Bear River Group Campground (Eldorado National Forest, CA)
1Heads up1 fire 49 mi away
- Right now
- Nobody has saidNo season, no closure, no bookings to read
- Sites
- 4All of them booked ahead
The place
the agency’s own description · what’s there · 7 notices
In the agency’s own words
The Bear River Group Campground offers four separate group campsites on a site above the south side of the Lower Bear River Reservoir. The proximity to water and the mixed pine setting in the fresh Sierra Nevada air, makes this campground an excellent group retreat destination. Upriver from the campground is the Upper Bear River Reservoir. This lake is smaller and spans 166 surface acres with 2.5 miles of shoreline. Keep reading
Recreation
Lake activities include fishing, swimming, boating, canoeing and picnicking on the shores. Rainbow trout are found in abundance throughout the season, in addition to smaller populations of brown and mackinaw trout as well. A short distance past the Upper Bear River Reservoir is the Pardoe Trail, which borders the Mokelumne Wilderness. The trail runs up the top of Squaw Ridge to an elevation of over 9,000 feet, providing excellent views of the surrounding area.
Facilities
The campground is designed for tent camping only. Campstie 1 fits 50 people while the other three sites accommodate 25. Piped drinking water, vault toilets, picnic tables, campfire rings and a group cooking area are among the amenities.
Natural Features
Bear Group Campground is situated an elevation of 6,000 feet, just a short distance (approximately one mile drive) from the reservoir. It is part of the Eldorado National Forest located in the central Sierra Nevada. A Mediterranean climate extends over most of the forest with warm, dry summers and cold, wet winters.
Nearby Attractions
Restaurants, boat rentals and a general store are within a few miles of the campground.
Charges & Cancellations
Recreation Fee: Recreation fees are the fees a visitor pays for things like overnight camping, a day-use pavilion, group facilities, a tour or a permit. Recreation fees vary by location and/or activity. Reservation Fee: A fee may be charged at the time a reservation is made to cover the cost of reservation services. This fee is in addition to the Recreation Fee and is non-refundable. Fees for camping, day use, group sites, cabins and lookouts: $8 if made on-line; $9 if made through the call center; $3 if made in-person. Change Fee: A service fee may be charged at the time a modification is made depending on the changes. Cancellation Fee: Customers who cancel a group overnight facility reservation less than 14 days before the arrival date will pay a $10.00 service fee AND forfeit the first night's use fee.. Cut-Off Window: The latest date and/or time that you can make an advanced reservation or a change to an existing reservation. Cut-off windows can vary by location, but are typically 14 days before your arrival date. Late Cancellation: If you cancel your reservation too close to the start date, additional service fees may be withheld.
What the agency tells you
Bears frequent the area; all food must be kept in approved containers
Motorized boats are not allowed on lake
Forest Order No. 19-15-01: Prohibits camping for a combined total of no more than 14 days during a calendar year (January-December), forest-wide. Visitors may book campsites annually but the maximum stay may not exceed a total of 14 days each calendar year (January-December)
Everything else this campground posts · 4
Refunds: Refund requests made through www.recreation.gov will be charged a $10 processing fee. This fee is retained by the reservation service contractor along with the non-refundable reservation fee. All requests for the return of the non-refundable reservation fee and the cancellation fee will be declined by the campground concessionaire as they did not receive these fees (these are the fees retained by the reservation contractor, a different entity).
Fire Restrictions: Fire restrictions may be imposed at any time due to hot, dry weather conditions, at which time campfires and charcoal fires may not be allowed. Call (530) 644-6048 for local information and conditions.
Don't Move Firewood: Protect California's forests from tree-killing pests by buying your firewood locally and burning it on-site. For more information visit firewood.ca.gov.
For more information on Eldorado National Forest, click here
Tents and rigs
- Sites
- 4 · 4 tent-only, 4 group
- Hookups
- None
- Accessible sites
- None listed
- Shade
- Every site
Facilities
- Toilets
- Vault Toilets
- “…accommodate 25. Piped drinking water, vault toilets, picnic tables, campfire rings and a group cooking…”
- Drinking water
- Yes
- “…other three sites accommodate 25. Piped drinking water, vault toilets, picnic tables, campfire rings and a…”
- Store
- Nearby
Around the campground
- On the water
- Reservoir, Lake, River, Beach
- Biking
- Boating
- Fishing
- Hiking
- Swimming
- Fall color · reported 12 days ago, 34 km away
- Peak color
No reading yet, book on recreation.gov
Every site here is reservable, and the record lists none held back for anyone who drives up.
