Lake Mary Campground

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650 Gilman St
Palo Alto, CA 94301

Overview

Lake Mary is the star of the Mammoth Lakes region. Of the 11 lakes in the area, Mary is the largest and most developed. Lake Mary Campground is a large facility with plenty of amenities in and around it. The lake provides a great base for activities like fishing, viewing waterfalls, hiking and backpacking.

Recreation

Lake Mary receives the highest number of trout stocks in the Mammoth Lakes Basin, and is well-known to anglers for its rainbow, brook and brown trout fishing. No swimming or wading is allowed in the lake.

Though no hiking trails begin in the campground, several interesting trails offer a variety of hikes nearby, including day hiking and backpacking trails into the rustic John Muir Wilderness.

Facilities

The campground straddles the road at the northwest end of Lake Mary, and offers four loops of closely-spaced campsites. The campground is within walking distance of the lake, and some sites have a view of the water.

Natural Features

The campground lies among lodgepole pine trees at an elevation of 8,900 feet. Some campsites have views of the breathtaking scenery surrounding the campground, including Lake Mary and some of the 9,000 and 10,000' peaks in the John Muir Wilderness.

The Eastern Sierra Nevada Mountains are abundant with wildlife, including black bear, mountain lions, mule deer, pine marten, pika and many species of fish and birds.

Nearby Attractions

Mammoth Lakes Basin contains several additional popular lakes to explore for fishing and boating.

Visitors can also access the magnificent John Muir Wilderness nearby, which stretches 100 miles along the crest of the Sierra Nevadas, a land of lofty snow-capped mountains, deep canyons and vast expanses of glacially-carved terrain. Hiking and horseback riding trails are abundant.

Charges & Cancellations

As you make travel plans that include reservations on Recreation.gov, there are standard policies that apply to most locations of which you should be aware. Do keep in mind, however, that there are many exceptions, so it is best to review reservation information listed on individual facility pages for those policies and procedures that pertain to your specific locations.

Any location or activity requiring a permit or lottery will have unique requirements and policies. Please check individual facility pages for pertinent information for those sites.

Change and Cancellation Policies and Fees

Overnight and Day Use Facilities: To ensure fairness, reservation arrival or departure dates may not be changed beyond the booking window until 18 days after booking the reservation.

Camping / Day Use: A $10.00 service fee will apply if you change or cancel your reservation (including campsites, cabins, lookouts, group facilities, etc.). The $10.00 service fee will be deducted from the refund amount.

You can cancel or change reservations through Recreation.gov or by calling 1-877-444-6777.

Late Cancellations

Overnight and Day Use Facilities: Late cancellations are those cancelled between 12:01 a.m. (Eastern) on the day before arrival and check out time on the day after arrival.

Individual Campsites: If a customer cancels a reservation the day before or on the day of arrival they will be charged a $10.00 service fee and will also forfeit the first night's use fee (not to exceed the total paid for the original reservation). Cancellations for a single night's reservation will forfeit the entire use fee but no cancellation fee will apply.

Cabins / Lookouts: Customers will be charged a $10.00 cancellation fee and forfeit the first night's use fee if a cabin or lookout reservation is cancelled within 14 days of the scheduled arrival date. Cancellations for a single night's use will not be assessed a service fee.

Group Facility: If a customer cancels a group overnight facility reservation within 14 days of the scheduled arrival date they will be charged the $10.00 service fee and forfeit the first night's use fee. Cancellations for a single night's use will not be assessed a service fee.

Group Day Use Area: If a customer cancels a group day use facility reservation within 14 days of the scheduled arrival date, they will forfeit the total day use fee with no service fee charge.

No-Shows

Camping / Day Use: A camping no-show customer is one who does not arrive at a campground and does not cancel the reservation by check-out time on the day after the scheduled arrival date. Reserved campsites and group overnight facilities will be held until check-out time on the day following your scheduled arrival. Group day-use facilities will be held until check-in time on your scheduled arrival date.

If a customer does not arrive at the campground or group facility by check-out time the day after arrival or does not cancel the reservation by the times listed under "Late Cancellations" above, the customer may be assessed a $20.00 service fee and forfeit use fees.

Tours: A tour or ticket no-show is one who does not cancel a ticket before arrival and does not arrive for the tour. Tour no-shows are not entitled to a refund.

Refunds

Customers must request refunds no later than 14 days after the scheduled departure date. Recreation.gov will not grant refund requests after 14 days of departure.

Reservation Fee: For some facilities, tours or permits an additional reservation fee is charged. For some overnight and day-use facilities, an additional non-refundable reservation fee may apply. The non-refundable reservation fee for tours and tickets is $1.00. The non-refundable reservation fee for permits varies by location.

