Forks Campground (Sierra)
2Heads up2 fires, nearest 18 mi
- Right now
- OpenInside the published season, our reading; a database flag says not open
- A night
- $52–$104Across the site types the agency prices
- Sites
- 2726 on recreation.gov
- Season
- May 1Opens May 1. No closing date published.
The place
the agency’s own description · what’s there · 9 notices
In the agency’s own words
Forks campground is located on a hillside overlooking Bass Lake. The camp is forested with cedar, ponderosa pine and oak trees and offers a few sites with limited lake views, while others are adjacent to the creek. Keep reading
Recreation
Bass Lake offers a beach and boat ramp. Popular activities include swimming, motorized boating, non-motorized boating, water skiing, sailing and fishing for bass, trout, bluegill and catfish. Goat Mountain Trail (2.6 miles) can be accessed directly from this camp. Other foot trails in the area include Willow Creek (2.7 miles), Spring Cove (2.6 miles) and Way-of-the-Mono Interpretive Trail (1 mile). A variety of educational programs are offered on weekends during the summer.
Facilities
Each unit has a picnic table, pedestal grill, stone fire ring and paved parking spur. Forks Campground provides flush toilets (including ones that meet accessibility standards) and drinking water. The parking spurs here are not large enough to fit boat trailers.
Natural Features
Forks Campground is located in the Bass Lake Ranger District at an elevation of 3,400 feet. Bass Lake is a very popular area known for its variety of fish, as well as the bald and golden eagles that make their home here. 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.
Nearby Attractions
Forks Campground is located approximately 24 miles from the entrance of Yosemite National Park.
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
All campers must check in at the registration office
This campground has a security guard on patrol and an on-site host
Two pets per site and leashed at all times.
Everything else this campground posts · 6
Please Note: One RV with tow vehicle per single site or one vehicle per tent 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 Sierra National Forest Headquarters, (559) 297-0706.
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
- 27 · 4 tent-only
- Hookups
- None
- Longest rig
- 40 ft
- Paved pads
- All
- Accessible sites
- 2
- Pets
- Allowed
- Shade
- Every site
Facilities
- Toilets
- Flush Toilets
- FLUSH TOILETS on 22 of 27 campsite records
- Drinking water
- Yes
- DRINKING WATER on 19 of 27 campsite records
- Boat ramp
- Yes
- Stay limit
- 14 nights
- recreation.gov facility rule maxStay
Around the campground
- On the water
- Lake, Creek, Beach
- Boating
- Fishing
- Hiking
- Swimming
- Water sports
- Night sky · 941st darkest of 1,201 in CA
- Bortle 4
1 of 42 site-nights open this Friday and Saturdayread 16:04 UTC
recreation.gov lists 26 of the 27 campsites the agency files here. The rest aren’t on its booking system, so a reservation won’t get you one.
OpenBooked
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 · 14
What you actually pay
Derived by CAMPANAC: the agency’s published rates for this season, $52–$104 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
recreation.gov availability, read 16:04 UTC · rules read Sep 9, 2026 · rates Sep 10, 2026 · How we know all this
The sites
27 sites · which ones have room · the site map
The sites, ranked
from 26 mapped sitesAll 27 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. 26 of the 27 sites listed carry one, and a site whose type has no published rate sits out of the price rather than being called free.
Measured shade is NLCD Tree Canopy Cover 2024 (USDA Forest Service / MRLC) read at the site’s own coordinate, 27% canopy or more, and only for the sites the agency gave no Shade value. It never changes the agency’s own shaded count beside it.
