Cottonwood Creek Campground, Sierraville, CA

Cottonwood Creek Campground is located in the Sierraville Ranger District, Tahoe National Forest (57 min west of Reno, NV) with an elevation of 5,651 feet. There are a total of 48 campsites. The campground is normally open from the end of May to mid October. Sites can accommodate RVs and trailers between 20 and 45 feet. All sites are currently reservable. Reservations can be booked up to 6 months in advance. Each site includes a picnic table and fire ring. There is a fee of $20.00 per night. Activities include biking, hiking trails.

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Campsite Reviews (60)

4.1 out of 5

5 star		55%
4 star		15%
3 star		17%
2 star		7%
1 star		7%

@DhruvSD25B4CBE · Camped on Aug 31, 2024 at Campsite #25

The campsite is quite mediocre. We were at #25 and there was barely enough space for our tent; we had to put up right next to the firepit (which was luckily not being used due to fire restrictions). The ground was also quite rocky. Some campsites were definitely on the larger side, and we saw at least a couple that were much smaller than ours and only meant for RVs.

@ByronW88F47A6B · Camped on Aug 30, 2024 at Campsite #7

Lots of wasps in the campgrounds. Otherwise Cottonwood is a great campground to stay at with lots of things to do in the area.

@StaceyA6C30799 · Camped on Aug 30, 2024 at Campsite #37

First time camping in Cottonwood Creek since I moved to California from Washington State. Amazing! My family loved it! Campsites were clean,quiet and beautiful. The bathrooms are holes and so they smell bad, but hey, as long as you put the seat down and close the door your good. The campsite doesnt have a place to swim, but I 100% recommend to drive to Donner Memorial State park, its about a 40 minute drive but the water is clean and fresh! Bring some snacks and youre ready to go! Overall, this has been the best camping spot, my family and I are planning to come here every year:)

@Christina28661 · Camped on Aug 30, 2024 at Campsite #6

Very quite nice relaxing place. We enjoyed it

@ChristofeC285B · Camped on Jul 27, 2024 at Campsite #36

Great spot, friendly campers, beautiful location. Plus there is a restaurant in Sierraville that has one of the best burgers I've had in a long time.

@AnnaMari9662BB · Camped on Jul 27, 2024 at Campsite #15

Nice campground just by the road, so there might be a little bit of noise coming from there but on the other hand, is really easy to get there. We stayed for one night, but had all we needed within reach.

@DonnaC2645170 · Camped on Jul 25, 2024 at Campsite #40

This was our first return trip back this year. Mike the camp host was great, he was very friendly and helpful. Bathrooms were very clean and well stocked. Campsites were well maintained and ample firewood available for purchase. We had a great camping experience here and look forward to going back several more times before the season ends. There is no cell service at the campground which is one of my favorite reasons for visiting this location, being off the grid was nice, if you are cell phone dependent this is not ideal for you. Great job Mike, keep it up.

@JunWDD70A41505 · Camped on Jul 20, 2024 at Campsite #9

Cottonwood creek was small and gets the job done. Family wanted to get out of the house and it was a nice place to stay over the weekend. The sites were very close together and we can hear our neighbors throughout the night. There were a lot of wasps around but they did not bother us too much. Camp host was nice and always checked the sites out to make sure fires were extinguished.

@DiannaF4D88A0A · Camped on Jul 13, 2024 at Campsite #39

Lighted paths lots of large rocks

@LandonW4541370 · Camped on Jun 28, 2024 at Campsite #19

Great was beautiful

@RichardS712869 · Camped on May 31, 2024 at Campsite #45

A great place to camp for the spring Tour Demanure bike ride.

@KurtP6699811 · Camped on Sep 16, 2023 at Campsite #33

Actually, I had reservations for Cottonwood Creek but was advised that the water system tested positive for e-coli. I moved to the Lower Little Truckee campground which turned out to be a good move. So, my review of the Lower Little Truckee campground is positive. The camp host, Vern, was absolutely great! He truly wanted to make sure we had a good stay. The toilet gets a five star for the cleanest and odor-free vault toilet that I have experienced. (this is an important part of camping in my book). The big negative for the campsite is the ever-present yellow jackets. I'm not sure if they are there at all times of the year but they were there in full force during meal times. We ended up eating inside the tent. Bring some sort of screened enclosure and you'll be fine. The place is beautiful. The proximity to Highway 89 wasn't as noisy as expected.

@MichelleN16114 · Camped on Sep 15, 2023 at Campsite #47

Campground is so well-maintained. Sites tend to be large and many sites are spaced far apart, with good privacy between sites. All sites have grills and separate fire pits. Close to Sierraville but also a relatively quickly drive from Truckee. No showers but pit toilets were very clean.

