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    Turlock Lake State Recreation Area

    3.2 (48 reviews)
    Open 6:30 am - 7:30 pm

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    Shower stall
    Gerald R.

    DECENT CAMPGROUND Growing up I love camping - it's the most American thing to do in the summer. I love nature-sleeping when you sleep on the ground and wake up the next day due to the sun. The last time I went camping was in the summer of 2014 at Lake Oroville. Unfortunately that was the time of the drought. The water at Lake Oroville was so receded you can see where the original shoreline of the lake. I had a good, relaxing time at that campsite. However the water on the surrounding lakes were less than 50% capacity in my estimation. I wasn't thinking about camping again unless the lakes would be full to capacity. During this past winter and spring California experienced record rainfalls that the lakes were starting to get full again. This was the opportune time to go camping again. There were no more spaces at Lake Oroville but my cousin once went camping at this campground. Through my cousin we were able to book 4 campsites where we stayed 2 nights last weekend. The campground is situated between 2 bodies of the water - Tuolumne River and Turlock Lake. The river is located on the campground while the lake is about a mile away from the campground. If you already paid for the campsite you do not need to pay for the admission to the lake as long as you show your car pass from the campground. There are positives and negatives about this campground. The first negative is the grill. There is only half a rack to place your food. In addition the distance between the rack and bottom of the pit is substantial. Unless you have wood the fire from the charcoal won't reach the rack. The grill at this campground is great for smoking meat. I smoked pork ribs on that grill for 2 1/2 hours. I do recommend bringing your own grill if you want to dictate hot fire when you cook. The second negative is the bathroom. Granted most bathrooms at campgrounds aren't clean however the bathrooms at this campground didn't have any paper toilet seats. There are positive things regarding this campground. The shower stalls are cleaner than I expected at a campground. You can get both hot and cold water. I recommend bringing lots of quarters when you take a shower. (Please note you can purchase quarters through the campground manager.) The second positive thing is the river, which cleaner than the lake. In addition since the river is in the confines of the campground you do not need to pay admission for the river. I recommend bringing a specific type of water shoes when you go to the river as there are slippery rocks on the ground. Here are some other observations. The campground isn't very spacious as the campsites are close to each other. The summer weather at this campsite gets hot but surprisingly in the morning this campground is cold. I didn't bring a light summer jacket as I presumed this place would be really hot throughout my time here. This campground isn't perfect but it is a decent place to go camping with the family.

    This is a beautiful place... I often come here to enjoy some quality time alongside the nature. The best thing is that they don't charge the entrance fee (but they've )... I honestly want to be able to see all the way to the hill side, but the route is closed ... Everything else is my favorite about this place, however if you're driving from Hawkins rd, please be careful about your speed limit as the road is uneven and could damage your car.

    Keep driving on this road--Slow down making a sharp left turn about 0.9 miles from this sign!
    Shirley M. F.

