Inyo National Forest — Attraction in Bishop

The worst camp ground experience i have ever had and that says a lot. I have been camping twice a month for 35 years . I arrived and went to see the camp host to get some fire wood he said (very rudely) its my day off! he did sell me some wood but kept saying under his breath what a jerk i was for bugging him. that night the bears tried 9 times to get in my jeep , i had to move it closer to my camp off the pavement so i could wake up and chase bears off ,i put all my food in the bear box but the top was off my jeep and the bears smelled my kids fast food sent on the seats, still in my parking area but closer to my tent. I was rudely awakened at 6am with the camp host yelling that their will be no four wheeling in his campground and i must be on pavement (i woke up every 30 min. all night to save my jeep) i tried to explain why and again he rudely interrupted me and said he will call sheriff and have it towed in 1 hour. i moved the jeep and decided to go to breakfast a left my dogs 2 tied up on a stringer at my camp to run off bears while i ate. 1 hour later i arrived back to find the camp host's wife who started yelling at me and my kids( 5yrs and 10yrs old) you can't leave dogs at camp unattended. you now have 2 strikes against you and we will find a third soon, and you think my husband is mean well I'm 10 times worst (she was right) that night we had to move to group camping area with our family who had arrived 18 of us total, soon the camp host arrived and started telling everyone about me and my kids having been wrecking the forest with our jeep and dogs. my wife interrupted him and said sir you are taking about my husband and kids, he did not know i had moved to the group he was addressing. the next morning i again was rudely awakened at 7 am you need to move that jeep off the shoulder to the overflow parking area , i said we are leaving now and he said its about time. as we were leaving we decided to stop off at our old site to get a titanium pot we had left behind the next thing we new their was 2 work carts blocking us in and both the host were yelling that we dumped trash in the cleaned fire ring and they called the sheriff and we could not leave all in front of my kids. I asked them to move out of they way and let us leave, we did not put any trash in the vacant spot and they refused. I said its unlawful to hold us here against our will and its kidnapping ,the host wife left in one of the carts to go to the top of the hill and call sheriff. Then he husband said I'm moving and you can leave after i take a photo of you and your jeep plate. We left on our way down the mountain we saw 2 sheriffs headed up to the campground 2 hours later while we were in a small town called Independence 2 sheriffs stopped us to ask what happened in Mt. Whitney campground we told him this story and he said he was sorry that the camp host seemed crazy to them as well and we should file a complaint. it all seemed like a horror movie to us 1. a crazy camp ground host getting ready to lock you up in the wood shed in the middle of nowhere 2. bears trying to drag you from your tent all night.3. a small town sheriff coming to take your car and belongings 3. all you really needed to complete the script was a chainsaw welding forest helper. The campground itself and the other people that worked their were nice and the sheriff. it was the campground host's that ruined our trip, and my kids won't forget their foul language and hostel attitude. all my family will be calling the forest campground headquarters too and hopefully someone will get rid off these nasty people. ...

Camping at 7,000 feet in the Cedar Flats Group Camping you have very dark skies to see the countless stars and for us the Perseid meteor shower in August as well as the Milky Way. All of this especially after the moon had set and we were left with dark moonless skies. It is possible to take pictures with a tripod and a modern digital camera, of the Milky Way. The restrooms at the campsites are vault toilets and vent well, so they are surprisingly not stinky. The trees are spread out and this not a dense forest covered with trees. There are lots of open spaces with fine dust dirt and small shrubs covering the grounds where trees are not growing. It is generally a very quiet remote location to get away from busy City Life since it is high and away from homes, buildings and street lights. Further at 10,000 feet is the Schulman Grove Visitor Center where you can read and learn from the docent about the Bristlecone Pines studies from the past. This Center is named for Dr. Edmund Schumann who began exploring the Bristlecone Pine Forest in 1953. Here you can hike to see the oldest living tree in the world called sometimes Methuselah. It is still alive today and over 4,000 years old. Junior Rangers can request and fill out study sheets to earn a badge for their...

The fishing is excellent here. That's the reason I come all the way over here from the San Joaquin Valley. But whether I travel over Tioga Pass to the North or Walker Pass to the South, it takes at least 8 hrs. if solid driving to get over there from where I live. Back when I was a kid to about 25 we'd come fish Crowley Lake, Convict Creek & the Owen's River. Now I stay on Rock Creek Rd. & fish Rock Creek & Rock Creek Lake. All the amenities are right here in several camping areas in the Rock Creek area. There's parking for a decent sized motorhome, plenty of tent space, vault style restrooms & picnic tables. You can even get wood for the fire pit at the host's campsite but I would bring my own if you can. Very few campgrounds are wheelchair accessable & have wheelchair access. Only a couple have asphalted rodes. Most are just dirt & gravel. If you don't want to camp there is a lodge near the lake to stay at but it's not very big so make sure you call a couple months before your trip to check for vacancies to book. The whole area is pet friendly but they must be kept on a...