Collins Lake is a favorite Northern California destination for families. This 1,600 acre recreation area offers LAKEFRONT RV& TENT camping with excellent fishing and wakeboarding. Collins Lake has California’s largest private trophy trout planting program of any lake north of Sacramento and equally famous for bass, crappie& catfish. Facilities include RV hookups, cabins, hot showers, laundry, marina, rental boats, sandy beach, playground, store with huge ice creams& espresso drinks. Family friendly with movies under the stars and live music every summer summer. Located only 70 miles northeast of Sacramento at 1200’ elevation. Family owned and operated since 1972.

Collins Lake Recreation Area

We camped here TWICE in 2019. First time in mid April and 2nd time on the first weekend of November. Both times were AWESOME!!!  
Both campsites, #66 and #116 had power, water and sewage. They were both lake front campsites, which meant the water or shoreline was right at our "front door" from our 27' travel trailer. They were both back in spots but with ample room to maneuver the trailer into a great spot, unhitch our truck and park the truck next to the Travel Trailer. Site #66 was closer to the camp store which was one of the best ones I have been to so far. They sell quite a bit of camping and fishing needs. They also have a great ice cream parlor. Don't miss out on that if you do decide to camp here!!!  
The fishing is awesome on Collins Lake! We fished from kayaks and always caught fish for dinner :-) There are nice hiking and biking trails in and around the campground as well.   
Just an FYI, in the Spring, the water level is much higher so the water line is closer to the campsites, especially #66. In the fall, pre-winter, the water level is much lower. It was about a 50 yard walk down to the water from #116 camp site, which is a lake front site. They do have a nice dump station row just outside the camping sites, so it is not necessary to have RV sewage at your campsite, which saves you a few $$.  
The campground also rents different types of boats and cabins at this campground. See website for details :-)

A GREAT Campground for your Spring and Late Fall Getaway

This campground is above Marysville California.


Collins Lake in June
Beautiful campground and Lake. Fishing there was wonderful lakeside and great hikes. Registration area and cafe has ice cream available and souvenir store.

We love Collins!! Very nice for paddle boarding and kayaking. Clean sites and pet friendly. We took the boat on our last trip here and had a great time. Great fishing spots!! 

clean and friendly 

Collins lake has become our destination for spring break. In early April it’s relatively quiet. Staff is great, facilities are clean, kids love the playground, and the ice cream is oh so tasty.

We love Collins

Very nice campsite good staff beautiful place only down take is it’s very crowded they have there sites very close together so having dogs is a hassle at times..But overall great place to camp..

Nice place 

I love this camp ground. Really nice lake always stocked with fish. Quiet at night and not rowdy during the day. Great place for family camping. They also have boat rentals.

Beautiful camping grounds

Open camping options make this a great spur of the moment option. We camped along the lake shore. They also have lots of great spots higher up, among the trees that come with picnic tables, firepits and water available. Portable toilets, so if your neighbors are clean, you're safe. Great little store with coffee and ice cream. Great place for boating and kayaking too.

Beautiful shoreline camping

We have been to this camping spot a few times. It is big with a nice store. Music on the weekends on the deck. Some sites on waterside are nice. Nice beach. Can get crowded but we liked it. No issues. RV or Tent sites. Roads are steep in spots but no problems getting into site. You can boat and fish here but we didn't do either. Might be nice in the winter when nobody is around?

Great camping near lake with safe swim area

Being close to home doesn't hurt. Love going during the week. Less crowded that way. Good fishing. When the water is up, my favorite spot is 396. I can kayak right from camp.

Go to spot

More family oriented than “upscale,” what struck me was even though it maintains a substantial trout fishery, the surface tempin early June was z74 — PERFECT for swimming, tubing, etc.

Although the lake level is sadly representative of CA drought conditions, fishing was good. We caught 7 rainbows 14-17”, all but one caught deep via downrigger. A neighbor caught 3 nice bass to 5#. Full service resort, as indicated. We’ll probably be back...

ONE dramatic highlight (video) was a lengthy thunderstorm which featured some SERIOUS hail!!  Midweek lake traffic was light. 

VERY well-maintained family campground, with sometching for everyone!

Huge campground with plenty of great spots with electric and water hookup’s 


Collins Lake Campground 

We’ve been to Collins Lake a few times and we love it! Lots of different camping spots and the lake is stocked with fish. Ice cream at the store is a must. Wi-Fi connection at the campsite was better than good.  Don’t recommend using the last shower on the left in the bathhouse close to the beach. No water pressure at all. Bring your bikes if you have them because the ride to the dam is nice. Spot 73 is an okay spot. Water spigot is way too short and there was a lot of mud and water that wouldn’t drain from site. It’s not listed as such but you can pull through. Anyone that says this place is too crowded with RVs so close to each other has never been to an RV park. At least this place has trees!

Great spot close to home

Overall Collins Lake was a nice camping resort. They have a lot of sites and the facilities are clean. We went towards the end of July and it was 107 degrees. Dogs aren’t allowed on the beaches so we didn’t go down to the lake, which would have been nice to cool off. 

It was a good trip despite the heat. It would definitely be better if we had a boat or water “toys”. I would go back, but not in the summer. 