Lodgepole Campground-sequoia and Kings Canyon National Park

The Lodgepole Campground was very comfortable. We had two excellent ranger programs in the evenings. There is a stream that the children enjoyed playing in. The visitor center a short walk away was useful. The attached store and restaurant were convenient. I highly recommend the ice cream vendor! Two caveats: wasps made eating outdoors upsetting for the children; the showers (4 quarters for a three-minute shower) were hot, but the floor was unappealingly muddy.

The campground is located close to hiking for the most famous features of the park. Do not miss the climb to the top of Moro Rock! Get there early to avoid human traffic jams on the narrow stairway to the top.

Campsite provides NO privacy, very little shade, very close to next campers. There was only one BR for the whole upper loop. BR was poorly maintained. TP all over, never cleaned, sinks horrendous, low flow water so had to flush 3 times just for paper. I think campers just gave up and stopped caring and it showed. It was disgusting. For a flush that bad, I would rather a nice vault that was cared for. I guess cutbacks are showing. They were painting, but only came once in the 4 days I was there. Stay in another loop with less campers, those were better cared for BRs.

I reserved campsite 169, and when I got there, all I saw was parking space 169 and nothing else. I tried to use the bear box right next to the parking space but when I look it said 168, I didn't find my campsite(I assume it was mine because it was right next to 170 which is also down by the creek, however the bear box had no indications) till the next morning when I noticed there were additional campsites down the slope near a creek. The couple on 168 was nice enough to let me use their bear box since they had a camper. There should be indications of some sort directing people to their campsites, where it is not obvious or next to the parking.

The trees were beautiful, the campground was more like a trailer park.

The trees were beautiful, the campground was more like a trailer park.

The campsites are well-maintained, though the fire ring was full of ashes, so you’d need to clean it yourself if you want to use it. The bathrooms could have used daily cleaning, but that didn’t happen. Traffic directions aren’t clearly marked, and I saw trailers and cars backing up or trying to squeeze past each other. The campsite is a starting point for multiple trails and is within walking distance to the visitor center and the bus stop, which takes you to other attractions around the park. There’s free public Wi-Fi at the visitor center, but there’s zero cell signal elsewhere.

Lots of space on this camp site. Its located near the dumpster but its not loud at all. You're also located at the main fork of the road so some road noise does come through. Plenty of shade during the morning and evening, partial shade during the middle of the day. Compared to other camp sites, this one had good amounts of shade. Limited sizing flat camping area was a good touch so keep in mind of the 9x12 size limits. The parking space itself is quite big compared to other sites. You could fit a large size truck, but not anything with a trailer attached. Restroom was a bit of a hike but not to far off. Water stations were also very close by.

My location was perfect! Nearby the river and not to many guests around. Parking was right across from our site so easy access to our car and unloading was great! Spot 81 was perfect. The only bad thing was our firepit was broken, the grill was broken but we made it work. Amazing and beautiful spot.

Some of the campsites are quite small. They can require navigating narrow trails up to the site - at least 25 feet from the vehicle...which will be problematic for those with less mobility or those who bring more gear they need. It was nice to have the store there. Water is available in the camp, but we had to walk very far to get it - about 200 feet, and then you add the navigation up the hill and it makes the camping experience a bit less fun and relaxing than you may be expecting. That being said, this is a beautiful place to camp. Not all sites have trees overhead, but many do. There is a river running through the camp. The location cannot be beat.

Nice campground and close to general