H. M.
Yelp
This is a beautiful campground. The individual campsites are clean, and they provide different variety in terms of size and location. Some are small and secluded enough for a couple of people tent camping; some sites are larger for a 28' trailer and a group of six people (like me); and some are clustered together so an even larger group can reserve two or three sites together (for instance site #'s 19, 29 & 32).
The campground is divided into three sections: there is a hill section, which is more shaded and appears to me to be more heavily wooded. That section has site #'s 71 - 95.
Along the entrance road are site #'s 1-8 which make up the second section.. Personally, I don't like these sites because they are right along a road that can get pretty busy during the day; and behind this row of campsites is a bike/walking path that also can get pretty busy. Frankly, I like my camping experience to be a little more private and secluded.
The third and larger section is on the other side of the lake across the bridge. This is a little less wooded, although there are still plenty of trees. I was in site 20, which is fairly large. Now, I said earlier that I like my camping a little more secluded. The entire one side of this campsite is alongside the road (separated by some low bushes). The campground is laid out in a way that there was very little traffic for us, so it really wasn't a problem with a lot of cars passing by.
This part is not a complaint, it's just a point of information. The temperature was in the mid-70's, but during mid-day, the sun is so strong because of the high altitude that it felt like the temperature was in the 90's. I would bring an EZ-Up for some extra shade during the mid-day period, but as the sun gets a little more of an angle and the shade covers the campsite a little better, it is very comfortable.
Bathrooms were clean, although I did hear about one being messy. That's a reflection of an inconsiderate camper, not a reflection of the campground or the campground hosts. In fact, let me specifically acknowledge the campground hosts for working so hard to keep the campground exceptionally clean. I'm an early riser, and every day I saw the campground hosts up at 6:30 am zipping around all over the campground checking people in, cleaning bathrooms, and ensuring empty campsites were not just clean, but the area around the fire ring raked. I've never seen campground hosts work so hard, for so long in the day and take this much pride in "their" campground.
There is a conveniently located camp store with some basic groceries, gifts, firewood (I think $6.00 per bag) and ice. There are also four shower rooms (showers are $5.00 each). Finally, the store has a dump station ($10.00 to use regardless of where you camp).
The campground is s 5-minute drive to the Mammoth pack station; a 15-20 minute drive to Horseshoe lake; a 10-15 minute drive to the town of Mammoth. Everything is very convenient to get to.
I'm giving this a 4-star review only because I wish there were electricity hookups at each site (or selected sites). It would improve the camping experience for everybody--for those of us with trailers or motor homes, I think most of us would pay $30-$40 per night to be able to hook up to electricity. For tent campers, I think they would appreciate not having to hear generators from the trailers and motor homes. Other than my pet peeve, this is a 5-star campground.
Please visit my YouTube channel for some videos of about 10 different campsite to give you a better idea of what the campsites look like: http://www.youtube.com/channel/UC7FkxQ1zBlY2ovSkVYZ24yQ