Best Tent Camping near Hughson, CA

Recent Tent Reviews near Hughson, California

397 Reviews of 14 Hughson Campgrounds

• 

  Rich A.

  Traveler

  

  May. 18, 2023

  McConnell State Recreation Area Campground

  Good camp ground, needs maintenance.

  Good tent camping. The Merced river runs along the east side of thr Park. I think there are beaches but can't confirm it (see pics).21 tent sites ,showers, bathrooms, lost of tables and water for the sights to share. The camp does need to catch up with maintenance in he facility though,lighting and cleaning. No camp host while we were there, that could be why?

• 

  Maria M.

  Scout

  

  Jun. 2, 2024

  Lake Tulloch RV Campground and Marina

  ick

  Wow, let's say we had a nightmare ishhorrible experience. We rented a tent camp site for 2 nights. We were given an RV Slab camping site. It had the tiniest barbecue grill available. The water that was coming out of all the faucets,  was red and brown. People weren't allowed to shower that night. Once night fall came, the camp's site was infested with roaches Everywhere, they went in all our grocery bags and under them. Went into and under all our boxes that we had. The roaches hid under our tents also. There also seemed to be a termite infestation. We had to cut our camping trip short after spending over a thousand dollars on supplies, food, the Camping site and parking fees The workers that drove by, especially Travis, were nice and Welcoming. Dogs have to be on a leash at all times. If you want to go into the lake with your dog, You have to walk very far away if you didn't rent one of the tent sites at the lake front area. Had to fumigate my vehicle when I got home with all my stuff in it. I pray none of the bugs will be in my stuff at home. I heard many other guests screeching and shouting, omg theres cockroaches every where. Good to know, we weren't the only ones disappointed. The owner Jake refused to refund me, or my two guests that wasted their 50 dollars in parking fees, although the trip was cut short due to the conditions. Jake offered for us to stay another night. Will never be back. Beware.

• 

  Kara S.

  Traveler

  

  Oct. 21, 2016

  Yosemite Pines RV Resort & Family Lodging

  Decent for last minute tent site near Yosemite

  Our group stayed in a tent campsite for one night in August 2016. This was our first campsite for a 2 week national parks road trip.

  My biggest gripe with this campground is that it is not stated anywhere on their site that you cannot park your car in your campsite. At least for us, we had to park down a hill and walk up to our site. We spent our entire evening and the next morning walking back and forth, back and forth, back and forth anytime we needed something from the car. Having the car in the site is so so much better and all the other campgrounds we stayed at were set up that way.

  Additionally, the entire campground was incredibly dusty, more so than any other campground we stayed at during our trip. The bathrooms/showers were not very well maintained (quite dirty and dusty) although the stalls did all have toilet paper. It was also quite a walk from our tent site which was located in the back part of the campgrounds.

  Staff were generally helpful and they have everything you'd need in their office/general store (ice, firewood, snacks, etc).

  Overall, we were happy to have found a campground nearish Yosemite at the last min since most things book up really quickly inside the park, but I'm happy we didn't stay here more than one night.

• M

  Mike L.

  Traveler

  

  Jul. 16, 2019

  Lake Amador Resort

  Nice family campground

  The man made pond is nice for the kids. It has a slide they can use. Rv areas are clean. Tent camping is okay!

• 

  Cherami H.

  Scout

  

  Jun. 12, 2019

  Bagby Camping and Recreation

  The most beautiful steel bridge in the world!

  Tons of Gold Rush history here, nice rv glamping featuring showers and a boat launch at first camp, more primitive tent camping up the road at second camp (my fave). I've been camping here for years, it's my favorite in the world!

• J

  Jim M.

  Guide

  

  Feb. 1, 2019

  Angels Camp Campground and RV

  Super RV Park

  I would stay here again and again. The tent sites have a large covered area for shade and the park has a pool for a refreshing little swim. Showers are included with the campground fee.

• J

  Jayson S.

  Traveler

  

  Jun. 23, 2021

  Yosemite Pines RV Resort & Family Lodging

  Great option if Yosemite’s full

  Great option if your looking for full rv hookups. If you’re tent camping, this might not be the best place. Bathrooms were very unclean but the park gets the job done as a place to sleep while visiting Yosemite. No Verizon or T-Mobile coverage. Wifi available for purchase.

• 

  John G.

  Scout

  

  Jun. 6, 2022

  Modesto Reservoir

  Our Family favorite for 50 years.

  We starter visiting Modesto Resivor in the sixties. My father would hail all of our gear out to one of the many islands, and let the kids and dogs run free. Now that we are older, we camp on the shore line. Rustic tent camping near the water-skiing course is my favorite. Quite nights and darker stargazing. Blonde Beach is where your likely to find us Jetskiing.

