Ice House
1Heads up1 fire 38 mi away
- Right now
- Nobody has saidNo season, no closure, no bookings to read
- A night
- $36–$108Across the site types the agency prices
- Sites
- 9079 on recreation.gov
The place
the agency’s own description · what’s there · 12 notices
In the agency’s own words
Ice House Campground is surrounded by a mixed conifer forest on the shores of Ice House Reservoir. Just 12 miles from Riverton, CA, the campground offers hiking, biking, jet skiing and fishing. Ponderosa pine is a pleasing part of the surrounding region. The trees fill the air with a vanilla aroma and it's the tallest known pine tree in the country. To date, the tallest Ponderosa measured was an impressive 268.35 feet tall. Keep reading
Recreation
Enjoy swimming, fishing, and boating on Ice House Reservoir. Rainbow, brown, and trout swim in these waters. A boat ramp is located on-site. Hike or bike on the Ice House Mountain Bike Trail, which stretches for 3.1 miles along ridge tops and shaded northern slopes. The trail boasts views of the reservoir and the Crystal Range.
Facilities
Amenities include a picnic area, drinking water faucets, vault toilets, showers, and a dump station. Firewood is sold on-site and a nearby resort offers a restaurant, gas and limited groceries. The facility was newly renovated in 2022.
Natural Features
Some campsites at Ice House are right on the shoreline while others are set back just enough for plenty of shade from towering ponderosa pines, cedars and Manzanita bushes. The reservoir spans 700 acres at 5,500 feet elevation. The area is part of the Eldorado National Forest, which stretches across the famed gold mining territory of the 1800s. Its climate is similar to that of the Mediterranean, with warm, dry summers and cold, wet winters.
Nearby Attractions
Head to Bassi Falls, which can be reached via a 1.2-mile hiking trail. The glorious waterfall cascades over a 109-foot granite cliff.
Charges & Cancellations
Change Fee: A service fee may be charged at the time a modification is made depending on the changes. Cancellation Fee: A $10 service fee will be withheld from any refunds for a cancelled reservation. Cut-Off Window: The latest date and/or time that you can make an advanced reservation or a change to an existing reservation. Cut-off windows can vary by location, but are typically 4 days before your arrival date. A customer who cancels a reservation the day before or on the day of arrival will pay a $10.00 service fee AND forfeit the first night's use fee (see Late Cancellation below). Late Cancellation: If you cancel your reservation too close to the start date, additional service fees may be withheld. Refunds : Refund requests made through www.recreation.gov will be charged a $10 processing fee. This fee is retained by the reservation service contractor along with the non-refundable reservation fee. All requests for the return of the non-refundable reservation fee and the cancellation fee will be declined by the campground concessionaire as they did not receive these fees (these are the fees retained by the reservation contractor, a different entity).
What the agency tells you
Travel Notice: Starting May 2024 and continuing through September 2024, Ice House Road will be undergoing repairs. There will be traffic delays so plan your camping trip accordingly.
Bears frequent the area. Food must be stored in approved containers
No electric/water/sewer hookups at this facility
Everything else this campground posts · 9
Forest Order No. 19-15-01: Prohibits camping for a combined total of no more than 14 days during a calendar year (January-December), forest-wide. Visitors may book campsites annually but the maximum stay may not exceed a total of 14 days each calendar year (January-December)
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: 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. Call (530) 644-6048 for local information and conditions.
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. Once your reservation start date has begun, neither the Recreation.gov Contact Center nor the campground manager will be able to modify your reservation.
Refunds: Refund requests made through www.recreation.gov will be charged a $10 processing fee. This fee is retained by the reservation service contractor along with the non-refundable reservation fee. All requests for the return of the non-refundable reservation fee and the cancellation fee will be declined by the campground concessionaire as they did not receive these fees (these are the fees retained by the reservation contractor, a different entity).
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.
First Come First Serve sites remain listed as FF for the entire season. They will not show occupied/available as the status of these sites is ever changing. You must be on site at the campground to claim a FF site. No guarantees upon arrival that these FF sites will be avaiable.
There is a fee for moving from a reserved site to a first come first serve site. Site Transfer Policy
Click here for more information on the Eldorado National Forest
Tents and rigs
- Sites
- 90 · 10 walk-in
- Hookups
- None
- Longest rig
- 45 ft
- Paved pads
- 82 of 90
- Accessible sites
- 2
- Pets
- Allowed
- Campfires
- Allowed, barring fire bans
- Shade
- Every site
Facilities
- Toilets
- Vault Toilets
- “…a picnic area, drinking water faucets, vault toilets, showers, and a dump station. Firewood is sold…”
- Showers
- Yes, the record doesn’t say what kind
- “Amenities include a picnic area, drinking water faucets, vault toilets, showers, and a dump station.”
