Established Camping
Dinkey Creek
About
National Forest
Sierra National Forest
Overview
Dinkey Creek is spread out along the banks of its namesake creek in a thick forest of Ponderosa pines and cedars. The facility's high country setting with trees, streams and open space, make it a scenic destination for all types of visitors.
Recreation
Dinkey Creek has 2 swimming areas: The Slicks and Honeymoon Pool, both of which contain pools carved out of granite. Anglers can fish Dinkey Creek for brown and rainbow trout. Hikers can walk the Dinkey Creek Trail. Mountain bikers also have trail access in this area.
Facilities
There is a group site that can accommodate up to 50 people. The rest are a mix of standard or tent-only single sites. An on-site amphitheater offers educational programs on summer weekends. There is a picnic site located on large sandy flat above the creek at the north end of the campground. All sites have paved spurs, picnic tables and fire grills; accessible sites are available. Drinking water and both vault and flush toilets are provided.
Natural Features
The Sierra National Forest, located on the western slope of the central Sierra Nevada, is known for its spectacular mountain scenery and abundant natural resources. The terrain includes rolling, oak-covered foothills, heavily forested middle elevation slopes and the starkly beautiful alpine landscape of the High Sierra.
contact_info
For facility specific information, please call (559) 841-2705.
Nearby Attractions
McKinley Grove is 6 miles away. Famous for its giant Redwoods, the area offers leisurely hikes and picnicking opportunities.
Charges & Cancellations
Rules & Reservation Policies As you make travel plans that include reservations on Recreation.gov, there are standard policies that apply to most locations of which you should be aware. Do keep in mind, however, that there are many exceptions, so it is best to review reservation information listed on individual facility pages for those policies and procedures that pertain to your specific locations. Any location or activity requiring a permit or lottery will have unique requirements and policies. Please check individual facility pages for pertinent information for those sites. Booking Window For most locations, you can reserve six months in advance of your stay for individual sites and 12 months in advance for group sites. There are some exceptions, so it is best to check with each facility. Change and Cancellation Policies and Fees Overnight and Day Use Facilities: To ensure fairness, reservation arrival or departure dates may not be changed beyond the booking window until 18 days after booking the reservation. Camping / Day Use: A $10.00 service fee will apply if you change or cancel your reservation (including campsites, cabins, lookouts, group facilities, etc.). The $10.00 service fee will be deducted from the refund amount. You can cancel or change reservations through Recreation.gov or by calling 1-877-444-6777. Tours & Tickets: You may request changes to tour dates at no cost before the arrival date. If you cancel before your tour date, you may be eligible for a refund. Cancellation fees apply. Please check the tour facility description details page for cancellation policies. Permits: Varies by location. Please check the permit details for the permit location. Late Cancellations Overnight and Day Use Facilities: Late cancellations are those cancelled between 12:01 a.m. (Eastern) on the day before arrival and check out time on the day after arrival. Individual Campsites: If a customer cancels a reservation the day before or on the day of arrival they will be charged a $10.00 service fee and will also forfeit the first night's use fee (not to exceed the total paid for the original reservation). Cancellations for a single night's reservation will forfeit the entire use fee but no cancellation fee will apply. Cabins / Lookouts: Customers will be charged a $10.00 cancellation fee and forfeit the first night's use fee if a cabin or lookout reservation is cancelled within 14 days of the scheduled arrival date. Cancellations for a single night's use will not be assessed a service fee. Group Facility: If a customer cancels a group overnight facility reservation within 14 days of the scheduled arrival date they will be charged the $10.00 service fee and forfeit the first night's use fee. Cancellations for a single night's use will not be assessed a service fee. Group Day Use Area: If a customer cancels a group day use facility reservation within 14 days of the scheduled arrival date, they will forfeit the total day use fee with no service fee charge. No-Shows Camping / Day Use: A camping 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. Reserved