BLM Spot Review: Camping at the Volcanic Tablelands Outside of Bishop, California

One of my favorite free camping spots this trip was at the Volcanic Tablelands, just outside of the adorable small town of Bishop, California. It was perfect for truck camping in my Tacoma.

Getting there:

You can access the Volcanic Tablelands by heading north on US 6 out of Bishop, and turning onto Casa Diablo Road. You’ll see a sign marking the area and lots of pull offs for camping.

You’re here!

camping at volcanic tablelands:

This was my first stop out of the Las Vegas area on my way to Oregon. The weather was perfect—sunny and cool, my favorite—and I had no problem finding the area, which is always a win when venturing into unknown BLM territory for camping. I’m always afraid I won’t find it! The pull offs are obvious and clearly marked with fire rings. I drove past a couple of RVs and found a nice, private open space to park the truck.

Beatrix got to work right away sniffing the area.

The view of the snow-capped eastern Sierra Nevada mountains combined with the rocky desert was nothing short of stunning.

This view was like nothing I’d seen before!

We settled in, made some dinner, and got a comfy night’s sleep in the camper.

Yep, I woke up to this!

bishop, California:

In the morning, Beatrix and I walked a little, had breakfast, and prepared to get on the road. I decided to backtrack a little way to the town of Bishop, California to get gas and see if I could find a place to fill up my water jugs. Just like Poverty Flats (which I wrote about last week), this area doesn’t have any facilities like restrooms or water so you have to come prepared. I wasn’t out of water, but wanted to top off before getting back on the road.

I could’ve easily spent more time in this gorgeous area. You can camp here for up to 14 days at a time!

Bishop is an adorable little town. Think, 25 mph main street. I stopped at the dog park to let Beatrix get some more sniff time in.

There were plenty of smells to be found.

Near the dog park is a lovely park with a duck pond and public restrooms. I stopped at the visitor’s center to inquire about filling up my water jugs, and they kindly let me fill up right outside the building (pro tip: always ask if this is OK!)

Visitor Center map.

After filling up with insanely priced California gas, I was on my way! I almost stopped at the famous Erick Schat’s Bakery, but I already had a car full of pastries from 85c Bakery in Vegas, so I decided against it. I don’t know what I was thinking, though…the more sweets the better! I’ll definitely stop in next time.

The beauty of the drive through this area can’t be overstated. We headed to the Reno area, driving past Mono Lake (a surreal, ancient lake) and then into Nevada. This route through the eastern Sierras contained probably my favorite scenery from the entire road trip.

Have you camped near Bishop? Did you try Erick Schat’s Bakery? Let me know in the comments!