• 

  Roxanne D.

  Scout

  

  Aug. 8, 2024

  Lake Camanche

  Fun Spot low cell service

  We have been going to camanche Lake for years . Low cell service but very nice place to tent camp. Last year, they gave us our spot we set up, then was told they made a mistake and made us move spots, but the new spot was closer to the water and that made the kids happy. Kinda a hassle, but it worked out. We love it at this lake.

• 

  Suzanne P.

  Guide

  

  Jul. 20, 2018

  Yosemite Pines RV Resort & Family Lodging

  Tent sites are horrible

  The tent sites were right on top of each other and there was nowhere to park. You had to climb a steep hill to get to them with your car and again to the actual spot. The people were awesome, the facilities were clean and the pool was refreshing. They have WiFi that works great, a store with ice, snacks, and food.

• 

  Mike P.

  Scout

  

  Mar. 2, 2023

  Miner's Camp RV Park

  Lake Comanche South sure

  Nice place quiet lots of places for big RVs pull through spots and back in spots they have spots for family reunions have showers store boat ramp nice place to camp North Shore is not for RVs it's for tent camping the South Shore has hookups 30 50 amp service full hookups all around a good place good people quiet time is 9:00 p.m. till 7:00 a.m. I believe doesn't mean you can't be up just no loud music no carrying on to disturb the other people lake is almost full

• 

  Tammy H.

  Guide

  

  May. 2, 2018

  Moccasin Point Campground

  Close to Yosemite.

  We stayed here while visiting Yosemite. It is about a 45 minute drive from the Campground into Yosemite via Hwy 49 / 120. The sites are spacious and clean. We went in April and during the week so the campground was not crowded at all. It is hard to find a level driving pad, but we were tenting it and the tent sites themselves are pretty level. there were some nice walking trails around the lake, watch out for the poison oak. The lake was a good temperature and from what I heard, good fishing. Bring bug spray, the mosquitoes are very hungry.

• H

  Hunter P.

  Traveler

  

  Oct. 10, 2023

  Tuttletown Recreation Area

  Nice Area When Empty

  Sites are packed in tight. Def geared for tent camping although I was lucky enough to be here when it was dead empty and picked a good site for my 27’ toy hauler. Fire pits and picnic tables at every site. No idea where the water is at but didn’t really look. There is a nice dump station ($8 fee recommended.. pay station is at park entrance). Lots of deer and raccoons. Gas station with firewood not too far away (Lakeridge Inn Gas), and they have diesel. Boat launch and day use area only a short drive away. Just would not want to be here if it was busy.

• m

  marisela I.

  Traveler

  

  Aug. 4, 2018

  Blue Oaks Don Pedro Recreation Area

  Good for the family

  We went during the week and we were the only ones there. The Rangers are super nice and the showers were clean. They do have a ton of open space but lack shade and their website needs some updates since they don't represent the campsites very good. the lake was nice and warm and very refreshing. They don't have a whole lot of activities to do here so bring a football or some board games to play. They only drawback that we had was that the water hookup was too low to the ground to wash dishes (we do tent camping). They also allow you to have a fire pit fire and supply you with a fire ring and bbq pit. Overall we were very happy here.

• A

  Aaron V.

  Scout

  

  Jul. 2, 2023

  Pine Mountain Lake

  Nice, lesser known campground

  Our friends own a house in Pine Mountain Lake and invited us up to join them at the campground for their newborn’s first camping trip.

  I think people are under the impression this is a private campground, but it is open to the public. Fortunately that seems to make it less busy.

  We visited on the long 4th of July weekend and it seemed to be the only campground around that wasn’t completely full.

  It has a nice mix of tent and RV sites. The tent sites are a little difficult for anything but a small class B RV (<20’) to utilize because the driveways slope off pretty quickly, but it can be done.

  Good amenities overall, nice separation of sites, river access, and close to Groveland and Yosemite.

  Definitely recommend if you’re headed to the area.

• 

  Ed E.

  Legend

  

  May. 21, 2018

  Del Valle Regional Park

  Camping within an hour from the town of Livermore, CA

  We've been camping here a few times now, since it is about a half hour from where we live. We camp with a 27' Travel Trailer and the campgrounds can accommodate it. There is also several tent campsites as well. The marina to Lake Del Valle is a few miles away. They rent recreational boats as well as aluminum fishing boats. They have a swimming beach area and they rent kayaks as well. There is some decent hiking trails from the campgrounds. There were no hookups where we camped for the travel trailer. Lots of turkey and deer in the area. The fee for us was $27/per night. They is a per fee as well.

