About Glory Hole Recreation Area
Number of accommodations: 135
Seasonal information
2026 Season availability
Open year round
This campground is open year round, providing flexibility for your stay.
Campground Amenities
Most popular amenities
RV Utilities and Hookups
- Dump station on site
Water Access
- Lake Access
- Marina
Pets and Policies
- Pet friendly
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Rates, Sites & Availability
135 Sites Available
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Site Details
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135 Sites Available
No available sites
All sites are booked for your selected dates. Try showing all sites to see booked options, create an alert to be notified when something opens up, or adjust your dates.
Reviews (431)
What Guests Are Saying
Glory Hole Recreation Area is highly praised for its peaceful, clean environment, with spacious campsites and well-maintained bathrooms, including free showers. Many visitors enjoyed the beautiful scenery and wildlife, along with excellent hiking opportunities nearby. While some noted issues like long grass and noise disturbances, overall, the campground is considered a great place to relax and camp, with friendly rangers and convenient amenities.
What Guests Are Saying
Glory Hole Recreation Area is highly praised for its peaceful, clean environment, with spacious campsites and well-maintained bathrooms, including free showers. Many visitors enjoyed the beautiful scenery and wildlife, along with excellent hiking opportunities nearby. While some noted issues like long grass and noise disturbances, overall, the campground is considered a great place to relax and camp, with friendly rangers and convenient amenities.
Review Summary
Gabriel D
VerifiedOctober 25, 2021 • Stayed at: 028, Loop: Ironhorse 1-7, 23-44, 60-69
Park Rangers were friendly and helpful. Can’t wait to come back again!
Anne S
VerifiedOctober 24, 2021 • Stayed at: 065, Loop: Ironhorse 1-7, 23-44, 60-69
The restroom was nice and clean, but the light at night did not work. Make sure to take a lantern! The campsite was nice, but I hate it when previous campers do no pick up all their "little trash" and numerous cigarette butts. One campsite looked like someone emptied their ash tray! Really! The lake is low, so expect to hike down to the water. We didn't bring our boat, but there was still a launch open. Hopefully the lake will fill up some with the rain we're getting this weekend. We enjoyed a full moon and warm temperatures for October. Bring binoculars to enjoy the wildlife. Lots of birds and deer.
Ami S
VerifiedOctober 24, 2021 • Stayed at: 051, Loop: Ironhorse 45-59, 80-89
Loved the campsite. It's quite the drive to get into the actual campground. We stayed in campsite 55 and had a gorgeous view of the water. Wish there was more shade. Bathrooms seemed to have been clean but noticed the trash wasn't emptied out often. One of the sinks in the bathroom wasn't work and one of the stalls wasn't working, so it was a 1 person bathroom.
Thomas L
VerifiedOctober 22, 2021 • Stayed at: 034, Loop: Ironhorse 1-7, 23-44, 60-69
Not crowded, clean, some paved pull-through sites. Rest rooms were clean but stalls in need of repair. Would go back.
Gary B
VerifiedOctober 20, 2021 • Stayed at: 055, Loop: Ironhorse 45-59, 80-89
Park rangers need to be reasonable and consistent in enforcing the rules. My handicapped daughter was camping near us. Her sight was quite far from the toilet and the one directly across from the toilet was available. I asked one ranger if it was OK to move. He told me yes. The next day a different ranger told us she had to move or call rec.gov to make a change in sites. We called rec.gov and was told we needed to talk to the range. The park had few visitors at the time and there were many spaces available. My daughter was only going to be there for 2 days and would be leaving the day after the ranger told her she needed to move. As it turned out she did not and was not asked to leave.
During the off season, it would be very helpful, especially to retirees to be able to stay on a FCFS basis. Seniors are more flexible than the working campers and when campgrounds are not busy, some flexibility would be very helpful.
Still, all in all ,a very enjoyable stay and a very well maintained campground.
Anne P
VerifiedOctober 17, 2021 • Stayed at: 019, Loop: Ironhorse 8-22, 70-79
Love this camp group- the sites are spacious and the campground wasn’t very full this time of year.
