First off, I want to say that my 5-star rating only applies if you are visiting between mid-October…read moreand mid-April. During the rest of the year (April 15 to October 15), it's too hot to really enjoy camping either here, or at the Corp of Engineer's other campground at H.V. Eastman Lake a few miles to the northwest (Codorniz Recreation Area). The ideal months are probably November and March, especially if you are tent camping: not too hot in the daytime, not too cold at night. In December, January, and February, it's going to be really cold at night, the nights are really long (14 to15 hours), and those months have the greatest chance that it will be raining. If you are tent camping, I recommend that, if possible, you make a reconnaissance day trip in advance, and visit both the Hidden View and Codorniz campgrounds, to inspect the campsites for yourself. When tent camping, you really need the site, or at least the tent pad, to be as flat and level as possible. Both Codorniz and Hidden View are located in rolling hills and not all of the sites offer as much "flatness" as you might want, and it's almost impossible to really tell for sure what these sites are like from the photos on the Recreation.Gov website. Codorniz is not quite as hilly as Hidden View, and has more trees, but that said, the trees in both campgrounds are Valley oak (Quercus lobata), and these aren't really the best shade trees, having very small leaves. They are bare in the winter months and don't even start to develop leaves until late April, so in the winter and early spring, the trees all look dead and there's no shade at all. There are boat ramps and day-use/picnic areas at both Hensley and HV Eastman Lakes, but the lakea are relatively small, compared to Folsom Lake or Lake Oroville, and in the winter and early Spring months the water level is typically so low that the ramps might not even be open. Something to consider is that Hidden View campground is only 75 miles from Yosemite Valley: if you would like to camp somewhere with electric and water hookups that's reasonably priced, and make a day trip to Yosemite, Hidden View is a good choice.

+3 stars for very friendly and helpful rangers and clean bathrooms. This is a very well-kept…read morecampground. -1000 stars for visiting in July. I'm sure this is a fine place in March. In July, it's like visiting Satan's favorite county park. It's 110 degrees, the lake smells gross, the bottom is all silty and nasty, and the area where the lake has receded from its high water level is muddy and squelchy. I think this is where parking ticket cops and used car salesman go on vacation. Probably also where those guys whose job it is to deny workers comp claims spend a weekend. Only somebody professionally evil (or a rattlesnake) could love this place in July (and I have my doubts about the rattlesnake.) You could drive 30 mins further and be in the Sierras where it's 20 degrees cooler, the water is clean and clear and doesn't smell like the decaying dreams of a homeless fisherman, and the bottom of the swimming hole is granite rather than a squishy layered lasagna made of the bodies of rotting demon fish. I also really don't get these reviews that are like "the lake is gorgeous." It's a man-made reservoir set in a relatively barren landscape. Yellow hills and oak trees here and there. It looks exactly like what you might imagine "we put a bunch of water in a place only fit for cattle grazing" would look like. This spot is the epitome of "the part of California you drive through to get to somewhere else." Still, it's clean and easy to get to and I recommend it as a stopping point on a road trip if you need one - just not in the middle of summer.

An absolute GEM Spring cove was just perfect for my family and I. The campground was perfect the…read moreset up, the bathrooms near by were clean and well kept. The showers were also very nice and clean. Parking for one car only, there's an option to park another vehicle but its 10$ for extra cars. The lake was so close, just a small walk away. Rangers were so nice and checked on us often. We absolutely LOVED this campsite.

This is a fantastic location. Great campground. It was very clean and very well organized. The camp…read morehost Mathew McCabe was outstanding appeared to be constantly at work and readily available. A very attentive host, who clearly took great pride in his work.

