Looking for an adventure where you can explore Pinecrest and then fall asleep in your tent? With The Dyrt, it's easy to find Pinecrest campgrounds for you and your tent. Would you prefer a quiet dispersed site or an established camgpround with amenities? Either way, The Dyrt makes it easy to find the perfect place to pitch your tent.
Boat-In Sites 1-16
$38 / night
Donner Memorial State Park offers the summer vacationer opportunities for Donner Lake camping, picnicking, boating, fishing, water-skiing, and hiking. In winter, visitors can cross-country ski and snowshoe on trails and enjoy the season's beauty. Visitors are welcome year-round at the Donner Memorial State Park Visitor Center and at the Pioneer Monument, built to commemorate those who emigrated to California from the east in the mid-1800's. The Visitor Center features compelling new exhibits that tell the stories of the Emigrant Experience, the Donner Party, the Land of the Washoe, Chinese construction of the railroad, and early motoring adventures over Donner Pass.
$35 / night
Bowman Lake Campground is a very remote campground with limited services. There are 7 campsites with tables, fire rings and bear proof food lockers. There is no trash service. Bowman Lake is a large lake surrounded by rocky cliffs and scattered pines that are great for fishing and swimming. A few islands are found within the lake. Car top boat launch only. The road to access the campground is very rough, rocky, and narrow. A high clearance vehicle is needed, and towing boats or trailers is very difficult and dangerous. There are several stretches of the road where it is impossible for two vehicles to pass around each other and so if traffic is coming from both directions, someone will need to back up. Despite the difficult access, Bowman Lake is a popular, heavily used area.
This is a PG&E; lake/campground on the Tahoe National Forest. Car-top launch for kayaks and boats. There is no boat ramp at the lake.
Sweet land with a cute hobbit/ witchy natural Vibe.
Great asthetics, incredible gardens.
Close to town, 30 min drive to 2 different parts of the Yuba River.
Friendly vibe good people live on the land. There is a cute Cob compost toilet, bath house.
Located in an Oak Grove.
We are in the armpit of the Nevada County. A 15 minute drive to either Grass Valley or Nevada City. Or a 15 minute drive to two different parts of the Yuba River, Bridgeport and 49. And about 30 minutes to amazing lakes on the way to Tahoe. Also close to the bike trail you could bike to Nevada City. Before you arrive fill up on spring water from Bitney Springs, we've been drinking it for over a decade. For the extra sensative just ask to use the Berkey water filter. This area is the most bike friendly area in the entire county. Lots of trails a long the NID (Nevada Irrigation Ditch) created during the Gold Rush.
Beautiful trail that over looks a view of an epic creek and a heart shaped lake. Camping stove can be requested, in the beginning stages of building a beautiful outdoor kitchen.
For guests staying the weekend there is availabile usage of bikes, kayak, and paddle board. Need to be reserved a head of time.
Also please the woodstove is currently wood fired. It takes about 5 hours to heat up and a decent amount of wood. We are more than will to prepare it ahead of time, but need a heads up and would prefer if you plan to be in it longer than 20 minutes. Also because of the amount of wood it uses and the labor to takes to prepare it, we request a donation. We love our tub, she is our precious gem, but she's a labor of love and anything opposite from a convience. Also because she is wood fire, I cant burn fires in the summer. So she is only available late fall, winter and spring. When the fire Ban is on there are no fires, including the hot tub.
But due to high demand I will work on including a propane option for next summer.
I love birthday parties.
I love people coming with friends. I love people of all walks of life.
$60 / night
Grouse Ridge Campground is located at the top of Grouse Ridge, spectacular vistas of granitic boulders, many alpine lakes, scattered pines, and wildflowers in the summer. Often late opening due to snow banks on access road. Hiking and biking trails lead off of ridge to the Grouse Lakes Area located at the base of the ridge. There are 9 campsites with tables and fire rings. 5 campsites have space for small trailers.There is a vault toilet, but no trash service; pack it in pack it out!
