RV travel guide
Inyo County
County seat Independence, 10,181 sq mi across California. Everything an RV traveler should read before rolling in — where you can boondock, the roads worth the detour, and the local rule that actually matters.
The county in brief
A traveler's read on Inyo County
Inyo holds the lowest point in North America (Badwater Basin at -282 ft) and one of the highest contiguous-US summits (Mt. Whitney at 14,505 ft) inside a single county boundary — a 14,800-ft vertical range that rewrites every RV trip planning assumption. The county runs 10,181 sq mi of mostly federal land (BLM + USFS + NPS + DoD), with US-395 the only paved north-south spine and CA-190 the only paved Death Valley crossing.
Bishop is the practical resupply anchor (population 3,773, every grocery + propane within a 4-block grid); Lone Pine and Independence carry smaller fuel + diesel pumps but no big-box grocery. Dispersed camping is the default on BLM Bishop Field Office land east of US-395, subject to the 14-day stay limit and the seasonal fire restriction calendar published at blm.gov/bishop.
RV travel intelligence
Read the land before you roll in
The three things that shape an RV trip here — where you can boondock, the roads worth the detour, and the local rule that trips travelers up.
Dispersed camping
high
High — most public land permits dispersed
Nearby National Park Service units
Death Valley · Sequoia (eastern slope)
Scenic drives & state byways
US-395 Eastern Sierra · CA-190 Death Valley
Ordinance note for RV travelers
BLM Bishop Field Office permits 14-day dispersed on most public land; county prohibits overnight in unincorporated business-zoned lots.
Sourced & cited
Every fact traces to an official source
Population and land area from the US Census; ordinances and park adjacency from county.gov, the National Park Service, and the US Forest Service.
More for Inyo County travelers
Go deeper around Inyo County
10 cross-linked peers across PickRV's places catalog — siblings, parks, public land, cities, and the parent state hub.
In the same state
Other California counties in our catalog
National Park Service
NPS units near Inyo County
Parent state hub
California on PickRV
Sourced from the PickRV places catalog · live availability disclosed on every landing.
Nearby & related
Keep planning California
Sourced costs, campground directories, and the places worth a detour — the next layer of California trip planning.
- California RV rental costFuel · camping · tax, sourced
- California RV-friendly campgroundsHookups, rig limits, booking tips
- RV rental companies in CaliforniaLocal hosts & outfitters, verified
- Campervan & van rentals in CaliforniaVan-life routes, rules & rigs
- RV rentals in CaliforniaPickRV Wiki · 6 min read
- California Pacific Coast Highway 1 RVPickRV Wiki · 12 min read
- National monumentsProtected-land guides
- Scenic landmarksBucket-list overlooks
California rules · last verified 2026-05-10
- Rental tax
- 9.75%
- Min driver age
- 21+ std · 25+ Class A
- Gravel roads
- Permit required
- Generator quiet
- 22:00-06:00
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