I'm looking if anyone could provide me with any resources or advice on a good year round campground relatively near Lee Vining? I did a search but couldn't find much help. Thanks.

Yeah, no KOA's close. I'm pretty sure there is a year round campground near Tom's place, but I was hoping to find something closer.

The closest campgrouds open in the winter are in Bishop..Pleasant Valley. They do have time limits though.
Nothing nearer that I can think of.. all closed until spring because of snow and freezing temps.
Actually Holiday campground on Rock Creek is open..no water,no fee

Murphy's Motel. Sure is nice to have a heated room in which to dry your socks, gloves and boots after a day on the ice.

Motel would be amazing. But you're talking to a broke 23 year old student here

Genesis wrote:Motel would be amazing. But you're talking to a broke 23 year old student here

There are a few sandy dirt roads out around Mono Craters that have been used by climbers for dirt-bag camping ...just saying...

That's what I like to here. Maybe I should just find a nice comfy spot in the mountains? Respectfully clean up my site, of course.

Turn from 395 on 120 E, go approx. 1 mile and on the left hand side you'll see a dirt road. Drive a couple hundred yards and bivy wherever you wish. There are also other places off Tioga Pass Rd. (120 W) behind the Mobile gas station. Really, you can bivy wherever you want, as long as you don't need water. Just regular snow camping.

I spent my first winter in Mammoth 'camping' in my VW van. There are some good spots for overnight parking if you are discreet. If you are considering a roadside spot, arrive as late as possible and leave as early as possible. There may be cars parked at the bottom of Tioga, yours could just be another parked there. If you lay out all your camping gear, law enforcement may not be as likely to look the other way.

As far as where to park, stay close to the pavement. You definately do not want to get stuck or snowed in. Some roads do not get plowed for days after a storm, so if it starts snowing, camp close to the highway like a tourist. HWY 120 toward Benton gets snowed in often, steer clear of that one.

If the weather is clear, stay at higher elevations. The Mono Basin stays way colder than Lee Vining Canyon or Lundy Canyon, and that Poconip fog will freeze your very soul. If you get chilled and you need to take shelter, the new library in Mammoth is pretty nice.

Hundreds of square miles of public land near Lee Vining. Camp anywhere and leave no trace.

not sure how one can not find a camping spot on the east side... it is like one big campground... and paying to sleep in the forest should be against the law!

The BLM land east of Mammoth near the the hot springs is good. Also up by Owens River Road, north and east of the closed rest stop has worked for me and it was free. (the best part)

i don't know, i had a hard time finding a place in july by mono lake, we went on all the dirt roads and there were no camping signs posted everywhere; we ended up staying in a pay-to-camp spot a couple miles back up the canyon on 120...maybe i was looking in the wrong places.

I just checked a Mono Lake webcam and saw that the Mono Basin has quite a bit of snow. It's best to stick to the pavement now and risk getting rousted by a friendly LEO than getting stuck and paying for a tow.

Here is a list of webcams in the Sierra. Great for checking currect conditions. Warning: not suitable for work, because you will waste your day looking at webcams in places you never even heard of.

I have camped at June Lake in the winter.... a place named "O-Ridge". It had tables and "wind breaks" .... if it still exists.

The "pinion pines" just north of the ORG are free $$$ and usually snow free.

gk