Camp Observer1 of 2 photos
Holey Meadow
Overview
The Sequoia National Forest, located at the southern end of the Sierra Nevada in central California, takes its name from the giant sequoia, the world's largest tree, which grows in more than 30 groves on the Forest's lower slopes. The Forest comprises about 1.1 million acres.Elevations range from about 1,000 to 12,000 feet, creating precipitous canyons and mountain streams with spectacular waterfalls such as Salmon Creek Falls near Fairview and Grizzly Falls on the Kings River.
This remote campground is popular with hikers and people who want to tour the giant sequoias, including the Trail of a Hundred Giants.
Recreation
Activities in this remote area include hiking and touring giant sequoias. Trails in the monument, open to hikers, horses and bikes, wind through giant sequoia groves, up mountains, and alongside wild rivers. Plenty of hiking is offered nearby, including a wheelchair-accessible nature trail, the Trail of a Hundred Giants.Facilities
This campground accommodates tents only and has 10 individual campsites. It is primitive with no available water. Each campsite is equipped with a picnic table and campfire ring; vault toilets are available at the campground.
This facility is operated by Rocky Mountain Recreation Company, a division of ExplorUS and comments are welcome; comment forms are available from campground hosts or online.
Natural Features
This primitive campground sits at an elevation of 6,400 feet southeast of Porterville, California, within the Giant Sequoia National Monument. It is a short drive to the the Trail of a Hundred Giants, through the Redwood or Long Meadow sequoia grove.Contact Info
For facility specific information, please call (661) 455-6010.Nearby Attractions
The Redwood and Long Meadow Sequoia groves and the Trail of a Hundred Giants are a short drive away.Camp site features
Across 9 camp sites:
- Picnic table: all 9 sites
- Pets allowed: all 9 sites
- Longest rig: 20 ft
- Largest party: 6 people
Directions
From Highway 99, turn east on J22. Travel on J22 through California Hot
Springs, then turn left at onto M50. After approximately 10 miles turn left at
M107. The entrance to Holey Meadow Campground is on the left about a mile
after the turn.
Stay Limit
Check in from 2 PM, check out by 12 PM.
Reviews
Ratings (23)
5 stars
8
4 stars
7
3 stars
6
1 stars
2
Brendan M
Loop:Holey Meadow
Site:02
Reviewed 4 years ago
Small, nice campground very near to the Trail of 100 Giants! There are only a few camping spots and no RV hookups (or even running water!) so if you are looking for a more natural campsite experience this might be for you. Nice mature trees and meadow. But be aware this is in an area heavily impacted by fire in 2020, so you will see a lot of dead trees on your way in and out.
Cynthia C
Loop:Holey Meadow
Site:06
Reviewed 4 years ago
My favorite campsite but because of the fires, bears are now more active in the area. I highly suggest this site but please keep that in mind.
Hrant V
Loop:Holey Meadow
Site:01
Reviewed 4 years ago
Very nice campsite. We went in July and the weather was very comfortable. The campsite is surrounded by tall trees so it stays pretty shady and cool.
Very close proximity to the Trail of 100 Giants. There is a nice meadow nearby to explore.
Only thing I didn't like was how close all the campsites are to eachother.
DeAngelo H
Loop:Holey Meadow
Site:07
Reviewed 4 years ago
Site was well-maintained by an awesome woman named Laury! She gave us some spots to check out and was a pleasure to talk to. The whol campsite features lots a meadow nearby that probably attracts a lot of night critters so prepare for lots of rustling around at night. I think the spot I was on wasn't the best on the site, but what can you do when you book online. Still lovely nonetheless. Great time and great park staffers wherever I met them at Sequoia.
William M
Loop:Holey Meadow
Site:04
Reviewed 4 years ago
The remote location is RV free. Wonderful sized trees and without water. Perfect for more advanced campers. Perfect site for small tents and so quiet. Our camp ranger was also kind and very friendly. Thank you Holey Meadow for all your beauty.