I have been ciming here scinse i was 9yrs old im 42 now and i absolutely love this place!! The…read morehistory the fishing the campgrounds swimming holes and i would always come back with a little jar of arrow heads and obsidian and even got invited to an indian ceremony to put the mother bear in a safe hibernation!! 5 's more if i could!!

an absolutely wonderful place: it's kinda dinky looking from the street but if you follow the creek…read moredownhill, you'll find granite pools and falls to play in. it's slippery so bring some water shoes if you can, but it's more than necessary to take a dip in the little pools and falls if possible. it's beautiful for many reasons, the fresh water just makes it that much better. totally worth any trip or drive to get here.. and the stars on clear night.. immaculate. I recommend x1000 plus some :) my picture doesn't do it justice cause I was too busy playing in the pools to take a good pic on my phone

Getting there: Follow the signs into the park to the valley…read morefloor. You're going to follow the signs for Curry Village and North Pines Campground. You'll see Upper Pines, and Lower Pines first then you'll finally make a left into the North Pines Campsite. Experience: This was by far the best campsite I've ever stayed at. Pictures do not do it justice. We had the best views of El Cap on one side and Half Dome on the other. Waking up to those views are indescribable and incomparable to any other National Park. Logistically, we had snagged the campsite from a friend of a friend who was unable to go anymore. All we had to do was make sure we had access to the reservation and a photo ID of the person who booked the site and we were good to go! We were walking distance from Curry Village which was so convenient. It was also really easy to access the Mist Trail, and Nevada Falls trail from here. Campground and bathrooms were very clean. I don't think I can camp anywhere else in the park ever again after being spoiled camping here. Tips: - Screenshot the reservation before you lose service. If you can't access it before you get to the park entrance they will not let you in. Also, have your confirmation number just incase as well. - If you can snag site 511, you'll have these epic views we had.

We stayed at camp site 500 during June and just FYA the grass spot is covered in ticks everywhere…read moreif u are planning to not bring an rv and actually set up a tent. Other than that cool place, very close to the river and super clean bathrooms.

Great place to camp. Close to lakes and Yosemite. Best time ever…read more The fish didn't take any of our offerings, but we still got out and casted a line. Will we comeback. Yes we will

Great Location & Warm Water, But Pack Light and Bring Bug Spray…read more Well, it's time for my family's annual camping trip! This year we wanted to check out Bass Lake, CA. There are several spots around the lake, but since we were booking through Recreation.gov, we landed on Spring Cove. I always try to book campsites close to the water, and on paper, this campground looked perfect. The Good Prime Lake Access: The location is super close to the water. You just have to cross the main road, walk down a little hill, and there you are! We selected sites nearest the road to ensure easy access to the lake, which is our main source of entertainment. The kids absolutely loved it. The water was warm enough to swim for hours, but cool enough to be refreshing in the summer heat. Bonus Perks: We loved that our parking permit came with a 15% discount for boat rentals at Miller's Landing Resort (just about a mile down the road). We used it to book a half-day boat rental, and it was easily one of the highlights of the trip! Awesome Camp Host: Shout out to Patrick for being incredibly cool and helpful. The Not-So-Good The Bathroom Situation: The flushing toilets were shut down, meaning we had to use porta-potties. Yuck! I am not a fan and found it pretty stressful. Thankfully, Miller's Landing was close enough to "take care of business" when needed. Yes, I'm weird, but I just can't with the porta-potties. Tiny Sites: The sites themselves are small. We are used to the larger, less crowded campgrounds up north at higher elevations, so we had to seriously adjust our layout for our party's three campsites and varying tent sizes. When the website says "small tent," they really mean small tent. Don't try bringing a mansion tent here unless you want to be moving picnic benches around just to make it fit. Mosquitoes: There were a lot of them. Be sure to pack plenty of bug repellent options. Despite the tight squeeze and the bathroom bummer, it was a great trip. I think we might have just found our new annual spot!

So we go camping once a year, and every year we try something new. This year we found Cherry Valley…read moreCampground. It's about 29 miles past Sonora, Ca, but forewarned the drive is very curvy. But...once you arrive...OMG...the campground is amazing. There's a manager on site for any help, they sell firewood and have Potable water if you need it. The bathrooms are super clean and smell good, which is not normal for a campground. Now one thing you must know is that the lake is accessible at multiple points, but it's all rocky. So no matter where you go there's no real beach. However if you drive to the boat launch area which is like 5 minutes away, there is some sand and rocks to enjoy the water. We took some kayaks and we're able to explore the water, even saw a Bald Eagle. The scenery was great. Camping here was awesome, we will def be back.

