Best Cabin Camping near Smartsville, CA

We had a great experience at the Placerville KOA. In this place, I can join many activities such as playing geometry dash lite .The staff was very welcoming and the grounds are organized and clean. The only thing I would suggest is to put in a few more bathrooms around the site. The main building are the only bathrooms. I would suggest a visit. They also have a pool area and hot tub Our friends stayed in the cabins. They were clean and comfortable

Uncle Tom’s Cabin is a bar any family, miner, 4-wheelers, motorcyclist, hunter or explorer would feel at home in. Has been referred to as: It’s as rustic as it gets, Norman Rockwell flashback, jewel of the Sierra, an anomaly on its own and my favorite Best Mountain Bar Ever!

Stop in for a drink or snack from the simple menu of Cold Beer, Soda, Water, Hot Coffee, Cocoa, Tea, Candy and Chips. The bar is old dates back to 1864 and looks it, THIS YEAR 2018 MARKING 154 YEARS, come celebrate with us. Bring a picnic use one of the many BBQ grills and tables. Play a round of horseshoes or bring a tent and stay the evening. Enough room and beautiful scenery for a wedding or group gathering.

Uncle Tom’s Cabin welcomes 4-wheelers year round. Snow never being an issue for the true winter adventurer knowing their arrival at the cabin will be welcoming and warm with the fireplace that’s always being stoked to dry the boots or little ones mittens. In the winter have the kids bring a sled or utilize one that may be hanging around.

In the warmer season stage a tent in the available campground then check out the local lakes, trails, and waterfalls.

When you visit be sure to bring one dollar bills, you will see when you get here as have the thousands of visitors from around the world.

Wentworth Springs Road is the traditional Rubicon Jeep Trail but the 4-wheeling doesn’t begin until the road reaches the old Wentworth Springs town site north of Loon Lake. A connector 4-wheelers route connects from the Lake to the historic route that is legendary among extremist jeepers. The historic “road” continues east until it climbs over the Sierra Crest and drops down to Lake Tahoe near Tahoma. In several places along the route, you can walk faster than the 4-wheelers can drive it. The annual Jeepers’ Jamboree is an ultimate driving experience for passionate 4-wheelers.

Stumpy Meadows Lake is the perfect location for a day trip or overnight camping in any of the three campgrounds. Great for boating (5mph limit), fishing, swimming or just a quick stop on your way to Uncle Tom’s Cabin.

Union Valley Reservoir located on Ice House Road is popular for all water activities, camping, hiking or bicycling on the paved route that skirts the shores of the reservoir between Jones Fork and Wench Creek campgrounds.

Loon Lake is one of the prettiest reservoirs in the Sierra Nevada. Campgrounds are designed for RVs, Trailers, Equestrian riders, 4-wheeler groups, tents or a bag on the ground. Trails radiate several directions from the lake.

Hell Hole Reservoir has to be a close in the rankings of great back-country reservoirs. The Hell Hole hiking trail along the south side of the lake is one of the best in the Georgetown area.

The Middle American River provides some of the best whitewater action of any river in California. However, the easier access is from the north and the Foresthill Divide.

The upper (eastern) end, that provides some of the most remote sections of the Auburn State Recreation Area in the Middle Fork of the American River, lies north of Georgetown. OHV routes behind Volcanoville provide access into the canyon that can’t be readily reached from any direction.

On the other side, south, of Georgetown is the Rock Creek OHV Area that is one, if not THE, best in our area. The huge area has well over 115 miles of trails, most of which are available for motorcycles or ATVs – but not 4-wheelers. Several trails are popular with mountain bikers and still others for equestrian riders. Maps available at the local Ranger Station located on Wentworth Springs Road.

Equestrian riders also enjoy the Dru Barner Equestrian Campground and the Donadlson Campground that attracts enthusiastic trail riders. Loon Lake also has an equestrian campground with popular rides leading into the Desolation Wilderness.

