U.S. Forest Service · Inyo National Forest · CA

Twin Lakes Campground

1Heads up1 fire 39 mi away
Wildfire
Wildfire Training fire · 39 mi away · 0 acres · updated Oct 15, 2026
ReservableOut of season, no booking; November 28 opens May 28.
Book on recreation.govWe make nothing when you book
Right now
Listed not openA database flag with no reason and no date
A night
$34From, per site
Sites
93All of them booked ahead
55 ftLongest rig
8,600 ftElevation
259 ftWater · Twin Lakes
In townMammoth Lakes, CA
48%Tree cover

The place

the agency’s own description · what’s there · 11 notices

In the agency’s own words

Twin Lakes Campground is located in the eastern Sierra Nevada Mountains near the town of Mammoth Lakes, California. It offers lakeside camping with breathtaking scenery and many outdoor activities. The lake is a great base for fishing, boating, viewing waterfalls and hiking, and offers close proximity to the town's amenities. Keep reading

Recreation

The eastern Sierras are known for great trout fishing, and the 108-acre lakes are a prime location for it. Anglers can cast for rainbow, brook and brown trout while watching a waterfall tumble into the lake. The calm waters are also inviting for canoes and kayaks. Power boats must have electric motors. Several trails offer a variety of hikes nearby, including a 4-mile trail on Mammoth Mountain and two shorter nature trails along the lakes. Families enjoy attending educational programs scheduled throughout the summer.

Facilities

This is a large facility with campsites split into two sections on either side of Twin Lakes. Sections 1 and 2 are on the west side, closer to the shore. Section 3 is set upon a hill. Picnic tables, campfire rings, flush toilets and drinking water are provided. Campers can walk to the facility's general store for boat rentals, camping supplies and showers.

Natural Features

The campground is forested with lodgepole pine, providing partial shade and a private setting. It sits at an elevation of 8,600 feet at the base of snow-capped, 11,059' Mammoth Mountain, a popular skiing destination. A cascading waterfall flows into one of the lakes. The mountains are abundant with wildlife, including black bear, mountain lions, mule deer, pine marten, pika and many species of fish and birds.

Nearby Attractions

Mammoth Lakes Basin contains several additional popular lakes to explore for fishing and boating, and Mammoth Mountain Ski Resort offers year-round recreation. Visitors can also access the magnificent John Muir Wilderness nearby, which stretches 100 miles along the crest of the Sierra Nevadas, a land of lofty snow-capped mountains, deep canyons and vast expanses of glacially-carved terrain. Abundant hiking and horseback riding trails are available.

What the agency tells you

Rule

This is a high elevation facility; please use caution when traveling from lower elevations

Rule

Be bear aware; keep all food out of sight in approved containers or locked inside your vehicle and remove all food from area after eating; always keep a clean camp and do not feed any wild animals

Rule

Campground usually not clear of snow until late May or early June

Everything else this campground posts · 8
Rule

Only 2 pets per site allowed.

Rule

Fire Restrictions: Fire restrictions may be imposed at any time due to hot, dry weather conditions, at which time campfires and charcoal fires may not be allowed. For current fire conditions or weather closures contact the Mammoth Lakes Visitor Center, (760) 924-5500, or the Mono Lakes Visitor Center, (760) 647-3044.

Rule

Please Note: One RV with tow per single site or one vehicle per tent site. Most sites can accommodate 1 extra vehicle that is not included with the reservation fee. In accordance with standard industry practices, Inyo Recreation will assess an additional $10.00 extra vehicle fee per day for the second vehicle in each single family campsite, and on the third and fourth vehicle in any double family campsite, provided these vehicles are not joined to the first vehicle by a hitch and towed onto the site. In the case of motorcycles, the first two are considered one vehicle, and the third and fourth motorcycle are also considered one vehicle. No additional vehicle fees are collected for bicycles. Extra vehicles must fit on the parking spur.

