Sardine Lake Campground, Camptonville, CA

Sardine Lake Campground is located in the Yuba River Ranger District, Tahoe National Forest (1 hr 24 min west of Reno, NV) with an elevation of 5,735 feet. There are a total of 26 campsites. The campground is normally open from mid May to the end of October. Sites can accommodate RVs and trailers between 15 and 42 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. Fees range from $24.00 to $48.00. Some amenities include swimming. Activities include biking, boating, fishing, hiking trails, floating sports.

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Campsite Reviews (70)

4.0 out of 5

5 star		44%
4 star		21%
3 star		16%
2 star		10%
1 star		4%

@NanR6CCD425F7A · Camped on Sep 14, 2024 at Campsite #5

At times, I could smell the toilets. This particular space was close/convenient to the trail to Sand Pond as well as the resort. It doesn't have many trees.

@geraldkB232E32 · Camped on Aug 22, 2024 at Campsite #17

Has been on our to do list for some time. It's very nice there, and well run.

@LeilaMEE3570AE · Camped on Jul 30, 2024 at Campsite #10

Beautiful area; crowded and loud campground, even on a weekday.

@IanM4779126 · Camped on Jul 30, 2024 at Campsite #23

The location is fantastic, but the campground itself has gone downhill in past years. The pit toilets need attention and many of the sites are I level if you have an RV.

@NorbertC692EF0 · Camped on Jun 14, 2024 at Campsite #13

Reserving a camp site was somewhat confusing. Specifically, the very first day of availability for the six month window that one could apply was already reserved. The camp host at Sardine campground did a good job of keeping facilities clean and stocked with Toilet Paper etc.

@ShelbyVE8FC67C · Camped on May 31, 2024 at Campsite #22

Very kid friendly!

@nicuB52096F033 · Camped on Oct 20, 2023 at Campsite #11

The short walk to lower sardine lake is well worth the time. We also hiked to the fire watch tower on the Sierra buttes, which we could see from our campsite!

@KellyW1008717 · Camped on Aug 28, 2023 at Campsite #7

Sardine lake is beautiful....loved having the Sand Pond trail right there & so close to Sardine lake...the campground seemed to have the RV pads on the wrong side of the site....with backing in, the trailer door is on the wrong side of the site which makes it not only inconvenient but also uncomfortable for the camper next to us.

@IanM4779126 · Camped on Aug 27, 2023 at Campsite #3

Wonderful site/sights and an almost perfect place on earth. Love it there.

@NathanG6451658 · Camped on Aug 25, 2023 at Campsite #12

Wonderful place to Bike swim or just relax .

@DanielZ8613865 · Camped on Aug 22, 2023 at Campsite #9

Only downside was the bathrooms needed more attention. One of them was extremely bad. But other than that we had a great time and we will be back.

@kaseye2704908 · Camped on Aug 22, 2023 at Campsite #12

Great camping spot. The lower lake is beautiful & so is the pond. The hike up to the upper swimming lake was mild, rocky, but not too much so. The views and the lake were beautiful!! We camped at spot 12, which was perfect for being away from the road & not too close to other campsites. They can get a little packed closed together in some other areas.

@KarinOD99E834F · Camped on Aug 22, 2023 at Campsite #5

Sardine lake is so beautiful we go back every year! The campground is very clean and well managed by the camp manager. Very nice place to camp!

@TerranG8A2DDDC · Camped on Aug 21, 2023 at Campsite #18

A very fun experience! The campground was very quiet while we were there and the camp hosts kept facilities very clean. Super close to Sand Pond which was nice for the kiddos. Only downer was the amount of Yellowjackets around. We had to eat several times inside the tent they were so bad. Overall, awesome experience!

@PeterR5227973 · Camped on Aug 10, 2023 at Campsite #1

Beautiful Lakes Basin, great campground, and nice family campers!

@OliviaPF389031 · Camped on Jul 17, 2023 at Campsite #26

Not good photos of the campsite on the booking site. Difficult to use the map. Our site (#26) was next to trash, bathrooms, and the tent pad itself was about 10 from the road. I tried to talk to the camp host to see if they may have a different site available but the person was smoking and had loud music playingnot approachable for a mom toting two small kids. There were so many reserved spots that were vacant, just seems like an inflexible reservation system, that leads to money being collected but the facilities being under used.

@Katherine50153 · Camped on Jul 9, 2023 at Campsite #1

beautiful scenery and paddling opportunities

@HannahP1AD8E51 · Camped on Jul 5, 2023 at Campsite #3

Very nice campground, but not a lot of regulation around the quiet hours. Beautiful location and enjoyable stay!

@LizW9666061 · Camped on Jun 26, 2023 at Campsite #20

Site # 20. This is a larger than the normal site. It seemed like a double site: 2 picnic tables, 1 bear box, 1 fire ring, room for an extra car and more people which was nice. Very close to the pit toilets, but couldn't smell them at the site. They were cleaned one of the days we were there, a large amount of people had to use these 2 because the ones down the road weren't open. Need to bring your own drinking water. Although there is water available at a tap nearby, we used the water ONLY for putting out the camp fire at night & morning, don't drink it.

@CraigL3652027 · Camped on Jun 25, 2023 at Campsite #2

Great area as a base camp to do pretty much any activity you want. Be prepared for no cell phone coverage (a bonus) and to bring your own food unless you want to drive into Sierra city.

@LisaF6268557 · Camped on Jun 21, 2023 at Campsite #20

The sardine lake area is a extremely beautiful place. Campgrounds were clean. There were two concerning issues; there was a group of Russian individuals camping next to us. They were completely irresponsible with their campfire. They overloaded it at least 2 feet above the top of the camp fire ring , and we’re having fires on the ground by at their tents were close by. Campground hosts did clean the campgrounds, but did not seem to do much about policing. I personally spoke with the group and informed them about the extreme fire danger of the area, and that they needed to watch their fire. They had left a smoldering fire in their pit during the day the day before. There also was one family that had a dog that kept running around off leash. I had spoke to the campground hosts in conversation, and they were a very nice couple. Suggestion would be that they need to police the campground more. I Specifically like camping in campground with hosts, as I feel safer as hopefully they are keeping an eye on things. It was disappointing to say the least that there was some bad behavior by campers.

@SimoneB74231DC · Camped on Jun 15, 2023 at Campsite #16

The only issue I have with Sardine campground is that half the time the taps are not working, but I keep coming back because its a beautiful spot.

@JulieR8736363 · Camped on Aug 18, 2022 at Campsite #9

Lovely little campground with great proximity to 3 lakes (walking distance). Can paddleboard or kayak across lower Sardine Lake to a waterfall that goes between Upper and Lower Sardine lakes. Lots of great hiking nearby including the hike to the top of the fire lookout on the Sierra Buttes.

@Katherine50153 · Camped on Aug 14, 2022 at Campsite #2

nice location . The parking spurs are not that long except for a couple. Really large RV's are not a good idea here.

@MaryL7701176 · Camped on Aug 1, 2022 at Campsite #22

Small campground. Great view of stars at night. Bring water shoes for exploring sand pond and upper sardine lake.

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