Reds Meadow Resort & Pack Station

This place is like finding the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. I had pre-​booked a cabin at Red’s before I departed for JMT. Thought a warm bed and some pod other than dehydrated, freeze dried and instant would be a nice change. Just coming of the John Muir Trail to resupply I was met by some nice folks who were helpful. Picked up my re-​supply, grabbed a nice cold beer and headed to the restaurant to grab a bite. Now, this place was like the Four Seasons in comparison to life on the trail. Sure, the backpackers cabin didn’t have a bathroom or shower so I had to walk a short walk to it but I didn’t’ mind. Showers and bathrooms were always clean, didn’t smell and they had electrical outlets so when the nice lady offered a blowdryer I took her up and was able to dry my hair finally! Felt amazing to shower and also they had a laundry facility.
It is also a close hike down to Rainbow Falls and Devils Postpile for all y’all who wanna do short day hikes. Great place to pick up your re-​supply when they are open in season. I actually ended up booking an extra night to rest my injured knees. Staff was sweet to me and even gave me some ice to ice them. No fridge in the backpackers cabin so I couldn’t purchase a bag without it leaking all over. So, thank you staff for being so sweet. My knees appreciated it. The cabin was very clean and the bed and pillows were sooooo comfy!!! Anything is amazing when on the trail for an extended amount of time!

We stayed at Red Meadows Resort for 2 nights as a pass through layover backpacking. At $ 220 a night for cabin E, one bedroom queen bed, one bedroom bunkbed, and a kitchenette, we found the lodging incredibly in disrepair. The carpets are frayed, the linoleum broken with sub floor showing, no light in the bathroom over the sink, the sink plug broken, the toilet badly stained, the door locks are duct taped, blinds in the bedroom broken and missing light bulbs in the bedroom. The last straw was they didn’t have the consideration to provide shampoo and conditioner (even to match Motel 6’s standards). For the price of the lodging, this was the worst experience we have ever had. Do not stay in the lodging!!! See photos for reference.

I forgot to review Reds Meadow when I was here last so without further ado:
Reds Meadow is great sight seeing place. If you are driving from Mammoth and want to see Devil’s Postpile, drive a bit futher to the end and see Reds Meadow (or by bus).
I have gone 2 years in a row (2013 and 2014) and got a mug from the general store which has some supplies for the hikers as well as supplies for the fishers and food, drinks, and alcohol in general. Also I did see Chef Boy Ardee there (yum canned spaghetti and beef a-​roni).
Just across the general store is the Mule House Café. I never had the food in there before. Maybe one day if I decide to hike up to Thousand Island Lake and come back dying for a burger (or wait until I get back to town and go to Bergers or The Stove).
There are showers for the hikers and campers and cabins for people sticking around for a few days.
Reds Meadow also holds your resupply bucket for the hikers that are hiking the JMT and PCT. I talked to a hiker there while he was counting up his supplies and he told me how much pounds of food he was carrying… he said he was carrying twenty semi pounds of food.

Stopped here to re-​supply on our northbound JMT hike. Heard about the great breakfasts and since it was 9:30 and we were hungry, we went in to the café. We were the only ones there, except for one person sitting at the counter (maybe an employee). Waitress was friendly. We ordered. Seemed like we waited a long time but didn’t really think too much about it. When our food came I just looked at it in disbelief. The portions were so skimpy. And, it was cold. And pricey! So disappointing. Were they giving us the leftovers after the big morning rush was over? After paying $ 25 for two, we left still hungry. I don’t know what these other reviewers were talking about. It was definitely not our experience.
The old guy at the store where we picked up our resupply was efficient, but not too friendly.

This review is more for the restaurant, who’s name is evading my brain at this moment.
We were told by many people that the milk shakes there were the best in the world! Not to be missed! A must! We hiked from stop 6 to the post pile then down to rainbow falls. Our daughter (9) & son (16) were both very much looking forward to «the world’s best milk shake» as a special treat for doing this hike.. . What a let down! At $ 6.50 each too you can imagine how excited we all became, I mean a milk shake that cost that much has to be something right!!! Wrong! 2 chocolate and 1 strawberry, tasted like they just added Quick power (you know the quick bunny stuff) to Walmart ice cream! ! It was very disappointing.
The store however was pretty cool!

