College
2Heads up2 fires, nearest 13 mi
- Right now
- Closed for the seasonOut of the season the agency publishes
- A night
- $47–$92Across the site types the agency prices
- Sites
- 10All of them booked ahead
- Season
- June 1 – September 30Open June 1 through September 30
The place
the agency’s own description · what’s there · 9 notices
In the agency’s own words
College Campground is located on Huntington Lake near the Kaiser Wilderness. The camp features tent-only sites in open, meadow-like spaces or wooded sites among pine and fir trees. Visitors can have the option of mooring their boats nearby some of the sites. Keep reading
Recreation
There are many hiking trails in the area, including Rancheria Falls, Indian Pools and Black Point. Hikers and horseback riders can access the 12-mile Kaiser Loop Trail, which connects to a network of trails within the Kaiser Wilderness. Huntington Lake offers many activities, including swimming, sailing, boating, non-motorized boating, fishing and water skiing. Additionally, California Land Management sponsors a variety of interpretive programs and nature walks throughout the summer at several locations in the Huntington Lake area.
Facilities
Each tent-only site has a dirt and grass parking spur, table, fire ring, and grill. A pay phone, limited drinking water, and both vault and flush toilets are provided.
Natural Features
The Kaiser wilderness was named after Kaiser Ridge, which divides the area into two distinctly different regions. Most of Kaiser Ridge is 10,320 feet high and Kaiser Peak provides a commanding view of the central Sierra Nevada. The northern portion is much steeper and more open than the more gentle terrain found in the southern portion of the wilderness. The Sierra National Forest, located on the western slope of the central Sierra Nevada, is known for its spectacular mountain scenery and abundant natural resources. The terrain includes rolling, oak-covered foothills, heavily forested middle elevation slopes and the starkly beautiful alpine landscape of the High Sierra. Contact Info For facility specific information, please call (559) 893-2308.
Nearby Attractions
College Campground's proximity to the Kaiser Wilderness offers the chance to explore a wide network of hiking trails. This wilderness area is known for its scenic alpine and meadow views.
Charges & Cancellations
Rules & Reservation Policies As you make travel plans that include reservations on Recreation.gov, there are standard policies that apply to most locations of which you should be aware. Do keep in mind, however, that there are many exceptions, so it is best to review reservation information listed on individual facility pages for those policies and procedures that pertain to your specific locations. Any location or activity requiring a permit or lottery will have unique requirements and policies. Please check individual facility pages for pertinent information for those sites. Booking Window For most locations, you can reserve six months in advance of your stay for individual sites and 12 months in advance for group sites. There are some exceptions, so it is best to check with each facility. Change and Cancellation Policies and Fees Overnight and Day Use Facilities: To ensure fairness, reservation arrival or departure dates may not be changed beyond the booking window until 18 days after booking the reservation. Camping / Day Use: A $10.00 service fee will apply if you change or cancel your reservation (including campsites, cabins, lookouts, group facilities, etc.). The $10.00 service fee will be deducted from the refund amount. You can cancel or change reservations through Recreation.gov or by calling 1-877-444-6777. Tours & Tickets: You may request changes to tour dates at no cost before the arrival date. If you cancel before your tour date, you may be eligible for a refund. Cancellation fees apply. Please check the tour facility description details page for cancellation policies. Permits: Varies by location. Please check the permit details for the permit location. Late Cancellations Overnight and Day Use Facilities: Late cancellations are those cancelled between 12:01 a.m. (Eastern) on the day before arrival and check out time on the day after arrival. Individual Campsites: If a customer cancels a reservation the day before or on the day of arrival they will be charged a $10.00 service fee and will also forfeit the first night's use fee (not to exceed the total paid for the original reservation). Cancellations for a single night's reservation will forfeit the entire use fee but no cancellation fee will apply. Cabins / Lookouts: Customers will be charged a $10.00 cancellation fee and forfeit the first night's use fee if a cabin or lookout reservation is cancelled within 14 days of the scheduled arrival date. Cancellations for a single night's use will not be assessed a service fee. Group Facility: If a customer cancels a group overnight facility reservation within 14 days of the scheduled arrival date they will be charged the $10.00 service fee and forfeit the first night's use fee. Cancellations for a single night's use will not be assessed a service fee. Group Day Use Area: If a customer cancels a group day use facility reservation within 14 days of the scheduled arrival date, they will forfeit the total day use fee with no service fee charge. No-Shows Camping / Day Use: A camping no-show customer is one who does not arrive at a campground and does not cancel the reservation by check-out time on the day after the scheduled arrival date. Reserved campsites and group overnight facilities will be held until check-out time on the day following your scheduled arrival. Group day-use facilities will be held until check-in time on your scheduled arrival date. If a customer does not arrive at the campground or group facility by check-out time the day after arrival or does not cancel the reservation by the times listed under "Late Cancellations" above, the customer may be assessed a $20.00 service fee and forfeit use fees. Tours: A tour or ticket no-show is one who does not cancel a ticket before arrival and does not arrive for the tour. Tour no-shows are not entitled to a refund. Refunds Customers must request refunds no later than 14 days after the scheduled departure date. Recreation.gov will not grant refund requests after 14 days of departure. Reservation Fee: For some facilities, tours or permits an additional reservation fee is charged. For some overnight and day-use facilities, an additional non-refundable reservation fee may apply. The non-refundable reservation fee for tours and tickets is $1.00. The non-refundable reservation fee for permits varies by location. Refunds for Bankcard Purchases: Refunds for bank card payments will be issued as a credit to the original bank card. Refunds for Check or Cash Purchases: Refunds for Recreation.gov payments made by check or money order, and cash payments at selected campgrounds will be issued a check refund. A refund will be processed within 30 days of receipt and approval. Please Note: Refund requests made during or after departure can only be processed when approved by the facility management staff based upon local policy. Refunds for Emergency Closures: In the event of an emergency closure, the Recreation.gov team will attempt to notify users and offer alternate dates (as appropriate). If this is not possible, reservations will be cancelled and all fees paid will be refunded. Reservation fees for free tickets are non-refundable in the event of an emergency closure. Recreation.gov Billing Information Reservation transaction will appear on customer's credit card statements as "Recreation.gov 877-444-6777." Changes to Policies and Procedures Recreation.gov reserves the right, when necessary, to modify reservation policies. These policies were last updated July
What the agency tells you
Please register at the boat ramp kiosk.
