California Lake Campgrounds

Wanna Camp at the Lake?
(you’re not the only one)

Nothing beats fresh, cold, clean water from the California mountains, in the summertime. Find time to exit the urban rat race, soon. Escape the smoggy city life and the triple-digit heat for a road trip to the higher elevations.

Lake Campgrounds are abundant in California, where man-made reservoirs and recreation abound. Alpine lakes in pine forests are also numerous in the west, although only accessible for a portion of the year, they draw in the campers all summer long. A majority of the small lakes are located inside the California National Forests.
USDA / USFS / NFS

Larger reservoirs can often be managed by California State Park system. State Parks, SRA, State Recreation Area. Suburban lake locations can be local County Parks. A few locations listed could even be desert lakes.

Many ideal secluded lakes are only accessible with a 4WD vehicle, by foot or horseback. Super scenic, backcountry lakes are so far out – that a day hike is usually required.

 developed campground

 primitive campsites

 RV campground

 wilderness access

No motorized boats, camping on west shoreline only, no fishing from the dam, catch & release?

No access for trailers? Individual rules for each lake are different. Learn the basic before you get out there.

CAMPGROUND RESERVATIONS 

Lake Campgrounds are so popular in California that many require reservations during summer. Many locations accept reservations online and we have links for those too. Other lakes are so small and remote, that only the fishermen, hikers and 4×4 gear-heads know of them.

outdoor recreation found at or near lakes

• backpacking
• boating
• camping
• canoeing
• creeks
• fishing
• floating
• four-wheelin
• hiking
• horseback riding
• house boating
• jetski
• kayaking
• mountain biking
• OHV trails
• picnicking
• rivers
• river rafting
• swimming
• water skiing
• waterfalls

Lake destinations listed here have some sort of campground facilities. Some may be mini resorts with boat launch, marina or bait shop/general store. RV hook-ups, maybe. Dump station, it will cost you. Usually these bigger lakes are busy centers of tourists activity with boat rentals, RV camping and certain locales are even walking distance from ‘town’.

Fine dining is a rare find on the lakes, but some lake side restaurants (open seasonally & with limited hours) can be found. Most will require reservations, especially on the weekends.

Other lake camps listed are literally on the edge of wilderness – with trails to the high country. The best little lakes will have one dirt road access. Below is a wide variety of lake destinations within California.

• Almanor Resorts
• Big Bear Lake Camps
• Bishop Lakes
• Blue Lakes Camping
• Central Valley Reservoirs
• Clear Lake State Park
• Eastern Sierra Lakes
• Gold Lake, California
• June Lake Loop
• Lake Mohave @ AZ border
• Lake Tahoe CA
• Lakes Basin Recreation Area
• Lassen Lakes
• Mammoth Lakes California
• Mono Lake @ US 395
• San Diego Lakes
• Secluded Lake
• Sequoia Lakes
• Shasta Lakes Camping
• Sierra Nevada Lakes
• Silver Lake, California
• Tahoe Camping
• Trinity Lake
• Twin Lakes @ Bridgeport
• Virginia Lakes
• Wilderness Lakes
• Yosemite Lakes

and let’s not forget the ever-popular California Lake List