We stayed at the resort, in cabin B for five nights as a base camp for day hikes and 2 day trips to Yosemite.
The people who ran the restaurant, general store and office were genuinely kind people, but fairly set in their routines.
I agree with previous reviewers that the selection in the general store is fairly lean – they had basic camping supplies, liquor, ice, medical, candy, and a dab of food.
The restaurant serves a hearty, greasy breakfast with most plates running at least ten dollars. We had a slice of pie there one day. I couldn’t tell if it way homemade or not, but definitely no more than a sugar and calorie fix. A generous slice a la mode was $ 7.25. We were not interested in eating lunch or dinner there because the menu, again, was overpriced and nothing special.
The cabin we were in – a previous reviewer posted accurate pictures – was clean but very run down. We were there at the beginning of the season at the end of June and paid 170 a night for three people (160 base plus 5 for each additional person). They advertise that the cabins sleep 6 and that means either two people on the futon or the double bed. The beds were comfy and there were extra blankets. All of the pillows were flat as a pancake.
The kitchen includes a small fridge, a 4– burner gas stove, a toaster, a coffee maker, a frying pan, colander, two pots, two dish towels, paper towels, cups, bowls, plates, silverware and a few cooking utensils.
Wish I would have brought: a fly swatter, body lotion – climate is very dry, chip clips, Saran Wrap, tinfoil, zip lock bags, a plug adapter so you can change a two prong plug to a three prong, a headlamp for reading in bed, and BBQ tongs and briquettes for the fire pit/​ground level grill outside.
Bottom line: I’m sure this place is a haven for long-​distance hikers, but it left much to be desired for these cabin stayers using it as a base camp. If I came here again, I’d query as to which of the cabins were the newest. Some new ones were being built while we were there.
Pros: dogs allowed in the cabins, plenty of hot water, close to tons of great day hikes, nice people, close to Mammoth Lakes for real supplies and food (40 minutes), cell phone coverage
Cons: run down, scant supplies, overpriced restaurant, too far from Yosemite (3 hours to the valley), wi-​fi in general store area only, company website is not too useful, and they are hard to get a hold of (unless you’re here on the premises).

Red’s Meadow is a resupply point along the John Muir Trail. I sent a resupply package which cost $ 35 for the store to hold. I also spent two nights in one of the two motel units and ate at the restaurant several times.
The motel was quite old and not everything worked. The heat didn’t seem to work at all and a couple of the lamps could only be turned on or off by plugging in the lamp. I notified the store clerk about the heat after the first night but it wasn’t fixed on the second night either. A bit odd although it wasn’t really very cold so not a huge issue.
However, all things considered, given the remote location, Red’s is not a bad option for John Muir Trail hikers looking to spend a night. The restaurant is quite good although it is on the expensive side.
If I hike the trail again and feel a need to resupply, I will probably go into Mammoth Lakes which has more options. The downside of going into Mammoth is that you have to pay $ 7 for a shuttle bus, there is a transfer involved, and you end up in the midst of large numbers of tourists. However, going to Mammoth would eliminate the need to send a resupply and provide options for better lodging and food. So there are downsides to going into Mammoth and downsides to staying at Red’s … each person probably needs to weigh the pros and cons for themselves.

Remember camping in Reds Meadows as a child. Came back with my kids, husband, parents, sister and brother in law. We camped out in the Reds Meadows campground for 5 days, but parents opted to stay at a cabin for 3 days. It was as clean as a cabin in these parts could be and they enjoyed it especially since it had kitchen. The downside was the shower too small and hard to get to upstairs loft;stairs narrow. For the last couple of days they stayed at a motel room here at Reds Meadows. Again clean and the room is more spacious as well as having a more spacious bathroom. Will come back again.

Spent two days and two nights here. It was fantastic. Super helpful staff, rooms were clean, horse ride was great, the café had good food and the store had what I needed for my hikes. I got tips on a half dozen spots to check out that I otherwise wouldn’t have known about. Planning to come back here in a few months.

Well, their facility is not bad, and really provide much need resupply for people on the trail. Accordingly to my friend, it is her least favorite packing stations in the Sierra.
Supplies at the store is expensive even for packing station. They also charge storage of your resupply by the day, what?! What if you are late?
They don’t provide any soap in the paid shower.
I spend a night at the campsite near by and had dinner and breakfast here. Well, dinner is quite horrible, my chicken enchilada is cold and dried. Service is good, but boy, that was bad dinner, worst I had in a long time.
Breakfast is okay, homefried was probably the best thing. And it did prevent me from giving this place a one star.

We backpacked there from Yosemite and planned a resupply stop there because they advertised hot showers.
SHOWERS don’t exist anymore. They are padlocked. Apparently someone is suing them because a child was scalded by the hot springs water that feeds the showers (even though there are signs that say the water is hot). Thanks to the IDIOT that ruined that for everyone else.
The burger at the restaurant was good after hiking 45 miles. The eggs and sausage in the morning were well portioned and kept me going all morning.
The store is where you get your resupply package. It was a little disturbing to see one of their employees raiding the hiker barrel after a group of people made a hefty deposit. I thought the hiker barrel was for the hikers… hmmmmm.
Overall, my impression was that it’s a haven for trashy hicks to work at in the summer.
PS There is NO signage to get the backpackers campground from the restaurant, even though the backpackers go through there daily in the summer and spend loads of money at their restaurant and store.

