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

Garden Point Boat-in Campground

1Heads up1 fire 23 mi away
Wildfire
Old fire · 23 mi away · 0 acres · updated Oct 16, 2026
ReservableOut of season; bookable April 15 through April 16.
Book on recreation.govWe make nothing when you book
Right now
Nobody has saidNo season, no closure, no bookings to read
A night
$24–$48Across the site types the agency prices
Sites
16All of them booked ahead
1,980 ftElevation
207 ftWater · New Bullards Bar Reservoir
11.6 miNW of Nevada City, CA
51%Tree cover
Bortle 4Night sky · 823rd darkest of 1,201 in CA

The place

the agency’s own description · what’s there · 4 notices

In the agency’s own words

Bullards Bar Reservoir is located on the North Yuba River at an elevation of 2000 feet. It is located approximately 21 miles north of Nevada City, California. It has a maximum surface area of 4,760 acres and a length of over 16 miles and shoreline of more than 60 miles. Keep reading

Recreation

This is a boat-in campground. You can not drive to this campground. You must launch a boat a Dark Day boat launch and boat to the campground. Activities include wildlife viewing, hiking, mountain biking, horseback riding, camping, fishing, boating, water skiing, and other water sports. Swimming opportunities are limited because of the steep slopes; however boaters will find numerous opportunities for swimming in various locations around the reservoir. The reservoir provides yearlong fishing opportunities for both warm and cold water fish species. Supplies are available at the marina as well as the nearby communities of Camptonville, North San Juan, and Dobbins.

Facilities

This is a boat-in campground. You can not drive to this campground. You must launch a boat a Dark Day boat launch and boat to the campground. Public access for boating and recreation is limited to 2 developed and 1 undeveloped boat launches: the Cottage Creek Boat Launch ramp at Emerald Cove Marina (aprox. 3 miles from campground by boat), the Dark Day Boat Launch ramp (aprox. 1 mile from campground by boat), and the undeveloped site at the end of Moran Road. The area includes 5 campgrounds, 2 picnic areas, 2 boat launch ramps, 1 marina, 1 overlook, 1 day use area and several developed hiking trails.

Natural Features

This is a boat-in campground. You can not drive to this campground. You must launch a boat a Dark Day boat launch and boat to the campground. The sides of the reservoir are generally steep and public access for boating and recreation is limited. The reservoir is surrounded by both conifer and hardwood forests with numerous brush species. There is plenty of shade at the campsites Contact Info This location is unstaffed. To speak with our main office for general information, please call: (530) 265-4531.

Nearby Attractions

There is a beautiful non- motorized trail system in the area, with 5 different trails to choose from. Bullards Bar Trailhead is 14 miles, 7 Ball Trial is 1 mile, 8 Ball Trail is 3.8 miles, Rebel Ridge Trail is 1.6 miles and Schoolhouse Trail is 0.7 miles. Maps are available at the North Yuba Ranger Station just a couple miles east of the reservoir on Marysville Road.

Charges & Cancellations

No Show Policy A 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 (or for day-use facilities, by check-in time the day of arrival). * No-show customers are only recorded at staffed facilities. At most remote facilities, all customers are noted as automatically checked-in on the date of arrival. * It is recommended that staffed facilities hold a campsite until check-out time on the day following the arrival date. * It is recommended that staffed facilities hold group day-use facilities until check-in time on the arrival date. There is no change fee if a customer extends or shortens a reservation if the change includes dates from the original reservation. If they choose to depart early, they may forfeit some or all of the recreation fees. There is no change fee if the customer changes campsites that are the same price and on the same reservation dates in the same campground. If the campsite the customer is changing to has a price difference, the customer will be responsible for any additional fees or be provided with a refund, based on the price difference. Where recorded, no-show customers are assessed a $20.00 no-show fee and forfeit the first night's recreation fee for a campsite or forfeit the entire day-use recreation fee for a day-use facility. We recommend customers contact the facility if they are en route to their reservation but cannot make it by the check-in date. In these cases, no refund will be issued, but the facility can ensure that a "no-show" fee is not assessed.