Rule

Reserved Sites will be held until checkout time (NOON) the day following your arrival date. Sites must be occupied by the checkout time of the second day to hold a reservation or the site will be forfeited and released to other guests. Please call the office at 760-934-5795 if you need to inform the campground of an arrival time greater than 24 hours after your arrival date, or if you will not use your reservation whatsoever.

Rule

Once your reservation start date has begun, neither the Recreation.gov Contact Center nor the campground manager will be able to modify your reservation.

Rule

Don't Move Firewood: Protect California's forests from tree-killing pests by buying your firewood locally and burning it on-site. For more information visit firewood.ca.gov.

Rule

Inyo National Forest website

Rule

PASS DISCOUNTS: You must provide your pass and photo identification upon check in. If you received a pass discount for which you were not eligible, you must pay the difference in price upon arrival.

Read them on the agency’s own page →

Tents and rigs

Sites
93
Hookups
None
Longest rig
55 ft
Paved pads
3 of 93
Accessible sites
4
Pets
Allowed
Campfires
Allowed, barring fire bans
Shade
Every site
Source: Recreation.gov campsite records · Aug 23, 2026

Facilities

Toilets
Flush Toilets
“…a hill. Picnic tables, campfire rings, flush toilets and drinking water are provided. Campers can walk…”
Drinking water
Yes
“…campfire rings, flush toilets and drinking water are provided. Campers can walk to the facility's…”
Store
Nearby
Stay limit
14 nights
recreation.gov facility rule maxStay
Source: Stated in the agency description · Aug 23, 2026
Water, toilets and showers: read from the agency description, shown above · Sep 12, 2026

Around the campground

On the water
Waterfall, Lake
Biking
Fishing
Hiking
Horseback riding
Night sky · 629th darkest of 1,201 in CA
Bortle 3
Fall color · reported 14 days ago, 1.1 km away
Peak color
Source: Recreation.gov activity records · Aug 23, 2026
Fall color: More Than Just Parks foliage tracker, joined to this campground by distance (1.1 km) · Oct 3, 2026

No reading yet, book on recreation.gov

Every site here is reservable, and the record lists none held back for anyone who drives up.

No availability snapshot inside the last 36 hours, so this page draws nothing rather than ageing a reading into fiction.

Booking windowOut of seasonOut of season, no booking. On November 28, 2026 at 10 AM ET, availability opens through May 28, 2027.recreation.govAdd to calendar (.ics)
Max stay14 nightsthe facility record
A night$34plus $8 to reserve, once per bookingthe agency’s rate schedule
A weekend$76DerivedFriday and Saturday, everything includedours, from the lines above
If plans change$10 to cancel$10 to change a reservationrecreation.gov’s schedule
Runs itU.S. Forest ServiceBooked through recreation.govthe agency’s record
Watch for a cancellation

Full? Watch it.

One email when a night opens, plus More Than Just Parks dispatches. Unsubscribe any time.

We read recreation.gov once an hour, at 40 minutes past, and write the first time a site in your window is free for the nights you asked for.

Scanners that check every few minutes exist, and most of them charge. This one is free, it reads the same calendar, and it won’t always be first.

Free forever, no booking kickbacks.
Tell me when the season opens

Watch for the season to open

One email when the season goes on sale, plus More Than Just Parks dispatches. Unsubscribe any time.

We check once an hour, at 40 minutes past, and write the first time the agency has that season on sale.

Scanners that check every few minutes exist, and most of them charge. This one is free, it reads the same calendar, and it won’t always be first.

We’ll write once, when the season that starts Fri, May 28 2027 is open for booking.

Free forever, no booking kickbacks.
Book on recreation.gov

We make nothing when you book. The link goes straight to the government.