| FORKS CAMPGROUND | 003 | standard nonelectric | 15 ft | 153 ft | 460 ft | $52–$104 | |
| FORKS CAMPGROUND | 004 | tent only nonelectric | 10 ft | 80 ft | 446 ft | $52 | |
| FORKS CAMPGROUND | 005 | tent only nonelectric | 10 ft | yes | 80 ft | 521 ft | $52 |
| FORKS CAMPGROUND | 006 | standard nonelectric | 35 ft | 73 ft | 475 ft | $52–$104 | |
| FORKS CAMPGROUND | 007 | standard nonelectric | 10 ft | 73 ft | 416 ft | $52–$104 | |
| FORKS CAMPGROUND | 008 | standard nonelectric | 20 ft | 85 ft | 446 ft | $52–$104 | |
| FORKS CAMPGROUND | 009 | standard nonelectric | 25 ft | 58 ft | 397 ft | $52–$104 | |
| FORKS CAMPGROUND | 010 | standard nonelectric | 40 ft | 58 ft | 369 ft | $52–$104 | |
| FORKS CAMPGROUND | 011 | standard nonelectric | 30 ft | 54 ft | 288 ft | $52–$104 | |
| FORKS CAMPGROUND | 012 | standard nonelectric | 40 ft | 54 ft | 240 ft | $52–$104 | |
| FORKS CAMPGROUND | 013 | standard nonelectric | 10 ft | yes | 56 ft | 229 ft | $52–$104 |
| FORKS CAMPGROUND | 014 | standard nonelectric | 40 ft | 56 ft | 229 ft | $52–$104 | |
| FORKS CAMPGROUND | 015/016 | standard nonelectric | 40 ft | 89 ft | 288 ft | $52–$104 | |
| FORKS CAMPGROUND | 016 | type not stated | 240 ft | ||||
| FORKS CAMPGROUND | 017 | standard nonelectric | 10 ft | 98 ft | 664 ft | $52–$104 | |
| FORKS CAMPGROUND | 018 | standard nonelectric | 10 ft | 98 ft | 715 ft | $52–$104 | |
| FORKS CAMPGROUND | 019 | standard nonelectric | 20 ft | 183 ft | 833 ft | $52–$104 | |
| FORKS CAMPGROUND | 020 | standard nonelectric | 30 ft | 128 ft | 671 ft | $52–$104 | |
| FORKS CAMPGROUND | 021 | standard nonelectric | 30 ft | 128 ft | 652 ft | $52–$104 | |
| FORKS CAMPGROUND | 022 | standard nonelectric | 30 ft | 43 ft | 454 ft | $52–$104 | |
| FORKS CAMPGROUND | 023 | standard nonelectric | 20 ft | 43 ft | 441 ft | $52–$104 | |
| FORKS CAMPGROUND | 024 | standard nonelectric | 30 ft | 59 ft | 352 ft | $52–$104 | |
| FORKS CAMPGROUND | 025 | standard nonelectric | 30 ft | 59 ft | 358 ft | $52–$104 | |
| FORKS CAMPGROUND | 026 | standard nonelectric | 25 ft | 66 ft | 324 ft | $52–$104 | |
| FORKS CAMPGROUND | 027 | tent only nonelectric | 10 ft | 69 ft | 370 ft | $52 | |
| FORKS CAMPGROUND | 028 | tent only nonelectric | 10 ft | 69 ft | 329 ft | $52 | |
| FORKS CAMPGROUND | 029 | standard nonelectric | 40 ft | 70 ft | 259 ft | $52–$104 |
25 of 27 listed
Getting there
the map and the coordinate · the agency’s directions · the phone number
Where it is
Recreation PointSierra National Forest · 1.2 mi
LupineSierra National Forest · 1.3 mi
Cedar BluffSierra National Forest · 1.3 mi
Crane ValleySierra National Forest · 1.7 mi
Spring Cove1.7 mi
Wishon Bass LakeSierra National Forest · 2.2 miFrom Fresno, California: Take Highway 41 north through Oakhurst. Turn right on Forest Road 222 (toward Bass Lake), keep right for 3.5 miles to the Bass Lake Campground office. After registering, continue on for approximately 1.25 miles to the Forks Campground.
The weather
the next four days · the thirty-year normal
Next four days, and the thirty-year normal
Forecast
NWS forecast for Bass Lake, CA
Typical weather
Typical May night 45°F, day 71°F.
Coldest night of the open season: typical May night 45°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
Forks Campground (Sierra) 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 →