Pass Creek Campground

Pleasant campground, but site #21 has no flat spot for a tent.

Cleaned and nice weather

Mike the camp host was excellent. Location is fantastic.

Mike is the best camp host! Very accommodating, friendly and helpful. Nice spaces, just wish we had cell service

Very clean Campground

The campground is at elevation 6,200 ft, in a dense Ponderosa Pine forest, so it's a good place to escape extreme summer heat if you live in the Central Valley. It's a small campground with just 1 loop, so it's easy to find your campsite even if you arrive after nightfall. There is a boat launch just down the hill within easy walking distance, with very nice swimming beaches along the shoreline. The water temperature in the lake reaches a maximum of about 72°F in late summer. Restrooms have running water and flush toilets, but no electricity, so it's pitch dark on moonless nights; be sure you bring a flashlight. The large, open area of the boat launch offers excellent stargazing and a great view of the Milky Way. It's a good site for astrophography on moonless nights, with very low light pollution. The campsite pads are all paved, and enough water spigots that you never have to walk more than a couple hundred feet to get water. There is an RV dump station across the road from the entrance driveway ($20 fee). There was lots of down wood (mostly tree branches) just lying around everywhere for making a campfire. The nearest large town is Truckee, about an hour drive each way, so try to make sure you don't forget anything important, as there's no where close to buy anything you might have forgotten or need more of, like fuel or food. It's a really nice campground, and I know I'll be back. Just be sure your vehicle's tires are all on pavement - the Ranger can cite you if your vehicle has a tire off pavement on the dirt.

Beautiful campsite. Great facilities. Love riding or walking to the dam (about a mile) and watching the water shooting out of the hill - it's pretty amazing. Star gazing is fantastic if you walk down from the campground to the boat dock after dark. My favorite camping spot.

Take a pass on Pass Creek.
We drove past through this campground on a recon mission looking for nice places to camp. What appealed to us was the relative remoteness, so we (mistakenly) thought this would be a quiet campground. We did violate our own rule of not camping somewhere that allowed motorboats so shame on us, but we figured the location looked quiet enough. The clientele of this campground is a little shady. Dogs wandered the campground unleashed and partiers stayed up partying loudly until all hours of morning. Many campers also created a 4th of July parade, which could have been *quaint* except it wasn't - at 9:30 at night. Additionally, throwing candy?? Great for your Main Street USA July 4 celebration but not in the forest. Now, I understand that campgrounds can be hit-or-miss and the campers here were likely a rowdier bunch being that it was a holiday weekend, but I think this was all facilitated by the fact that there is no on-site camphosts. Nice enough guy, and we only saw him on day one (so stock up on firewood if/when he comes around because you're likely not going to get topped off during your stay), but he really turned a blind eye to people exploiting the 2-week stay rule, I think there were people who were living in the overflow camping parking lot for probably the bulk of the summer. The campsite itself was pretty. The bathrooms had major issues that were known to whatever agency and according to the camp host, were not going to be fixed. All in all, if you want to go, I'd go during a quieter time but not in the midst of summer. There are much better places to camp in this area.

Best features:
1. Flush toilets with lav sinks in restrooms
2. 6 water spigots in the loop, no campsite further than ±100 feet from a water spigot
3. All sites have paved parking pads
4. Location in mature Ponderosa pine forest, most sites have lots of shade.
5. Fire ring and picnic table at every site, picnic tables in good condition
6. Most parking pads are flat enough to level out an RV if you have good jacks and leveling blocks
7. Free boat launch ramp with plenty of parking. Boat camping on the lake is allowed if your boat is fully self-contained.
8. In mid-summer, lake is just warm enough for swimming and water skiing without a full wetsuit (mid-July water temp 70°F).
9. Glorious night sky viewing, not a lot of light pollution.
10. Campground was quiet, not a lot of generator noise or loud partying while I was there.
11. The lake can be quite windy, but the heavy tree density softens the wind to just a light breeze in the campground.
12. No electricity in the restrooms, and the whole campground is pitch dark on moonless nights; be sure to have a headlamp or flashlight.
13. There are Golden Mantle Squirrels everywhere. Don't leave ANYTHING out on your picnic table that even smells like food, or the squirrels will carry it off if they can, as soon as your back is turned. Lots of insects both day and night, don't leave your tent door unzipped any longer than you have to. Bring mosquito repellant and long sleeve shirt/pants for early morning and evening when mosquitos are most active.
14. If you are bringing any watercraft, make sure you empty and dry the bilges, baitwells, and cooling system before you arrive. Be prepared to sign a form stating that you have dried out and inspected your boat to prevent the spread ofr zebra and quagga mussels before you launch it.
15. There are no stores closer than about 30 miles (Truckee), so make sure you have everything you'll need before you get there.
16. It's a great campground, you'll love it!

Always a great visit several times a year Great camp host at Pass Creek always very helpful