Every line of the receipt · 13

What you actually pay

The sign priceU.S. Forest Service
A night$34
Standard Nonelectric$34
Rates for the season the campground is in now, May 22, 2026 to Oct 11, 2026.
The booking feerecreation.gov
Reservation fee, booked online$8
One fee per reservation, however many nights you book, and it’s non-refundable. $9 if you book by phone, $3 in person.
Pass discounts only apply to the recreation (or use) fee for the facility. Other charges such as electricity or water hookups, reservation or other fees are not eligible for a discount.
What this campground addsits own record
Extra vehicle$10

“In accordance with standard industry practices, Inyo Recreation will assess an additional $10.00 extra vehicle fee per day for the second vehicle in each single family campsite, and on the third and fourth vehicle in…” · the U.S. Forest Service’s own agency notice

What a stay costs
One nightDerived$42
A weekend, Friday and SaturdayDerived$76

Derived by CAMPANAC: the agency’s published rate for this season, $34 a night, plus one $8 recreation.gov reservation fee for the booking. A weekend here means Friday and Saturday night, booked once. Optional charges (an extra vehicle, a second tent, a dump-station fee) are listed separately and aren’t in this total.

If your plans changerecreation.gov
Change fee, moving to dates outside your booking$10
Cancellation fee$10
Cancelling the day before, or the day of$10 + your first night
No-show$20 + your first night

Who keeps the booking fee

The agency’s own policy text says the reservation fee and the cancellation processing fee are “retained by the reservation service contractor”, and that a campground concessionaire will decline to refund them because “they did not receive these fees”. Recreation.gov is run under contract by Booz Allen Hamilton. What share of your booking fee the contractor keeps isn’t published in any federal dataset we can read, so we print no number for it. Our reporting on the contract →

How we know this receipt · 6

rules read Sep 9, 2026 · rates Sep 10, 2026 · How we know all this

Seen something wrong here? Tell us.

The sites

94 records · which ones have room · the site map

The sites, ranked

from 93 mapped sites
65 ftbetween you and the next site, typically
Least room001 35 ft002 35 ft059 35 ft

All 94 records

94 of 94 records located
Standard93Host pad1
SleepsTakes aUp to

Toilet distances are OpenStreetMap’s, measured for 39 of the 94 sites listed. A site with no reading is unknown, never far.

The price is derived by CAMPANAC, not published per site: the per-night rate this campground publishes for each site’s own site type. 93 of the 94 sites listed carry one, and a site whose type has no published rate sits out of the price rather than being called free.

Measured shade is NLCD Tree Canopy Cover 2024 (USDA Forest Service / MRLC) read at the site’s own coordinate, 27% canopy or more, and only for the sites the agency gave no Shade value. It never changes the agency’s own shaded count beside it.