- Drinking water
- Yes
- “…Amenities include a picnic area, drinking water faucets, vault toilets, showers, and a dump…”
- Dump station
- Yes
- recreation.gov lists “Dump Station”
- Boat ramp
- Yes
- Store
- Nearby
- Firewood
- Sold here
Around the campground
- On the water
- Waterfall, Reservoir, Beach
- Biking
- Boating
- Hiking
- Night sky · 736th darkest of 1,201 in CA
- Bortle 3
- Fall color · reported 7 days ago, 24 km away
- No change
No reading yet, book on recreation.gov
recreation.gov lists 79 of the 90 campsites the agency files here. The rest aren’t on its booking system, so a reservation won’t get you one.
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 · 26
What you actually pay
Derived by CAMPANAC: the agency’s published rates for this season, $36–$108 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.
“- Change Fee: A service fee may be charged at the time a modification is made depending on the changes. - Cancellation Fee: A $10 service fee will be withheld from any refunds for a cancelled reservation. - Cut-Off Window: The latest date and/or time that you can make an advanced reservation or a change to an existi…” · this campground’s own 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
The sites
90 sites · which ones have room · the site map
The sites, ranked
from 79 mapped sitesAll 90 sites
Toilet distances are OpenStreetMap’s, measured for 82 of the 90 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. 87 of the 90 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.
| Boat Ramp | 069 | rv nonelectric | 58 ft | 659 ft | 425 ft | $36–$72 | ||
| Boat Ramp | 070 | rv nonelectric | 140 ft | 597 ft | 494 ft | $36–$72 | ||
| Boat Ramp | 071 | rv nonelectric | 85 ft | 696 ft | 512 ft | $36–$72 | ||
| Boat Ramp | 072 | rv nonelectric | 85 ft | 763 ft | 540 ft | $36–$72 | ||
| Boat Ramp | 073 | rv nonelectric | 159 ft | 873 ft | 540 ft | $36–$72 | ||
| Boat Ramp | 074 | rv nonelectric | 34 ft | 709 ft | 355 ft | $36–$72 | ||
| Boat Ramp | 075 | rv nonelectric | 152 ft | 845 ft | 505 ft | $36–$72 | ||
| Boat Ramp | 076 | rv nonelectric | 32 ft | 693 ft | 354 ft | $36–$72 | ||
| Boat Ramp | 077 | rv nonelectric | 152 ft | 939 ft | 629 ft | $36–$72 | ||
| Boat Ramp | 078 | rv nonelectric | 68 ft | 722 ft | 411 ft | $36–$72 | ||
| Boat Ramp | 079 | rv nonelectric | 154 ft | 1,002 ft | 729 ft | $36–$72 | ||
| Boat Ramp | 080 | rv nonelectric | 154 ft | 884 ft | 582 ft | $36–$72 | ||
| Boat Ramp | 081 | rv nonelectric | yes | 130 ft | 825 ft | 568 ft | $36–$72 | |
| Boat Ramp- Host Site | 082 | type not stated | yes | 720 ft | 426 ft | |||
| Boulder Loop | 030 | walk to | 146 ft | 169 ft | 224 ft | $36–$72 | ||
| Boulder Loop | 031 | walk to | 69 ft | 176 ft | 214 ft | $36–$72 | ||
| Boulder Loop | 032 | walk to | 69 ft | 196 ft | 158 ft | $36–$72 | ||
| Boulder Loop | 033 | walk to | 95 ft | 236 ft | 118 ft | $36–$72 | ||
| Boulder Loop | 034 | walk to | 104 ft | 354 ft | 128 ft | $36–$72 | ||
| Boulder Loop | 035 | standard nonelectric | 104 ft | 322 ft | 226 ft | $36–$108 | ||
| Boulder Loop | 036 | standard nonelectric | 69 ft | 269 ft | 271 ft | $36–$108 | ||
| Boulder Loop | 037 | rv nonelectric | 69 ft | 328 ft | 226 ft | $36–$72 | ||
| Boulder Loop | 038 | standard nonelectric | 65 ft | 307 ft | 140 ft | $36–$108 | ||
| Boulder Loop | 039 | standard nonelectric | $36–$108 | |||||
