CONVICT LAKE CAMPGROUND
Inyo National Forest, CAConvict Lake Campground delivers lake access and mountain scenery at 7,600 feet in the eastern Sierra, with 85 sites serving as base camp for fishing, hiking, and exploring John Muir Wilderness. The setting balances convenience—flush toilets, drinking water, nearby resort amenities—with legitimate Sierra Nevada backdrop where Convict Creek runs through camp and the 167-acre lake sits 100 yards away.
Campground Details
- 🏕️Total Sites
- 85
- 💵Fee per Night
- $35
- 📋Reservations
- Reservation Required
- 🏔️Elevation
- 7,600 ft
- 📍GPS
- 37.59889, -118.85083
- 🐾Pets Allowed
- Yes
- 📞Phone
- 760-924-5771
- 🗺️Address
- CA
Amenities
The Camp
Sites cluster fairly close together in this well-organized facility, with a few lucky spots overlooking the lake and others positioned a short walk from shore. Tall aspens and cottonwoods line Convict Creek as it flows through camp, while shrubs and low vegetation fill the spaces between sites. The dramatic mountain scenery provides the real draw—you're camping in the shadow of peaks that define the eastern Sierra.
Bear lockers come standard, a necessity given the wildlife traffic that includes black bears, mountain lions, and mule deer. The campground offers both reservable and first-come, first-served sites, plus on-site firewood sales when you don't feel like scrounging.
What to Know
Reservations are required, and given the location between Mammoth Lakes and Bishop near Mammoth Airport, this place sees steady traffic. The nearby Convict Lake Resort adds a store, restaurant, boat rentals, and pack station just down the road—convenient for supplies or a meal you didn't have to cook over a camp stove.
Nearby
The 3.5-mile Lake Trail starts right from the campground, offering immediate hiking access. Convict Lake allows boats with electric motors up to six horsepower, making it workable for anglers targeting rainbow and brown trout in both the lake and creek.
John Muir Wilderness stretches for 100 miles along the Sierra crest from here, providing extensive trail networks for hiking, mountain biking, and horseback riding into glacially-carved terrain and high country that defines this range.