What the agency tells you

Rule

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 Yuba River Ranger District (530) 288-3231(voice), (530) 288-3656 (TDD).  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.

Rule

This is a boat-in campground. You can not drive to this campground. You must launch a boat a Dark Day boat launch and boat to the campground. Do not follow in driving instructions to this campground. There is no road access. Utility hookups and showers are not available.

Rule

There is no water at the facility

Everything else this campground posts · 1
Rule

No Show Policy A 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 (or for day-use facilities, by check-in time the day of arrival).  * No-show customers are only recorded at staffed facilities. At most remote facilities, all customers are noted as automatically checked-in on the date of arrival. * It is recommended that staffed facilities hold a campsite until check-out time on the day following the arrival date. * It is recommended that staffed facilities hold group day-use facilities until check-in time on the arrival date. There is no change fee if a customer extends or shortens a reservation if the change includes dates from the original reservation. If they choose to depart early, they may forfeit some or all of the recreation fees.  There is no change fee if the customer changes campsites that are the same price and on the same reservation dates in the same campground. If the campsite the customer is changing to has a price difference, the customer will be responsible for any additional fees or be provided with a refund, based on the price difference.  Where recorded, no-show customers are assessed a $20.00 no-show fee and forfeit the first night's recreation fee for a campsite or forfeit the entire day-use recreation fee for a day-use facility. We recommend customers contact the facility if they are en route to their reservation but cannot make it by the check-in date. In these cases, no refund will be issued, but the facility can ensure that a "no-show" fee is not assessed.

Read them on the agency’s own page →

Tents and rigs

Sites
16 · 16 boat-in
Hookups
None
Accessible sites
None listed
Pets
Allowed
Campfires
Allowed, barring fire bans
Shade
Every site
Source: Recreation.gov campsite records · Aug 23, 2026

Facilities

Toilets
Vault Toilets
VAULT TOILETS on 16 of 16 campsite records
Boat ramp
Yes
Stay limit
14 nights
recreation.gov facility rule maxStay
Source: Stated in the agency description · Aug 23, 2026
Water, toilets and showers: counted from this campground’s own campsite records, shown above · Sep 12, 2026

Around the campground

On the water
Reservoir, River, Creek, Beach
Boating
Canoeing
Fishing
Motor Boat
Paddling
Swimming
Water access
Water Skiing
Water sports
Cell signal · Cell signal · Forest Service says
Yes
Source: Recreation.gov activity records · Aug 23, 2026
Cell signal: the Forest Service’s own per-site records, 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. · Sep 8, 2026

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.

Booking windowFrom April 15Out of season now. Bookable for April 15, 2027 through April 16, 2027. Today at 10 AM ET, availability opens through April 17, 2027.recreation.gov
Max stay14 nightsthe facility record
A night$24–$48plus $8 to reserve, once per bookingthe agency’s rate schedule
A weekend$56–$104DerivedFriday and Saturday, everything includedours, from the lines above
If plans change$10 to cancel$10 to change a reservation; this campground publishes its own terms toorecreation.gov’s schedule
Runs itU.S. Forest ServiceBooked through recreation.govthe agency’s record
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.

Free forever, no booking kickbacks.
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’ll write once, when the season that starts Thu, Apr 15 2027 is open for booking.

Free forever, no booking kickbacks.
Book on recreation.gov

We make nothing when you book. The link goes straight to the government.

Every line of the receipt · 13

What you actually pay

The sign priceU.S. Forest Service
A night, per site$24–$48
Single Boat In Site$24
Double Boat In Site$48
Rates for the season the campground is in now, Apr 15, 2026 to Oct 15, 2026. Every site here is walked, hiked or boated into; there’s no drive-in rate to quote.
The booking feerecreation.gov
Reservation fee, booked online$8
One fee per reservation, however many nights you book, and it’s non-refundable. $9 if you book by phone, $3 in person.
Pass discounts only apply to the recreation (or use) fee for the facility. Other charges such as electricity or water hookups, reservation or other fees are not eligible for a discount.
What a stay costs
One nightDerived$32–$56
A weekend, Friday and SaturdayDerived$56–$104

Derived by CAMPANAC: the agency’s published rates for this season, $24–$48 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.