campsites and group overnight facilities will be held until check-out time on the day following your scheduled arrival. Group day-use facilities will be held until check-in time on your scheduled arrival date. If a customer does not arrive at the campground or group facility by check-out time the day after arrival or does not cancel the reservation by the times listed under "Late Cancellations" above, the customer may be assessed a $20.00 service fee and forfeit use fees. Tours: A tour or ticket no-show is one who does not cancel a ticket before arrival and does not arrive for the tour. Tour no-shows are not entitled to a refund. Refunds Customers must request refunds no later than 14 days after the scheduled departure date. Recreation.gov will not grant refund requests after 14 days of departure. Reservation Fee: For some facilities, tours or permits an additional reservation fee is charged. For some overnight and day-use facilities, an additional non-refundable reservation fee may apply. The non-refundable reservation fee for tours and tickets is $1.00. The non-refundable reservation fee for permits varies by location. Refunds for Bankcard Purchases: Refunds for bank card payments will be issued as a credit to the original bank card. Refunds for Check or Cash Purchases: Refunds for Recreation.gov payments made by check or money order, and cash payments at selected campgrounds will be issued a check refund. A refund will be processed within 30 days of receipt and approval. Please Note: Refund requests made during or after departure can only be processed when approved by the facility management staff based upon local policy. Refunds for Emergency Closures: In the event of an emergency closure, the Recreation.gov team will attempt to notify users and offer alternate dates (as appropriate). If this is not possible, reservations will be cancelled and all fees paid will be refunded. Reservation fees for free tickets are non-refundable in the event of an emergency closure. Recreation.gov Billing Information Reservation transaction will appear on customer's credit card statements as "Recreation.gov 877-444-6777." Changes to Policies and Procedures Recreation.gov reserves the right, when necessary, to modify reservation policies. These policies were last updated July__
Location
Dinkey Creek is located in California
Directions
From Clovis, California, travel east on Highway 168 to Shaver Lake. Turn southeast onto Dinkey Creek Road and travel 13 miles to the campground.
Address
SIERRA
53001 DINKEY CREEK RD
Shaver lake, CA 93664
Coordinates
37.068093 N
119.157025 W
Access
- Drive-InPark next to your site
- Walk-InPark in a lot, walk to your site.
- Hike-InBackcountry sites.
- Boat-InSites accessible by watercraft.
Stay Connected
- WiFiUnknown
- VerizonUnknown
- AT&TUnknown
- T-MobileUnknown
Site Types
- Tent Sites
- RV Sites
- Standard (Tent/RV)
- Group
- Cabins
- Tent Cabin
Features
For Campers
- Market
- Trash
- Picnic Table
- Firewood Available
- Phone Service
- Drinking Water
- Toilets
- Alcohol
- Pets
- Fires
For Vehicles
- Big Rig Friendly
Dinkey creek campground
Great campground wit lots to offer. Swimming holes , the slicks , old historic logging mill Store across the way
- (9) View All
Great weekend getaway spot
Let me start off by saying there was a fairly big issue with 2 of the 3 spots we reserved. The paved lots were so far from level that we didn't have enough leveling blocks. I am confident that these unlevel spots , G80 and G81, are the exception and not the norm.
With that bit out of the way, this is such a great campground! The hosts were very helpful and friendly, the creek, while low, was beautiful, and the guests were courteous and friendly. While there were many trees on the ground, there was still abundant shade. This will become a regular weekender for my family.
Dinkey Creek Site 41
Booked this site at the last minute. Given more time I'd choose a different site as this challenging to back into with our 26 foot travel trailer, site was right next to the bathroom, and sites in this section are pretty close together. On the plus side it was clean and well tended by camp hosts, and close proximity to gorgeous scenery.
Lovely place to relax!
We arrived Friday afternoon and were expecting it to be cold but we’re not expecting snow. It was a wonderful time between the 3 campsites although we all wound up staying in one RV but the grounds are well taken care of and we absolutely have no complaints!
Quiet and Secluded
Great place to relax and enjoy the water. Pretty cold in the off season, and pretty swift for littles. Hot and isolated, bring water or a filter. No cell service, so check in on your needs around Pine Flat lake.