AREA TWIN LAKES CAMPGROUND001standard nonelectric30 ft36 ft140 ft$34
AREA TWIN LAKES CAMPGROUND002standard nonelectric30 ft36 ft136 ft$34
AREA TWIN LAKES CAMPGROUND003standard nonelectric29 ft41 ft171 ft$34
AREA TWIN LAKES CAMPGROUND004standard nonelectric29 ft41 ft182 ft$34
AREA TWIN LAKES CAMPGROUND005standard nonelectric28 ft67 ft126 ft$34
AREA TWIN LAKES CAMPGROUND006standard nonelectric28 ft70 ft119 ft$34
AREA TWIN LAKES CAMPGROUND007standard nonelectric26 ft77 ft160 ft$34
AREA TWIN LAKES CAMPGROUND008standard nonelectric26 ft104 ft219 ft$34
AREA TWIN LAKES CAMPGROUND009standard nonelectric28 ft44 ft186 ft$34
AREA TWIN LAKES CAMPGROUND010standard nonelectric28 ft44 ft150 ft$34
AREA TWIN LAKES CAMPGROUND011standard nonelectric32 ft73 ft107 ft$34
AREA TWIN LAKES CAMPGROUND016standard nonelectric28 ft85 ft306 ft3,274 ft$34
AREA TWIN LAKES CAMPGROUND017standard nonelectric38 ft85 ft346 ft3,190 ft$34
AREA TWIN LAKES CAMPGROUND018standard nonelectric33 ft83 ft352 ft3,081 ft$34
AREA TWIN LAKES CAMPGROUND019standard nonelectric33 ft42 ft411 ft2,956 ft$34
AREA TWIN LAKES CAMPGROUND020standard nonelectric45 ft83 ft304 ft3,046 ft$34
AREA TWIN LAKES CAMPGROUND021standard nonelectric38 ft50 ft316 ft2,961 ft$34
AREA TWIN LAKES CAMPGROUND022standard nonelectric42 ft63 ft215 ft3,113 ft$34
AREA TWIN LAKES CAMPGROUND023standard nonelectric36 ft63 ft154 ft3,133 ft$34
AREA TWIN LAKES CAMPGROUND024standard nonelectric40 ft65 ft205 ft3,194 ft$34
AREA TWIN LAKES CAMPGROUND025standard nonelectric30 ft65 ft142 ft3,213 ft$34
AREA TWIN LAKES CAMPGROUND026standard nonelectric16 ft83 ft135 ft$34
AREA TWIN LAKES CAMPGROUND027standard nonelectric42 ft83 ft203 ft$34
AREA TWIN LAKES CAMPGROUND028standard nonelectric30 ft120 ft103 ft$34
AREA TWIN LAKES CAMPGROUND029standard nonelectric32 ft42 ft453 ft2,931 ft$34
AREA TWIN LAKES CAMPGROUND030standard nonelectric35 ft73 ft526 ft2,879 ft$34
AREA TWIN LAKES CAMPGROUND031standard nonelectric48 ft74 ft518 ft2,815 ft$34
AREA TWIN LAKES CAMPGROUND032standard nonelectric48 ft59 ft450 ft2,883 ft$34
AREA TWIN LAKES CAMPGROUND033standard nonelectric42 ft83 ft460 ft2,786 ft$34
AREA TWIN LAKES CAMPGROUND034standard nonelectric50 ft59 ft431 ft2,858 ft$34
AREA TWIN LAKES CAMPGROUND035standard nonelectric50 ft50 ft334 ft2,916 ft$34
AREA TWIN LAKES CAMPGROUND036standard nonelectric48 ft66 ft311 ft2,899 ft$34
AREA TWIN LAKES CAMPGROUND037standard nonelectric38 ft101 ft169 ft3,052 ft$34
AREA TWIN LAKES CAMPGROUND038standard nonelectric32 ft78 ft563 ft2,928 ft$34
AREA TWIN LAKES CAMPGROUND039standard nonelectric30 ft77 ft621 ft2,855 ft$34
AREA TWIN LAKES CAMPGROUND040standard nonelectric40 ft68 ft647 ft2,908 ft$34
AREA TWIN LAKES CAMPGROUND041standard nonelectric48 ft57 ft595 ft2,957 ft$34
AREA TWIN LAKES CAMPGROUND042 HOSThost pad42 ft560 ft2,986 ft
AREA TWIN LAKES CAMPGROUND043standard nonelectric40 ft39 ft594 ft2,947 ft$34
AREA TWIN LAKES CAMPGROUND044standard nonelectric40 ft39 ft475 ft3,064 ft$34
AREA TWIN LAKES CAMPGROUND045standard nonelectric35 ft39 ft554 ft2,985 ft$34
AREA TWIN LAKES CAMPGROUND046standard nonelectric30 ft39 ft514 ft3,025 ft$34
AREA TWIN LAKES CAMPGROUND046Astandard nonelectric32 ft64 ft269 ft3,260 ft$34
AREA TWIN LAKES CAMPGROUND046Bstandard nonelectric35 ft64 ft169 ft$34
AREA TWIN LAKES CAMPGROUND046Cstandard nonelectric19 ft64 ft227 ft$34
AREA TWIN LAKES CAMPGROUND046Dstandard nonelectric33 ft84 ft124 ft$34
