Overview New Shady Rest Campground is a large facility convenient to numerous outdoor activities and attractions in the eastern Sierra Nevada Mountains.
Sites9490 reservable
Elev.7,815ft
Comf.Jun-Sep4 months
Max rig41 ft
Electricnonesites
From Fresno2h15real road time
The honest read
Synthesized from RIDB · Open-Meteo OSM · OSRM Updated 2026-05-27
At 7,815 ft, New Shady Rest Campground has a 4-month comfortable window (Jun-Sep). Winter nights average around 18°F, so the shoulder seasons turn cold fast. 94 sites total: 90 reservable and 4 first-come, first-served. Within about 4 miles: 2 named hiking routes, 3 peaks, lake or river access.
What campers say
SYNTHESIZED · MODERATE SIGNAL
Vibe
01 / 06
Quiet forest feel but you are camping inside a ski town.
Sites sit under mature Jeffrey pines a short walk or bike from Mammoth Lakes shops and restaurants. Repeat visitors treat it as a base camp rather than a wilderness experience.
Sites
02 / 06
Spacious, shaded sites with bear boxes; some slope or tight for big rigs.
Most reviewers call sites well separated with picnic table, fire ring, and bear locker. Larger RVs report tight maneuvering and a few sites are uneven, so site selection matters.
Access
03 / 06
Highway 203 road noise is audible but settles after 10pm quiet hours.
Multiple campers note traffic hum from the nearby highway during the day, then describe nights as quiet once hosts enforce quiet hours. Occasional generator noise from neighbors also comes up.
Facilities
04 / 06
Flush toilets and potable water on site, no showers, no hookups.
Bathrooms are consistently called clean and water spigots are threaded. Showers require a paid trip to nearby Twin Lakes and there is a dump station but no electric or water hookups at sites.
Trails & access
05 / 06
Paved bike path from camp links town, Shady Rest Park, and Lakes Basin.
Campers ride straight out of the campground onto the Town Loop and Shady Rest paths, with the Lakes Basin paved route reaching Twin Lakes and Horseshoe Lake. Knolls Loop singletrack is also accessible nearby.
Wildlife & sky
06 / 06
Active black bear area, food storage rules strictly enforced.
Bear lockers at every site are required for all food and scented items. Reviewers treat this as routine for the eastern Sierra rather than a reason to avoid the campground.
Synthesized from public trip reports and forum discussion, summarized in our words and never quoted. This is durable sentiment, not a live feed.
The campground at a glance
01 · CHARACTER
Reads strongest on shade and reservability. Softest on roomy sites.
Six axes, each scored relative to every other federal campground in the region: quiet (miles to a major road), cool (elevation), roomy (average site spacing), shade, RV-fit (longest rig), and how reservable it is. All six come from data, nothing hand-tuned.
When to go
02 · CLIMATE
avg highavg lowfrost-freedriest · Jul
Jun-Sep
Comfortable window: nights stay above 35°F, days below 90°F.
95%
Of summer weekend-days are dry.
Jun 16
Last spring frost; first fall frost Oct 2.
49°F
Average July low. Bring a fleece.
Getting there
03 · ACCESS
01
Fresno
101 mi
2h15
02
Sacramento
198 mi
4h24
03
San Francisco
246 mi
5h28
04
Los Angeles
327 mi
7h16
05
San Diego
462 mi
10h16
By drive time
Routed road time (OSRM). Nearest major highway 0.1 mi away.
We synthesize public data layers: RIDB and Recreation.gov facility and site records, Open-Meteo climate normals, OpenStreetMap roads, trails, and water, OSRM drive times, and USGS elevation. We take no bookings, no ads, and no paid placements. Independence is the entire point.
