Map showing campground location near Groveland, California

Camper submitted image from South Fork Campground

South Fork Campground

This free campground requires navigating 5.5 miles of rutted dirt road down the mountainside from Highway 120, with reviewers noting the challenging access for low-clearance vehicles like sedans. The Forest Service maintains basic facilities including picnic tables, fire pits, bear boxes at each site, and a single toilet at the entrance, with firewood available for purchase.

Sites accommodate tents and small trailers, with a designated tent-only area containing about six spots. The campground sits near the Tuolumne River with relatively open terrain and fewer trees compared to heavily forested locations. Reviewers report clean facilities and well-maintained fire pits, though the rough Lumsden Road approach can take nearly an hour for vehicles without higher ground clearance.

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Location

Public Campground

South Fork Campground is located in California

Directions

From Groveland travel approximately 7.5 miles east to Ferretti Road. Turn left (north) onto Ferretti Road. Travel 1 mile and turn right (east) onto Lumsden Road/Forest Route 1N10 off of Ferretti Road. Travel approximately 5.5 miles to the campground which is located on the right (south) side of the road.RVs and trailers are not recommended on Lumsden Road/Forest Route 1N10.Lumsden Road from Lumsden Bridge to Forest Route 1N10 is closed December 15 to April 15 according to the Motorized Travel Management Plan.Lumsden Road is subject to closure during inclement weather.

Coordinates

37.839706 N
120.045765 W

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Connectivity

T-Mobile
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AT&T
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Connectivity

T-Mobile
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Verizon
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AT&T
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Access

Drive-In
Park next to your site
Walk-In
Park in a lot, walk to your site.
Hike-In
Backcountry sites.
Boat-In
Sites accessible by watercraft.

Site Types

Tent Sites
RV Sites
Standard (Tent/RV)
Group

Features

For Campers

Firewood Available
Toilets
Alcohol

Contact

General Info

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Drive Time

1 hr 20 min from Merced, CA
1 hr 30 min from Modesto, CA
1 hr 36 min from Stockton, CA
2 hrs 10 min from Fresno, CA

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5 Stars

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1 Star

4.5

out of 5

3 Reviews

A free campground with clean, basic facilities and riverside location. Many mentioned the challenging 5.5-mile dirt road requiring higher clearance vehicles. Great for solitude seekers.

Kealan B.

Traveler

Reviewed Feb. 20, 2022

Risky but Rewarding

Take a left onto Feretti off 120 and after 2 miles take a right onto Lumsden rd. Do not attempt to enter this road if your vehicle has less than 6-8in of clearance or is in any way unreliable. Lumsden rd takes you all the way down the valley on a long, rocky dirt path for about 20-30 minutes where you will get spit out right next to the raft launch and Lumsden campground. Keep driving past Lumsden campground over the concrete bridge and you’ll reach South Fork Campground.

DO NOT TAKE THE FIRE ROAD OFF 120 IT IS CLOSED AND HAS NO PULLOFFS

The campground itself is somewhat barren, not many trees but being close to the river is nice. The toilets are clean and the fire pits are well maintained, each site also has bear boxes. We went during the weekday before rafting season and before they are charging per night, so we had no neighbors until we were packing out on the last day (Sat). Overall a great experience while having the valley to ourselves for a couple nights, not sure how great it would be if crowded.

SiteSouth Fork 6

Month of VisitFebruary

(4) View All

Fidel

Traveler

Reviewed Nov. 11, 2020

Secluded!

We drove into the campground on a Friday night and were surprised to see that the 5.5mi dirt road was on the side of the mountain and had a lot of ruts. We were driving a Prius Prime with low ground clearance, so it took us nearly an hour to get down to the campground from Hwy 120. Others driving a truck and a Chevy Suburban passed us pretty quickly during turnouts.

Though 4WD or higher ground clearance is not required, I would recommend it! Otherwise, be prepared for a slow drive down to the campground.

Campsites are free, and the facilities are pretty bare bones (you have a picnic table, a fire pit, and a bear box at each site plus a single toilet at the campground entrance), but we got excellent views of the stars and were the only group at the campground. I definitely recommend this campground if you're looking to get away from everything and everyone.

Other than the unexpectedly difficult drive down (for a sedan/Prius), we all enjoyed this campground. We will be returning in a more appropriate vehicle in the future.