Zoe A
Loop:Holey Meadow
Site:07
Reviewed 4 years ago
The campground itself is pretty great — remote and quiet but still pretty easily accessible. Site #7 however is kind of a joke. It seemed like our site was 1/4 the size of all the other sites and had just one pad appropriate for a tent and even that one pad was on a slope. We struggled to squeeze in two tents and both sort of slid downward through the night. Unless you're visiting with just a single small tent, I highly recommend booking literally any other site here!
Rene Q
Loop:Holey Meadow
Site:07
Reviewed 5 years ago
Space 7 was really steep. 6 and 8 are much flater. Lucked out and got space 8. As the people in 7 complained about its steepness. No water on site or bear lockers. Location was clean but didnt see a host. No campfires kinda puts a damper on the trip.
Rich M
Loop:Holey Meadow
Site:02
Reviewed 5 years ago
I enjoyed the location and campsite. Dome Rock and the trail of the 100 Giants were close to the campsite. The bathrooms were clean. Bring bear spray in case a bear visits your campsite and does not leave when you make a lot of noise. An extended family was really loud during the day and most of the evening time.
Richard S
Loop:Holey Meadow
Site:03
Reviewed 5 years ago
Robert, the camp host, was very friendly and helpful. He kept the area clean. Campsites were clean, but a little too close together. A bear, or maybe more than one bear), came through on Friday night kept me awake all night setting off car alarms and setting the dogs in the campground to barking. A bear entered my campsite Saturday morning and chewed up some things. There are no bear lockers in the campground and Robert the camp host had put all the trash cans in a bathroom to keep the trash away from the bears. I had an enjoyable stay, but I left early because I didn't want to risk a bear climbing into my bedroll with me.
Lauren F
Loop:Holey Meadow
Site:02
Reviewed 5 years ago
Enjoyed this secluded spot up in the mountains. It was a nice escape from the heat. Be mindful of the bears in the area that go dumpster diving! No bear boxes. Plenty of space at the site and between.
Isbelda S
Loop:Holey Meadow
Site:01
Reviewed 5 years ago
Very nice isolated place. Perfect place to see stars at night.
Steve R
Loop:Holey Meadow
Site:04
Reviewed 6 years ago
We arrived at 5:30 pm on the day of our reservation. There was no camp host on duty. The site that I had reserved was occupied. Checked all other sites. None were reserved in my name. No cell service in area, no-one to contact. We ended up sleeping on the side of the road. It has been 2 weeks now since I contacted Recreation.gov requesting a refund and I have gotten no response. This experience with Recreation.gov has been a terrible one. I will never reserve anything through them again !
Ann M
Loop:Holey Meadow
Site:05
Reviewed 6 years ago
It is a beautiful campground with gorgeous trees and lots of shade. The roads up to the campground are very winding, especially if you come in from the North. The weather was very pleasant for August.
We were in #5 which was too close to the bathroom. I would choose a different spot if I were to do it again as the toilets were smelly if the doors were left open.
It was unfortunate for us that we couldn't have a campfire or use charcoal, but we understood the fire danger. Someone told us that there is a $500 fine, but some people did have them. A sign at Trail of the 100 Giants said that campfires are allowed at Holey Meadow, but there is a sign at the campground saying that you can't. We used our propane stove, but we had to get an online fire permit. It would also be nice if there was water, but we did fine with 10 gallons for 2 nights.
There are also bugs flying around, in the late afternoon especially, but I only got one bite after using bugspray and a citronella wristband. It was very quiet!
We didn't find a lot of places to visit, but we enjoyed going to the Trail of 100 Giants ($19 day use parking fee), Dome Rock, and the General Store in Ponderosa.
Overall, we had a pleasant stay.