Mariuzan G
VerifiedOctober 15, 2021 • Stayed at: 062, Loop: Ironhorse 1-7, 23-44, 60-69
Practically every spot has plenty of shade and the restrooms were clean and the security staff came by every day. The bad thing is that the water was too far from the campsites (I know no one is guilty of that) after all it's dry in California. if you have a boat, be prepared to drive up the ramp to get it down into the water and get it out. overall the place is very good and i recommend it.
Collins J
VerifiedOctober 11, 2021 • Stayed at: 031, Loop: Ironhorse 1-7, 23-44, 60-69
We love the quite atmosphere so close to the lake and with the launch fee's included it is a great place to stay.
Troy B
VerifiedOctober 6, 2021 • Stayed at: 062, Loop: Ironhorse 1-7, 23-44, 60-69
Overall the campsite was spacious and accommodating, however I feel there should have been a wider fire clearance. I was thankful for the restrooms to to be open and functioning , but they were not clean and the lights were not functioning at night . The park ranger was nice and helpful.
Xuefeng H
VerifiedOctober 2, 2021 • Stayed at: 059, Loop: Ironhorse 45-59, 80-89
good
Location Glory Hole Recreation Area
Address:
Glory Hole Recreation Area, 6503 Whittle Ranch Road
Angels Camp, CA, 95222
United States
From Sacramento take 99 S, 88 W and 12 E to San Andreas. Take 49 S for approximately 15 miles. Turn right onto Whittle Ranch Road and follow the road 2 miles to the recreation area.
From Central California and the Bay Area take 80 E, 580 E then 205 E to 120 E in Manteca. Take the exit for 120 E/99 N. Continue on 120 E, then take 108 E to 49N. Turn left onto Whittle Ranch Road and follow the road 2 miles to the recreation area.
Glory Hole Recreation Area is accessible via State Route 49, which is approximately 10 miles away, providing connection to U.S. Route 50 and other regional roads.
Latitude & Longitude: 38.0075 / -120.54
Elevation: 351 feet
Policies & Rules
Arrival & departure
Check in time
3PM
Check out time
2PM
General
- PLEASE HEAD STRAIGHT TO YOUR CAMPSITE UPON ARRIVALThere will be a reservation tag and 1 or 2 vehicle tags clipped to your campsite's post. Please leave the reservation tag on the post and place the vehicle tag(s) inside your vehicle(s) with dates visible. Contact a Park Ranger if you have any questions.
- At New Melones Lake there is a 14-day camping limit within a 30-day period.
- The recreation area entrance gate closes at 9:00pm. Vehicle entry after the gate is closed is prohibited. Exit at any time.
- During quiet hours, loud noise is prohibited. Excessive noise (audible beyond 50ft) at any time is prohibited.
- Camping fees include boat launch and day-use fees. Two vehicles are permitted in standard campsites. One vehicle is permitted in walk-to sites. All vehicles must display a campground vehicle tag or an overflow vehicle parking receipt.Vehicles must remain on paved roads and parking spots. Off-roading is prohibited.
- Campfires are only allowed in fire rings or grills in designated areas. Campfires must be attended at all times and extinguished completely before leaving.Campers may collect only dead and down wood for campfires. Chainsaw use is not allowed on property.During National Weather Service "Red Flag Warning" days and facility fire bans, wood and charcoal fires will not be permitted.
- All pets must be on a maximum six-foot (1.8 m) leash at all times. Leaving your pets unattended is not permitted.
- The dump station is out of order at this time.
- While recreating at New Melones Reservoir: CLEAN, DRAIN, and DRY boats and any other recreational equipment that comes in contact with water. Never dump unwanted bait, worms, fish parts or other organisms into the water. For more information visit https://www.invasivespeciesinfo.gov/ STOP THE SPREAD OF INVASIVE SPECIES. REMOVE plants, seeds, animals and mud from boots, gear, pets, and vehicles. CLEAN your gear before entering and leaving the recreation site. STAY on designated roads and trails and use local firewood. For more information visit https://www.invasivespeciesinfo.gov/
- If New Melones Lake elevation is below 870', boat ramps are not available. "Water front" campsites may also not be available. Park maps depict an elevation around 1050 feet. Current lake elevation: http://cdec.water.ca.gov/dynamicapp/QueryMM?Stations=NML&SensorNums=6&End=2021-07-19&span=1+month
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Last updated: June 5, 2026