| Boulder Loop | 040 | standard nonelectric | $36–$108 | |||||
| Boulder Loop | 041 | standard nonelectric | $36–$108 | |||||
| Boulder Loop | 042 | standard nonelectric | 35 ft | $36–$108 | ||||
| Boulder Loop | 043 | standard nonelectric | 101 ft | 338 ft | 141 ft | $36–$108 | ||
| Boulder Loop | 044 | standard nonelectric | $36–$108 | |||||
| Boulder Loop | 045 | standard nonelectric | $36–$108 | |||||
| Boulder Loop | 046 | standard nonelectric | $36–$108 | |||||
| Boulder Loop | 047 | standard nonelectric | $36–$108 | |||||
| Boulder Loop | 048 | standard nonelectric | 73 ft | 385 ft | 140 ft | $36–$108 | ||
| Boulder Loop | 049 | standard nonelectric | 71 ft | 537 ft | 292 ft | $36–$108 | ||
| Boulder Loop | 050 | standard nonelectric | 30 ft | 71 ft | 492 ft | 270 ft | $36–$108 | |
| Boulder Loop | 051 | standard nonelectric | 88 ft | 559 ft | 304 ft | $36–$108 | ||
| Boulder Loop | 052 | standard nonelectric | 30 ft | 49 ft | 646 ft | 381 ft | $36–$108 | |
| Boulder Loop | 053 | standard nonelectric | 49 ft | 665 ft | 371 ft | $36–$108 | ||
| Boulder Loop | 054 | standard nonelectric | 60 ft | 639 ft | 321 ft | $36–$108 | ||
| Boulder Loop | 055 | standard nonelectric | 75 ft | 716 ft | 388 ft | $36–$108 | ||
| Boulder Loop | 056 | walk to | 34 ft | 743 ft | 388 ft | $36–$72 | ||
| Boulder Loop | 057 | standard nonelectric | 58 ft | 649 ft | 291 ft | $36–$108 | ||
| Boulder Loop | 058 | standard nonelectric | 25 ft | 32 ft | 681 ft | 336 ft | $36–$108 | |
| Boulder Loop | 059 | standard nonelectric | 30 ft | 58 ft | 604 ft | 250 ft | $36–$108 | |
| Boulder Loop | 060 | standard nonelectric | 83 ft | 580 ft | 249 ft | $36–$108 | ||
| Boulder Loop | 061 | standard nonelectric | 30 ft | 43 ft | 661 ft | 331 ft | $36–$108 | |
| Boulder Loop | 062 | standard nonelectric | 68 ft | 719 ft | 438 ft | $36–$108 | ||
| Boulder Loop | 063 | standard nonelectric | 25 ft | 98 ft | 686 ft | 453 ft | $36–$108 | |
| Boulder Loop | 064 | rv nonelectric | 81 ft | 648 ft | 401 ft | $36–$72 | ||
| Boulder Loop | 065 | rv nonelectric | 87 ft | 570 ft | 367 ft | $36–$72 | ||
| Boulder Loop | 066 | standard nonelectric | 87 ft | 505 ft | 339 ft | $36–$108 | ||
| Boulder Loop | 068 | walk to | 121 ft | 446 ft | 259 ft | $36–$72 | ||
| Boulder Loop- Host Site | 067 | type not stated | 495 ft | 307 ft | ||||
| Meadow Loop | 002 | rv nonelectric | 63 ft | 643 ft | 88 ft | $36–$72 | ||
| Meadow Loop | 003 | standard nonelectric | 84 ft | 696 ft | 196 ft | $36–$108 | ||
| Meadow Loop | 004 | standard nonelectric | 63 ft | 667 ft | 147 ft | $36–$108 | ||
| Meadow Loop | 005 | standard nonelectric | 45 ft | 85 ft | 619 ft | 232 ft | $36–$108 | |
| Meadow Loop | 006 | standard nonelectric | 113 ft | 500 ft | 353 ft | $36–$108 | ||
| Meadow Loop | 007 | standard nonelectric | 123 ft | 400 ft | 474 ft | $36–$108 | ||
| Meadow Loop | 008 | standard nonelectric | 134 ft | 254 ft | 595 ft | $36–$108 | ||
| Meadow Loop | 009 | standard nonelectric | 30 ft | 89 ft | 262 ft | 598 ft | $36–$108 | |
| Meadow Loop | 010 | standard nonelectric | 30 ft | 106 ft | 223 ft | 689 ft | $36–$108 | |
| Meadow Loop | 011 | standard nonelectric | 40 ft | 79 ft | 265 ft | 606 ft | $36–$108 | |
| Meadow Loop | 012 | standard nonelectric | 81 ft | 251 ft | 632 ft | $36–$108 | ||