If your plans changerecreation.gov
Change fee, moving to dates outside your booking$10
Cancellation fee$10
Cancelling the day before, or the day of$10 + your first night
No-show$20 + your first night

“Where recorded, no-show customers are assessed a $20.00 no-show fee and forfeit the first night's recreation fee for a campsite or forfeit the entire day-use recreation fee for a day-use facility.” · 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 Sep 10, 2026 · How we know all this

Seen something wrong here? Tell us.

The sites

16 sites · which ones have room · the site map

The sites, ranked

from 16 mapped sites
86 ftbetween you and the next site, typically
Least roomLoop A 2 45 ftLoop A 5 45 ftLoop A 1 76 ft

All 16 sites

16 of 16 sites located
Walk, hike or boat in16
Aerial · Esri World Imagery
SleepsUp to

The price is derived by CAMPANAC, not published per site: the per-night rate this campground publishes for each site’s own site type. 16 of the 16 sites listed carry one, and a site whose type has no published rate sits out of the price rather than being called free.

A1boat in76 ft146 ft$24–$48
A10boat in86 ft256 ft$24–$48
A11&12Dboat in85 ft173 ft$24–$48
A13boat in81 ft242 ft$24–$48
A14boat in81 ft222 ft$24–$48
A15boat in83 ft142 ft$24–$48
A16&17Dboat in120 ft133 ft$24–$48
A18boat in93 ft225 ft$24–$48
A19boat in103 ft242 ft$24–$48
A2boat in45 ft134 ft$24–$48
A20boat in106 ft247 ft$24–$48
A3&4Dboat in109 ft243 ft$24–$48
A5boat in45 ft111 ft$24–$48
A6boat in108 ft206 ft$24–$48
A7boat in108 ft254 ft$24–$48
A8&9Dboat in86 ft221 ft$24–$48

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
Coordinate39.43333, -121.12417
The phone530-478-6253
The agency’s pageOfficial page ↗

Where it is

Getting there

This is a boat-in campground. You can not drive to this campground. You must launch a boat a Dark Day boat launch and boat to the campground. From Nevada City, California, travel approximatley 20 miles north on Highway 49 to Marysville Road. Turn left onto Marysville Road and travel approximatley 3 miles to the Dark Day Boat Launch ramp and launch from the ramp. Or travel approximatley 7 miles to Emerald Cove Marina and launch from the launch and ramp there.

The weather

the next four days · the thirty-year normal

Next four days, and the thirty-year normal

Forecast

Overnight55°Clear
Saturday85°Sunny
Saturday Night52°Clear
Sunday80°Sunny

NWS forecast for Camptonville, CA

Typical weather

Typical October night 45°F, day 78°F.

Coldest month of the year: typical December night 34°F. Bring the bag rated for it.

100°32°20°

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.

Measured at: DOBBINS 1 S, CA (USC00042456), 7 miles away and 340 ft lower

The land, and who answers for it

who answers for it

Who answers for this land

Kevin Kiley, official portrait

Garden Point Boat-in Campground 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 →

Seen something wrong here? Tell us.

How we know

every fact on this page, and where it came from
Right now: U.S. Forest Service publishes no season and no closure for this campground, and it takes no bookings we can read. That’s a gap in the record and not a locked gate: the number below is the only way to be sure.
Cell signal: the Forest Service’s own per-site records, 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. · Sep 8, 2026

“the agency's own site records list "CELL PHONE SERVICE" on 16 of 16 campsites here”

Nearest place of any size: Camptonville, CA, 3.4 mi WSW (a census designated place). Straight line.