Sherwin Creek

I want to give a zero but it isn't about the campground or the camp hosts. It is for Recreation.gov and Trudy from Inyo Recreation.

The camp hosts, Troy and Judy, were great. They said my experience was not isolated. Many other campers had the same experience as me when booking their reservation.

We have been camping in Mammoth for over 30 years. This is the first time I've been harassed by the contractor that Recreation.gov uses. Not sure what they are supposed to do, but Inyo Recreation called me the day before we are scheduled to arrive. The woman, Trudy called me 4 times, texted me twice (said she did not get my 2 texts with a picture of my Senior Lifetime Pass). She kept talking over me and told me my pass a fake. she just kept repeating this and said I would have to prove it was legitimate. I tried telling her I bought it from a National Park Ranger at a National Park and I charged it on a credit card. So I can prove it! She continued with her harassment of, "this is probably fake and so is your husbands. "Since the beginning, the passes have said 50% discount on camping." I told her my husband got his 5 years ago and the wording is exactly the same as mine. She just kept on with her rant that they are probably fake.
I was so upset, my anxiety was through the roof and I started shaking. I hung up the phone on her! I then thought it was a scam to get me to pay her over the phone so I would not answer my phone after that. And yes, she called again and texted me again.
Trudy needs to be fired, or the whole Inyo Recreation needs to be replaced before someone sues you for harassment.

I sent an email to Recreation.gov with the details of exactly what transpired and all I got was sorry for your experience and contact USGS.gov!!!!!! Unacceptable.

Very large congregation of people adjacent to my campsite were definitely noticeable

Unfortunately for all fishermen, kids, family fishing, not one single bite after purchasing fishing license, purchasing gear, bait, etc. anywhere within or near the campground in this creek running through the campground!

overall had good time camping

Pros: Very generous sized campsites. Clean grounds, close to everything. Our site this year was very shady. Camp hosts were nice and communicated well. Lots of squirrels, chipmunks, birds, and even deer sightings. So relaxing to hang out and watch the wildlife, hang in the hammock, or do axe throwing with the kids. Lots of trails nearby, and close to the creek.

Cons: Pit toilets were almost full, stank, and were full of flies. Every time the wind kicked up, which was daily, the smell of human waste permeated the entire campground. (The camp hosts cited budget issues due to waste disposal management.) There are bears every year, and that is part of camping! This year’s bear was next level. In camp all day and everyday, it was breaking into trailers, harassing the tent campers, and was not afraid of either loud noises or human presence. Usually, bears are opportunists, but this bear stayed and hunted all day. At night, we constantly heard airhorns and panic alarms. Made it hard to sleep, or trust letting the kids wander around.

If this was my first trip here, I probably wouldn’t return. As it stands, I come yearly and will come again, but I hope management figures out the budget (and bear response) issues for next year!

This site was good, overall. The site we stayed at had plenty of space for our 8-man tent. The host was friendly and helpful. The bathrooms are not flushies and the smell was at times very bad! That was the only drawback.

Too many giant RVs with people who do not understand "less is more."

Wonderful campsite with great camphost.

Campsite 11 and 12 lack of any kind of shade. No trees close by. Parking distance is way to far to campsite and crosses other people's campgrounds plus two creeks. Bathrooms a little farer than the parking lot and are septic vault which smelled so bad. Finally, no park rangers patrol those campgrounds neither the hosts. We had the bears trying to assault our campground twice and nobody helped.

Easy to book thru rec.gov