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Established Camping

Carlton

Warning 1 Alert is In Effect

There is 1 alert for this campground. Camp safely!

Water may be non-potable or at times shut off for the 2025 camping season. Please plan accordingly and bring your own water. We apologize for the inconvenience.

Carlton is located near Camptonville in the Tahoe National Forest, featuring forested terrain with a mix of trees and open spaces. Temperatures in this area range from lows in the 30s Fahrenheit during winter to highs in the 80s during summer. Nearby attractions include the Yuba River, which offers opportunities for fishing and swimming, and the historic town of Nevada City, known for its Gold Rush history.

Description

US Forest Service

Tahoe National Forest

Overview

Carlton Campground is located along the North Yuba River, adjacent to__Highway 49 and 13 miles from Downieville. Visitors enjoy a wide variety of recreational activities in the area, including hiking, hunting, fishing, canoeing and biking. This facility is operated and maintained by the Tahoe National Forest.

Recreation

The North Yuba River offers swimming, wading and rainbow trout fishing. Seasonal rafting and kayaking are popular water activities. A network of trails through the surrounding area providing opportunities for hiking, biking and OHV use. __The North Yuba River Trail can be accessed from the nearby Rocky Rest trailhead.

Facilities

The campground offers single-family campsites suited for both tent and trailer camping. Each site is equipped with a picnic table and campfire ring. Vault toilets and drinking water are provided.

Natural Features

The campground stretches along the North Yuba River, next to the highway. Stands of cedar, ponderosa pine and oak trees cover the area providing shade from the afternoon sun.

Contact Info

This location is unstaffed. To speak with our main office for general information, please call: (530) 265-5431.

Charges & Cancellations

No Show Policy A no-show customer is one who does not arrive at a campground and does not cancel the reservation by check-out time on the day after the scheduled arrival date (or for day-use facilities, by check-in time the day of arrival). * No-show customers are only recorded at staffed facilities. At most remote facilities, all customers are noted as automatically checked-in on the date of arrival. * It is recommended that staffed facilities hold a campsite until check-out time on the day following the arrival date. * It is recommended that staffed facilities hold group day-use facilities until check-in time on the arrival date. There is no change fee if a customer extends or shortens a reservation if the change includes dates from the original reservation. If they choose to depart early, they may forfeit some or all of the recreation fees. There is no change fee if the customer changes campsites that are the same price and on the same reservation dates in the same campground. If the campsite the customer is changing to has a price difference, the customer will be responsible for any additional fees or be provided with a refund, based on the price difference. Where recorded, no-show customers are assessed a $20.00 no-show fee and forfeit the first night's recreation fee for a campsite or forfeit the entire day-use recreation fee for a day-use facility. We recommend customers contact the facility if they are en route to their reservation but cannot make it by the check-in date. In these cases, no refund will be issued, but the facility can ensure that a "no-show" fee is not assessed.

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Location

Carlton is located in California

Detail location of campground

Directions

From Downieville, travel south on Highway 49 for just over 13 miles. The campground is on the left side of the highway. From Nevada City, travel north on Highway 49 for just under 30 miles. The campground is on the right side of the highway.

Coordinates

39.5191667 N
120.9997222 W

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Access

  • Drive-In
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Connectivity

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Site Types

  • Tent Sites
  • RV Sites
  • Standard (Tent/RV)

Features

For Campers

  • Trash
  • Firewood Available
  • Reservable
  • Drinking Water
  • Toilets
  • Alcohol
  • Pets

Contact

General Info

Reservations

Drive Time


Reviews

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4.0

out of 5

2 Reviews

Reviewed Aug. 7, 2025

Meh

We left 1 day into our 4 day stay. The scenery, beautiful. The river, stunning. The campsite, tiny and awkwardly set up (Site12 specifically), good shade though. Prior occupants left a bunch of trash (as in an entire tent.....) in the bear box that we had to dispose of. Clean enough bathrooms. No firewood on site (which we were sdvised there would be) at the camp host site, don't think we had one, if we did they're hard of hearing. Drove up the road to a different campsite per the info board and got wood there **CASH ONLY**

Awful site neighbors, incredibly loud, watching reality TV shows at top volume, even waking me up at 0400 talking full volume 10 feet from our tent. Another neighbor with a generator on until almost 11pm. 

*****ROAD NOISE. So. Much. Road. Noise. There was next to zero peaceful outdoor serenity. Not only the noise from the road, but the headlights hit our tent all night as well. 

Won't be back, sad to end the week early, but no way were we able to stay with all of that going on. Was supposed to be a peaceful, quiet, relaxing week away from the sounds of a loud city......all we did was add a few trees 🤷‍♀️

Site012
Month of VisitAugust
  • Review photo of Carlton by Noelle V., August 7, 2025
  • Review photo of Carlton by Noelle V., August 7, 2025
Reviewed Aug. 1, 2023

Nice Weekend Camping Trip!

Overall we had a great time! We had just enough room to fit 2 tents. We were able to park out 2 cars easily next our site. Our site even had a little bit of a private beach access to the river once you walk down from the bushes. Our site was pretty much in the sun so bring a canopy! We were close to two vault bathrooms and running water. The trash was pretty far down. The only problem we had was that our cooler didn’t fit in the food locker. There was an annoying shelf inside the food locker that prevented our cooler from fitting. It would have fit nicely if the shelf was higher. Thankfully we had a Yeti cooler which is bear resistant. For size reference we have the Yeti Tundra wheeled cooler. The width of the cooler was fine but the shelf made the height not fit.

Site11
Month of VisitJuly
  • Review photo of Carlton by Isabel R., August 1, 2023
  • Review photo of Carlton by Isabel R., August 1, 2023
  • Review photo of Carlton by Isabel R., August 1, 2023

Frequently Asked Questions

Does Carlton have wifi?

No, according to campers on TheDyrt.com, Carlton does not have wifi.

Is there cell phone reception at Carlton?

According to campers on TheDyrt.com, there is no coverage for AT&T, no coverage for T-Mobile, and no coverage for Verizon.

How hard is it to get a campsite at Carlton?

Some campers book as far as 6 months in advance, so on high-demand weekends it can be very difficult to get a campsite at Carlton. If you want to get a last-minute campsite at Carlton, try setting up a text message Alert at TheDyrt.com/alerts

Why is it so hard to get a campsite at Carlton?

There are 17 campsites at Carlton and over 80 million Americans who camp! Try snagging a cancellation by setting up a text message Alert at TheDyrt.com/alerts