Scout
I am a 12 year old and I had tons of fun. Me and my friends were up there and there was conveniently a campground available in there same campsite. We went in the summer and the water was perfect! We went fishing and caught crawfish in a trap underneath the bridge near the front. Overall the staff were really nice and it was a great trip. I recommend it!
Guide
This place and his staff were absolutely amazing. I had a couple of different times where I needed to change the spot and without fail they were there to help. Quite CLEAN everything! I wanted to stop awhile 30 days later I was told goodbye👋 cause I know the rules at a State Park!🤦😔😔💩
Scout
Disappointed to be told they don't allow any buses unless they have the RVCIA (sp?) sticker. There were some really old and knackered looking caravans and daggy RV's in the park, but the place was pretty much deserted as it's November. All in all it was frustrating. ggggrrrrrrr
GuideI am not the easiest but the staff has a heart of gold and at every turn we’re really there to help.
Guide
We could not find this place. Needs better description. Afterwards in another rv park I worked it out. Need to go to their website first better directions than just el dorado. Dyrt dropped the ball on this one.
Scout
Had a standard Hookup-RV-Spot. Was very uneven, couldn't get the RV level. If you don't have the premium hookup spots, you got to pay 20$ "Service Fee" for dumping. Idk why because you end up doing it all by yourself as usual anyway. Feels like a bit of a rip off to be honest. The rest is nice, quiet (except for the geese) and clean.
Traveler
Nice peaceful spot. Few cars go by, but it’s tucked away enough.
Traveler
Des douches chaudes du wifi Super rapport qualité-prix Que du bonheur
Ranger
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.
Scout
Great spaces next to lake. No cell service. Lots of places to enjoy on the shoreline.
Guide
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.
Guide
All camp sites have a picnic table and a fire ring. Please ensure fires are permitted before starting a fire. The campground was clean and quiet. Pit toilets were clean and well stocked. Please note that I was there during the week. I imagine that during summer weekends it can get quite noisy with boat and jet ski traffic being so close to Reno. I would definitely stay again.
Traveler
FCFS OHV campground that can be approached from a couple of rough dirt roads, high clearance helpful, 4wd not needed. Not all sites are flat. People from the area (i guess) seemed to be "reserving" sites with styrofoam coolers and water jugs... they did not occupy their sites at night. I didn't use the vault toilet facility. Took a hike. Very pretty. No OHV noise, but a copter was circling the area in the middle of the night.
Guide
I thought this campground was pretty decent for being NPS run and due to its large size. The campsite was close to other campers, but not right on top of them. The location is ideal. Bathrooms were the least favorite part, only one bathroom (with 4 stalls?) for one large loop of campsites. Check-in was a breeze. Nearby visitor center and camp store was convenient. There were hiking trails nearby. Be bear aware!
Guide
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!
Traveler
If you are looking to be near the water and no service, this is perfect. The rough road in I believe must keep some folks out but the lake is amazing.
Ranger
I made reservations here a week prior to our trip because I was looking for a warmer place to camp. I previously had reservations at Pinecrest, but it was going to be in the 50s during the day and 30s at night. Which isn’t ideal since I have a 7 month old and a 3 year old. But it ended up getting pretty chilly here as well - high 50s, low 40s. I do not recommended campsite 3, where we camped. It is a double site and is spacious enough for two families. But the campground had 3 bears that were visiting every night. One huge black bear, and a mama black bear with her cub. It was disappointing to learn this by getting a visit by the black bear who comes down from behind our campsite (which is why I do not recommend campsite 3). Luckily, our kids were asleep when the black bear came around 9pm. The camp host never came by to check us in, even though we were right next to their site. They did not inform us of the three bears that would be coming by. Obviously we are in bear country, so precautions were taken. But it would have been nice to know, since we have little ones exploring the area behind us (where one of the bears was coming down). When my husband informed the camp host of the bear that came by she wasn’t surprised at all and said “oh there’s three that come every night. One big black bear who is about 4.5ft tall on all fours - he’s a big guy! And a mama bear with her cub.” This was very strange to me that she didn’t come by and tell us this, nor did she tell the other campers around us. We went and informed the two sites by us so that they were aware of this. Aside from that, the campground is beautiful. You can chop your own wood, since there was a couple of dead trees around. The walk to the reservoir is short and sweet. The water isn’t freezing either, our dog enjoyed her daily swim. I recommend this campground for its beauty but be prepared for a bear visit.
