Cold Springs Campground

Joshua Resendez

Amazing spot. Lots of tree cover, very cool even during the summer, amazing hikes around campgrounds, and nice creek located next to most camp spots. Drive is a bit of a trek if you're not experienced. Only negative is the daytime ranger. She is rude and is on a total power trip.

Leanne Vennemeyer

We visited in June 2021. Drove all day from San Diego through Three Rivers and up Mineral King. It was just as treacherous as we'd heard. The campground is lovely and I would definitely go back if it weren't for that road. Sites were fairly distanced from each other, trees provided shade but it still got quite hot in the middle of the day. River was cool and safe to play in and provided a lovely white noise, but the mosquitos in the evening and the flies in the day were no joke. Had to carry our gear into our walk in site (that was all that was available to us) which was a beautiful long walk (under 1/4 mile) and would have been totally tolerable if you think of it as backpacking instead of inconvenient car camping. We bear boxed diligently and marmot-proofed our car and had no problems, never saw either. We walked 2.7 miles on the "road" back to the Silver City Resort for pie and cold drinks one afternoon. Walk was long and hot but snacks were on point. Vault toilets were better than I expected and a longer walk from our site than expected. Pack light. Prep for critters. Bring bug spray. Come when it is cooler than in July.

Alan Vazquez

The campground is the best from the others available throughout the trail. It is important to remember that camp service is first come first serve. The earlier you arrive, the higher the chances you'll get a spot to camp. If all camps are full, rangers will ask you to drive all the way down the mountain to spend the night at Three Rivers. The campground is intercepted by a flowing stream of spring water that soothes all campers with its amazing water flow sound. The campground has a telephone to make national and international calls. It is super expensive to use though. I used my debit card to make a phone call to Arizona and my bill ended up being around 35 dlls for a 5 minute phone call! Be warned! The campground has a water source for multy purposes and there are restrooms available. I do see myself returning to this amazing campground!

Tyler Callahan

As most reviews here and elsewhere agree, this is a nice, remote, quiet campground. Rather than repeat what others have described, I thought I'd share a few things I learned during my visit that might be useful to others: - According to the Mineral King ranger, marmots aren't a problem in the campground, so there's no reason to wrap up your car with a tarp. The NPS website does warn about marmots chewing wires in your car, but the ranger said that's a problem at the nearby trailheads, not the campground. With that in mind, I left my car at the campground and walked 15 minutes to the Sawtooth Trailhead for a day hike. - There is a pay phone at the campground entrance, so if you'll need to call someone, bring quarters. I believe the cost is $1 for 2 minutes (or you can call collect, which is much more expensive). - It seems the most popular sites are those on the north side along the river (1-11, 22-32). When I arrived on a Thursday afternoon in July, the only sites available were 16-20 (plus the walk-in sites). - At my campsite (#18), there was sticky sap covering the entire picnic table, and anything I put on the table got sticky. I imagine that other sites are similarly sticky, and if this may bother you, consider bringing a tablecloth. - The ~23 mile drive on Mineral King Rd took me around 1 hr 20 min.