Best Glamping near New Melones Lake, CA

Fairly clean, a few of the dishes needed rewashed, but it‘s required that the previous occupants wash and put away their dishes. Quiet, the neighbors were all pretty quiet, occasioanlly a car would drive past the road that backs up to the yurts. Comfortable bed, gas stove heater and AC worked well. I didn’t use the propane grill that was on the balcony, it was very dirty, and one of the grates were broken. Nothing spectacular about my 2 night stay. About an hour drive all the way to Yosemite Village.

This Campground is 5 miles from West gate entrance to "Yosemite National Park". Only 35 miles west of " Lake Don Pedro, take out your boat, go jet skiing or fishing. Don't forget to go to " Moaning Cavern!" Tuolumne River runs through campground. There are 254 Full Hookups, 130 Tent sites, Hostel, Cabin & Yurts. They have WiFi, Satellite TV,Clubhouse, Billiard's, Game room, Shuffleboard, Store, Hiking Trails,Nature, Playground, Mini Golf, Tennis, Picnic/BBQ,Volleyball, Basketball & in the Summer-Bus runs to Yosemite, for an additional fee. Summer Swimming,Seasonal Fishing,Wheelchair Accessible, Restroom/Shower Facilities & Laundry. Yosemite Lakes Resort 31191 Hardin Flat Rd. Groveland,CA 95321 Reservations Member- 1-800-368-7788 Non-Member 1-888-481-6348 Welcome Center (209)962-0103 Rental Check In- 4PM Rental Check Out - 11AM Front Desk- Sun-Sat 8AM-8PM

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.

The lake has receded quite a but that one of the docks is about 100 yards from the actual lake now (California drought). The campsite was well maintained. Each camping section seams to have it's own restroom within 2 minutes walking distance. The wildlife was " people friendly" to say the least. I had a family of deer pretty much monitoring my whole trip plus they couldn't seam to wait until I went to bed to come check out my camping gear 😊

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.

We went at the end of September. It is very dry, the Lake New Malones was down quite a bit. We swam in the lake the water was great. However, we did not bother with the Kayaks. It’s really not a kayak lake more of a speed boat lake. The campground was good. We were in Acorn 065. The site was great, roomy and in a corner, I have to say it was one of the nicer ones. We had vault toilets close by but there was also flush toilets and showers not to far away. Not a lot of shade, I would not recommend going in the hotter months. The campground is easy to get to. No firewood for sale on site. You have to go to one of the local stores. Plan ahead if arriving late. When we came there was a PSPS so we were told on the second day that wood fires or charcoal fires would be allowed that day due to wind. Lucky their was a Walmart not too far away and we were able to grab a gas grill. :)

Cute small campsites, kind of close to your neighbor. Not a lot of bugs which is always a plus when your near water, we went mid October and the weather wasn’t too hot or too cold. They have flushing toilets and coin operated showers with is nice, but the toilet situation near our campsite was questionable (site 62). Your not as close to the water as you would think looking at the map you need to drive a few minutes to the parking lot. But we found a nice private spot to dunk in the water. No electrical hook up. In some spots the hook ups are far, other sites they have them every few feet.

Near 39 is nice

We camped out for 2 nights in spot 96 in the height of summer and just before all the fires started. New Melones was not a top destination but it was close to a very special place for us, Natural Bridges. Also, at the time of booking it was one of the few campgrounds accepting new reservations in this age of COVID. We selected spot 96 as it was the furthest from any other spot (situated on a bend and the only site on that part of the road for a while). It was something like 107 when we were setting up the tent and most of the day time but on the lake itself, the temperature was perfect. One thing to be aware of, most of the drive in camp sites, including ours, had absolutely no shade (including nowhere to hang a hammock).

The Good:

• The view was amazing
• The tent spot was level and clear of big rocks
• All the campers abided by quiet time
• It was so dark that I was able to do some great astrophotography
• The location was a great step off point for adventure in Gold Country

The Bad:

• The last campers in our spot left garbage everywhere. We filled up a large garbage bag before we could setup camp.
• Some bathrooms were closed but port-o-potties were there instead (as if somehow that is more clean???)
• The bathrooms that were open were disgusting
• No camp host onsite while we were there

We don’t have a boat but the boat launch was pretty busy all day and the day use spots were packed.

All in all, Tuttletown wouldn’t be our first choice but we would go back - probably later in the season since we aren’t there for boating.

I was debating on 3 or 4 stars. Showing up in 107 heat and wanting to set up a tent but having to clean up that much garbage was a huge turn off and having bathrooms closed with no notice was also a disappointment. I know these things aren’t normal but more notice on facilities and finding ways to get this cleaned up first would be a start.

Good little spot, water dries up during the summer

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.

Beautiful surroundings.

Very nice with lovely views of the lake and the facilities were clean. Coin operated showers as well. Fishing areas were easy to get to and we watched numerous people enjoy water sports on the lake.

not bad a little warm most of the time.

very small.

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.

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.

First time up and it's so nice and peaceful. Stayed in the cabin that sleeps 6. Super nice, close to the bathrooms. There's a community outdoors kitchen with stove and sink. Small hiking trail that had some horse nearby that cam and said hi to us. Will definitely be coming back. Love that this place is open all year long

Stayed here in May. Old KOA campground has been redone. Very clean and making improvements. Lots of activities for kids (pool, horseshoes, playground). East side of CG seems to accommodate more for families with kids while west side is better for RVs. Most RV sites have full hookups and are pull throughs. Drove up to Lake Alpine with snow on the ground.