• a

  amy F.

  Traveler

  

  Oct. 11, 2021

  Yosemite Pines RV Resort & Family Lodging

  Overall Average

  We were a bit disappointed by our trip to Yosemite Pines. It has all of the facilities and potential to be amazing, but it felt a bit run down and like it wasn't taken care of properly. The bathrooms and showers were not clean, which is a shame because they are nice and spacious. We were also in a tent site with only one other person in our loop (We were loop A) and we felt a bit uncomfortable with it being so open. It would be nice if there was a barrier of trees or something at the back of the loop because it felt very open to the road and as if anyone could walk up. Maybe it was just us, but it just made us feel very uneasy. It also didnt help when we were woken up at 2am with the sounds of footsteps outside the tent. We think in the end it was an animal, but it definitely sounded like human footsteps which was very unnerving. It was a great location for Yosemite, a bit far away, but a good base camp especially when Yosemite is full.

• J

  Jeanette D.

  Guide

  

  May. 17, 2018

  Yosemite Pines RV Resort & Family Lodging

  Good Place for Kids

  With a pool, petting zoo, a corral where they have a fire and s'mores followed by a movie, this is a great place to camp with the kids.

  The showers are free and usually clean although on Saturday evening the campground was full and the bathrooms were dirty and out of TP.

  There are tent sites, RV sites and cabins so something for everyone.

  There were A LOT of stray cats on the property which kind of drove our dog crazy. But at least the campground is pet friendly.

  If you plan to go into Yosemite NP, it's a long drive so plan accordingly. Our family really enjoys Rainbow Pools and Yosemite Pine's proximity to Rainbow Pools is part of why we stay here. The kids can jump and swim there and that's all they really want to do anyway so being close to that is key for us. So many of the places in the park where we used to get in the water do not allow swimming anymore.

• 

  Meg R.

  Guide

  

  Nov. 10, 2020

  Railroad Flat Campground

  First Rain of the Season

  I visited in November, on the first days of rain after a long dry season. I arrived after dark and was unfamiliar with the layout, so I stayed at a pull-out near the McCabe Flat campground. The next morning I checked out Willow Placer campground and continued to the end of the road to claim the last spot at Railroad Flat campground.

  All three camps are along the river. There are no reservations. The first two are mostly walk-in tent sites. They are all clean and well maintained. There was a helpful ranger on patrol through the weekend.

  I came with my 16’ Airstream in tow, and it fit perfectly. I would not recommend anything larger. It was late in the season, so there were only a few campers at each location. The narrow road winds along the steep canyon wall with occasional pull-outs to allow oncoming cars to pass. I was glad not to meet any vehicles on my way.

  The scenery was stunning! It rained on-and-off with sunshine in between, so I rode my bike along and went fishing (didn't catch anything) while the sky was blue, then hid under a blanket with a cup of tea and watched the stormy skies. I had initially planned to go to Yosemite but was content to stay here.

• 

  Meg R.

  Guide

  

  Nov. 10, 2020

  Willow Placer Campground

  First Rain of the Season

  I visited in November, on the first days of rain after a long dry season. I arrived after dark and was unfamiliar with the layout, so I stayed at a pull-out near the McCabe Flat campground. The next morning I checked out Willow Placer campground and continued to the end of the road to claim the last spot at Railroad Flat campground.

  All three camps are along the river. There are no reservations. The first two are mostly walk-in tent sites. They are all clean and well maintained. There was a helpful ranger on patrol through the weekend.

  I came with my 16’ Airstream in tow, and it fit perfectly. I would not recommend anything larger. It was late in the season, so there were only a few campers at each location. The narrow road winds along the steep canyon wall with occasional pull-outs to allow oncoming cars to pass. I was glad not to meet any vehicles on my way.

  The scenery was stunning! It rained on-and-off with sunshine in between, so I rode my bike along and went fishing (didn't catch anything) while the sky was blue, then hid under a blanket with a cup of tea and watched the stormy skies. I had initially planned to go to Yosemite but was content to stay here.

• 

  Meg R.

  Guide

  

  Nov. 10, 2020

  McCabe Flat Campground

  First Rain of the Season

  I visited in November, on the first days of rain after a long dry season. I arrived after dark and was unfamiliar with the layout, so I stayed at a pull-out near the McCabe Flat campground. The next morning I checked out Willow Placer campground and continued to the end of the road to claim the last spot at Railroad Flat campground.

  All three camps are along the river. There are no reservations. The first two are mostly walk-in tent sites. They are all clean and well maintained. There was a helpful ranger on patrol through the weekend.

