U.S. Forest Service · Sierra National Forest · CA

Bretz Mill Campground

2Heads up2 fires, nearest 5 mi
Wildfire
Wildfire Training fire · 5.1 mi away · 0 acres · updated Oct 15, 2026
Wildfire
Land fire · 30 mi away · 20 acres · updated Oct 11, 2026
First come, first servedNo reservation, and none to be had: the sites go to whoever pulls in first.

This is how it should work.

Right now
OpenThe agency lists it open
A night
FreeNo camping fee
Season
Year-roundOpen year-round
Drawn from the record · 3,280 ft · 0% tree cover · Big Creek within reach · Bortle 4 sky
3,280 ftElevation
328 ftWater · Big Creek
5.9 miSE of Auberry, CA
0%Tree cover
Bortle 4Night sky · 861st darkest of 1,201 in CA
Open year-roundToday

The place

the agency’s own description · what’s there

In the agency’s own words

Located in a setting of pines and oak, Bretz Mill Campground is located alongside Big Creek. Some sites are located on the creek. The location of the campground makes an great get-a-way for picnicking, cooling off during hot days and overnight camping, especially when higher elevation campgrounds are under snow. The area also serves as a popular OHV base camp. Access to facility is paved. Campground is maintained by Mountain Toppers 4 WD club.

Source: USFS Enterprise Data Warehouse · Aug 24, 2026

Around the campground

On the water
Creek
Source: Stated in the agency description

Nothing to book, just show up

One of 1,623 federal campgrounds where the site still goes to whoever pulls in first, and it costs nothing at all. Get there before noon on a summer weekend.

recreation.gov publishes no availability for a campground you can’t reserve, so there’s no thirty-night reading to draw here. The season bar above is what the agency does publish.

BookingNo reservationsNothing to book, and no release date to wait forthe record
A nightFreeNo camping feethe agency’s fee record
A weekendNothingDerivedFriday and Saturday, everything includedours, from the lines above
Runs itU.S. Forest Servicethe agency’s record
Every line of the receipt · 4

What you actually pay

The sign priceU.S. Forest Service
Camping feeFree
No fee
The booking feerecreation.gov
Nothing. This campground takes no bookings, so there’s no reservation fee to pay.
What a stay costs
A night, and a whole weekendDerivedNothing

Derived by CAMPANAC: the agency’s own record says there’s no camping fee, and no booking fee, because this campground takes no reservations. A weekend here means Friday and Saturday night. Optional charges (an extra vehicle, a second tent, a dump-station fee) are listed separately and aren’t in this total.

How we know this receipt · 5
Source: USFS Enterprise Data Warehouse · Aug 24, 2026

record Aug 24, 2026 · How we know all this

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Getting there

the map and the coordinate

The weather

the next four days

Next four days, and the thirty-year normal

Forecast

Today81°Sunny
Tonight60°Clear
Sunday79°Sunny
Sunday Night58°Clear

NWS forecast for Shaver Lake, CA

The land, and who answers for it

what threatens it · who answers for it

Roadless country, and what’s coming for it

Roadless
Sycamore Springs10,015 acres · 10 mi · inventoried roadless area

You’re camping on ground somebody wants. We track the threats and the comment deadlines.

Who answers for this land

Tom McClintock, official portrait

Bretz Mill Campground 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 →

Seen something wrong here? Tell us.

How we know

every fact on this page, and where it came from
Right now: The agency lists it open right now.
Season: USFS Enterprise Data Warehouse · Aug 24, 2026
Cell signal: the Forest Service’s own campground description, read as text by CAMPANAC. None of this is a measurement. It’s what the land manager published about the place, and phones, carriers and weather all disagree with each other; treat it as a warning, not a promise.
Nearest place of any size: Shaver Lake, CA, 2.8 mi SE (a census designated place). Straight line.