Guide
It’s $30 a night for dry camping and goes up from there depending on what hookups you need. Very peaceful and the fairgrounds are open during the day to walk around.
Traveler
Loved the time spent. Crozier fire started. Made for a bitter sweet sunset.
TravelerI have not stayed here but the website states switched to permanent residents. Likely hard to find a spot.
Scout
It's along a cove in the lake. Super nice hosts and nice campers. The bathrooms are kind of gross but that's expected. Always camp here when we go to the lake.
ScoutI spent nine days camping at Boca rest, it is a beautiful campsite. I was there before memorial day weekend so it was fairly empty. The fishing and the little Truckee and the lake was outstanding.
Traveler
Place wasn’t too bad. Very nice people, very peaceful, and quiet, however, there were many people here who are permanent residents of the park, some of their areas are a little trashy looking for lack of a better word. Definitely not a bad spot if you’re on the way to another campground, but there are probably better ones to head to, especially if you have children with you. We were also looking for a place to camp with two days notice and this was all we could find. Cheap too!
Traveler
Stayed 6 days with friends and dogs. Sites were rustic but clean. We had direct access to lake to launch and swim. Jake, site host, very kind and professional as he answered questions and gave advice when a group member popped a tire coming up to the lake. We will be back!
GuideThis place was a slice of heaven, but only accessible by way of 4 x 4 with decent clearance. The trail will take you off road for quite some time , but it's well with the adventure. Traction boards and a winch could help you through unexpected obstacles and are recommended to have on hand, but you most likely won't need them. No running water, but there are restroom buildings, fire rings and bear boxes to use. Mosquitoes are abundant here. Don't forget your repellent. The lake is gorgeous, a great fishery, and there are plenty of inspirational views and solitude to be had.
Scout
*pros: great little market, very nice staff, clean, great views *cons: rocky watch your step, especially at the beach and a long the shore. Recommend water shoes, although this may only help a little as the rocks are quite large and when can trip over them as much as step on them. they are not round river rocks, but pointy and painful to traverse. *my stay: I was only here for two nights and on the second morning some people pulled in and pitched a tent at 4:30 in the morning. They weren’t particularly loud, but they did curse and had their flashlight bright enough that it shone into my site and RV. Overall, it was still a very pleasant stay for the two nights.
Traveler
We recently spent a night at this campsite and found it to be perfect for a quick overnight getaway. The area is spacious and conveniently located not too far off the main road, making it easy to access without feeling too isolated.
There are plenty of sites to choose from, catering to different preferences. However, we recommend taking some time to survey the land before setting up camp, as some spots are slightly sloped.
A huge plus is the gas station just about 5 minutes down the road. It’s well-stocked with all the convenient store items you might have forgotten at home, making it easy to grab any last-minute necessities.
Overall, it was a delightful stay. Just remember, always practice Leave No Trace principles—pack out what you pack in!
Pinecrest, California, offers a fantastic escape for tent camping enthusiasts, surrounded by stunning natural beauty and a variety of outdoor activities.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which is the most popular tent campsite near Pinecrest, CA?
According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular tent campground near Pinecrest, CA is Lake Clementine Boat In — Auburn State Recreation Area with a 4.6-star rating from 7 reviews.
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TheDyrt.com has all 81 tent camping locations near Pinecrest, CA, with real photos and reviews from campers.
