Shirttail Creek

Sites and restrooms were very clean. Camp hosts were friendly and kept the noise down at camps that were noisy after 10:00.

We like to use this campground as a shake down trip to insure the rig is in good condition. Close to home, easy to get to, up in the woods at 4000', nice lake that is most always full, fishing & water sports. Best is it is not well known and never crowded. Campground was less than half full the entire 5 days we were there. Most sites are limited in size, it is dry camping (which we prefer) so a 30' rig is pushing it for most spots, with a few sites that can manage larger rigs. Camp hosts do a great job of keeping the place clean, can't comment on the vault toilets as we don't use them. Water is available and a dump station is located on the road out, with a pay station at the boat ramp. A nice bike trail around the lake with one rough spot by the dam, the rest is paved. Lots of day use spots and trails to use. One thing! this campground is off grid! NO cell service at all. You can drive, bike, or walk one mile up hill and get service, we road our e-bikes up that hill (read very steep) each day to check in, be sure you have good brakes coming back down!!

Family fun, kayaking, paddle boarding, bike ride or walk the trail around the lake. 3/4 of trail is paved from campsite to boat ramp near the dam, dirt trail from boat ramp over dam and around other side. Dogs are welcome. Bring shade a lot of the trees along waters edge have been cut or fallen down. The water was pretty cold still but clear and refreshing.

The first two days were fantastic. Unfortunately, before dawn on a Tuesday morning, a horrendous thundering noise woke us up. Apparently tree cutting, grinding and bull-dozing were underway. While I understand the need to manage the forest - sadly it burns as I write this comment - a message regarding this work should have been prominently posted to the website. The camp host said the information was posted, however I was unable to find the announcement. I was going to request a refund because we left a day early but did not. So many dead trees in Tahoe National Forest. It is really heartbreaking to see.

We loved our stay but want to warn future campers: 1. If you’re coming from Sacramento, make sure you take exit 121 to go through Foresthill and DO NOT take exit 133, which is the first route on google maps. One is a nice easy road and the other is a narrow road with hairpin turns and a sheer drop off. 2. Site 27 is NOT suitable as a group site. The only reason it’s listed as a group is for the extra parking slip. There’s only one suitable space to pitch a large tent and barely any room to sit around the fire. Site 26 on the other hand has a ton of space, albeit not enough parking. We had 11 people there with room for more. Fortunately we had both sites reserved for the weekend.
Bathrooms were cleaned regularly and we didn’t smell them outside (and we were literally right next door). 3. Day use parking at the lake fills up quick so go early and bring $5 cash to drop in the slot. Water was clean and refreshing. Will definitely return in the future.

The campsite and lake were fantastic! But, there was no camp host on the Shirttail Creek side of the campgrounds, so the group camping in the middle of the campground stayed up until all hours of the night. They were driving an ATV after 10 pm and had music and all kinds of lights on. It was as awful for individuals like us with children who kept waking up from all the noise.

Love this campground. It’s a great place for family and friends to get together.

Great campground. Difficult to get to but worth it.

Perfect place with your family.
Limited traffic at the lake enjoy.
Drive carefully the road to this location is very narrow.

This was a beautiful area to camp and enjoy the reservoir. Great place for dogs and kids too. The path to access the water through the campground is a nice feature; but can be a little difficult with much weight so take a rolling cart or multiple hands. You can drive down and pay $5 to park in the day use if needed to unload kayaks and SUP but still a little path to get to water; not a ramp. The water was like glass when we went, gorgeous and really enjoyed it. Only negative; campsites are pretty much dirt (due to fire dangers I assume they are keeping all debris removed) and some only have small amounts of shade; bring umbrella and mats to make it even better. We will be back!