Best Tent Camping near Winters, CA

great campsite! be careful driving up the windy road and watch for the many cyclists. going up/down with you. 

driving in was very easy; parking is right next to the site. the campsite itself was beautiful - panoramic views of the east bay area. i could recognize walnut creek, lafayette, danville and san ramon through the binoculars. site was clean, but the ground itself was very rocky. irritating that there wasn't really any level spots to set up the tent, so sleeping on a slant was a real treat (sarcasm). weather was very mild during the day; not too hot, nor too cold. nights were bearable in the high 50s, and by late night (cuz i kept waking up because of slanted sleeping), but felt like low 40s and slightly windy. make sure you bring thermals and a warm sleeping bag. sleeping pad is a definite must on the sharp rocks; be careful when stepping around in the tent with just socks on. 

drought meant that flushing toilets were all locked.. as were the showers.. but from what i heard the "chemical toilets" (aka porta-potties) were an adequate substitute. water access had been shut off as well, so make sure you bring plenty of your own for washing and drinking. 

critters - we didn't encounter any during our stay. no racoons, bears, mice, rats.. nada. just a ton of pincher bugs everywhere. not even many flies! we had those spinning fly deterrent things, though. maybe those really DO work? 

ALSO because of the drought - NO WOOD FIRES ALLOWED. total/complete bummer to camp without a campfire. gas stoves and lanterns were permitted, though.

We hiked up to Juniper campground from the Clayton side. The sites in the teens have less overhead shade but more privacy than those of higher numbers. The sites closest to the driving road/entrance/overlook will have the potential to be downwind of the bathroom, unfortunately.

The campground is a dry campground - as in no alcohol.

That said, we loved our site #15, and enjoyed the privacy it provided, plus the views (if you stand on the table or are tall). We didn't encounter critters. We had some trouble staking down on the rocky dirt. 

This is a good campground to explore the rest of the summit areas, plus Rock City.

Beautiful sunsets. No showers. Bathrooms are clean. Some sites are rather small and have little flat ground. Pics on website are tough to see when booking. Lake to most sites is a drive, but there are a few campsites on the lake. Many sites are on hill, you walk up the hill or down a hill with stairs. Lake has day use area, but also a dock area for camping folks. Lots of mosquitoes. They have a fire are to cook, no fire ring, have a bear box and picnic table. Some sites have plenty of shade while others are just plain sun so be prepared.

Water is nice temperature and super clean! Nice to kayak, paddle, boat (they have boat ramps), fish, swim. Beach areas are rocks with weeds, but pretty.

We (party of 4) were there primarily because we rented a boat from their Marina. That went well! This is an RV campground & full-complement resort on Bethel Island, San Joaquin River Delta. Many RVers appear to be long-term or full-time residents.

The tent-area was a clearing, fully backed up to the levee, with some shade and a water spigot. Appears to be only 4 “sites,” which are defined by picnic tables, GENEROUSLY spaced, no fire rings AND the Delta is h.o.t.! It’s also on the far edge of the property, so car traffic was MINIMUM — and NO generators were heard, even though the RV section is huge!!!

The rest rooms were in the Marina building, a short walk. We would DEFINITELY return for boating and tenting!!!

In the Bay Area there aren’t too many place that you be in a city and feel like you are away. Spring Lake has been that for us. We have been here for 2 weekends in the last few months. It is kid friendly, fun easy hike around the lake (no swimming but you can rent or bring your own kayaks or stand-up paddle boards), great location to way more technical hikes into and around Trione-Annabel State Park. We did a very tough hike in almost 100 degree weather up to Lake Ilsanjo and the cold plunge into that lake was exactly what was needed. On another trip we brought a new family with us, rented one of the bigger spots and helped them get their bearings on camping.

It is very forgiving here and close to everything in case you didn’t pack enough food or propane or fire starter. The camp host is amazing. The bathrooms are clean with free cold showers or quarters for hot showers. They have fire pits at every location, firewood to buy on site, it is very kid friendly with a fun loop for the kids to bike or scooter around plus easy access to the lake. Highly recommend this and I can’t wait to try a few other sites in the Sonoma Regional area.

Not a place if you want dispersed camping or a lot of privacy.

Neighbors were all polite and good about quiet times.

To be real, if you're unhoused but well-behaved with an income, this might be a much better option than Beals Point. Peninsula is about 45 minutes to an hour from Folsom depending on traffic. You have to drive down a long windy narrow road to get here, which is the worst part, so it's best to come prepared to stay put for as long as possible once you're here. There is plenty to do since you can go swimming in the lake most months (except early Spring), and there is an 8 mile hiking trail (Darrington) that ends at the campground. Darrington is mountain bike accessible but nowhere near road bike accessible. A shorter accessible trail (Oaks Nature Trail) is entirely contained within the campground and takes you through some great examples and educational signs regarding the riparian ecosystem. Wildlife is off the chain here. As others have said, if you don't love being surrounded by wild animals, this will probably be a bit much for you. Bears have been seen on occasion, cougars, Bobcats, and coyotes all stop by from time to time, and there are so many skunks it can get annoying. One night I was woken up by a deer walking right into my tent which scared the crap out of us both. On the flip side I've seen some of the most beautiful emerald and sapphire colored lizards. They breed here in late spring. It's kind of hilarious to watch the males do push-ups then chase the females down like 80 times in a row. Some of the females fight back and make it a lizard wrestling match. Owls, eagles, salmon, beavers... if it lives in this area, there's a good chance you'll see it here. The boat noise can be annoying on busy days but is not so bad from the higher up sites, which tend to have more amenities due to being further from the lake. The camp hosts here are some of the best I've encountered. Since this campground is so huge there are usually sites available first come first serve, if you come in late at night you can self register at the kiosk. Others are correct that there isn't much shade and the sites aren't very flat. I got around the latter problem by folding a sleeping bag under one side of my sleeping pad to keep that side elevated. Overall one of the best places to Camp near Folsom lake.

Had a great 1 night stay at Juniper! We didn’t have a reservation, but got 1 upon arrival around 2pm. Our site had nearby bathrooms, showers & trash. It included picnic table, fire pit, food storage boxes, & is very spacious.

The weather in May was really nice imo. Not too cold at night with layers, & starts warming up quick in the morning. Bugs weren’t too bad. Heard coyotes howling night and day which was neat. No raccoons. Saw some lizards.

Just a heads up the drive is windy, I got carsick on the way down. Will be returning & hopefully trying some hikes next time!

Getting there: Super easy, look for the tallest mountain in the area, drive towards it, boom you're there. It was expensive to enter the park... I think around $10 per vehicle, someone correct me if i'm wrong.

Campsites: The campsites are a decent size and fairly spaced out. All the campsites provide a old broken down picnic table, a bear box, a grill, and a fire pit. There are shared restrooms with plumbing to use.

The Park: Awesome. Big. Crowded. No dogs allowed.

What to do: Hike Diablo there are TONS of trails. Go rock climbing or bouldering in Rock City. Drive, hike to the top and check out the observation deck.

*will add my pics later.