Camping near New Melones Lake, CA

Cabin had bunk beds. Small refrigerator

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!

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!

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!

We ended up at this small campground because our potential boondocking spots were completely snowed in up top.  So glad we did as it is tucked away on the grounds of an amazing state park!

Most of the sites are small with a lot of tree coverage. It was quiet, quaint, and clean. We found a good site that provided just enough sky for both our 400W portable solar panel and Starlink to work pretty well. The bathroom building has flush toilets, was kept clean, and warm showers. 

But the campground isn’t the reason to come here...it’s the history! This little park tucked into the Western Sierras will blow your mind. It is a significant Miwok Native American historical site, with home sites, ancient Oak trees, and literally thousands of grain, and acorn grinding stones located in the central part of the park. 

The visitor’s center is a must-see and brings the location to life. In cooperation with the local tribes, the state manages the site and visitor’s center for the public. Take a walk on the interpretive trail, hike the adventure trails, fish in the creek, or attend a special program. It is a beautiful place to spend a few days. 

The nearby town of Pine Grove has a few restaurants and grocery stores to get what you might need.

Very nice park, great walking trails, beautiful trees. Many of the buildings are older, but well kept. Showers are coin operated and nice. No trailer hookups, but very site has a water but can’t connect it with the trailer. Park does have a dump station and is included in the space rent. Only issue is being by the road and having road noise. Plenty of restrooms and showers (coin operated). The only Wi-Fi is at the visitor center and VERY limited cell service, no great loss.

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.

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.

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?

Large pull off area I found and stayed at for 4 days with amazing views of the sunset and sunrise! I was there on weekdays so was pretty much alone the whole time but even if the main spot is occupied there’s a couple of dirt roads that lead to more areas to camp. A couple of level spots and lots of room to hike around. Completely free and peaceful but 0 amenities so come prepared. Currently there is an abandoned red semi truck cab so it’s easy to find not sure if that will ever be moved in the future though!

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

I believe a lot of the people here are full-time. It’s a super sweet RV resort. It is very well-maintained, nicely landscaped, and they have some great dog parks. I came in after hours and the person managing the campground was kind enough to open up the office and get a space for me.

We used Diamond Gulch as our base while exploring Yosemite for 5 days.  Overall, it was a great experience with a great host!  We visited in mid to late July, so it was very hot, and this means the campground was a little dusty, but manageable.  As others have stated, there is free firewood at your site, but we were a little scared to light a wood fire given how everything was so dry.  Also, as others have mentioned the showers were great, but we did have issues with getting them to heat up.  

One thing to keep in mind is that while Groveland is only ~30 minutes from Yosemite, the drive within the park can take up 45-60 minutes.  So, plan accordingly and be prepared.  Our experience was that if we left camp around 7:30 we'd be through the gate with no line at 8am, and be at a parking lot around 9am.  This always worked for us to get a parking spot without any hassle.  After a long day of hiking and exploring the drive back to the campground felt a little long.

Something we did not expect was how little there is in Groveland itself.  We tried to spend a couple of hours there one afternoon, and ended up just grabbing coffee and going back to camp.  There just isn't much to do in town.  This isn't to discourage anyone, but keep that in mind.

The good:

* Good host

* Beautiful scenery from camp

* Clean, well serviced bathrooms (porta potties)

* Water available in camp

* Excellent showers (especially when you can get them to heat up)

* Very relaxed atmosphere

The okay:

* The sites have wood chips spread to keep down dust, but those get tracked everywhere.

* A bit of a drive from the sights in Yosemite

* On busy weekends it can get a bit crowded

We spent one night right in front of the water, amazing view for the sunset. It’s true that bathroom / toilets / showers aren’t clean, they are quite old.

But we didn’t care, the view worth it. We went swimming in the lake : what a pleasure. We saw some squirrels and dears, they didn’t bothered us.

It was super calm. The crew was nice with us and let us spend only one night here for 50$ (the minimum should be 2 nights)

I recommend this place!

(Also, it’s right halfway between Yosemite and San Francisco: which was perfect for us)