Toualmne last minute camping?

Any good options to camp in or within an hour of Toualmne this year if you cant score a reservation?  Hoping to go late august but the main sites are booked.  

wisam wrote:

Any good options to camp in or within an hour of Toualmne this year if you cant score a reservation?  Hoping to go late august but the main sites are booked.  

There is a ton of dispersed camping within an hour.  If you're sleeping in a car, the upper parking lot at the Mobil gas station seems to be the best spot lately.  

We camped at the lake you pass heading east from the Tioga Pass entrance two weeks ago. Easy to find a spot every night and just a short hop over to the entrance. I'm sure you could find a dozen other spots pretty easily, and tons of people were simply parking off the side of the road.

Did you mean Tuolumne?

I believe all the campgrounds in Lee Vining Canyon are walk-up only (no reservations).

https://www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/fseprd486882.pdf

I have had good luck asking to share a site and pay for the whole site.

There's a reason they call it it Inyo National Forest. 

Is anyone able to comment on the condition of the roads to access dispersed camping? Never been to the area and would like to know what kind of car is needed. 

BryanOC wrote:

There is a ton of dispersed camping within an hour.  If you're sleeping in a car, the upper parking lot at the Mobil gas station seems to be the best spot lately.  

In fact, an hour will get you all the way to Travertine Hot Springs in Bridgeport. There are many too many options to describe in the opposite direction, and accessible to passenger cars.

Mark D wrote:

Is anyone able to comment on the condition of the roads to access dispersed camping? Never been to the area and would like to know what kind of car is needed. 

It is possible to access a great deal of dispersed NF camping all over the east side with your average low clearance sedan. Specifically, the areas around Lee Vining are all pretty mellow roads.