Best Tent Camping near Coleville, CA

We stayed the night at one of the Hetch Hetchy reservable sites (first come, first served) before our trek through the backcountry of Yosemite. The sites were just a quick walk in from the parking lot and featured picnic tables, bear boxes, bathrooms and established fire rings. A permit is required to stay in the area as well as a $6 per person fee and you're able to check-in with your reservation right at the Hetch Hetchy entrance. The sites are well maintained and do feature scenic vistas, though it appears that the best views offered by Hetch Hetchy are found farther in the backcountry and we wish we had the time to really explore the area. The campground served as an easy spot to hike in, set up and prepare for a long trek ahead, although, if you're not pressed for time or resting up for a big hike, I'd recommend continuing on past the established sites into the more scenic backcountry. One major advantage of Hetch Hetchy is that you'll avoid the major crowds in Yosemite Valley which can't be beat in my book.

My brother and I hit the north grove campground for the first time this past weekend. My expectations weren’t high but this place was great.

The campground we chose was kind of close to the road which would have been the only real negative. The campground map makes it seem like the road was further away from the sites but I woke up a couple of times from road noise.

Our campsite had a fire ring, bbq, picnic table and bear box and still had a large flat spot for my huge tent as well as parking for my car.

The weather was great, no bugs to be found and plenty to do. I already want to go back next year but choose a site further from the road.

Located off highway 50 near Kyburz, CA, this campsite is a first come, first serve campsite. No reservations. Listen to the sounds of the river while sleeping. You can also play & fish in the river during the day. The river is stocked with fish. RV & tent sites which are spacious & most have nice shade coverage. No hookups, vault toilets. Dog friendly on leashes. Camp host has been there for 5 years & is super friendly. we had no problems but we followed the rules. Only 4 stars because you do hear the highway traffic. one of my fav places. $23 per day per site, $8 for extra parking. Lots of extra spaces.

After October 2, it is first come, first available and only sites 26-72 were open so my review is limited to a small portion of the campground. When I researched ahead of time, it was the ONLY open campground I could find in the Lake Tahoe area. At least the per night rate was decreased to $25 ($23 for seniors). I don’t know about the rest of the loops but most of the sites in the open loop appeared to be “doubles” or even “triples”; the camper pads were paved but appeared to be side-by-side parking spaces. Fortunately, there were not many campers so this was not a problem, however, if the park were more crowded, this layout would only make sense if the camper pads were used to park vehicles and people tent camped. All sites appeared to be level. No hookups. Each site had a large picnic table, fire ring, and bear box. 

We had been warned multiple times that we were camping in an active bear area and although we did not encounter any, one of the other campers told us they had seen a mama and bear cub, along with a coyote. 

The showers and dump station were closed for the season. There was no host on-site. The restrooms were very basic: toilet and sink but no soap, paper towels, or air dryers. 

My rating might have been higher if we could have seen other parts of the campground, but our experience was limited to one night and we did not visit the day-use area.

We got a last minute cancelled site at the Fallen Leaf Campground, and thought we’d truly lucked out. We stayed at site 87 which is nestled among towering native pine trees on the South end of the campground and one of the few sites which doesn’t have neighbors on all sides. The sites have the standard standing BBQ's and fire rings at all sites (but we couldn’t utilize them because of the fire ban), old picnic tables and various amounts of space for RV’s/cars and the tried and true bear box. In this campground you NEED to utilize the bear boxes. They have signs everywhere about the mass amount of bear activity and how there is a mother and her 2 cubs which have been terrorizing the campground for some time this season (2018). Again, you need to keep everything (food, toiletries, etc.) in the bear box at all times. The sites are reservable, and on top of the $35 (nonelectric) per site there is a $7 fee for a second vehicle, Yurts go for $86 which do have power and a nonrefundable $10 service fee…. While the campground allows dogs, they aren’t allowed in the Yurts.

There’s lots of bear proof dumpsters around the campground, lots of potable water in strategic spots and a number of decent restrooms, and it was nice that at some of them they provided hot (pay) showers (at $1 per 3 minutes) and while the ADA has some control the standard one has no control over the heat or pressure its simply on or off. Also, the restrooms have no soap, paper towels, or hand dryers, etc. Which was a little disappointing for the cost.