- (10) View All
Okay. Awesome creek but horrible stinging bugs.
Stayed in site 66F for two nights in late August. My 7 year old daughter, my husband, and I stayed in a large tent. Because of the slopes, rocks, and trees, we had to set up on the parking pad (still had plenty of room for the truck so no problems). Each loop was a little different; the ones near the creek were more on a slope with tighter sites while the other side was more open, less shade, and lots of sawed trees. Each loop had two bathrooms with flush toilets and sinks (no soap) and a spigot with non-potable water. BRING DRINKING WATER (though if you forget you can buy some at the camp store).
We could walk down to the creek from our site, which was nice. There were plenty of small pools for wading and swimming. Problem was there was no public access points nearby so everyone walked thru our campsite to get to the creek. My other gripe was that it was a location campground, by which I mean people would come and hang out at their sites all day, playing music and partying at night. So if quiet nature is what you are looking for, this is not the best match.
The other thing I have to mention - the yellow jackets. The hosts said it was quite unusual so I tried not to let it color the overall review, but damn! You would be sitting down trying to read and a few would fly around your head or land on your hands. As soon as the food came out, they would swarm. After having 10 land on the cutting board while cutting up cheese, I just finished as quick as possible and we dove into the tent to eat. It wasn’t just us, we watched all the neighbors do a similar dance. They would die down at night and early morning but any other time they were horrible. We bought a trap in town and easily caught over 50 in 24 hours. It was because of this we left a day early.
We enjoyed swimming in the creek, hiking Bald Mtn, and walking around Shaver Lake. Glad I went but probably will not go again.
A few other bits of info: Dumpsters on each loop. No cell service with Verizon. No hook-ups. Firewood for sale (8 pieces for $8 - don't bother and just gather). Showers for sale at store. Store has a deli and small selection of odds and ends (food and souvenirs).
- (9) View All
2020 Family Trip
With all that’s gone on in 2020 the boys an I needed this trip. This camp grounds is clean an well maintained. This is our new favorite place.
Great tent and RV camping. Great facilities and good water access!
1st time camping at Dinkey and we were concerned about not getting a good space, since all spots closest to the water were already booked. Reality is... all water access is through the day use areas, so all camp sites are good! Creek was FUN!!!!
Due to the bark beetle infestation, lots of trees are down, but most spots still have good sun cover from the remaining trees.
There were meat bees, so make sure you bring a screen tent for cooking/eating.
Real camping
Very shady camp sites lots of trees close to Honeymoon pools area . Fishing not bad beware of bears though. All dry camping no hook ups. Little store by campsites no WiFi .
Hi Sierra paradise
Friendly cc hosts. Due to recent one beetle infestation there are less trees then the past, not really a bad thing, just different. In the last two years the cc has been a mess due to the removal of hazard trees, BIG improvement this year.
Fantastic
I grew up going to Dinkey Creek and to the Girl Scout Camp nearby. This campground is remote and secluded there are good swimming holes, fly fishing and really beautiful area. This area is unchanged over the last 20 years. Shaver Lake is nearby and further up the road is Huntington Lake - a real find.
Swimming holes
This was my best camping experience ever. It's location had perfect weather, warm during the day and cool, but not cold, at night. You surrounded by gorgeous tall trees and have access to swimming holes about a mile away. It had nice flushing restrooms and a small country store. There were no bugs or animals to contend with. I am already planning on returning.
Super Solace
This visit was a spur of the moment camping trip with my family. I had recently gotten back from an empowering spiritual camping trip and just had to get my loved ones into the same sacred space. Trying to find a camping trip a week before we wanted to actually go was thought to be an impossible request. But then there was Dinkey Creek.
Dinkey Creek is perhaps my new favorite place to camp. It is not too far from where I live and is majestic. Being amongst the Sierras and embracing the waters as we did was absolutely empowering. I highly reccomend taking the trip (and the dip) into Dinkey Creek. It is not one to be missed.
- (17) View All