Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board Sequoia Campground

It is not a Whitney topic, however I think this board is the best place to get the best answer, please help.

Dose anyone know how Lodgepole campground in Sequoia N.P. looks like now? At 6800', is it all cover with snow and doable for an easy snowcamping this weekend?

Thank you,

TBT

Sure.
Unless something's changed this year the front half of the campground should be open for snow camping. It is a relatively easy snow camp too. (close sites, etc) Phone number is 559-565-3341.
There may not be any snow though!! I'm hoping to get up there this week for a day to do some climbing, I'll let you know what I find.

It's a year round campground with two or three small loops open near the front and South side of the canyon. So it doesn't get a lot of sun during the winter months. Should be frosty with a new dusting between now and the weekend. Interestingly the only webcam that comes close to showing conditions is a ways away at mineral King http://www.mk-webcam.net/ . But it show altitude similarities that side of the range. LP-6800+' MK at 7,400+' At one point I thought they had a web cam near the maintainance barn just up the road from Lodgepole. But can't seem to find it anymore. Have fun!

humelake.org has a really nice webcam of Hume Lake. elev. approx. 5300 ft. should give you some idea of lodgepole cond.

There is probably some snow there, but not a whole lot. A better webcam is the official SEKI webcam just a couple miles away:

http://www.nature.nps.gov/air/WebCams/parks/sekicam/sekicam.cfm

The main Mineral King webcam is at 7800', and the Faculty Flat webcam is at 7400'. Lodgepole is usually colder than the location where the SEKI webcam is, and usually has more snow. Since the forecast is for snow this Thursday and Friday, I would expect there to be plenty of coverage by this weekend. When camping overnight in winter, expect the temps to get close to ten degrees colder than the SEKI webcam reports.

When the snow gets deep, they only plow the main road going in to the restroom. You can camp on the plowed asphalt or on the snow anywhere you want - you can't see the official campsites anyway. I usually take my scouts camping there every winter. Last year in February we camped on about five feet of snow, and a couple years ago it was close to ten feet deep when we camped there.

In the summer this campground has a major bear problem. Many black bears do not hibernate. Check with the ranger station. I was there 2-3 years ago in July--It was so annoying that I haven't gone back. They were jumping on picnic tables where families were eating. A young male walked straight through our campsite in mid-day while we were sitting around.

Cool! Now that's my kind of camping! Having bears around adds to the "outdoor" experience.

Just have to keep the food all locked up.

I was there mid November between snows and we saw a total of six bears while at the camp or on hikes. 4 were black and two were bigger and brown. The brown were foraging for acorns and other grub at lower altitudes. Only the black that came through the camp was a troublemaker. The camp coyote were more troublesome as they'd perch about 10-15 yards away, wait for you to turn your back and try and sneak in for snack. Definately a reason to use the boxes.

better read Dennis's weather predictions - looks like it could snow at Lodgepole starting Friday through Sun a.m.

There should be snow--there was a couple weeks ago, and they've gotten more snow since. The bear comment is relevant--apparently it's been warm enough that the bears have been a problem in the area. It's probably best to be careful with food storage.

I'll second the coyote problem. When I had the scouts there last February, there was 5 feet of snow on the ground and the temps were below 20 (actually warm for a winter Lodgepole campout). A coyote kept trying to approach camp at night. My son entertained himself by chasing it away until I told him to keep his distance.