 2) Bring a mattress pad unless you like sleeping on basically a wooden board with a 4 inch foam that compresses to an uncomfortable hardness.

Some of these camps are open as of August 2024. Vogelsang and Merced are closed but May Lake,…read moreSunrise and Glen Aulin are open. I gather there was a fair bit of storm damage in 2023 hence some are still closed. May Lake and Glen Aulin have a shower and toilets. One or two toilets for women; one or two for men. Only one shower for women and one for me. No flushing for #1. Meals are multi course and delicious. Breakfast and dinner are included in the High Sierra Camp rate. Breakfast included oatmeal and tea or coffee plus pancakes or coffee cake and eggs and sausage. One day even featured frittata! Dinners had soup and fresh homemade bread and then meat, grain and veggies. One night was a miso soup, steak stir fry on rice; another was veggie soup, chicken on quinoa with green beans. Bagged lunches were extra and fairly plain: sandwich, piece of fruit and packaged cookie or nuts. The cabins have four beds each with a pillow and three wool blankets per bed. That seems like a lot but last weekend it snowed at 8000 feet. Just saying. A lantern was included and some wood to make a fire in the wood stove. We set off the smoke detector. Ideally, you carry a daypack with a change of shoes, clothes, first aid kit and a sleeping bag and plenty of water. Less ideally, you take all that plus stuff your kids won't carry and that includes stuffed animals. Not cheap. Although you may think you are backpacking, having a mattress and homemade bread makes it much more like home. Don't underestimate some of these hikes. Glen Aulin to May Lake is steep and not for the faint of heart. Even Glen Aulin back to Tuolumne Meadows was not easy. Staff works hard to make this relaxing and fun.

3 of the camps are reopened this year. Trip Report: July 21-25, 2026. I was finally able to do this…read moretrip after 7 years of waiting. It was great, and I look forward to doing it again in a few years since I was told by one of the managers that Vogelsang and Merced may reopen after all, as initial estimates for fixing water issues may have been way off! There are still some kinks they are working out this year, mostly to do with food supplies (some meal repeats and getting creative with menus), but it didn't really diminish the experience in any way, and no one went hungry. For this year at least, there are no camp stores and bagged lunches are included. So that information was wrong. It was explained to me that Aramark is simplifying things this year. Bedding and accommodations were comfortable. Temps were in the mid 70's during the day and mid-high 40s at night, and I was fine with just the provided comforter, wool blanket, and my bag liner. We did not feel the need to use the wood stove. Bathroom and washing facilities are in good working order with hot showers at Sunrise and cold showers at May Lake. Glen Aulin and May Lake have flush toilets. Sunrise has modern composting toilets. Tea was available almost all the time. We did spend the first night at Tuolumne Meadows Lodge, and that was "fine". The food there was very good and included if you booked as part of your loop. And we had no issues with bugs or insects. Didn't see a single mosquito. The Trip: We indicated flexibility in our booking request and went clockwise with Sunrise as our first stop via the Cathedral Lakes/JMT. This was our 2nd favorite hike in (with nice vistas, meadows, and stops at Cathedral Lakes). Sunrise was my favorite HSC setup and had the best food. I felt Sunrise felt more like a backcountry experience. The hike from Sunrise to May Lake is less interesting with the exception of passing by Sunrise Lakes and a welcoming swim in Tenaya Lake. The setting of May Lake HSC was nice next to the lake, except it definitely felt less like you were in the backcountry with so many day hikers and the backpacking campsite so close. The first few miles of hike down from May Lake to Glen Aulin was beautiful with high vistas but very sun exposed. The rest was through forest. Glen Aulin HSC is right next to the GA waterfalls. After checking in, we hiked down to Waterwheel Falls. This is a must-do if you still have daylight and energy after arrival; even going down a mile or 2 is worth it. We found some nice pools to cool off in for the hot hike back up. The hike out from GA to Tuolumne Meadows was my favorite hike with beautiful meadow views, waterfalls, and hiking next to the river.T