AREA TWIN LAKES CAMPGROUND047standard nonelectric45 ft48 ft449 ft3,096 ft$34
AREA TWIN LAKES CAMPGROUND048standard nonelectric38 ftyes74 ft580 ft2,997 ft$34
AREA TWIN LAKES CAMPGROUND049standard nonelectric41 ftyes48 ft491 ft3,099 ft$34
AREA TWIN LAKES CAMPGROUND050standard nonelectric50 ftyes73 ft531 ft3,029 ft$34
AREA TWIN LAKES CAMPGROUND051standard nonelectric45 ft59 ft387 ft3,213 ft$34
AREA TWIN LAKES CAMPGROUND053standard nonelectric37 ft66 ft312 ft3,241 ft$34
AREA TWIN LAKES CAMPGROUND054standard nonelectric33 ftyes66 ft349 ft3,191 ft$34
AREA TWIN LAKES CAMPGROUND055standard nonelectric40 ft49 ft368 ft3,280 ft$34
AREA TWIN LAKES CAMPGROUND056standard nonelectric43 ft64 ft455 ft3,163 ft$34
AREA TWIN LAKES CAMPGROUND057standard nonelectric33 ft38 ft361 ft$34
AREA TWIN LAKES CAMPGROUND058standard nonelectric32 ft38 ft362 ft3,265 ft$34
AREA TWIN LAKES CAMPGROUND059standard nonelectric28 ft36 ft235 ft$34
AREA TWIN LAKES CAMPGROUND060standard nonelectric43 ft49 ft207 ft$34
AREA TWIN LAKES CAMPGROUND061standard nonelectric27 ft36 ft208 ft$34
AREA TWIN LAKES CAMPGROUND062standard nonelectric20 ft51 ft122 ft$34
AREA TWIN LAKES CAMPGROUND063standard nonelectric34 ft84 ft277 ft$34
AREA TWIN LAKES CAMPGROUND064standard nonelectric29 ft85 ft198 ft$34
AREA TWIN LAKES CAMPGROUND065standard nonelectric50 ft65 ft193 ft$34
AREA TWIN LAKES CAMPGROUND066standard nonelectric28 ft85 ft208 ft$34
AREA TWIN LAKES CAMPGROUND067standard nonelectric38 ft68 ft231 ft$34
AREA TWIN LAKES CAMPGROUND068standard nonelectric30 ft68 ft202 ft$34
AREA TWIN LAKES CAMPGROUND069standard nonelectric41 ft51 ft160 ft$34
AREA TWIN LAKES CAMPGROUND070standard nonelectric40 ft128 ft110 ft$34
AREA TWIN LAKES CAMPGROUND071standard nonelectric49 ft56 ft711 ft$34
AREA TWIN LAKES CAMPGROUND072standard nonelectric41 ft68 ft676 ft$34
AREA TWIN LAKES CAMPGROUND073standard nonelectric30 ft56 ft734 ft$34
AREA TWIN LAKES CAMPGROUND074standard nonelectric33 ft68 ft704 ft$34
AREA TWIN LAKES CAMPGROUND075standard nonelectric30 ft73 ft779 ft$34
AREA TWIN LAKES CAMPGROUND076standard nonelectric38 ft75 ft703 ft$34
AREA TWIN LAKES CAMPGROUND077standard nonelectric28 ft75 ft698 ft$34
AREA TWIN LAKES CAMPGROUND078standard nonelectric39 ft98 ft818 ft$34
AREA TWIN LAKES CAMPGROUND079standard nonelectric47 ft49 ft724 ft$34
AREA TWIN LAKES CAMPGROUND080standard nonelectric35 ft59 ft809 ft$34
AREA TWIN LAKES CAMPGROUND081standard nonelectric41 ft49 ft723 ft$34
AREA TWIN LAKES CAMPGROUND082standard nonelectric45 ft59 ft803 ft$34
AREA TWIN LAKES CAMPGROUND083standard nonelectric40 ft72 ft761 ft$34
AREA TWIN LAKES CAMPGROUND084standard nonelectric40 ft72 ft532 ft$34
AREA TWIN LAKES CAMPGROUND085standard nonelectric30 ft72 ft410 ft$34
AREA TWIN LAKES CAMPGROUND086standard nonelectric38 ft40 ft529 ft$34
AREA TWIN LAKES CAMPGROUND087standard nonelectric38 ft39 ft507 ft$34
AREA TWIN LAKES CAMPGROUND088standard nonelectric38 ft72 ft380 ft$34
AREA TWIN LAKES CAMPGROUND089standard nonelectric52 ft39 ft504 ft$34
AREA TWIN LAKES CAMPGROUND090standard nonelectric39 ft67 ft518 ft$34
AREA TWIN LAKES CAMPGROUND091standard nonelectric45 ft79 ft388 ft$34
AREA TWIN LAKES CAMPGROUND092standard nonelectric35 ft61 ft429 ft$34
AREA TWIN LAKES CAMPGROUND093standard nonelectric41 ft100 ft541 ft$34
AREA TWIN LAKES CAMPGROUND094standard nonelectric47 ft61 ft434 ft$34
AREA TWIN LAKES CAMPGROUND095standard nonelectric55 ft110 ft473 ft$34