Southbound JMT Hiker
Camped around Johnston Lake the night before, skipped my normal breakfast and hiked down to Reds Meadows. Ordered breakfast which was HUGE! Eggs, massive pancakes, fruit and plenty of coffee filled me up gooooood. Worth every cent. ($ 13)
The showers and hot tub thing were both out of order which sent many people into town to refreshen up. Bummer but no big deal with respect to my needs.
The store is really lack luster. I had a hard time picking up food for two days. Hardly any food or candy (WTF!) selection worth mentioning. They DO have beer. You can get away with resupplying here for a few days worth of food at the store but they should do a lot better stocking it … they had the shelf space!
I did not use the resupply option here and did not see why you would want to send a package here if your moving at a «normal pace» (3 weeks to finish trail). They also have a bucket with backpackers overflow food but it wasn’t all that full when I arrived.
Worth the stop with lowered expectations.

i stayed for one night in their «motel». It was clean, cozy, and reasonable. Glenn who runs the place is very friendly and extremely helpful in offering advice. He recommended a superb hike that occupied my entire day. The only negative thing I have to say is this: no one bothered to tell me that you have to reserve a hot dinner ahead of time. After a long 28K hiking day… I sat down in their dining room only to be told that there wasn’t enough food for me. This was a bit of a problem since the resort is a good 15 miles+ outside of town in the park and didn’t have the energy to drive there and back. I ended up eating leftover nuts and an apple from my hike for dinner that night. A bit of bummer but I survived. I’ll probably go back all the same since I really loved the mtns there and am not much of camper.

Wow this is the first time I have ever gone to a campground/​pack station that had natural hot water spring showers that never really ran out of hot water and with a suggested donation and not where I had to feed something quarters. AWESOME.
The campground is where I stayed and it was close to several trail heads and near the lake. The lake itself was within hiking distance. I really liked that. The area hadn’t been stocked for months but i was able to pull a couple of Brown Trout out of the river and the lake so I had no issues with the fishing while up there.
Definitely would return. Great group sites. Family friendly and the Campground Hosts were awesome and very on task keeping everything clean. They were also great source of information and always cheerful when talking to them.

Skip the restaurant but do visit the store!
Not exactly a tourist trap.
More like a valuable resource for campers and hikers.
Refresh your supplies here.
Because it’s the only store in this area, you do have to pay a premium.
They even have ice cream and cold drinks to combat the summer heat: D
They also sell souvenirs.
The staff were friendly and ready to answer questions.

I stopped here last year while hiking the John muir trail. The natural geothermal showers are seriousley amazing if you’ve been out in the brush for a few weeks. I highly recomend this as a place to camp. There might be some kind of entrance fee to get in via car because it’s near Devils Postpile, but I’m not too sure as I was walking.

Truly worthy of a five star review.
My family and I did a seven-​day mule pack train trip this summer and Red’s Meadow was fantastic. I almost don’t want to share the secret :) But I will, because I love Unilocal and I love YOU.
We started planning the trip nearly 8 months before it actually happened in August 09. This was great because we were able to get an early reservation discount. For a trip of 10 mules, 10 people, a cook, and food, this makes a difference!
The mules (packed by the packers from Red’s Meadow) carried all our stuff up to a place the company suggested where we camped for seven nights, then came at the end of the week to take all our stuff back to Red’s Meadow. This made for a truly fun vacation for all — none of us had more than about 30lbs to carry on our own backs, and we were able to have such luxuries as a steel string guitar, personal snacks (for me, 4lbs of Red Vines), and really nice thick sleeping pads, all due to the mules’ hard work. Day-​hiking from our base camp was beautiful.
Staff at Red’s Meadow is friendly, fair, knowledgeable, and fun. Our cook was a joy to be around, especially when he had smores or bbq chicken to offer :)
Long live mule train trips as fun and affordable outdoor adventures for all!

My friends and I made a stop at Red’s Meadow while hiking the John Muir Trail last year. It was past 7pm but they stayed open for us to pick up a six pack and some supplies. The folks running the general store are very friendly and helpful about providing information on the local sites around Mammoth.
We spent a night at the campgrounds and the natural spring showers were awesome! I was skeptical at first but it was a welcome break from cleaning myself off in the rivers :)

This review is specifically on the general store at Reds Meadow Resort: it’s an absolute blessing whether you’re camping in the valley or spending the day hiking around Devil’s Postpile and Rainbow Falls.
First, if you’re camping, here’s where you get and re-​stock ice, soft drinks, stuff you forgot to bring (like hot dogs, chips, beans, eggs, fruit).
Second, if you’re hiking, there’s nothing like a cold ice cream or popsicle or drink as you come off the trail (and wait for the bus back up to Mammoth). There’s great people watching as you sit outside the store and enjoy your treat.
Third, if you’re backpacking the Pacific Crest Trail, this is the weigh station where you can mail your food.
Fourth, there are payphones here (or, if you’ve got a cell, you’re in direct line of sight for Mammoth Mountain’s cell tower).
Fifth, the hand-​painted map on the side of the store showing the PCT, John Muir Trail, Ansel Adams Wilderness, and the myriad lakes within hiking distance is a cool way to study the area and plan new day trips (although you’ll want a trail or topo map when you go).
Only downside: you’ll pay a premium for hot dogs or chips that you didn’t bring in, but it’s worth it to avoid the long ride back into town.
On the weekends, you’ll have to wait in line with a lot of thirsty hikers waiting for the bus. The store is open 7 AM to 7 PM, so go before noon to beat the foot traffic.