Gold Lake 4 X 4 Campground
1Heads up1 fire 41 mi away
We don’t think it should be. Every campground should hold some sites for whoever drives up.Tell your representative →
- Right now
- OpenInside the published season, our reading
- Sites
- 1413 on recreation.gov
- Season
- July 14Opens July 14. No closing date published.
The place
the agency’s own description · what’s there · 1 notices
In the agency’s own words
Gold Lake 4x4 campground in northeast Plumas County, CA lies at 6,400 feet in elevation within the Plumas National Forest. The mountains, forest and lake setting provide a picturesque landscape for relaxation, adventure and exploration. A popular location with access to the backcountry, visitors should carefully review what this facility provides. This campground is not a luxury destination and may not meet your comfort level. This is a rustic campground with no utilities, water, hookups, trash service, or restroom facilities. Campers must pack out all their sanitation and trash. Keep reading
Families may decide one of the other campgrounds nearby is better suited to meet their needs and expectations. Visitors staying at the 4x4 campground will be within the Lakes Basin Recreation Area that requires camping within developed campsites. For those seeking a more dispersed experience, campers must ensure they are well outside the boundaries of the recreation area. The Lakes Basin & Sierra Buttes Map illustrates where boundaries and forest roads are found. These maps are available at the USGS Store online or from Plumas National Forest Offices.
Recreation
Visitors often use this campground as a home base to enjoy water sports, mountain biking, hiking, fishing, hunting and a host of other activities. The OHV access road continues beyond the campground and onto the adjacent Tahoe National Forest. From here, other roads lead north toward "A-Tree", LaPorte and Plumas Eureka State Park, southwest towards Downieville and Sierra City and south toward Packer Lake and Sardine Lakes. Make sure to take a suitable vehicle, a map, and extra food and water.
Facilities
A boulder strewn OHV road is the primary access to this campground. Experienced drivers that can self-extricate or make emergency repairs may be needed. Passenger or sport utility vehicles are not recommended. Alternatively, boat campers may access the campground from the boat launch facility on the east side of the lake. However, there are no boat facilities at the 4x4 campground. Boaters should be aware that strong, gusty afternoon winds are common and can hinder small watercraft. Each campsite has a picnic table, fire ring and bear locker for food storage. Our bears love your food, toothpaste and scented lip balm more than you do. If you don't want to share your supplies, we recommend you use the bear locker. The popularity of this facility combined with a broken, unserviceable restroom have resulted in resource damage and unhealthy, unsafe conditions. The dilapidated restrooms have been removed. In an effort to keep this campground open, the Forest Service has enacted some temporary measures until a cost effective, technological improvement of restroom facilities that can handle extreme environmental conditions is found. These measures include making the campground reservation only to allow more administrative control. All campers must now arrive with a plan that addresses the safe removal of all solid human waste. This is best accomplished when using Waste Alleviating Gel Bags (WAG bags). These are readily available online or at sporting goods outlets. We understand this is not an ideal situation, but we are asking the public's help in improving conditions at this campground.
Natural Features
As the Lakes Basin Recreation Area name implies, the region has many crystal clear alpine lakes to explore. Glacial carved granite peaks and ridges, sunrises and sunsets reflected in the waters over Gold Lake, the whisper of pines rustling in the wind or a glimpse of a shy doe will leave an indelible memory and entice you to return again and again. The region is rich in history that includes Native American use, gold discovery, westward migration, forestry, railroads, grazing, and agriculture. You may even find evidence of those that travelled here decades or centuries before you.
Nearby Attractions
Though in a remote location, Gold Lake 4X4 Campground is near several attractions worth visiting. Mills Peak Fire Lookout is manned during fire season and welcomes visitors. Mills Peak Trail, a premier mountain bike trail, descends from the lookout towards the community of Graeagle. Pan for gold and explore the hard rock mining history or attend one of the other interpretive activities at Plumas Eureka State Park. Try not to miss the spectacular views of and from the Sierra Buttes and its lookout. All aboard! Take a ride on the rails while checking out the Railroad Museum in Portola. The Reid Cattle Company can offer cowboys and cowgirls trail rides at the outlet of Gold Lake or from their Graeagle location.
