Best Tent Camping near Marysville, CA

Tent Camping Reviews near Marysville, CA

381 Reviews of 29 Marysville Campgrounds

• 

  Lee D.

  Legend

  Nov. 25, 2023

  Lake Clementine Boat In — Auburn State Recreation Area

  Off-season peaceful stay

  General: Normally, there are 18 designated sites that are reservable only from May 1– October 15. What we didn’t know until we arrived was that only Sites 1-7 were open after this date; fortunately, only two other sites were occupied when we arrived at 5:30 pm on a Monday in late October. The access road is about six miles of curvy, hilly, and narrow (sometimes only one lane) pavement. There is a sign prohibiting trailers; our 18-foot camper van did fine but anything much larger would definitely be challenged. 

  Site Quality: Many of the sites are more suitable for tent campers. The parking area is at the top of the hill, and you set up your tent below. Most of the sites that have a “driveway” were not level, except for Sites 5 and 6. We lucked out with Site 6 – it was large and level and directly across from the vault toilets. A fire pit/grill, large concrete picnic table, and bear box complete the site (although there was a fire ban in effect).

  Bath: Only one vault toilet was open, and it was very clean. It was cleaned again the next morning. 

  Activities: This campground is located on the North Fork of the American River. In season, this campground would be very popular with rafters; there is a raft launch and takeout area close to the campsites. The river was crystal clear and beautiful.

  This was a small but beautiful campground. We were surprised that we had a semi-decent cell signal ranging from 1 to 2 bars (Verizon).

  Read More
• 

  Rosina A.

  Guide

  Jun. 1, 2022

  Beals Point Campground — Folsom Lake State Recreation Area

  Folsom Lake Penninsula

  Beautiful sunsets. No showers. Bathrooms are clean. Some sites are rather small and have little flat ground. Pics on website are tough to see when booking. Lake to most sites is a drive, but there are a few campsites on the lake. Many sites are on hill, you walk up the hill or down a hill with stairs. Lake has day use area, but also a dock area for camping folks. Lots of mosquitoes. They have a fire are to cook, no fire ring, have a bear box and picnic table. Some sites have plenty of shade while others are just plain sun so be prepared.

  Water is nice temperature and super clean! Nice to kayak, paddle, boat (they have boat ramps), fish, swim. Beach areas are rocks with weeds, but pretty.

  Read More
• 

  Kate A.

  Guide

  Feb. 20, 2021

  Thousand Trails Ponderosa

  Great location, but plan ahead

  This is a well maintained RV and tent camping resort. It’s great for kids that want to ride bikes around the sites- but be careful of the river, it’s swift. The RV and tent sites are in two separate areas, with more updated amenities available for RVs like hot showers. Shared pool site. Lots of great trails to weave through the campground on a mountain bike.

  One downside- it can be hot. Not a lot of tree cover for the RV sites- make sure you bring shade with you. Luckily, there’s a nice cool river to swim in!

  Fires are restricted sometimes in the summer. Some sites require a membership.

  Local grocery and pizza, frozen yogurt available within walking distance.

  Lots of great fishing, floating, and kayak accessibly. Bring tubes and life vests. Poles and bait.

  Read More
• 

  Gina C.

  Traveler

  Jul. 26, 2019

  Lake Francis Resort

  Fun cabin rental

  Some of my family has camped here in the past at one of the tent sites. We decided this time around to reserve one of their cabins. We stayed at the Diamond P cabin which has the best view of the lake within this group of cabins. You can walk to the lake (it’s about 100 yards) from this location. Though it does fill up fast (by 11am it was pretty full). They have a large portable toilet there for use. We spent our time at the pool which is near the flushable toilets and the ice cream parlor, restaurant, and camp store. The pool goes from 3.5’ ft to 5’ back to 3.5’ ft.

  The cabin was great. Two bedrooms, each with twin bunk beds and a full bottom bunk and twin above. Small bathroom with shower, mini fridge, hot plates, microwave, and dishes. Dining table and futon in the living area. Nice wide front porch to sit on and enjoy the view, communal tables and bbq for all the cabins. This unit also had a swamp cooler to help manage the heat.

  Check in is 4pm and check out is 11am. There is also a small game room with a pool table, a baseball field, paddle boats, and kayaks to rent.

  The down side is how quickly the easiest access to the lake fills up. Everyone has to drive over from the tent RV site to access the water. There are other places you can drive and park to get to the water, but there it a drop off into the water from there vs a gradual walk in.

  Read More
• N

  Noelle V.

