Best Campgrounds near Loyalton, CA

Some friends of ours love North Fork Campground just off I-80 at Emigrant Gap, so we were going to try it on the way back from the California coast to Reno.  North Fork Campground was nice, and would have been a good place to spend the night, but felt a bit dark and tight with dense foliage along the beginnings of the North Fork of the American River.  We saw that Onion Valley Campground was just a bit further.  Nobody there, so we took a spot at the far end of the campground next to the meadow.  Very peaceful for a short afternoon stop and a morning departure.

The housing development is right off the campsite and I think they’re starting to push it into where you would camp. Construction vehicles everywhere. People called the fire department on are campfire and a fire truck showed up. They said it wasn’t their jurisdiction if we could camp there so we stayed and got woken up at 8:00 am by a very angry man saying we had 15 minutes to get out or he’d call the cops. Don’t camp here unless you’re looking for a crazy night.

We came for an overnight after a run of wet weather and it was a little bit muddy. We were prepared for it and the host and helped us pick a good spot so ended up not making any difference. The alpacas were plentiful, the views were good and it made for a good night.

The pin is the starting point of blm land in that area. There is at least one drivable pathway deeper into blm land. I think more. I'll find out tomorrow. I was driving around trying to find access to blm land and found it. I used a public lands app to verify it is blm. The boundary barley crossed over 447. A perfect access point to blm land. My cell service was bad. I use boost mobile, but I've heard Verizon isn't very good in the area as well. If it works for you it's convenient.

Newer showers and bathrooms than any other rv park in Reno. Very little foliage but that is the desert. Large and expensive laundry facility $4.50 for a load. Paid $59 for a back-in 30 amp site full service. Lots to do in the hotel other than gamble and as a camper you can use the hotel amenities - curling, pool, hot tubs, etc. We had fun in the Escape Room and Sensology games. Great views of the mtn range.

Found this on iOverland. The toad leading up, cuts through a nice neighborhood, has many inverse speed bumps, so take it slow. Once you get to the area you’re navigation tells you you have to walk from there, keep driving through, in between the water tanks and it’ll start to get a little rough, but manageable, even for a small fwd vehicle (saw one in the morning). The sign says closed during the winter, but there were people still coming to hike and explore. Very quiet night, just the water from for the fenced off collection pool system going all the time. Just stayed one night. Arrived at dusk and left after breakfast.

Just off of 80 @ the Mustang exit, east bound side. Industrial area, so trucks going by, mostly during the day, but occasionally throughout the night. Good, clean spot to rest for a night. Adjacent to the river

I am a 12 year old and I had tons of fun. Me and my friends were up there and there was conveniently a campground available in there same campsite. We went in the summer and the water was perfect! We went fishing and caught crawfish in a trap underneath the bridge near the front. Overall the staff were really nice and it was a great trip. I recommend it!

The two closest roads coming in from the West are blocked off and labeled no unauthorized vehicles. This is due to the construction of the new neighborhoods and they probably annexed the area. You could probably access it from the East but I have no idea how many miles it would be in from where you would come in.

I stayed for one night before before going to Reno. The sun was setting I didn't want to set up in the dark. Got stuck setting up in the dark anyway. The dirt road on the way to the campsite is pretty washboarded. The campsite itself was about 2/3 full. Looks like a couple campers were here for quite a while.

Nice peaceful spot. Few cars go by, but it’s tucked away enough.

Sly Creek Reservoir is a beautiful mountain lake with several campsites along a small portion of the lake.

There is a boat ramp and ATV riding on the forest roads in the area.

The campground closed in 2024 for tree removal and cleanup but is expected to open in 2025.

Passes are honored.

This place is so wonderful and free. We were the only people in our camp area for the entire stay.  If you go with some friends, Diamond Back has a perfect spot for two decent size RV's. 

Very clean, trash pick up service was great and the vault toilets were nice if you were tent camping and needed a clean place to do your business. 

Trail riding galore. Went on all the trails and out in the sand dune area we came upon wild horses, this was quite a site to see. They were just running and being playful. 

I would avoid this place in the summer, hot and with no power it would be a sweat box.

Love our stay at Logger Campground, very clean vault toilets, and facility. Most of the spots are very tight, narrow spaces. Make some when you book, you get the right size spot. Pay dump just offsite.