Destination: Convict Lake
Most people don’t have a lot of time to go to far and obscure destinations during their Airstream road trip. But I would be remiss not to write about this beautiful lake destination located on the other side of the Sierra Nevadas on the east side of California. As much as I like Lake Tahoe, Silver Lake and Lake Nacimiento, I think Convict Lake is by far the most gorgeous California lake I’ve ever laid eyes upon. You can see the bottom of the lake since the waters are so clear and when the sun shines, the water reflects like blue crystals. Also that mountain backdrop is just breathtaking. Don’t let the name fool you, there is nothing austere, bleak or prison-like about this place. In fact it’s more like a little piece of the Swiss Alps on the west coast.
Getting There
Convict Lake is quite far from our San Jose Airstream garage and thus we advise making a stop if you are planning to explore the beautiful and rugged east side of California. The quickest route there, which is about a 6 hour drive, is through Yosemite National Park. Getting to Yosemite is about a 4 hour drive and you can read all about our experiences with the glamping at Yosemite here and here. Since the mountain roads through the national park is quite narrow and windy, we recommend this route only for those taking a 23′ Airstream or smaller and only during the summer months when the pass is open. When we took this road trip to Convcit Lake we went down to Death Valley National Park first and then came up the I-395 to Convict Lake.
Glamping at Convict Lake
Convict Lake Campground, which is within walking distance to the lake, has 37 standard non-electric back-up sites for RVs of various lengths. The spots can be a tad narrow so we recommend driving carefully around the campground and always having a spotter when backing up. Since there are no water or electric hook-ups at the campsite you might want to rent one of our generators to comfortable dry-camp. Since sites are limited we highly recommend making reservations here before your trip. There is a dump station and water filling station that is easily accessible right outside the campground if you need to empty or refill tanks. The campground itself is nicely arranged with some trees giving you privacy between sites.
What To Do There
Within walking distance to the campground is the Convict Lake Resort, which conveniently provides boat, kayak, and paddleboard rentals for a day out on the lake. There are also a couple beautiful hikes around the lake for those who prefer to stay on land. But Convict Lake is probably best known as a fishing destination for the avid fisherman. Also for those who feel like eating something fancy for a change, the Convict Lake Resort has two fine dining restaurants: Restaurant at Convict Lake and Morrison’s Restaurant (name after the mountain peak surrounding the lake).
Where To Go Next
If you’re on a time constraint, the fastest way back to San Jose would be to go through Yosemite National Park again. Or if you came up through Death Valley, going through Yosemite would be a nice roundtrip. If you came up through Yosemite and want to go down to Death Valley I would advise caution for the inexperienced trailer driver because there’s a stretch of narrow mountain roads that can be quite nerve-racking (going up is no walk in the park either but it’s not nearly as scary as going down). Lake Tahoe is about a three hour drive away if you want to continue the California mountain lake tour.
The campground has 110 sites, which are all first come first serve basis. Sites 54-58 are popular spots because it’s a bit away from the rest of the campsites. But we were in campsite 37 and still felt pretty secluded (see map at the bottom of the page here). If not being able to make a reservation during peak season makes you nervous, then you can reserve sites at the neighboring Sunset Campground, which has 157 reservable sites open from May to September. Both campgrounds are within King’s Canyon National Park and close to each other and Grant Grove Village where the Grant Grove Market and King’s Canyon Visitors Center are located.
The Grant Grove Market has groceries, beer/wine, firewood, and any other supplies you might have forgotten for your trip. The Grant Grove Village also includes a restaurant and post office. So you may be in a remote national park, but you’ll want for nothing!
The best part of Azalea Campground is that it is within walking distance (0.8 miles or a 3 minute car ride) to the main attraction at King’s Canyon National Park: General Grant Grove, home to the General Grant Tree. The General Grant Tree is the second largest tree in the world (we’ll get to the largest tree in a minute here) and is estimated to be 1,657 years old. There are also several other hikes around General Grant Grove, which you can find listed here.
Another great thing about Azalea Campground is that it is only 40 minutes away from Sequoia National Park so you can visit 2 national parks in one day if you were so inclined (the entrance fee to Kings Canyon is also good for Sequioa National Park). Sequoia National Park is home to the largest living tree in the world, the General Sherman tree. Also in the area is the Lodgepole Visitor Center and the Giant Tree Museum. There are also quite a few hiking trails in the area, that are listed here.
And if you wanted to make your Airstream road trip a National Parks tour, then the south entrance of Yosemite is about 2.5 hours away from King’s Canyon National Park. There’s a lot of beauty on this side of California.
So if you’re looking for some big beautiful trees or to check off some National Parks from your bucket list, then Azalea Campground is the place to go!