    Turlock Lake SRA and Campground Facilities First, Turlock Lake Campground is a very old outdated campground; it seriously needs renovating, upgrading ALL existing the facilities and amenities: There are no ADA toilets facilities with grip-assisting bars mounted on the walls for a wheel chair camper directly accessing the toilet safely without falling at either at the lake or at the campgrounds, there are only two showers available for the entire campground (the showers are not ADA accessible either!) and there are no showers at the lake, the septic system clogs easily and the sewage backs up into the toilets and the two cracked, porcelain sinks, the privacy fence for the women's bathrooms via the river are broken and falling apart, there are no sinks for washing dishes, there's no sink for washing clothes, the faucets around several campsites are inoperative and lack proper grey H2O draining, the bathroom stalls are rotted/rusty, and there are only about a dozen dumpsters for campers to throw their trash for the entire campground--that's the reason for the insurmountable amount of trash dumped at every campsite and river access entrances! Secondly, the campsites range in sizes: 1-7 are walk-in campsites, campsites 8-31 are for tents SMALLER than five feet by six feet in length and width. However, campsites 35, 36, 39, 40, 42, and 43 are the largest, most pastoral campsites but, lacks river access (you may access the river via campsite 22/shower-bathroom facilities) and seriously, ALL campsites MUST BE THOROUGHLY CLEANED because I cleaned half of campsite 42 and completely cleaned 43 discovering finding broken glass, several tent stakes with the sharp points standing upright, a bungie cord tent fastener, tent pole tubing, fifteen cents, a high-quality drill bit, a black ponytail barrett, two paper metal clamps, a plethora of plastic straws, forks, spoons, knives, cups, bottle caps, metal beer bottle caps, beer bottles, trash, one used condom (yuk!), old candy still inside the wrapper, disposable SUN drink (I don't know what the drink's name really is) with liquid juice still inside the container--just imagine what will be stabbing or squishing underneath your tent (EWW!); therefore, I strongly ADVISE you bring a heavy duty rake cleaning up the campsite BEFORE setting up your tent and all your camping equipment for your safety and protecting yourself from bio-hazard material (i.e., used condom--like I found at campsite 43~EWWW)! Furthermore, campsites 37 to 58 are the most filthiest, dusty, dirty campsites due to campers' laziness walking to the dumpsters in order dumping their trash so, thoroughly clean the campsite BEFORE setting your camping equipment: Stressing, reiterating--PLEASE clean the campsite before laying ANY of your belongings at ANY of Turlock Lake SRA Campground's campsites! Moreover, campsites 55 to the upper 60's location is in a cul-de-sac: This bathroom facility is the one with sewage backup problems which leaves a savory, odiferous smell (EWWW)--9/7/2016, Roto Rooter had to repair this bathroom facility! Finally, the cellphones might have one bar or less so, bring a satellite phone for emergencies or drive one mile to Turlock Lake in order using your cellphone; the best tranquil days camping are Tuesdays through Thursdays while Fridays through Mondays-forgeddabout sleeping because the campers who camp here on the weekends have no respect or abide by the quiet hours rule of 10:00 PM to 6:00 AM: Sadly, I had to call the Sheriff late Saturday/early Sunday morning in order making the campsite campers 39 stop making incessantly loud screaming, yelling, hollering noises at 1:30 AM (The Sheriff made them go to sleep and Sunday morning, these campers were kicked out for "Disturbing The Peace" and failing abiding by the quiet hours rule; before campsite 39 campers were kicked out Sunday morning, beginning around 2:30 PM Friday afternoon, one dude kept hollering until 4:30 AM Saturday morning--"Ay-yah-yayeeeiii!"--Jannie, the Campground Host berated this camper warning if he screams past 10:00 PM, he'll be kicked out immediately! So unbearably, obnoxious campers camp here on the weekends so, Yelpers, AVOID camping at this campground during the weekends so, camp at Turlock Lake Campground during the weekday for a peaceful camping experience, bring your heavy-duty rake cleaning your campsite before laying ANY of your camping equipment at your campsite, and bring your own toilet paper--you'll be relieved you took my advice, seriously! BTW: The only Campground Host working at the Turlock LAKE SRA Campground is Liz so, if you want to reserve a particular campsite like campsite 43 (because I thoroughly cleaned it of all debris, trash, and bio-hazard material but, I can't guarantee how the next campers will leave it clean or filthy!), please contact Liz; Campground Host, Jannie, left on 9/7/2016 and the Area Manager, Brenda will be retiring 9/10/2016.

    Camp spot 50, right on the river, bbq/fire pit with food storage locker & picnic table
    Jaye P.

    This was our first time at this area. Visited May 1st through the 3rd and couldn't have been luckier at this campground! Dogs welcome here! The grounds keepers (lovely couple & adorable dog, they are at spot 32) were so friendly and very helpful. We camped at spot 50 right on the river, lots of trees and canopy cover gives perfect shade... the spaces are spread out nicely, and the bathrooms there are maintained & cleaned daily (actual toilets with stall doors & sinks) with fresh running water were close by. There are showers (no hot water) but in 100° heat, it's not an issue! Bbq/fire pits at each site with a picnic table & a locker to keep the food safe from animals/bugs.. definitely bring your deet & sun screen! The river was so calm (shallow with mossy rocks & pebbles so bring your water shoes!!) and perfect for my little one to play in, the water was crystal clear and you can see the fish (trout) swimming around you. Bring a pan to sift for gold while splashing around. Bring your huge floaties, donuts, and boats to float down the river, you'll be so glad you did! The lake was clean, and has sandy banks like a beach front, bring a towel and lay out to get a tan! Great places for fishing and keeping cool in the heat!! Read up on the rules of the grounds, no outside wood, no collecting wood, but the almond wood sold there ($8/1 box, $15/2 boxes, it's a little hard to light but lasts for several hours) burns the cleanest smoke and no campfire residue smell left after, it's pretty amazing stuff! We loved it here, our neighbors were all friendly, considerate, and it's a great place to bring your whole family. Will definitely be back to camp here again soon!!

