Scenic Backdrop!
Long Term Visitor Areas (LTVA) are typically associated with snowbirds boondocking in the desert with the LTVA in Quartzsite, Arizona being the best known. While it is true that snowbirds have been flocking to long term visitor areas in the desert for years to escape the winter of their northern home town, did you know that the BLM also operates summer long term visitor areas? It’s true! The BLM office in the eastern Sierra Mountains offers a summer season (Mar-Nov) pass for just $300.00! The pass allows you to camp in any one of four scenic mountain campsites.
The four BLM Campgrounds designated as LTVA sites are:
– Turtle Creek Campground
– Goodale Creek Campground
– Crowley Lake Campground
– Horton Creek Campground
Unlike their desert counterparts, the summer long term visitor areas offer actual numbered camp spaces complete with picnic table and fire ring. All of the campgrounds offer vault toilets and some even offer seasonal water and dump stations.
The annual LTVA season is from the first Saturday in March to November 1st. During this season, visitors who wish to camp on public lands administered by the Bureau of Land Management Bishop Field Office for extended periods greater than 14 days must stay in the designated LTVA campgrounds and purchase an LTVA permit.
LTVA permits can be obtained at:
Public Lands Information Center, 798 North Main Street, Bishop, CA
Phone: (760) 873-2500
Office hours: Monday-Friday, 8 am-4:30 pm (Summer: 7 days/week)
Camping in a scenic campground with towering mountains serving as a backdrop for about $1.25 per night, is my kind of adventure in RVing!
Dave Helgeson’s many roles in the RV industry started before he even had a driver’s license. His grandparents and father owned an RV dealership before the term “RV” had been coined, and Dave played a pivotal role in nearly every position of an RV dealership. He and his wife Cheri launched their own RV dealership in the Pacific Northwest. The duo also spent 29 years overseeing regional RV shows. Dave has also served as President of a local chapter of the Recreational Vehicle Dealers Association (RVDA), worked on the board of advisors for the RV Technician Program of a local technical college, and served as a board member of the Manufactured Home and RV Association. Dave’s reputation earned him the title of “The foremost expert on boondocking,” bestowed by RV industry icon, the late Gary Bunzer (The RV Doctor). When he’s not out boondocking, you’ll find Dave in the spotlight at RV shows across the country, giving seminars about all things RVing. He and Cheri currently roam in their fifth travel trailer, with Dave doing all the service, repair and modifications to his own unit.
The Bishop LTVA is making changes. As of February 28th 2017, they do not have the LTVA PROGRAM. I spoke with Becky Hutto who is in charge of all 4 BLM campgrounds in the Bishop area. She stated they are working on the changes and the longest anyone can stay is 14 days. She also said she is telling everyone to call back in a month to see if they have finalized their changes. So far I have called two months in a row trying to plan my location for the summer months. This winter I escaped the cold weather by pulling my home (23 ft travel trailer) my mini condo on wheels, down to Yuma Arizona BLM campground t the imperial dam. $180 for 7 months! Hot showers, mail delivered to the Christian service center, many dump stations and water. The LTVA season ends April 15th, so hopefully they’ll have it all figured out by then because it gets really hot here! Just wanted to add this update in case anyone is interested. Peace!
Thanks for the update.
It’s a shame. I only got to do LTVA one year. Four great campgrounds, nice people, water in the uncrowded campgrounds. I’m wondering if there is anything we can do. I’d like to see my friends again. I’d like to camp longer than 2 weeks in this area without having to move around so much and/or play hide and seek with the cop-rangers. Camping is supposed to be non-stressful. Is there anything we can do? When I called I couldn’t even get that much information. They said they were “working on it”.
The BLM issued a press release on May 16, 2017 entitled, “Long-Term Camping Opportunities Available in the Eastern Sierra” (https://www.blm.gov/press-release/long-term-camping-opportunities-available-eastern-sierra) which in summary states, “Those interested in long-term camping have the option of purchasing either a 30-day or 90-day permit. Under the approved permit program visitors can camp for up to 180 days per year within BLM campgrounds in the Eastern Sierra. The fee for a 30-day permit is $120. The fee for a 90-day permit is $320.”
We stayed at the Tuttle Creek campground for the 2016 summer season. We paid $300 for a long-term permit for a season that lasted from the 1st Saturday in March until November 1st. From 2016 to 2017, the Bishop Field Office has raised the long-term permit fee by almost 300%. Our experiences with Tuttle Creek were not the best. Even at 5000′ it gets very hot in the summer, into the mid-100s. Also, there were many wildfires in the area during the season so in addition to having to be ready to evacuate, the wildfires contributed to the poor air quality noted in the Owens Valley. The cost of living in the area is much higher than what we were accustomed to at Imperial Dam near Yuma, AZ.
We found a much better alternative at the new Baja LTVA which offers over-sized beach front and ocean view LTVA lots starting at $300 for the entire season, April 15 – September 15. The temperatures compare with San Diego because we’re right on the Pacific Ocean. We’re sitting in our lounge chairs on the beach wondering why we didn’t do this sooner! You can find information on this at the imperialdam.com website.
Now if there were only a summer LTVA with a large clothing optional area like The Magic Circle in LaPosa South outside of Quartzsite… All the summer spots for nudists are either expensive resorts, or extremely remote and hard to reach in anything but a 4×4.
Someone could make a ton of $ by setting up such a spot.