| Meadow Loop | 013 | standard nonelectric | 20 ft | 81 ft | 335 ft | 548 ft | $36–$108 | |
| Meadow Loop | 014 | standard nonelectric | 79 ft | 283 ft | 527 ft | $36–$108 | ||
| Meadow Loop | 015 | standard nonelectric | 25 ft | 83 ft | 371 ft | 465 ft | $36–$108 | |
| Meadow Loop | 016 | standard nonelectric | 118 ft | 406 ft | 326 ft | $36–$108 | ||
| Meadow Loop | 017 | standard nonelectric | 30 ft | 56 ft | 547 ft | 137 ft | $36–$108 | |
| Meadow Loop | 018 | standard nonelectric | 30 ft | 56 ft | 529 ft | 189 ft | $36–$108 | |
| Meadow Loop | 019 | standard nonelectric | 30 ft | 72 ft | 598 ft | 175 ft | $36–$108 | |
| Meadow Loop | 020 | standard nonelectric | 46 ft | 526 ft | 260 ft | $36–$108 | ||
| Meadow Loop | 021 | standard nonelectric | 25 ft | 91 ft | 567 ft | 276 ft | $36–$108 | |
| Meadow Loop | 022 | standard nonelectric | 46 ft | 518 ft | 305 ft | $36–$108 | ||
| Meadow Loop | 023 | standard nonelectric | 30 ft | 101 ft | 406 ft | 498 ft | $36–$108 | |
| Meadow Loop | 024 | standard nonelectric | 25 ft | 89 ft | 330 ft | 562 ft | $36–$108 | |
| Meadow Loop | 025 | standard nonelectric | 30 ft | 105 ft | 287 ft | 618 ft | $36–$108 | |
| Meadow Loop | 026 | standard nonelectric | 105 ft | 207 ft | 720 ft | $36–$108 | ||
| Meadow Loop | 027 | walk to | 101 ft | 449 ft | 216 ft | $36–$72 | ||
| Meadow Loop | 028 | walk to | 101 ft | 364 ft | 294 ft | $36–$72 | ||
| Meadow Loop | 029 | walk to | 35 ft | 104 ft | 282 ft | 387 ft | $36–$72 | |
| Meadow Loop- Host Site | 001 | type not stated | 40 ft | 716 ft | 61 ft | |||
| Upper Loop | 039 | standard nonelectric | 65 ft | 368 ft | 118 ft | $36–$108 | ||
| Upper Loop | 040 | standard nonelectric | 134 ft | 378 ft | 23 ft | $36–$108 | ||
| Upper Loop | 041 | standard nonelectric | 97 ft | 326 ft | 169 ft | $36–$108 | ||
| Upper Loop | 042 | standard nonelectric | 96 ft | 244 ft | 146 ft | $36–$108 | ||
| Upper Loop | 044 | standard nonelectric | 96 ft | 251 ft | 50 ft | $36–$108 | ||
| Upper Loop | 045 | standard nonelectric | 92 ft | 251 ft | 54 ft | $36–$108 | ||
| Upper Loop | 046 | standard nonelectric | 80 ft | 309 ft | 133 ft | $36–$108 | ||
| Upper Loop | 047 | standard nonelectric | 73 ft | 383 ft | 188 ft | $36–$108 |
25 of 90 listed
Getting there
the map and the coordinate · the agency’s directions · the phone number
Where it is
Silver Creek Group Campground1.7 miJones Fork CampgroundEldorado National Forest · 2.8 mi
FashodaEldorado National Forest · 3.7 miSunset CampgroundEldorado National Forest · 3.8 miFrom Pollock Pines, CA, take Route 50 east 8.3 miles to the Crystal Basin Recreation Area sign. Turn left at sign onto Icehouse Road and go 10.8 miles to the Ice House Campground directional sign. Turn right at the sign onto Forest Route 32, then go 1.1 miles to an intersection with a campground/boat ramp sign. Continue straight to campground.
The weather
the next four days · the thirty-year normal
Next four days, and the thirty-year normal
Forecast
NWS forecast for Pollock Pines, CA
Typical weather
Typical October night 29°F, day 62°F.
Coldest month of the year: typical December night 18°F, below freezing. Bring a bag rated colder than that, and expect ice in the water bottle.
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.
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
Ice House 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 →