Snow Camping in the Southern Sierra (or anywhere for that matter).

as of yesterday hwy 155 from lake isabella over green horn summit is open and clear however you are required to carry chains on this road anytime during winter

that hwy is less than an hour from my home i ski at the small local ski area at the top of the summit there is some nice hiking in that area but to be honest

if you are not within an hours drive its really not worth the trip you won t see anything majestic or overly interresting in that area yes there is snow and yes there are places to hike to and camp but nothing at all spectacular

i have camped in that area a lot in the summer with friends and i take my jeep up there to run some mild trails just for fun nothing fantastic about it but the family has a good time maybe jumpbackjack will chime in too as he camps there with us a lot

kevin

Craig, thats awesome man, thanks. I cant believe the generosity on this site. Nick actually kicked me down an ice axe. kicked down! just like that! I tried to pay but he refused. rad people. Thanks again Craig, I may just take you up on that if I cant swing the 60 bills for microspikes by then. especially if we are able to go together, that would be awesome. its lookin sweet up there.

Jack, I am sorry to report that I'm gonna miss the BPL trip up there. I was hoping to go just to see all of you again in one place which I'm sure wont be often enough. My daughter's bday so far looks like it will have to happen that weekend, but if that changes I will certainly be callin on you if it's not too late. I still have a little hope that I'll get to go somehow.

Jeff – 168 out of Fresno does have some good spots for what you want to do. From any of those sno-parks on 168 you can just head a out a little ways and find a spot. There is plenty of snowmobile use up there, so you may have to get off the beaten track a bit to get away from the machines, but you shouldn't have to go far.
And by the way, you can generally camp in a theoretically closed Forest Service campground. There will be no restroom facilities or water available, but if there is a legal place to park the forest service usually has no problem with your camping there.
You may get more information out of the rangers if you just ask them where is a good spot to go snowshoeing. Also, there's often one ranger who's in the know on the cross-country skiing and snowshoeing, while the rest of the folks at that station are not, so it pays to ask if there is such a person and then talk to them.