Naomi O
Loop:Holey Meadow
Site:03
Reviewed 6 years ago
Beautiful shady spot amongst the trees. Pretty close to the other campsites. Clean toilet. No fires allowed when we were there in August - other campers had them anyway, tsk! Only downside my tent was yellow and attracted yellowjackets like crazy. Occasional lowing from the nearby herd of cattle - made us feel like it was very unlikely we’d have a bear visit, at least without warning. Somewhat bumpy road in, would have been better in a car that rode higher. Very dusty site. Lovely to hear the wind in the trees - but a big branch came down next to the toilets while we were there so just a heads up. Down the road from the 100 Sequoia monument - which was full of maintenance logging and jammed with graffitiing tourists, charcoal in hand, also note $10 day-use parking there. Near an unmarked trail to a waterfall. Overall a nice spot! Sadly the whole area shows the effects of our extended drought with tons of dead trees amongst the living.
Bruce E
Loop:Holey Meadow
Site:09
Reviewed 6 years ago
This was a nice, small and mostly quiet campground, which was what I was looking for. Walking distance to the Trail of 100 Giants, and easy driving distance to several other great trails. Nice for the first two nights, but the third night there was a loud party with a large group that went on until very late, well past the "quiet hour" restriction. There was talking, country music and fireworks that kept me awake, and ruined my next day of hiking. There was not a host on duty, and I did not feel comfortable going out and confronting this group alone. It's a shame people would ruin it for everyone else.
Danielle T
Loop:Holey Meadow
Site:05
Reviewed 6 years ago
LoveD this campsite and will definitely be back. Spaced just enough from other campsites and there aren’t that many so it’s very nice. Clean bathrooms with very little smell.
Kim H
Loop:Holey Meadow
Site:02
Reviewed 6 years ago
Great campground with spacious lots. We stayed in lot 2 and were able to pitch our tent very privately. Toilets were reasonably clean. The only annoying thing was people ignoring the signs that prohibited campfires. I wish somebody would enforce the campfire restrictions. It‘s just annoying if you‘re the only person honoring the rules.
Charlotte H
Loop:Holey Meadow
Site:02
Reviewed 6 years ago
Very little privacy between spots, but otherwise nice, small and quiet.
VITALIY S
Loop:Holey Meadow
Site:08
Reviewed 6 years ago
We stayed there during month of July and we really liked it. Beautiful view of the meadow, secluded area and close proximity to the 100 Giants Trail. However a couple things I want to mention. Since this site is secluded - expect many different animals come during the night, so dont leave any food on the picnic table. Keep in mind there is no running water, plan your trip accordingly. Enjoy your stay.
Justine T
Loop:Holey Meadow
Site:08
Reviewed 6 years ago
Holey Meadow was very nice. We wondered why the water was capped off. Also- kids running through our campsite was a problem
cynthia c
Loop:Holey Meadow
Site:04
Reviewed 6 years ago
The campsite map is a little outdated. There is much trees around campsite 4. It's very open so you do get nice sunlight. There is some type of plastic water underground container sticking out near the picnic table. Overall I'll be back to camp here but not at site #4
Joshua S
Loop:Holey Meadow
Site:01
Reviewed 7 years ago
Nice small, quiet campground. I love waking up immersed in dense evergreens and being able to see the milky way at night. DO NOT camp near the restrooms. It smelled SO bad every single time someone went in. It was beyond overpowering. The only other criticism is that my reservation was not put onto a card on the site, so when I showed up there was someone already camping there. That was okay; we shared. But this little place is well worth the short drive off the beaten path. It feels pretty small and secluded. Just don't pick a site near the restroom!
Anne K
Loop:Holey Meadow
Site:09
Reviewed 7 years ago
Holey Meadows is a small and quiet campground driving distance from a bunch of great hiking. Definitely check out the general store down the road and pick up a trail map there; they'll show you trails you couldn't find normally. Overall, the camp is clean, easy to navigate, and located in a beautiful part of the park.
Popularity
Moderate · 50%
Busiest in July, when about 50% of sites are booked. Based on 8 years of reservations.