Refunds for Bankcard Purchases: Refunds for bank card payments will be issued as a credit to the original bank card.

Refunds for Check or Cash Purchases: Refunds for Recreation.gov payments made by check or money order, and cash payments at selected campgrounds will be issued a check refund. A refund will be processed within 30 days of receipt and approval. Please Note: Refund requests made during or after departure can only be processed when approved by the facility management staff based upon local policy.

Refunds for Emergency Closures: In the event of an emergency closure, the Recreation.gov team will attempt to notify users and offer alternate dates (as appropriate). If this is not possible, reservations will be cancelled and all fees paid will be refunded. Reservation fees for free tickets are non-refundable in the event of an emergency closure.

Recreation.gov Billing Information

Reservation transaction will appear on customer's credit card statements as "Recreation.gov 877-444-6777."

Changes to Policies and Procedures

Recreation.gov reserves the right, when necessary, to modify reservation policies. These policies were last updated July

Camp site features

Across 48 camp sites:

  • Pets allowed: all 48 sites
  • Longest rig: 21 ft
  • Largest party: 6 people

Directions

Take U.S. 395 to Mammoth Junction and Highway 203. Turn west on Highway 203 and drive through the town of Mammoth Lakes to the junction of Minaret Road/Highway 203 and Lake Mary Road. Continue straight through the intersection and drive 3.6 miles to Lake Mary Loop Drive. Turn right and drive 0.5 miles to the campground entrance.

Stay Limit

Check in from 2 PM, check out by 12 PM.

Reviews

247 reviews
5 stars
155
4 stars
41
3 stars
21
2 stars
14
1 stars
16
Dean H
Loop:Lake Mary Campground
Site:
Reviewed 5 days ago
The hosts were very helpful and accommodating when we asked to change campsites. Kayaking on the lake was fun, great hikes close by and it's an easy drive to town for a meal if you don't feel like cooking.
Carla M
Loop:Lake Mary Campground
Site:
Reviewed 7 days ago
Wonderful camp hosts and for the most part, respectable neighboring campers. Clean facilities, we will be back.
John H
Loop:Lake Mary Campground
Site:
Reviewed 10 days ago
We stayed in site 48 - a tent-only site. We wanted a site that's a little more remote than the rest where we would be less likely to encounter people and that's what we found. This site is atop a hill above the parking lot, so less accessible than others, but that was fine for us. Water is in the adjacent campsite down the hill. The bathrooms across the road were clean and all the plumbing worked. Great location as a base for enjoying the lakes and hiking in the Mammoth Lakes region.
Angelica A
Loop:Lake Mary Campground
Site:
Reviewed 11 days ago
The host was very informative upon arrival and informed us there was a bear frequenting the campsite. She recommended how to avoid any problems and we had no bear activity at our site. Yay! We visited June Lake for swimming and relaxing. We had luck fishing at Convict Lake. Our children biked to Horseshoe Lake for swimming and paddle boarding. We spent a day hiking to Arrowhead Lake and the kids did some more fishing & swimming. In the evenings we enjoyed biking and walking around Lake Mary. The trolly was a great way to get around and visit the village.
Tracy T
Loop:Lake Mary Campground
Site:
Reviewed 11 days ago
Great campground. Campsite has room for 2-3 6 person tents. No spot has shade all day so a sun tarp may be useful in the summer sun. Clean restrooms. Close to bike path. Near the Duck Lake (and others) trailhead. Shower at twin lake was warm and clean ($10). This site is next to the road and people sometimes walk through trying to find the trail around the lake and cars that are looking for a day use parking spot wonder in and park. I would return again and next time, bring my bike and/or go horseback riding (stables near).
Brooke S
Loop:Lake Mary Campground
Site:
Reviewed 12 days ago
This is a busy and small campground, but it's clean and well cared for by the hosts. You can't beat the location! The bathrooms are clean, but it is unusual that there isn't any soap or hand sanitizer, so bring your own. The marina has a little shop and a nice deck to enjoy the view. It is an active bear area and the host was very specific about how to make sure your bear bin is properly locked so they don't get in. I heard one bear going around and banging on the bins at night to check them out, but I did not see any during the day. We enjoyed the trail around Lake Mamie- good birding in the early morning. Lots of great trails nearby, you really don't need to go anywhere else once you're there. Looking forward to camping there again in the coming years.
Availability

See the Camp Sites section below to find detailed booking availability.

Popularity: Moderate

Busiest in August, when about 52% of guest capacity is reserved. Based on 9 years of reservations.

Camp Sites

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