camping lower owens questions

[sktruth]

I want to go fish the lower O this weekend, but am not sure about camping. Does anyone know if you can camp alongside the river near bishop. I doubt fires are allowed, but camping? Thanks in advance for the all the responses.
tight lines

[troutman27]

There is a campground right out of Bishop right along the Owens River. (Pleasant Valley Campground). You can fish the "wild" section of the river (Catch & Release), as well as take a short drive to the reservoir. I'm not sure about fires.......I've never had a problem there.

[sktruth]

i know the campground there your talking about. I love fishing the river that comes out of pvr by the campground. I was looking for somewhere i could camp, not in a campground per say, maybe along chalk bluff road or not. I'm just not sure if it's blm land or dwp. I know that DWP land is day use only. I know you can camp on BLM land, but not sure whats what. Thanks again for the advice.

[Sierra_Smitty]

i know the campground there your talking about. I love fishing the river that comes out of pvr by the campground. I was looking for somewhere i could camp, not in a campground per say, maybe along chalk bluff road or not. I'm just not sure if it's blm land or dwp. I know that DWP land is day use only. I know you can camp on BLM land, but not sure whats what. Thanks again for the advice.


I didn't think you were allowed to camp in any undeveloped campgrounds in the area...but I'm not totally sure about BLM land. I know that you are not allowed to camp anywhere on DWP land, which includes pretty much the entire river south of Hwy 6...which also happens to include just about the entire river except the wild trout section.

[fly addict]

The last idiots that camped along the river burned the place down. DWP and locals, including sheriffs will run you out if they catch you camping along the river. Only place is below PVR.

[Jig-Guy]

Fly Addict is right! PVC is the place to be and have no problems.

[dockboy]

The river is fenced off below the start of the Wild Trout section, no vehicles. Last year a couple fisherman accidentally ignited a fire with their stove that burned a good chunk of the river vegetation. Luckily, the fire was contained before it caused too much damage, but as a precaution the land was fenced off from about 1/8 mile of the river bank, no vehicles or camping of any sort.Much like the Upper Owens above Crowley. The local guides and fisherman will not hesitate to report illegal campers, make no mistake about that.
Its a good thing though.Vehicles had worn down much of the terrain, especially guys getting stuck in winter mud. Now the vegetation that is the key to aquatic insects is really coming back well. Plus, it was always a bummer when somebody pulled up in their big truck and started thumping around the bank getting ready, spooking the fish you were stalking.
PVR campground is good, and rarely crowded. There are numerous campgrounds in the region around Bishop and most all of them offer a shot at the Lower Owens and the Gorge.

[allday00420]

Dude, your going to camp in Bishop soon? U better be prepared for the cold. At night and the early morning, it is freezing. I tried camping last year in May. I thought I would be alright with my tent and couple sleeping bags...WRONG. I ended up ditching my tent and sleeping in the car the 1st night. The 2nd night I got a motel room.
I went camping again in July, it was much better.

[retired96]

The secret to camping in the cold is a good sleeping bag, I once camped in Bishop when the temps. got down to 8-10 degrees, and I have camped in Rock Creek in single digit temps. Years ago I bought a sleeping bag rated at 20 below and it has always kept me warm during cold nights. A really good bag can cost 300-400 dollars but will last forever.

The worst thing about cold weather camping is climbing out of the warm bag in the morning and putting on your almost frozen jeans. I solved that problem by laying my jeans under my sleeping bag at night. I'll take the cold weather over hot any day.

[sktruth]

Thanks for all the help guys, i really appreciate it. I will post a report very soon. I ended up camping at pleasant valley but found out that one could camp at pleasant valley PIT campground for 2.00$ a night. It's on blm land just off pleasant valley dam road. Just a heads up, if doing a cheap trip, one can stay at PIT campground. It's just before PVR campground on the left up a dirt road. Thanks again for the help you guys. Weather was amazing.