We camped here TWICE in 2019. First time in mid April and 2nd time on the first weekend of November. Both times were AWESOME!!!
Both campsites, #66 and #116 had power, water and sewage. They were both lake front campsites, which meant the water or shoreline was right at our "front door" from our 27' travel trailer. They were both back in spots but with ample room to maneuver the trailer into a great spot, unhitch our truck and park the truck next to the Travel Trailer. Site #66 was closer to the camp store which was one of the best ones I have been to so far. They sell quite a bit of camping and fishing needs. They also have a great ice cream parlor. Don't miss out on that if you do decide to camp here!!!
The fishing is awesome on Collins Lake! We fished from kayaks and always caught fish for dinner :-) There are nice hiking and biking trails in and around the campground as well. 
Just an FYI, in the Spring, the water level is much higher so the water line is closer to the campsites, especially #66. In the fall, pre-winter, the water level is much lower. It was about a 50 yard walk down to the water from #116 camp site, which is a lake front site. They do have a nice dump station row just outside the camping sites, so it is not necessary to have RV sewage at your campsite, which saves you a few $$.
The campground also rents different types of boats and cabins at this campground. See website for details :-)

If I had the option to do a negative star I would! Planned a rafting trip over the weekend for my children and I We arrived late Friday and were unable to upgrade to a cabin as they were all closed, not booked just closed. We set our tents up in the rain and made the best of it. Then late that evening I got a call that my father had been rushed to the hospital so I choose to stay the night and leave first thing in the morning. I went in as the office opened Saturday morning and told them about the situation and asked if I could simply reschedule the$450 rafting trip I had scheduled for the kids and I. Was told no one is in the office and had to go through the reservation desk on Monday. So we packed up and rushed to the two hour drive home to see my father. Just received a call from Melinda Jones the lead reservationist and was told that they were unwilling to reschedule the rafting trip and I would loose the$450 I spent despite the need for having to leave unexpectedly to see my father in the hospital. What kind of family friendly business is this? Asked to speak to the manager was told this is as far as it goes, asked who made the decision to not let me reschedule and refused to release a name. The spot was beautiful but the customer service is atrocious. I would never recommend this place to anyone because of how poorly they handled an already very difficult situation.

We were just happy to get out and camping. It’s definitely a place I’ll put on my list to camp at again, especially when they figure out their electrical issues. From what I could tell when driving around the majority of the sites were level; we had 4 spots and all were easy to back in.

Some Pros - the market was well stocked; majority of the staff were very helpful; campsites on the outer rings had shrubbery for site separation and inner rings are great for groups; showers were close and they had hot water; kids loved fishing from the shore; quiet at night; deer had no problem hanging out with us as we had our meals.

Some Cons - I’m not really a fan of “first come first serve”, it makes it hard when group camping; there wasn’t a single day when some campsite didn’t have electrical issues, in fact they turned a lot of their RV sites into Tent Sites because of electrical issues; no wood fires, propane is okay; at no fault to the site/staff, and all due to Covid precautions, there was no playground, boat rentals, etcetera.

This campground is above Marysville California.

Nice campground - close to river. .5 mile walk to town for shopping/eating. All sites have fire pit and picnic table. Bathrooms clean and private showers. A little pricey for a tent site - 45.00 and 5.00 for the dog but it’s California.

There is a great history lesson in this park about the mining industry in California and what it has done to our environment.  You will see up close and personal the destruction of mountains by water jets in an effort to find gold.

But as a campground my experience was it was hot and dusty.  I am thinking I need to retry this but not in the summer. There are sparse trees - pines - and the usual state park sites.

It sounds like there are multiple Big Meadow camp grounds in California. This review is for Big Meadow Campground, Sequoia NF - FS, CA. The photos are of site 009B. My visit was wonderful. The camp sites are large. We set up two 8 person tents and one 2 person tent and there was plenty of room for more. The firepits are very well made. They block the wind while allowing good airflow. There is a very large picnick table at each site, a bear box, and plenty of shade. There is a vault toilet that is cleaned daily. The sites boarder a stream. The water level is about 3 inches in July with temperatures in the 80's. This is a dog friendly site. There is no potable water at this site.

We have been to this camping spot a few times. It is big with a nice store. Music on the weekends on the deck. Some sites on waterside are nice. Nice beach. Can get crowded but we liked it. No issues. RV or Tent sites. Roads are steep in spots but no problems getting into site. You can boat and fish here but we didn't do either. Might be nice in the winter when nobody is around?