  Scout

  Aug. 7, 2025

  Carlton

  Meh

  We left 1 day into our 4 day stay. The scenery, beautiful. The river, stunning. The campsite, tiny and awkwardly set up (Site12 specifically), good shade though. Prior occupants left a bunch of trash (as in an entire tent.....) in the bear box that we had to dispose of. Clean enough bathrooms. No firewood on site (which we were sdvised there would be) at the camp host site, don't think we had one, if we did they're hard of hearing. Drove up the road to a different campsite per the info board and got wood there **CASH ONLY**

  Awful site neighbors, incredibly loud, watching reality TV shows at top volume, even waking me up at 0400 talking full volume 10 feet from our tent. Another neighbor with a generator on until almost 11pm. 

  *****ROAD NOISE. So. Much. Road. Noise. There was next to zero peaceful outdoor serenity. Not only the noise from the road, but the headlights hit our tent all night as well. 

  Won't be back, sad to end the week early, but no way were we able to stay with all of that going on. Was supposed to be a peaceful, quiet, relaxing week away from the sounds of a loud city......all we did was add a few trees 🤷‍♀️

  Read More
• 

  R D.

  Guide

  Jul. 3, 2025

  Peninsula Campground — Folsom Lake State Recreation Area

  Spacious unique sunny sites

  To be real, if you're unhoused but well-behaved with an income, this might be a much better option than Beals Point. Peninsula is about 45 minutes to an hour from Folsom depending on traffic. You have to drive down a long windy narrow road to get here, which is the worst part, so it's best to come prepared to stay put for as long as possible once you're here. There is plenty to do since you can go swimming in the lake most months (except early Spring), and there is an 8 mile hiking trail (Darrington) that ends at the campground. Darrington is mountain bike accessible but nowhere near road bike accessible. A shorter accessible trail (Oaks Nature Trail) is entirely contained within the campground and takes you through some great examples and educational signs regarding the riparian ecosystem. Wildlife is off the chain here. As others have said, if you don't love being surrounded by wild animals, this will probably be a bit much for you. Bears have been seen on occasion, cougars, Bobcats, and coyotes all stop by from time to time, and there are so many skunks it can get annoying. One night I was woken up by a deer walking right into my tent which scared the crap out of us both. On the flip side I've seen some of the most beautiful emerald and sapphire colored lizards. They breed here in late spring. It's kind of hilarious to watch the males do push-ups then chase the females down like 80 times in a row. Some of the females fight back and make it a lizard wrestling match. Owls, eagles, salmon, beavers... if it lives in this area, there's a good chance you'll see it here. The boat noise can be annoying on busy days but is not so bad from the higher up sites, which tend to have more amenities due to being further from the lake. The camp hosts here are some of the best I've encountered. Since this campground is so huge there are usually sites available first come first serve, if you come in late at night you can self register at the kiosk. Others are correct that there isn't much shade and the sites aren't very flat. I got around the latter problem by folding a sleeping bag under one side of my sleeping pad to keep that side elevated. Overall one of the best places to Camp near Folsom lake.

  Read More
• 

  Bonnie M.

  Guide

  Feb. 11, 2020

  Collins Lake Recreation Area

  Beautiful shoreline camping

  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.

• 

  Lee D.

  Legend

  Oct. 21, 2023

  Beals Point Campground — Folsom Lake State Recreation Area

  Many recreational activities

  General: 69-site campground in two sections – one with electric hookups and one without. 

  Site Quality: We stayed in the non-hookup section. Site 36 was in a small spur with just four sites and direct access to the American River Bikeway. Although better suited for tents, the site worked fine for our camper van. The fire pit and picnic table were located quite a distance from the short paved camper pad, creating a sense of privacy.

  Bath/Shower house: The building closest to us had three toilet/sink combos, one toilet only (there was an outside sink) and two showers. No soap, paper towels, or air dryers in any of the toilet rooms. Showers took quarters – two to turn it on and although I did not time it, two quarters gave a decent amount of time for the shower. Good hot water and a bench but no hooks. 

  Activities: Folsom Lake with all water-related activities. In addition to biking, the paved American River Bikeway was good for walking, running, and horseback riding. The grass was very dry, and I was surprised to see there was not a fire ban, as we’ve seen in almost every other campground not located on the coast. Four stars for the abundant recreation activities.

  Read More
• 

  Karen T.

  Traveler

  May. 24, 2021

  Coloma Resort

  Beautiful spot!

  I was worried about our pop up camper not being able to fit in the “tent only sites”, but it ended up being perfect.

  The sun shade provided in the tent sites came in handy when we had a short moment of rain. It was also much appreciated during the sunny weather.

  Beautiful view of the river but it was certainly crowded. Group sites we were near played loud music. Quiet hours weren’t enforced as people played music or loudly chatted until 1am the first night we were there. However, there’s after hours staff you can contact if you have any concerns.

  For the amount of people in the area, there isn’t many bathroom stalls. Yet, we somehow never ran into any long lines.

  There’s a lot of people, kids, bikes, and dogs. It’s highly stimulating environment but everyone was very friendly.

  Definitely recommend visiting if you are able to make a reservation!

  Read More