The agency files 1 more record here that isn’t a site for the night. It names it a host pad. It’s in the table above, marked for what it is, and it isn’t counted as a site.

25 of 94 listed

Getting there

the map and the coordinate · the agency’s directions · the phone number
Coordinate37.61611, -119.00664
The phone760-934-5795
The agency’s pageOfficial page ↗

Where it is

Getting there

The campground is 320 miles north of Los Angeles and 180 miles south of Reno, Nevada. Follow U.S. Highway 395 to the junction of State Highway 203. Turn west on 203 and drive 7 miles through the town of Mammoth Lakes. Highway 203 becomes Main Street, and then becomes Lake Mary Road, which leads to the Lakes Basin. Continue on Lake Mary Road to the Twin Lakes cutoff.

The weather

the next four days · the thirty-year normal

Next four days, and the thirty-year normal

Forecast

Tonight36°Mostly Clear
Saturday54°Sunny
Saturday Night35°Clear
Sunday53°Sunny

NWS forecast for Mammoth Lakes, CA

Typical weather

Typical October night 20°F, day 61°F.

Coldest month of the year: typical January night 8°F, below freezing. Bring a bag rated colder than that, and expect ice in the water bottle.

90°32°0°

Daily high and lowDays with 0.10 in or more

A normal is the 1991-2020 average for the month, not a forecast: about half of all Julys are colder than the July line. The seven-day forecast above answers the other question.

Measured at: BODIE CALIFORNIA ST HISTORIC P, CA (USC00040943), 41 miles away and 230 ft lower

The land, and who answers for it

what threatens it · who answers for it

Roadless country, and what’s coming for it

Roadless
Sherwin3,140 acres · 2 mi · inventoried roadless area
Roadless
San Joaquin19,662 acres · 6 mi · inventoried roadless area
Roadless
Laurel Mcgee8,770 acres · 9 mi · inventoried roadless area

You’re camping on ground somebody wants. We track the threats and the comment deadlines.

Who answers for this land

Kevin Kiley, official portrait

Twin Lakes Campground is in California’s 3rd congressional district. Its representative, Kevin Kiley (I), votes on the laws that decide what happens to this land. Public-lands grade so far: F. See every public-lands vote →

Seen something wrong here? Tell us.

How we know

every fact on this page, and where it came from
Right now: U.S. Forest Service’s own recreation database flags it not open and publishes no reason and no date. That’s a flag, not a notice: the number below is the only way to be sure.
Fall color: More Than Just Parks foliage tracker, joined to this campground by distance (1.1 km) · Oct 3, 2026
Cell signal: the Forest Service’s own campground description, read as text by CAMPANAC. None of this is a measurement. It’s what the land manager published about the place, and phones, carriers and weather all disagree with each other; treat it as a warning, not a promise.