My biggest disappointment in the setup of the campground has to do with the bears and cleaning your dishes. There is no dish-washing area in the entire ~200 site, ~14 bathroom campground. They specifically ask that you don’t wash your dishes in the sinks or at the water spigots as they don’t want any food particles going down the drains. So, when I asked about disposing of the dish water they said to just toss it at the base of a tree, as it’s dry and the trees would appreciate it. This doesn’t help keep the bears away… While we scrapped and collected every bit of food waste we could and tossed it into the dumpsters, ff you’re just tossing food scrap-soaked water at the base of the trees the bears are going to come for the smell… I’ve stayed at other sites in bear country which have setups for disposing of the waste water and food scraps to detract bears and Fallen Leaf definitely is lacking and this is possibly part of the reason they’re having such an issue with bears.

While, our site (87) would probably normally be a great location with the Fallen Leaf Lake being the only thing behind you and no neighbors on at least 2 of your sides, we happened to somehow book the same weekend that a corporate event was taking over the vast majority of the campground with almost 200 people….

While, not entirely the campgrounds fault it was a little disruptive to have this mass number of people come directly next to us in site 88 for their meals as they’d decided to make that site the meal prep site for breakfast (they started prep at 5:30 am) and dinner (we actually had to ask the drunk group to stop screaming at midnight) these were both well outside the “quiet hours” and definitely surpassed the “6 people per site” rule.

Otherwise this campground is in a great location to see the area as it’s only approximately one-quarter mile north of Fallen Leaf Lake. The trail from the campground was only 3 sites over from us. The Taylor Creek Visitor Center is directly across Highway 89 and is a great location to talk to the Rangers about other potential hikes in the area. They also have interpretive programs, guided walks on the Rainbow Trail and to the Stream Profile Chamber (which was closed because someone decided to break it. Although it should be repaired now… end of September 2018). Also, nearby Baldwin Beaches or Pope Beach, which cost $10, or you can go to the Tallac Historic Site with tours and events at its historic buildings and grounds and the free (dog friendly) Kiva beach which is exactly the same as the other pay access beaches….

There’s also a really nice paved bike trail that runs 3 miles along Highway 89 and can be used to access all of the above. You have access to excellent day hiking and backpacking in Desolation Wilderness via the Glen Alpine or Mt. Tallac trailheads which are also nearby.

Stayed here for one night on my way through Yosemite. Car camped in a Toyota Yaris end of June 2021. Limited number of spaces available. Very budget-friendly. No Reservations needed or required. The sites are close together they come with a picnic table a bear box and a fire ring. There is no usable water on property. No flush toilets. No showers. There is a man in charge of the campground in the very first sight to the left when you drive in look for the American flag. There are two bears that roam this property they come and check the property at night and in the morning and they will investigate every single site so do not leave anything out put everything edible in the bear box! Well I was here the Bears annihilated someone's ice chest that got left out overnight. Great trails Great hiking a lot of nature to look at in this area I like this campsite I wish it had running water at least one well pump would be great I know that the river was closed because I was able to get to it but I don't know how usable that water is. I will probably be back this is a great location! Check out is 2 p.m.!

First stop in my early summer road trip. Stayed for two nights. Easy self pay station at the front entrance. To get to the campground at the first right little dirt road before the pay station. Entrance into the park patch to the campground has a limited day-use fee also and there is group they use facilities with a large barbecue and outdoor sink that you would be able to wash dishes at if necessary. Great shaded spot in the middle of the desert. This was quite the unexpected little Oasis. Comes with peacocks. Limited number of spots available for tent camping or RV camping with no hookups. There are water spickets available and the park part of this Campground has flush toilets. The campground itself comes with a fire ring and a picnic bench. Trees are plentiful shade is wonderful the heat in this area in the summer time is Relentless but the shade is perfect at this location. There are peacocks on the property that apparently come from somewhere else I believe there are at least three of them they do make noise at night but it's not ridiculous unless there are coyotes on the property. Beware this is the desert there is wild life. Do not leave your food out at night. Bear boxes are not provided but keep your food items inside of your tent or your vehicle or lock them up. I did not have any issues because I am Savvy to the situation. I had a wonderful time hiking around and exploring the area through the trails making my way to the Carson River. This place is a gem and I will be back!