No availability snapshot inside the last 36 hours, so this page draws nothing rather than ageing a reading into fiction.
Watch for a cancellation
Full? Watch it.
One email when a night opens, plus More Than Just Parks dispatches. Unsubscribe any time.
We read recreation.gov once an hour, at 40 minutes past, and write the first time a site in your window is free for the nights you asked for.
Scanners that check every few minutes exist, and most of them charge. This one is free, it reads the same calendar, and it won’t always be first.
Tell me when the season opens
Watch for the season to open
One email when the season goes on sale, plus More Than Just Parks dispatches. Unsubscribe any time.
We check once an hour, at 40 minutes past, and write the first time the agency has that season on sale.
Scanners that check every few minutes exist, and most of them charge. This one is free, it reads the same calendar, and it won’t always be first.
We make nothing when you book. The link goes straight to the government.
Every line of the receipt · 12
What you actually pay
“Fees for camping, day use, group sites, cabins and lookouts: $8 if made on-line $9 if made through the call center” · this campground’s own terms
Who keeps the booking fee
The agency’s own policy text says the reservation fee and the cancellation processing fee are “retained by the reservation service contractor”, and that a campground concessionaire will decline to refund them because “they did not receive these fees”. Recreation.gov is run under contract by Booz Allen Hamilton. What share of your booking fee the contractor keeps isn’t published in any federal dataset we can read, so we print no number for it. Our reporting on the contract →
How we know this receipt · 6
rules read Sep 9, 2026 · rates Oct 1, 2026 · How we know all this
The sites
4 sites · which ones have room · the site map
The sites, ranked
from 4 mapped sitesAll 4 sites
The price is derived by CAMPANAC, not published per site: the per-night rate this campground publishes for each site’s own site type. 4 of the 4 sites listed carry one, and a site whose type has no published rate sits out of the price rather than being called free.
| CHIP | 003 | group tent only area nonelectric | 37 ft | 540 ftLower Bear River Reservoir | $115–$145 |
| JUNC | 002 | group tent only area nonelectric | 37 ft | 539 ftLower Bear River Reservoir | $115–$145 |
| KOKA | 001 | group tent only area nonelectric | 45 ft | 542 ftLower Bear River Reservoir | $115–$145 |
| SMOK | 004 | group tent only area nonelectric | 43 ft | 544 ftLower Bear River Reservoir | $115–$145 |
OpenStreetMap has no toilet mapped within 1 km of this campground, so no site here carries a toilet distance. That’s a gap in the map, not a finding about the campground.
Getting there
the map and the coordinate · the agency’s directions · the phone number
Where it is
South Shore CampgroundEldorado National Forest · 0.9 miPardoes Point CampgroundEldorado National Forest · 1.1 miSugar Pine Point CampgroundEldorado National Forest · 1.5 miWhite Azalea CampgroundEldorado National Forest · 4.1 miMokelumne CampgroundEldorado National Forest · 4.8 miMiddle Fork Cosumnes CampgroundEldorado National Forest · 5.6 miFrom Jackson, California, travel east on State Route 88 for 39 miles and turn right (south) on Bear River Road. Travel 2 miles to Y intersection and stay to the right side, going across the dam. Drive .5 miles past South Shore Campground to Bear Group Campground, which will be located on left side of road.
The weather
the next four days · the thirty-year normal
Next four days, and the thirty-year normal
Forecast
NWS forecast for Bear Valley, CA
Typical weather
Typical October night 29°F, day 62°F.
Coldest month of the year: typical December night 18°F, below freezing. Bring a bag rated colder than that, and expect ice in the water bottle.
Daily high and lowDays with 0.10 in or more
A normal is the 1991-2020 average for the month, not a forecast: about half of all Julys are colder than the July line. The seven-day forecast above answers the other question.
The land, and who answers for it
what threatens it · who answers for it
Roadless country, and what’s coming for it
You’re camping on ground somebody wants. We track the threats and the comment deadlines.
Who answers for this land
Bear River Group Campground (Eldorado National Forest, CA) is in California’s 5th congressional district. Its representative, Tom McClintock (R), votes on the laws that decide what happens to this land. Public-lands grade so far: F. See every public-lands vote →