What the agency tells you
• Available Camping – By reservation only. First come camping is prohibited. Reservations holders are responsible for their group. • About the Campground – No water, toilet facilities or trash service. Rustic camping experience. Access via OHV road. Campground monitored by Forest Service and volunteers. • Parking - All wheeled vehicles and trailers are allowed only on roads and parking areas. Park excess vehicles outside the campground. Never crush the brush when parking. • About Campsites - Campsites 2, 3, 7, and 8 do not have lakeside access. All campsites have picnic table, fire ring, bear resistant locker, and parking area. • Limits - 7 days, 8 people, 2 vehicles. Quiet hours from 10 pm to 6 am. Extend stay up to 14 days with a second reservation • Sanitation - Safely pack-out and properly dispose of all solid human waste. Be Bear Aware by properly stowing all food and scented items. • Expect these Fees - Reservations require payment of a non-refundable reservation fee. Since the OHV staging area has limited parking expect to use the fee area parking at Gold Lake Boat Launch. • OHV Staging Area - Parking restrictions and other information for this area are posted on the kiosk. Human waste that is safely bagged in Waste Alleviating Gel may be placed inside the dumpster. • About the Lake - Boating facilities are available on the east side of the lake. Launch small watercraft at lakeside campsites. Strong winds may cause dangerous water conditions. • Cellular Service – Spotty service. Dial 911 in emergencies. Contact Sierra County Sheriff’s Office if needed. • Community Support – Closest community is Graeagle with basic supplies, fuel, and health care. Eastern Plumas Health Care in Portola has the nearest emergency medical treatment facility.
Tents and rigs
- Sites
- 14
- Hookups
- None
- Accessible sites
- None listed
- Pets
- Allowed
- Campfires
- Allowed, barring fire bans
- Shade
- Every site
Full this Saturdayread 15:41 UTC
How full the weekend is nationally.
OpenBooked
Every one of the 9 sites on offer is taken this Saturday. 13 are free on Tue, Oct 20. read 15:41 UTC Why the weekend fills and the week doesn’t
Watch for a cancellation
Watch this campground
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 · 10
What you actually pay
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 · 4
recreation.gov availability, read 15:41 UTC · rules read Sep 9, 2026 · rates Sep 10, 2026 · How we know all this
The sites
14 sites · which ones have room · the site map
The sites, ranked
from 12 mapped sitesAll 14 sites
| Gold Lake 4X4 | 10 | standard nonelectric | 63 ft | 80 ft |
| Gold Lake 4X4 | 11 | standard nonelectric | 63 ft | 103 ft |
| Gold Lake 4X4 | 12 | standard nonelectric | 74 ft | 119 ft |
| Gold Lake 4X4 | 13 | standard nonelectric | 74 ft | 119 ft |
| Gold Lake 4X4 | 14 | standard nonelectric | 80 ft | 95 ft |
| Gold Lake 4X4 | 15 | standard nonelectric | 80 ft | 100 ft |
| Gold Lake 4X4 | 16 | standard nonelectric | ||
| Gold Lake 4X4 | 2 | standard nonelectric | 85 ft | 111 ft |
| Gold Lake 4X4 | 3 | standard nonelectric | 85 ft | 149 ft |
| Gold Lake 4X4 | 4 | standard nonelectric | 117 ft | 49 ft |
| Gold Lake 4X4 | 5 | standard nonelectric | 117 ft | 57 ft |
| Gold Lake 4X4 | 7 | type not stated | 344 ft | |
| Gold Lake 4X4 | 8 | standard nonelectric | 138 ft | 252 ft |
| Gold Lake 4X4 | 9 | standard nonelectric | 138 ft | 115 ft |
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
Where it is
Lakes BasinPlumas National Forest · 0.3 mi
Gold Lake Campground (CA)Plumas National Forest · 1.0 miGoose Lake CampgroundPlumas National Forest · 1.5 miSnag Lake CampgroundTahoe National Forest · 1.9 miLakes Basin CampgroundPlumas National Forest · 2.3 mi
DiabloTahoe National Forest · 2.8 miFrom Reno, NV, take US 395 north. At Halleluiah Junction go west 32 miles on Highway 70 to Blairsden. Take the Highway 89 turnoff south 3.5 miles to Gold Lake Highway. Proceed southwest on Gold Lake Highway, 9.1 miles to Gold Lake Campground Road. Follow the signs to the 4X4 staging area, the campground is approximately 2 miles further down the OHV road.
From Hwy 80 (Truckee) take Highway 89 north 54 miles to Gold Lake Highway. Follow the Gold Lake Highway southwest 9.1 miles to the Gold Lake Campground Road. Follow the signs to the Gold Lake 4x4 staging area. The campground is about 2 miles further down the OHV road.
Drivers can also reach this destination from Hwy 89 to Hwy 49 over Yuba Pass or from the Grass Valley/Nevada City area on Hwy 49. Call for more directions.
The weather
the next four days · the thirty-year normal
Next four days, and the thirty-year normal
Forecast
NWS forecast for Graeagle, CA
Typical weather
Typical July night 44°F, day 82°F.
Coldest night of the open season: typical July night 44°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 · a letter you can send
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
Gold Lake 4 X 4 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 →
Who can change it · 3
Two offices, two different asks. The draft to the agency asks it to set aside a published share of the sites here for whoever drives up. The draft to Congress asks why that share is zero and presses for a published minimum at the campgrounds it funds.
- The member who votes the moneyKevin KileyU.S. Representative · California’s 3rd district
No contact form we could verify, so that link is their own site. Contact is inside it. Washington office: 202-225-2523.
