Best Campgrounds near Merced, CA

Cabin had bunk beds. Small refrigerator

Plenty of space for all vehicle sizes. Roads are very accessible. Nice and wooded.

It wasn’t bad, it wasn’t great. It’s a small place that’s probably not crowded often. It’s got bathrooms that are located kinda far if you aren’t in the two sites on either side. Mostly it’s just real ugly, imo. Trees around have burned down in the last 3-5 years it looks like, dry looking even in March. We didn’t stay and set up because it’s just not nice to look at and there’s many nice places nearby. Good place to go if you can’t find much else around. Also, it’s one of the few places I’ve found that have decent cell service, enough for my son to use YouTube and I can make phone calls, gps works. All on just my cellphone hotspot. I have Verizon, idk about other carriers. Decent cell service on site is a big thing for me so that’s why I wouldn’t not stay at this place but it’s bare bones w/toilets and certainly not first choice especially when you have other options nearby.

I love this park and specially love the off season. I usually haul in just day hours and stay worry and bother free!

We have stayed at this campground many times and recently revisited in September’24. This COE is on a small lake that is used for irrigation during the summer resulting in a much lower water level than in the spring. Fishing is good. The Corps have added more electric sites over the years and there were 5-6 that fit our 43’ Blue Bird. We marked this as “big rig” friendly. Springtime has the grasses green with abundant wild flowers in late Feb through early March. Summer can be hot as the elevation is low in the California Central Valley and the grasses are brown. Sites are asphalt. Many sites may take some time to level. Back in and pull through are available. A nice dump stations is available within the COE park. Fall has a Tarantula migration and you will definitely see them. Coyote, Bobcat, and deer are frequently seen. Codorniz is 21 miles from Chowchilla. One way in and one way out cuts down on traffic.

Sites 120 - 144 offer full hookups. However, the sites are arranged on a parking lot. We were able to get our 43’ Blue Bird completely onto site 138. Power was good but there were only 4 of us in the FHU sites. Millerton is a great boating and fishing lake close to Fresno and within a few hours of Yosemite NP.

We would not stay here again until the park gets control of the ground squirrels. We heard stories of cars and RV’s being towed out because they chewed through wiring. Thankfully we escaped with just damage from them entering the RV and getting into plastic containers of food in the bays. On our last night we moved to a parking lot by the lake so we could avoid further intrusion. The campground was also littered with garbage. I was constantly picking up litter on my walks.

There are other campgrounds in the recreational area that have no utilities that could be a better choice for smaller RV’s.

Im not sure wether or not they had upgrades done recently, but the bathrooms were astounding. Very modern and especially clean. Very beautiful and quiet park with the calmest river and soothing sounds of the birds around you. Great escape from reality!

Quite a large level area, though it was November and not peak season so there were loads of space. We pulled in and there were a couple of trailers with horses and a couple of other vehicles and we parked with loads of space between. When we left early in the morning a handful more of vehicles had joined.

First, knowing nothing about this area of CA I looked for a spot to set up for a few to dry out, we'd just dropped out of Shasta Mt b4 heavy winter storms. Arrived late afternoon to set up. Problem is the ground is covered, literally, with all the casings, glass, human trash everywhere 😮‍💨 🙏 please, always pack out a bit more than you've created in an area. These pics are the cleanest spot I could find. 😪

What a gem! We loved our two-night stay surrounded by the animals. While the dirt road/driveway is a bit bumpy, we had no problem with our 23' Airstream -- just go slowly and you'll be fine (there was a 40' Class A there, too, if that says anything). Great host who is truly kind. Quiet, peaceful, and fun...what more do you need?

Spent (2) nights here and loved it. Enough T-Mobile service for messaging and lite web browsing. Spacious pull-out with a small rock fire pit. I believe fires are allowed as long as you have a permit.

~8min drive to Big Oak Entrance and ~40min drive to Yosemite Valley Welcome Center. Why stay at Hodgdon when you can stay here!

I was expecting bad conditions because of the previous comments but it was actually a good surprise. It's very close to the entrance of Yosemite, in our case it was very quiet and well isolated. There is no view or wow effect but it's great location and isolated.

Camping spot was clean and a tall fire pit a good distance from the water and bathroom at site 22. Was hot af was the only issue for us, 103 and the sun just hurt. There were plenty of fish and fishing folks on the shore and boats all were catching.

Nothing fancy or too expansive, but a handful of spots on either side of the road. Certainly easier to settle in before it’s dark.

This place always comes through for us when we need a quiet place to stay when traveling in the area. It's $20/night, there seems to always be room, and it's always been nice and quiet when we stay here.

Sites are hit or miss, so drive around until you find one that suits you. One of these days we'll nab one of the sites to the right of the fork when you enter the campground, but they always seem to be taken.

Good cell reception, pit toilets, trash dumpster (no recycling).

Our neighbors in A119 talked, played loud music, whooped and laughed loudly until at least 3 am. At about 11 pm, we requested that please keep the noise down and reminded them of the quiet after 10 pm park rule. They said that the rule only applied to loud music and proceeded to make rude comments and told us to call the ranger. No one answered the phone. We called the local police: no noise ordinance in the county. Our neighbors proceeded to increase the volume of their talking, laughing and started hooting (making animal noises) as well. My husband asked them again at about 12 am to please be quiet and they got even louder after that. We moved to a different site and were still able to hear them but the noise level dropped to a more moderate level. We reported them to the ranger the next day but did not get a satisfactory response. There were at least 20 people at that site. The ranger said that 8 people was the limit. Without enforcement, number limits or quiet time rules are meaningless.

Plenty of sites, we arrived after 8 pm and were able to find a spot and book it on Recreation.gov easily.

It wasn’t as nice as the photos depicted. Water shortage? The grasses were long and dried up, there appears to have been a wooden bridge as a shortcut to the pool/restroom/laundry room/Deli, but no longer. The restrooms were barely tolerable and the woman’s had a bad odor. There’s a dishwashing station that is no longer serviceable, just a stainless sink set in a covered table with no water or even plumbing to include drains. You have to pay for WiFi and sometimes the signal drops. For the cost of the campground the WiFi should be free! Lesser known campgrounds even have free WiFi. There are Conestoga Wagons, Cabins and Yurts. None were occupied. Reason?

Loud music playing at this hour clearly says quite time is at 10 pm and it’s so loud

Got one of the furthest sites tent camping. Could see all the stars. They also provide bear boxes for each site.