Big Silver Group
1Heads up1 fire 36 mi away
- Right now
- Closed for the seasonOut of the season the agency publishes
- Sites
- 1All of them booked ahead
- Season
- June 1 – September 30Open June 1 through September 30
The place
the agency’s own description · what’s there · 7 notices
In the agency’s own words
Big Silver Group Campground offers tent and RV camping for up to 50 guests. The campground is located 23 miles east of Placerville on Highway 50 and 16 miles north on Ice House Road, east of nearby Union Valley Reservoir. Keep reading
Recreation
Visitors may enjoy forest-lined scenic views and recreation opportunities, such as, hiking, fishing, biking, wildlife viewing and migratory bird spotting. The campground has immediate access to the Union Valley Bike Trail; an easy 5.8 mile, two-lane bikeway with a few short, steep grades.
Facilities
The campground consists of three easy access tent camp units; four easy access tent, trailer or RV units; and three walk-in camp units. A group kitchen area includes multiple tables and grills, as well as a campfire circle. Accessible vault toilets and trash collection are provided. There is no piped water or electricity available at the campground. Campers must bring water from home, or be prepared to sterilize stream water. Stream water is available close by, but should be boiled or chemically treated before using. A convenience store with a restaurant, gas and phone is within 10 miles, south on Ice House Road. The nearest town is Pollock Pines, approximately 25 miles away.
Natural Features
Big Silver Group Campground is situated alongside Big Silver Creek where it pours into Union Valley Reservoir. Much of the campground is flat and shaded by a Ponderosa pine forest. Gentle to moderate slopes lead to the creek and walk-in campsites. Union Valley Reservoir is a 5-minute bike ride from 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; use appropriate food containers.
Water and electricity are not available
Gate is to remain locked; combination will be issued when reservations are finalized
Everything else this campground posts · 4
Off-road vehicles are not permitted.
Senior citizen Golden Passes do not apply at group camps.
For local information call the Pacific Ranger Station at 530-647-5415.
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.
Tents and rigs
- Sites
- 1 · 1 group
- Hookups
- None
- Paved pads
- All
- Accessible sites
- 1
- Shade
- Every site
Facilities
- Toilets
- Vault Toilets
- “…as well as a campfire circle. Accessible vault toilets and trash collection are provided. There is no…”
- Stay limit
- 14 nights
- recreation.gov facility rule maxStay
Around the campground
- On the water
- Reservoir, Creek
- Biking
- Boating
- Fishing
- Hiking
- Fall color · reported 7 days ago, 22 km away
- No change
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 Sep 10, 2026 · How we know all this
The sites
1 sites · the site map
All 1 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. 1 of the 1 sites listed carry one, and a site whose type has no published rate sits out of the price rather than being called free.
| AREA BIG SILVER GROUP | 001 | group standard nonelectric | yes | 231 ft | $145 |
Getting there
the map and the coordinate · the agency’s directions · the phone number
Where it is
Wench Creek1.1 mi
Yellowjacket1.8 miJones Fork CampgroundEldorado National Forest · 1.8 mi
FashodaEldorado National Forest · 2.0 miFrom Highway 50, turn north onto the Ice House Riverton Road and continue 18 miles. After crossing Big Silver bridge turn left into campground entrance.
The weather
the next four days · the thirty-year normal
Next four days, and the thirty-year normal
Forecast
NWS forecast for Pollock Pines, CA
Typical weather
Typical June night 44°F, day 83°F.
Coldest night of the open season: typical September night 40°F. Bring the bag rated for it.
Daily high and lowDays with 0.10 in or moreOutside the published season
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
Big Silver Group is in California’s 3rd congressional district. Its representative, Kevin Kiley (I), votes on the laws that decide what happens to this land. Public-lands grade so far: F. See every public-lands vote →