Established Camping
Utica Campgrounds
About
USDA Forest Service
Utica Reservoir is set in a granite basin surrounded by red fir and lodgepole pine forest. The reservoir has lots of islands and is kept mostly full. Granite slabs along the shore extend into the water. There are two campgrounds adjacent to each other, Sandy Flat and Rocky Point. Elevation is 6,800 feet.
Reservation Info
No reservations: first-come, first-served
Access
- Drive-InPark next to your site
Stay Connected
- WiFiUnknown
- VerizonUnknown
- AT&TGood
- T-MobileUnknown
Site Types
- Tent Sites
- Standard (Tent/RV)
- Group
Features
For Campers
- Picnic Table
- Phone Service
- Toilets
- Alcohol
- Pets
- Fires
For Vehicles
- Pull-Through Sites
Rocky Point- Great views & warm water
Gorgeous lake. Calmest at sunrise. Great for kayaks and paddle boards. Campsites are nestled in the woods with views of the reservoir. Lots of people on the weekend but by mid Sunday it’s much quieter.
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Worth it, if you have a boat
Any boat will do. Kayak, canoe, blow up row boat, SUP. The reason you need a floating vessel of some kind (no motors allowed) is because it’s impossible to get a car camping spot anymore. It used to be impossible to get a developed campsite but only somewhat difficult to get on of the (way way better) dispersed sites in the gravel road past the campgrounds. But with Covid, forget about it. Instead, load up your boat(s) with gear and paddle out to pretty much any stretch of shoreline to find a camping site. Even on 4th of July weekend, you can get a fabulous, scenic, private spot of you boat in. And no fees! You can paddle back to the campground for use of the OOT toilet if you want. Or just use nature :)
Please please don’t trash this place! People just don’t understand LNT rules. And if you’re reading this and have no idea, look up Leave No Trace and follow ALL of their rules for recreating in the wilderness. Pack it in, pack it out.
Utica is divine. Sublime. Perfection. There is nothing else like it anywhere in the Stanislaus, El Dorado or Tahoe National Forests. Or anywhere else that I can find.
Awesome, secluded paddle in sites
We canoed and SUP camped here. You can find beautiful, isolated sites on the islands all around the lake. Great hammock camping!
Location
Utica Campgrounds is located in California
Directions
From Highway 4, turn onto Spicer Reservoir Road (paved) and go 8 miles. Turn left onto 7N75; from there the roads are gravel. Continue .7 miles to a T-intersection. Turn left and continue one mile. Spicer Reservoir Road is 27 miles east of the Calaveras Ranger Station in Hathaway Pines, California.
Coordinates
38.42487207 N
120.01311436 W