  I came with my 16’ Airstream in tow, and it fit perfectly. I would not recommend anything larger. It was late in the season, so there were only a few campers at each location. The narrow road winds along the steep canyon wall with occasional pull-outs to allow oncoming cars to pass. I was glad not to meet any vehicles on my way.

  The scenery was stunning! It rained on-and-off with sunshine in between, so I rode my bike along and went fishing (didn't catch anything) while the sky was blue, then hid under a blanket with a cup of tea and watched the stormy skies. I had initially planned to go to Yosemite but was content to stay here.

• 

  Ben R.

  Ranger

  

  May. 27, 2023

  McCabe Flat Campground

  Great for Yosemite visit

  This place was a great stay while visiting Yosemite. No reservations in advance, an hour outside the park, and only $10 a night. There are two pit toilets that are well kept and something like 10-15 sites. Definitely come early to snag a spot, and even earlier if you want a good one. There are more campsites further down the road if the first campground is full, but we didn’t check them out. The first campground is no RVs and I assume the other ones are the same. All walk-in tent sites, but the furthest you’ll need to walk is probably 30 feet. The sites are very close together so get ready to be nice to your neighbors. There is a river right next to the campground which is very pretty and very cold. As of us being here, it’s roaring and unsafe to do anything in, but apparently when it calms down (I think later in summer/fall) it’s good for tubing and other river sports. The campground hosts were very nice and introduced themselves right away. There were also plenty of felled & chopped up trees around to use for firewood, as well as bear containers at each site and a picnic table. ANTS WILL GET IN THERE. We had ants all over our dishes in the morning, but not our stuff in tubs, so make sure your things are ant proof. All food goes into the containers, don’t leave anything smelly in your car incase a bear tries to break in. Also, the squirrels are a little too friendly, clearly they rely on the humans in the area for food, so try not to drop food on the ground & don’t feed them. They’ll walk right up to you already. And watch out for food laying around/ keeping the bear containers open/ leaving coolers and things open because they will get in there and try to eat your stuff.

• 

  Abby J.

  Traveler

  

  Jun. 2, 2019

  Acorn Campground

  Easy camping, affordable

  Many sites, good water access, but not a lot of shade or flat ground for tents. Affordable. Not the prettiest scenery in California, but a cheap and reliable way to get some quick nature. Allows dogs.

• p

  phillip H.

  Scout

  

  Aug. 27, 2024

  Acorn Campground

  Extended stays

  A good clean campground, popular in central California. Reasonably priced $20 per night. They do accept golden age passes which reduces your nightly expense to $10 per night maximum 15 days for the month. Geared mostly for small trailers and tents, however, they do have some sites for larger RVs drive-through 40 foot max and roadside, slide outs might cause a problem. Park managers are very professional, courteous and pleasant. Bathrooms are a problem for cleanliness dump station is available for RVs. If you have a portable black tank, it would work out better for you on extended stays when dumping your black tank. If you are self-contained, you won’t have any difficulties at all.

• 

  Jordan L.

  Guide

  

  Mar. 23, 2022

  Tuttletown Recreation Area

  3.5 stars

  Area was very clean, lots of hiking options and access to the lake for fishing and swimming. My only issues were that the site was pretty small- we managed to squeeze a 4 person tent and a 2 person tent but anything larger wouldn't fit unless I wanted to be on a decent slope. The lake was also extremely low but thats not really anyone's fault. No hammocks allowed so if thats your sleeping method you'll want to bring a tent.

• B

  Bryan A.

  Scout

  

  Sep. 4, 2019

  South Fork Campground

  Cool spot

  Chill spot Has a “tent only” area with about 6 spots and a lot of other spots for small trailers and tents

• H

  Hayley K.

  Scout

  

  Sep. 27, 2023

  Diamond Gulch

  Cozy little spot

  We stayed here for the night prior to a Hetch Hetchy backpacking trip. We arrived in the dark. We had reserved a site with a small two person tent already set up for us. It was a bit hard to find in the dark, but the camping area is fenced in under an oak grove so eventually we found the stump with our name on it next to the tent. In the future, I think I’ll just bring my own tent and deal with the small hassle of setting it up—the tent provided was fine, but definitely would not have been a good choice if there had been rain. And you could tell it is essentially set up 24/7—some tiny insects living inside etc. The campsites themselves were sufficiently spacious and the host has nice fire pits with fire wood provided for each site, plus picnic tables. Basic portapotties plus some running water for bathrooms. Fellow campers were an interesting mix of folks from all over, though I wish the owner had quiet hours posted and communicated—our immediate tent neighbors sat out chatting and laughing until nearly 1am which was annoying. The coyotes and owls at night were lovely.