Limited water available
Keep all food in bear-proof containers
Everything else this campground posts · 6
Please Note: One vehicle per single site. Most sites can accommodate 1 extra vehicle that is not included with the reservation fee. Extra vehicle will be charged a per night fee and collected at the campground.
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. For current fire conditions or weather closures contact the High Sierra Ranger District, Sierra National Forest (559) 855-5355
Reserved Sites will be held until check out time (NOON) the day following your arrival date. Sites must be occupied by the checkout time of that following day to hold a reservation or the site will be forfeited and released to other guests.
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.
Click here to learn more about the Sierra National Forest
Be bear aware; keep all food out of site in approved containers or locked inside your vehicle and remove all food from area after eating; always keep a clean camp and do not feed any wild animals.
Tents and rigs
- Sites
- 10 · 10 tent-only
- Hookups
- None
- Longest rig
- 39 ft
- Paved pads
- All
- Accessible sites
- 2
- Pets
- Allowed
- Campfires
- Allowed, barring fire bans
- Shade
- Every site
Facilities
- Toilets
- Flush Toilets
- “…drinking water, and both vault and flush toilets are provided. Natural Features The Kaiser…”
- Drinking water
- Yes
- “…ring, and grill. A pay phone, limited drinking water, and both vault and flush toilets are provided.…”
- Stay limit
- 14 nights
- recreation.gov facility rule maxStay
Around the campground
- On the water
- Lake, Meadow
- Boating
- Fishing
- Hiking
- Swimming
- Water sports
- Night sky · 555th darkest of 1,201 in CA
- Bortle 3
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 · 13
What you actually pay
Derived by CAMPANAC: the agency’s published rates for this season, $47–$92 a night, plus one $8 recreation.gov reservation fee for the booking. A weekend here means Friday and Saturday night, booked once. Optional charges (an extra vehicle, a second tent, a dump-station fee) are listed separately and aren’t in this total.
“Camping / Day Use: A $10.00 service fee will apply if you change or cancel your reservation (including campsites, cabins, lookouts, group facilities, etc.). The $10.00 service fee will be deducted from the refund amount.” · this campground’s own no-show 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
10 sites · which ones have room · the site map
The sites, ranked
from 10 mapped sitesAll 10 sites
Toilet distances are OpenStreetMap’s, measured for 10 of the 10 sites listed. A site with no reading is unknown, never far.
The price is derived by CAMPANAC, not published per site: the per-night rate this campground publishes for each site’s own site type. 10 of the 10 sites listed carry one, and a site whose type has no published rate sits out of the price rather than being called free.
| AREA COLLEGE | 001 | tent only nonelectric | yes | 111 ft | 224 ft | 145 ft | $47–$92 | |
| AREA COLLEGE | 002 | tent only nonelectric | 80 ft | 211 ft | 245 ft | $47–$92 | ||
| AREA COLLEGE | 003 | tent only nonelectric | 29 ft | 80 ft | 159 ft | 324 ft | $47–$92 | |
| AREA COLLEGE | 004 | tent only nonelectric | 22 ft | yes | 63 ft | 87 ft | 257 ft | $47–$92 |
| AREA COLLEGE | 005 | tent only nonelectric | 28 ft | 63 ft | 94 ft | 233 ft | $47–$92 | |
| AREA COLLEGE | 006 | tent only nonelectric | 29 ft | 80 ft | 119 ft | 212 ft | $47–$92 | |
| AREA COLLEGE | 007 | tent only nonelectric | 33 ft | 80 ft | 133 ft | 224 ft | $47–$92 | |
| AREA COLLEGE | 008 | tent only nonelectric | 30 ft | 104 ft | 165 ft | 157 ft | $47–$92 | |
| AREA COLLEGE | 009 | tent only nonelectric | 36 ft | 64 ft | 251 ft | 68 ft | $47–$92 | |
| AREA COLLEGE | 010 | tent only nonelectric | 39 ft | 64 ft | 272 ft | 51 ft | $47–$92 |
Getting there
the map and the coordinate · the agency’s directions · the phone number
Where it is
Deer CreekSierra National Forest · 0.4 mi
KinnikinnickSierra National Forest · 0.4 mi
CataveeSierra National Forest · 0.5 mi
RancheriaSierra National Forest · 0.5 miMidge Creek Group CampgroundSierra National Forest · 1.7 miBadger Flats GroupSierra National Forest · 3.1 miTake Hwy 168 east from Clovis to Shaver Lake. Continue through Shaver Lake to Huntington Lake. Continue around Huntington Lake for .5 miles to College Campground.
The weather
the next four days · the thirty-year normal
Next four days, and the thirty-year normal
Forecast
NWS forecast for Big Creek, CA
Typical weather
Typical June night 43°F, day 66°F.
Coldest night of the open season: typical June night 43°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 Augusts are colder than the August 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
College 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 →