Looking for boondocking near Bishop / Big Pine

Yes, the upcomming holiday Aug 29- Sep 1, which is why I am a little concerned about finding something in the first come first served campgrounds, I would not be getting there till late afternoon. As you well know, here in SoCal if you do not have reservations on a holiday weekend you are out of luck or find a place to boondock. But I have only been to the Eastern Sierras onece in the last 10 years or so, and that was October so everything was pretty empty. I have no idea how they are on a holiday. I suppose I could call the NFS and see what is typical.

I definately want to do Bristlecone, it has been a very long time since I have been, and the rest of my family has never been. I would make a day trip out of it for one of my 2 days there and was hoping to stay a bit closer and wondered if anyone had boondocked in the white mountains. I guess I could drive up to grandview but it is quite a trek to have to turn around if full, though from what I remember sites are not really designated. Even though our TT is only 22ft end to end, I have become much more cautions about having reservations than when we had a pop-up, maybe overly. Maybe we should just go.

The Bishop Creek area is nice and would only add 30 miles each way to Bristlecone. Again, my concern would be arriving to find nothing open. It seems a lot harder than it used to be to just roll up to a campground and find something open.

I appreciate your suggestions, really enjoy reading about your trips and looking at your pictures (as well as everyone elses. With the craziness of my life right (DW went back to school) now I have to camp vicariously through everyones pictures!! We have only been out twice this year, June and July. Very frustrating!

There is boondocking in the volcanic tablelands north of Bishop. (This area can get hot, though.) When you say "holiday," is that Labor Day?

I also like the Bristlecone area, but let me give you an alternative idea -- the Bishop Creek area. There are lots and lots of campgrounds up there -- it is almost never completely full. Plus, there is a lot of hiking up there, while Bristlecone has fewer trails. There is some boondocking not too far away in the Buttermilk Country area, but the campgrounds are at higher elevations and are cooler.

The other advantage of the Bishop Creek campgrounds is that many of them are right on the creek -- lots of things for three active kids to do!