The camp host was great! Made sure we were okay when a snow storm hit. The location was beautiful.read more

We stayed here in June 2026 for our birthdays . We stayed on campsite 22. The campsite was clean…read moreand toilets were clean . The host were super kind and helpful . Our site had access to a creek and caught 5 rainbow trout and a ton of crawdad. Very quite at night , the creek sounds put me to sleep . Kids had a blast for our first camping trip. Also there was a beautiful waterfall up the hill . We were super close to the entrance of Yosemite. We are definitely staying here all year

I recently stayed at Summerland Campground from 7/7-7/10 on camp sites #3 and #4 and overall had a…read morepositive experience. The campground was well-maintained, with neat grounds and clean restrooms, which made for a pleasant stay. The campground host was incredibly accommodating and helpful throughout our visit. However, I did encounter a concerning issue: during our hike in Yosemite Valley, some of my property was stolen from my campsite. While I don't want to negatively impact the campground's reputation, I feel it's important for fellow campers to be aware of this. Even though the area feels safe, I highly recommend keeping your belongings secured and out of sight when you're away from your site. Overall, I enjoyed my time at Summerland Campground and would recommend it, but just exercise caution with your belongings.

Forks campground was amazing Very low key for April on a Tuesday and Wednesday…read more It was a little annoying when we first got to our site the campground host Carmen was more concerned about us moving the table then welcoming us to our site. Also they had 4 bathrooms next to our site but 3 were locked and the one opened stall, the lock was broken I supposed they didn't want to clean all 4

This is a cute little campground and we enjoyed staying. It is a little more intense than most…read morecampground with the host tracking you down for vehicle registrations and whatnot. Usually we set up camp and then go to the host to deal with the paperwork etc. This campground will not let you set up first, after a long drive you have to dive into whatever paperwork and registration right away. Great views, not much shade in our campsite and many others. Bring an easy up if you have one.

I've been camping for more than 25 years, whether it be dispersed with limited facilities or sites…read morethat have full on electrical outlets and close to a body of water (like Camp Edison). Yet majority of the time, I have been lucky to get a reservation here. To make a reservation, you will need to go on Camplife.com and select Camp Edison as your location. Reservations open up 6 months prior to your desired camping dates. So if you want to camp around June, you will need to get on the reservation site around December and compete with others in the reservation process. Reserving for May-July are the worst; similar to reserving at Yosemite National Park. It can be frustrating as you will be assigned a random number in the queue at 8am on the dot; so make sure you're logged in at least 15 minutes prior just in case you encounter connection issues. You can be either #1 or #1000; it just depends on how many are on the site at that given time. You also have a time limit to make your reservation or risk to having it swooped by another camper if you fail to do so. I recommend making your reservation on a desktop and not on mobile as you might have issues with cell signal. As far as the experience goes, I just love camping here. Sites are adequately spaced but other "Loops" may be a bit spacier. Most sites are RV/Trailer accomodating. Electric meters for eac site, communal water stations, hot showers (shower card needed) and flushing toilets. They also have a Camp Store near the Check In Booth. There are also vendors that drive around that sell firewood. You can also rent boats at the Shaver Lake Marina, and if fully booked, you can try your luck at the nearby Sierra Marina. Walking distance to Shaver Lake and a few mins drive to the Shaver Lake town. I highly recommend this campgrund if you're lucky to snag a spot online. Also, you can pay for "Day Use" only - which basically is equivalent to a Day Pass. Good luck!

Amazing location for an all day Family trip. The road is a bit curvy and high elevation. Lots of…read moreparking, boat ramp as well. Highly recommend. Beautiful scenery.