Portuguese Joe Campground — Hotel in Bishop

The Portuguese Joe Campground is a site maintained by the Inyo County Parks and Recreation, and is conveniently located just outside the west of the small town of Lone Pine. There are a little over 20 campsites that line both sides of a small brook that branch off of Lone Pine Creek. The campsites are numbered, and reservations can be made on Reserve America for campsites 1 - 16, with the remainder of the sites first come, first serve.||The campground is conveniently located just off of Whitney Portal Road, which leads to the Alabama Hills Recreation Lands, Movie Flat Road and eventually all the way up into the Mt Whitney trailhead, about 10 miles from the Portuguese Joe Campground.||My son and I reserved campsite #15, which had a good amount of shade from the many mature trees that line the small creek. The campground was very clean, and each site is right next to the flowing water. There are vault toilets, several trash bins, a manual water well faucet, and a pay station with a map showing each site's location. A small foot bridge in the middle allows access to both sides of the campground.||This campground is a good option for single night or multiple nights due to its proximity to town (dining, groceries & gear) with easy access to Mt Whitney and the surrounding area. Campsite #16 is the largest, with the most amount of tree coverage, although almost each site has a good amount of shade. ||We would definitely use the campground again and plan on visiting again when temperatures are a little cooler. Evening temps were in the 60's at the end of June, but up to 98 degrees at mid day. Be sure to read about the campground's history on the nice plaque positioned near...

The Portuguese Joe Campground is a site maintained by the Inyo County Parks and Recreation, and is conveniently located just outside the west of the small town of Lone Pine. There are a little over 20 campsites that line both sides of a small brook that branch off of Lone Pine Creek. The campsites are numbered, and reservations can be made on Reserve America for campsites 1 - 16, with the remainder of the sites first come, first serve.

The campground is conveniently located just off of Whitney Portal Road, which leads to the Alabama Hills Recreation Lands, Movie Flat Road and eventually all the way up into the Mt Whitney trailhead, about 10 miles from the Portuguese Joe Campground.

My son and I reserved campsite #15, which had a good amount of shade from the many mature trees that line the small creek. The campground was very clean, and each site is right next to the flowing water. There are vault toilets, several trash bins, a manual water well faucet, and a pay station with a map showing each site's location. A small foot bridge in the middle allows access to both sides of the campground.

This campground is a good option for single night or multiple nights due to its proximity to town (dining, groceries & gear) with easy access to Mt Whitney and the surrounding area. Campsite #16 is the largest, with the most amount of tree coverage, although almost each site has a good amount of shade.

We would definitely use the campground again and plan on visiting again when temperatures are a little cooler. Evening temps were in the 60's at the end of June, but up to 98 degrees at mid day. Be sure to read about the campground's history on the nice plaque positioned near...

Inyo County operates this 20-site campground on land owned by the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power. Nestled along a creek of controlled runoff from the adjacent Los Angeles Aquaduct, the small campground includes sites reservable in advance as well as a half dozen (sites 1, 2, 17, 18, 19, and 20) that are held for first-come, first-served use. Most sites have at least some shade and all directly front the creek. Sites 16 & 17 have the most water noise (rocky-creek sound) while most other have a babbling-brook sound. Interestingly, the high-numbered walk-in sites have better spacing than the reservable sites, some of which felt on top of each other.

Of note, during our Independence Day 2020 visit, Site 18 had two picnic tables and no fire pit or BBQ, while Site 19 had two of each of those amenities. Site 17 had the typical amenities, plus a “bonus” picnic table. All other sites have one of each. A couple day-use sites are available with tables and BBQs, but do not directly front the creek.

Two vault toilets are available. No showers. Water spigot was available and working. Trash and bottle-and-can...