This California Campground is Nearly Impossible to Get a Reservation
With a plethora of national and state parks, California is home to numerous coveted camping spots. However, one campground in the state is notoriously difficult to reserve, making it one of the most competitive bookings in the country.
The Dyrt, a camping website, found that some of the most sought-after campgrounds in America are fully booked all year round, and camping’s popularity is at an all-time high, with more than 80 million Americans camping last year. 58.4% of campers surveyed in the 2023 Camping Report revealed that they had difficulty finding a campsite to book due to reservations being taken.
The Inyo National Forest is home to the hardest-to-book campground in California, the Twin Lakes Campground near Mammoth Lakes, which is the ninth most difficult to book in the country. The campground offers 94 camping spots for tents and RVs, but according to The Dyrt, they are fully booked 97.2% of the year.
Twin Lakes is highly sought after due to its amenities, including fishing, boating, waterfall views, and its close proximity to Mammoth Lakes. Reviews compiled by the website revealed reports of bald eagle sightings, excellent fishing, quality hiking trails, and breathtaking views.
Despite being the most coveted spot in California, Twin Lakes didn’t even make the top five in the country. The top two spots went to campgrounds located in America’s first park, Yellowstone. The Slough Creek Campground in Yellowstone is the hardest campground to book in the nation, offering only 16 campsites with some of the best wildlife watching opportunities in the park, beautiful clear views of the night sky, and the chance to hear some howling wolves.
Mammoth Campground, the only campground at Yellowstone open year-round, located just five miles south of the park’s North Entrance near Mammoth Hot Springs, came in second place. The campground is close to fishing and hiking trails and offers great opportunities to view some of the park’s famous bison and elk.
Here is the full list:
| Rank | Campground | # of Campsites | Percentage of Year Fully Booked |
| 1. | Slough Creek Campground, Wyoming | 16 | 100% |
| 2. | Mammoth Campground, Wyoming | 82 | 100% |
| 3. | Seven Points, Tennessee | 61 | 99.1% |
| 4. | Fruita Campground, Utah | 65 | 97.9% |
| 5. | South Campground, Utah | 120 | 97.8% |
| 6. | Piñon Flats Campground, Colorado | 90 | 97.6% |
| 7. | Upper Coffee Pot, Idaho | 14 | 97.6% |
| 8. | Cages Bend, Tennessee | 42 | 97.3% |
| 9. | Twin Lakes Campground, California | 94 | 97.2% |
| 10. | Signal Mountain Campground, Wyoming | 79 | 97.1% |
Both Slough Creek and Mammoth campgrounds are fully booked 100% of the year, according to the website, and if campers want to try their luck and hope for a cancellation to book one of these highly sought-after campsites, The Dyrt offers alerts to let them know when a campground is available.
Happy camping!