@JennyW5476856 · Camped on Sep 4, 2023 at Campsite #17

Wonderful campsite, campgrounds were immaculate and the host very cordial! Will be going again in the future!

@DhaliaS85B8027 · Camped on Aug 11, 2023 at Campsite #24

Enjoyed the site.Vault bathrooms are well maintained. The botanical trail was enjoyable.Approachable & helpful host. Did not like the amount of wasps and black bees. Some sites also have more big black ants than others. Overall, we would definitely return!

@MichaelW725874 · Camped on Jul 28, 2023 at Campsite #20

Camped here many times in the past. Campground is clean and quiet and conveniently located near the Sierra Valley area with a variety of activity options. Great campground host on this last stay.

@DeAndreF8F4BA9 · Camped on Jul 28, 2023 at Campsite #17

Had a great time at the campsite. Was quiet and peaceful. My only concern was the bees. There were a lot of bees in our campsite. It seemed like the hive was nearby the bathrooms, leaving all the bees go swarm around. Be careful out there. Slot 17 was a great spot as well!

@StaceyC9334607 · Camped on Jul 23, 2023 at Campsite #36

Cottonwood Creek is an often-overlooked gem of a campground. Located a short drive to Truckee/Lake Tahoe, Webber Lake/Perazzo Meadow and the Graeagle/Sierra Buttes/Lakes areas, Cottonwood Creek is a great location to use as a jumping point to enjoy the Tahoe National Forest and east Plumas National Forest. Most of the campsites are oversized giving a little elbow room between campers. Vault toilets are clean and serviced regularly and are as good as, well, vault toilets can be! Several sites will accommodate RV/trailers. While insects are present, in our experience they are minimal. And, this campground tends to be virtually empty during the week!There is a short trail at the back of the campground that climbs to a peak where the entrance to the Sierra Valley is visible - great one-hour hike. A nature trail loop provides information about the local trees and shrubs.Located conveniently off Hwy. 89, the only negative to this campground is the road noise, especially on the loop closest to the highway. The sites in the back loop are a bit more protected from the noise. We find the positives of this campground outweigh this one negative.Others may find the lack of cell phone service a second negative (we have Verizon) but a short drive to Sierraville (or one of the turnouts just a few minutes from the campground) provides enough service for checking in with the digital world back home.We always look forward to our time at Cottonwood Creek!

@HenryVC2D7C3E2 · Camped on Jul 22, 2023 at Campsite #10

holy cow this campsite was small! a tight fit for two person-sized bug out bivy tents. beautiful heavily forested area - site 10 is right next to the overlook and botanical trails. the overlook in particular is very worthwhile

@CorlanneSEB159 · Camped on Jul 21, 2023 at Campsite #23

The cleanest rest rooms I've ever had at acamp ground! Thank you camp host!

@AndrewR3887527 · Camped on Jul 3, 2023 at Campsite #8

The campground was excellent! It is 30 minutes from North Lake Tahoe and far enough away from everything to be quiet and relaxing but close enough to enjoy a day (or two) at the lake. The campground host (Patrick) was outstanding - very helpful and pleasant. If we find ourselves back in the Tahoe area we'll definitely be staying at this location again!

@audraMA066D135 · Camped on Jul 3, 2023 at Campsite #21

The host were very chill. Spot 18 is perfect. But, there is just a small tiny creek. The map online isn't updated. The botanical trial is non existent. And the fire wood is over priced. The bugs will eat you alive. Also our group kept getting stung by giant black bumblebees. We went up to lower salmon lake to cool off and it was an all you can eat mosquito buffet.

@CaitlinL306329 · Camped on Jul 1, 2023 at Campsite #4

Nice campground and great hosts. The creek is nice for wading but not big enough for swimming. The vibe was quiet even on a holiday weekend. Campsite 004 is right next to the bathroom. On the last day of our trip the bathroom smell was quite bad but on previous days it was fine. The only flat space was the paved parking spot where you can fit a tent behind a regular car. The rest of the campsite is on a steep slope. There’s a bit of shade and the spot backs to a nice meadow you can hike across to find the creek.

@breannecE580E4 · Camped on Jun 16, 2023 at Campsite #3

We like how quiet this campground is. Unfortunately they had to cut down some trees in this spot so it wasn’t as shaded as it was last year and the trailer pad is falling apart.

@JohnS6889697 · Camped on May 30, 2023 at Campsite #31

Been camping here for years. Mid-week is the best. There was one other camper in the upper loop. Felt like we had the place to ourselves. Restrooms were clean, camp host checked on us several times. Overall great time!

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