    The best part of this campground is the campsite managers. They were so helpful. They were going out of their ways to make everyone's stay great! The toilets were clean equipped with necessary stuff. The bathrooms were descent. Not so good is - this campground had more insects and bugs than usual and little bit more privacy to the campsites were needed. But while roaming around I noticed that there were some campsites with required privacy. Everything else was pretty cool!! We were there in Memorial Day Weekend and in spite of lot of people being there, the campground was pretty well maintained by the rangers and managers. We had a very good time camping there in memorial day weekend ignoring the insects and the bugs.

    Turlock Lake Docking
    Caroline G.

    Went here on a Tuesday. I love this place. It is tranquil and scenic. The boat/jetski launching area is just fair sized but because hardly anyone was around, it was easy for us to maneuver. There are picnic spots and clean restrooms. Given the proximity to where we live, I'd say I'd be back here.

    Nice site! The fire pit is a little high and you cannot adjust the grill height.

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    3 months ago

    Don't go it's closed I called the lady said it was open when I got there it's been closed for years it's burnt everywhere

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    3 months ago

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    3 years ago

    Love love love this place! Wish they'd open it up again!!!! It's been too long! When will it open again???

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    4 years ago

    This place is always closed , even though the website says it's open!...We tried from every single direction no lock!

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    10 years ago

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    15 years ago

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    8 years ago

    Ugly, dirty, full of jet ski and boats in the swimming area. I don't see any reason to stop there.. Be ready to loose $12.

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    Page 1 of 2

    Ask the Community - Turlock Lake State Recreation Area

    Review Highlights - Turlock Lake State Recreation Area

    We camped at spot 50 right on the river, lots of trees and canopy cover gives perfect shade...

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    Modesto Reservoir Regional Park - Lake views

    Modesto Reservoir Regional Park

    2.8(60 reviews)
    4.1 mi

    Last weekend I went camping for the very first time this year and was able to join my close family…read moreand friends and Definitely had a great experience! We stayed in area CO9 and had a nice view to the lake and was close to the bathrooms/showers (the only bad thing is in area CO9 it has 3 bathrooms only and two showers and the campsite can get very full) It took a downturn when I went on the jet ski for the very first time. Everything was fine we passed the 5 min limit and me and two of my friends were also having a good time on the jet ski and it wasn't till on our way back to our campsite we caught a wave and the weight of the water on the jet ski caught us and flipped us over. Luckily we had our life jackets on and had other people close to the lake on jet skis and boats that were able to try and help us. They called the sheriffs that was keeping a watch on the lake and came over in the boat and was able to help us and even gave us a ride back to our campsite. I wasn't able to catch his name at the end but he had someone with him as well who is new and in training so we were giving him the full experience lol. But they were both really nice and very patient with us and they let us go by just giving us a warning. So thank you to the both of them for saving us. What I learned from my first year of camping; learned how to flip a jet ski in case it flips over, never wear your crocs and if you do keep em on sports mode or you will loose them in the water, and always carry a jet ski license with you or you will get a ticket. Other than that just want to thank the sheriffs that helped us on Saturday August 15. For your kindness and patience we appreciate it! :)

    We stayed here in B loop site 25 over Memorial Day weekend. The site was FHU with a level concrete…read morepad for the RV. Each site has a concrete picnic table and very large concrete fire pit. There are burrs, goose poop and spiders everywhere. Tent campers are allowed to reserve FHU RV sites, and many do. There is absolutely NO enforcement of quiet hours. Other campers keep their music loud and the party going all night, every night. They literally never turned it down and were blasting it like they were at the club... 12am, 2am, 4am, 6am... ALL NIGHT. My kids and I couldn't get a good night sleep because of it. This is not a true family campground. It invites all the wrong elements, because they don't enforce the rules. Most of the campsites had WAY more than 6 people per site, which is another campground rule that definitely wasn't enforced. This is not relaxing camping. It's just non-stop loud music and partying. I would NEVER recommend this campground to people I actually like, and will never be returning.

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    Modesto Reservoir Regional Park - Watching the sunset was sooooo beautiful

    Watching the sunset was sooooo beautiful

    Modesto Reservoir Regional Park
    Modesto Reservoir Regional Park - Sand Beach area of the lake.

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    Sand Beach area of the lake.

    Turlock Lake State Recreation Area - lakes - Updated September 2026

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