Dru Barner Campground — Eldorado National Forest

Overview

Dru Barner Campground offers 48 campsites that are nestled in the forest just 6 miles from Georgetown, CA. The campground offers access to trails, creeks and is a short drive from some nearby reservoirs. This campground was designed for equestrians, but it can also be used by tent, camper, trailer and recreational vehicles. Common wildlife to the area includes turkeys, deer, bears, coyote and racoons. Portions of the campground have a canopy of trees, but many of the camp units have very little shade.

Recreation

Dru Barner Campground provides some good camping opportunities without having to drive long distances into the forest. Dru Barner Campground provides access to many non-motorized trails. It also is close to the Rock Creek Trail System that has both non-motorized, motorized, and multiple use trails. Several horse clubs have used Dru Barner Campground as the staging area for equestrian recreation events under special use permits. Several horse clubs have hosted barbecues and taco bars at the group kitchen area after their trail rides. Some couples have used the group kitchen area for weddings. Stumpy Meadows Reservoir is located only about 15 miles to the east for those seeking water-based recreation. There is a campground concessionaire that operates the Stumpy Meadows Boat Ramp and Picnic Area. A day use fee is charged for those facilities. Stumpy Meadows Reservoir has a 5-mile speed limit for motor boats. Rafts, canoes and kayakers frequently travel on the reservoir. There are some shorelines that provide access for swimming and wading.

Facilities

Dru Barner Campground has camp units equipped with picnic tables and fire rings. The campground roads have gravel surfaces. Most of the parking spurs have gravel surfaces with others having dirt surfaces. The parking spurs vary in length to handle longer trailers and RVs to spurs for a car or truck with a short horse trailer. There is a group kitchen area equipped with two large barbecue grills, two serving tables, a large fire ring and 11 picnic tables that can be rented. Six of the camp units have large bear proof food containers that can hold two coolers. Some of the camp units have horse corrals nearby. There are also hitching posts near some of the restrooms and high line posts between camp sites. The campground has potable water from water faucets distributed throughout the campground. There is a two-unit flush restroom equipped with sinks. There are also two vault restrooms located in the northern portion of the campground.

Natural Features

Dru Barner Campground sits on a ridgeline of the Hornblende Mountains. To the north, Otter Creek has cut a forested canyon. To the south, there are the rolling ridges that surround Rock Creek. There are forests of Ponderosa pine, sugar pine, Douglas-fir, white fir and incense cedar with groups of black oak and madrone. This campground is about 15 miles west of Stumpy Meadows Reservoir.

Contact Info

This location is unstaffed. To speak with our main office for general information, please call: (530) 334-6477.

Nearby Attractions

A nearby attraction is the Marshall Gold Discovery State Historic Park in Coloma, CA. This attraction is located about 16 miles southeast of Dru Barner Campground. It is where James W. Marshall discovered gold in 1848. This started the California Gold Rush. Historic building such as the blacksmith shop, mill workers cabin and the Coloma schoolhouse are available to see. There are gold panning demonstrations. There is a Gold Discovery Trail to learn the history and see the sites.