Best Dispersed Camping near Elk Creek, CA

Spent the evening in the RV/Truck area after stocking up on some Olive stuffed garlic and artichokes. Mmmm. Was quiet besides the obvious freeway intersection area near by but NOT complaining. Easy boon-docking. Small pet area. Well lit if you park under a light. Safeway,Burger King, Taco Bell, Auto parts store lots more in little area around The Olive Pit. Basically park and walk to get shopping done. Boom. Hope this helps a little.

Quiet stop, but I wouldn't call it the most beautiful stop I've ever stayed. Camping spots are to the left and the right I'd the day use. Pit toilets. No garbage.

The camp area is closed, as of 2/9/2024. No indication of that on the BLM website.

Super easy to find coming up from the lake. A lot of spots to choose from. There were around 4 or 5 people here already but we were able to find a secluded spot that overlooks the lake. Very peaceful but some traffic sounds at night from the lake towns.

Came up here in September of 2024.  There were about 3-4 families around the main campsites, seemingly set up to have a whole bbq! Was able to find a bit of solitude a bit deeper into the campsite.  

Not sure how much of a lake view there really is here, but that could have just been my campsite. The weather was nice around this time of year.  Good cell service too!

The road getting to it was definitely a bit sketchy for my Rav4 AWD, probably wouldn't be able to do it if it wasn't dry.  Large vehicles likely won't be able to make it up there. 

Overall, I'd come back if I needed a spot to crash when in the area, but otherwise a little bit lackluster and would consider other options in the Snow Mountain Wilderness.  Worth checking out though!

The ride up was rough. The views made it all worth it. The camp site was not an option for me. I need something semi level to navigate.

It is a parking lot behind the Olive Pit. Lots of traffic noise. Okay if you want a free spot to sleep for the night.

Great free campground! We've stayed here many times. It's open, grassy level and quiet. Next to a stream and surrounded by hills. The only tough part is getting across the stream to some of the hikes. It's a hot spot for horses which of course have no stream problems, so the only negative is fly's sometimes. But just keep your screen door closed (& fly swatter handy). We always manage to level out in our 23" Winnebago View. There is lots of open space so no crowding. There is a rural road near by but traffic noise isn't a problem. Perhaps I should say it's awful so fewer people come and it's not discovered.

The place itself has delicious food. It is also a little grocery store. The “dog area” is something they squeezed into the side of the lot. Not fenced in but there were dog poop bags when we stopped.

Not much to say similar to rest stop. Spent evening in their parking lot that does say no parking unless your a customer. I went in and purchase couple jars of olives to take to Slab City with me as trading stock now I’m a customer (happy face). No one messed with me and it was decently quiet. Only two other rvs. Super small dog potty area too but it’s their yay.

I was so grateful for the mature shade trees that offered a respite from the hot sun. It's a very quiet spot, so keep it that way. Some riffraff staggle through but they're harmless.

Just a small parking lot with 8 or 9 pull through sites in the middle of a small downtown commercial area. The parking lot is next to two restaurants and a bar.

We came in at about 3 AM and went to sleep. Woke up and made coffee in the parking lot around 10 the next morning. Several very confused customers looked at us like we were hillbillies.

Absolutely no access!! Gate shut and locked, camping area inaccessible due to fire damage! Road not maintained.

The gravel roads here are open again and easy to drive on! We drove here from the north. All wheel drive ist helpfull, but we saw some people with a prius up there.

Small individual places with self-built fireplaces. It was windy in the evening, but that died down during the night and in the morning we had breakfast in the sun in a clearing.

Beautiful spot, was able to get a lake view. Easy to get to and relatively clean

Beautiful spot with some views of the lake. No services, but had cell service (CC). I drove in from the south access to High Valley rd. The road was challenging. It was steep with loose dirt in spots. It was an adventure. I am going to try north access into Lucerne later. (See Google for more info)

Drive up to the site all incline dirt road ~6 miles - we made it up without 4 wheel drive but some areas were a little sketchy. Overall pretty dusty too. Sites themselves were decently maintained, some trash from previous campers but nothing major. This area is a popular for target practice so if the sounds of gunshots throughout the day isn’t your vibe, then this spot might not be suitable. Overall beautiful sunrises and sunsets and starry night sky

Lovely views of Clear Lake from a clearing on 220 that appears to be an established site. Right at the intersections of 16 N 22 road. Nice big clear, open area. Really….views of the lake and stars are unreal here. BUT….it was so so windy. We camp in a Chevy high top van and the wind was go fierce it was shaking us all over the place in the night. Finally had to move to another spot (that isn’t really a spot) down the road around 4am bc the wind was just too much for us. Also 220 was blocked just after the 16 N 22 road cuts off (heading east) so we had to head back the way we came (on 220 in Nice). Road was dry and packed and clear other than the tree blocking the road. Old burn area so lots of downs and such.

we used to go hunting up there in the 8os, you should have seen the campground then. really nice, had picnic tables fire pits great place to camp. i was up there a few years ago still looks kind of the same but they took all that out of the campground years ago.. road going in still looks the same..there is an old tree in the campground, people who have neen there will know the tree i mean, looks old low hangin branches, thats where we used to camp..more trash atound now. in 1987 it was clean.. still nice place

No trees just dry open land inhabited by an unusual amount of flies. It was crazy how thick they were. An almost dry creek runs alongside the open field of camping pads. To close to the road and way to exposed to feel comfortable to stay. If I needed a place to get some shut eye before heading onward, then maybe. I had a car full of flies that went to the coast with us. It was crazy.

Visit was for 11/19/2024 found the gates locked, no entry. Seasonal? No signage to tell.