- Your senator, on the same appropriationAdam B. SchiffU.S. Senator · California
- Your senator, on the same appropriationAlex PadillaU.S. Senator · California
Read the draft, or change the wording
For the camper who turned up, or tried to book, and couldn’t get in. Every draft is written from this campground’s own record (its agency, its unit, its site count and its own weekend) and the buttons above copy whichever wording is selected here.
Asks them to put the question to the agency in writing, and to press for a published minimum share of walk-up sites across the campgrounds they fund.
Subject Walk-up camping at Gold Lake 4 X 4 Campground, Plumas National Forest, California
Dear Kevin Kiley, I’m a constituent in California’s 3rd district. I tried to camp at Gold Lake 4 X 4 Campground, Plumas National Forest, California, and couldn’t. recreation.gov lists 13 of the 14 campsites the agency files at Gold Lake 4 X 4 Campground, and every one of them is booked ahead, and the agency's own record lists none held back for somebody who drives up. On Saturday, October 17, all 9 sites recreation.gov was offering there were already booked. 1,623 of the 7,647 federal campgrounds in this country still keep at least some sites for whoever arrives first. Gold Lake 4 X 4 Campground keeps none, and that’s a choice somebody made rather than a rule. I’m not asking you to run Gold Lake 4 X 4 Campground. I’m asking you to put it to the U.S. Forest Service in writing: why is the share of first-come sites there zero, and what would a published minimum share cost? Please press for that minimum at the federal campgrounds you fund. The people who open these campgrounds, collect the fees and keep the water running are seasonal positions. At GS-5, base pay plus the government's own 36.25% benefit factor, one costs about $47,414 a year. One percent of the $13.3 billion the USS Gerald R. Ford cost to procure would pay for about 2,800 of them for a year. Both figures are the government's own (a Congressional Research Service report and an OPM pay table), and I’m glad to send them. Sent about Gold Lake 4 X 4 Campground (Plumas National Forest, California) via campanac.com
Asks them to put the question to the agency in writing, and to press for a published minimum share of walk-up sites across the campgrounds they fund.
Subject Walk-up camping at Gold Lake 4 X 4 Campground, Plumas National Forest, California
Dear Adam B. Schiff, I’m a constituent in California. I tried to camp at Gold Lake 4 X 4 Campground, Plumas National Forest, California, and couldn’t. recreation.gov lists 13 of the 14 campsites the agency files at Gold Lake 4 X 4 Campground, and every one of them is booked ahead, and the agency's own record lists none held back for somebody who drives up. On Saturday, October 17, all 9 sites recreation.gov was offering there were already booked. 1,623 of the 7,647 federal campgrounds in this country still keep at least some sites for whoever arrives first. Gold Lake 4 X 4 Campground keeps none, and that’s a choice somebody made rather than a rule. I’m not asking you to run Gold Lake 4 X 4 Campground. I’m asking you to put it to the U.S. Forest Service in writing: why is the share of first-come sites there zero, and what would a published minimum share cost? Please press for that minimum at the federal campgrounds you fund. The people who open these campgrounds, collect the fees and keep the water running are seasonal positions. At GS-5, base pay plus the government's own 36.25% benefit factor, one costs about $47,414 a year. One percent of the $13.3 billion the USS Gerald R. Ford cost to procure would pay for about 2,800 of them for a year. Both figures are the government's own (a Congressional Research Service report and an OPM pay table), and I’m glad to send them. Sent about Gold Lake 4 X 4 Campground (Plumas National Forest, California) via campanac.com
Asks them to put the question to the agency in writing, and to press for a published minimum share of walk-up sites across the campgrounds they fund.
Subject Walk-up camping at Gold Lake 4 X 4 Campground, Plumas National Forest, California
Dear Alex Padilla, I’m a constituent in California. I tried to camp at Gold Lake 4 X 4 Campground, Plumas National Forest, California, and couldn’t. recreation.gov lists 13 of the 14 campsites the agency files at Gold Lake 4 X 4 Campground, and every one of them is booked ahead, and the agency's own record lists none held back for somebody who drives up. On Saturday, October 17, all 9 sites recreation.gov was offering there were already booked. 1,623 of the 7,647 federal campgrounds in this country still keep at least some sites for whoever arrives first. Gold Lake 4 X 4 Campground keeps none, and that’s a choice somebody made rather than a rule. I’m not asking you to run Gold Lake 4 X 4 Campground. I’m asking you to put it to the U.S. Forest Service in writing: why is the share of first-come sites there zero, and what would a published minimum share cost? Please press for that minimum at the federal campgrounds you fund. The people who open these campgrounds, collect the fees and keep the water running are seasonal positions. At GS-5, base pay plus the government's own 36.25% benefit factor, one costs about $47,414 a year. One percent of the $13.3 billion the USS Gerald R. Ford cost to procure would pay for about 2,800 of them for a year. Both figures are the government's own (a Congressional Research Service report and an OPM pay table), and I’m glad to send them. Sent about Gold Lake 4 X 4 Campground (Plumas National Forest, California) via campanac.com