Rock Creek Campground

Loved this place as a kid. Lots of good hiking trails and great swimming holes. Great for camping with little one or teenagers. I hope to take my son here soon and show him why the great outdoors is so great.

A more basic type of campground of the Sierra Vista Scenic Byway near where Mammoth Pools Road becomes Minarets Road. Rock Creek has pit toilets and running water (no sinks). Each site has a fire ring and picnic tables. There are no bear boxes and no warnings so I’m guessing they aren’t a problem but we brought bear cannisters and hung up stuff anyways. They take reservations but if you want you can just show up in the afternoon and claim any site without a paper ticket on it. The camp host doesn’t actually stay here and only comes by once a day right after noon.
Our group of 13 bikes tourists scored a multi-​family site in the back. Some of the other sites are actually right next to the creek but hey, beggars (or latecomers without reservations) can’t be choosers. Seemed to be mostly full of large families with big tents or RVs though the sites are spaced far enough apart that it’s not really a problem. We could barely see the people at the next site.
Highlights:
— fishing for trout from the creek. You can go upstream to get the fish or just catch them from the bridge a the main entrance. In the late afternoon they hang out right under the bridge.
— totally awesome granite swimming holes carved out of the creek about a mile upstream (yes, it’s about a mile hike up the hill but you can see them from the road). You can slide down the rocks into a swimming hole then lounge around on the hot rocks afterwards.
Note: We ended up staying for free because we didn’t arrive until 4 PM then left by 9 AM. Didn’t see any drop boxes or way to leave money.