Kit Carson Campground
1Heads up1 fire 36 mi away
- Right now
- Closed for the seasonOut of the season the agency publishes
- A night
- $26From, per site
- Sites
- 11All of them booked ahead
- Season
- May 1 – September 30Open May 1 through September 30
The place
the agency’s own description · what’s there · 5 notices
In the agency’s own words
Nestled in a forest of Jeffrey pines and aspens, Kit Carson campground is perfect for tent camping and smaller RVs. The west fork of the Carson River is located next to the campground, with several sites right next to the water. Great fishing and views! Kit Carson is exceptionally beautiful in the fall. Keep reading
Recreation
Visitors can explore scenic driving and photography along the Carson Pass Scenic Byway. Enjoy the splendor of fall with colorful foliage displays or fishing and boating in one of the several nearby lakes. Hikers are surrounded by trailheads within a short drive – Mokelumne Wilderness, and the Pacific Crest Trail, among many others. Whether it is rock climbing or exploring the canyon, outdoor enthusiasts will relish the options in this area.
Facilities
This campground has drinking water, garbage containers, and vault toilets. Each campsite has a bear box, fire pit and picnic table. There is a camp host on site and firewood is available for sale.
Natural Features
Kit Carson is situated on the west fork of the Carson River in Woodfords Canyon along Highway 88. In addition to the beauty of the river, the campsites are surrounded by quaking aspens and rugged canyon walls.
Nearby Attractions
There are a number of nearby attractions that have something for everyone. Sorensen’s Resort has limited groceries and a restaurant. Lake Tahoe is within 20 miles; a trailhead for the Tahoe Rim Trail is within 5 miles; Grover Hot Springs State Park in Markleeville offers public soaking in natural spring-fed pools; numerous local restaurants and, for those who like night life, nearby casinos and theaters in Minden and Carson City, Nevada.
What the agency tells you
Caution: this bear country. Be prepared to keep your camp clean and food stored in appropriate storage containers.
This campground has small parking spurs. Please verify your vehicle size before making your reservation.
A per day, per site, daily fee will be collected for extra vehicles on-site.
Everything else this campground posts · 2
Opening and closing dates are subject to change due to existing weather conditions.
Don't Move Firewood: Help prevent the spread of tree-killing pests in our national forests by obtaining firewood near your destination and burning it on-site. For more information visit dontmovefirewood.org.
Tents and rigs
- Sites
- 11 · 3 tent-only
- Hookups
- None
- Longest rig
- 45 ft
- Paved pads
- All
- Accessible sites
- None listed
- Pets
- Allowed
- Campfires
- Allowed, barring fire bans
- Shade
- Every site
Facilities
- Toilets
- Vault Toilets
- “…drinking water, garbage containers, and vault toilets. Each campsite has a bear box, fire pit and picnic…”
- Drinking water
- Yes
- “…area. Facilities This campground has drinking water, garbage containers, and vault toilets. Each…”
- Bear boxes
- Yes
- Firewood
- Sold here
- Camp host
- On site
- recreation.gov lists “Host”
Around the campground
- On the water
- Hot springs, Lake, River
- Biking
- Fishing
- Hiking
- Night sky · 764th darkest of 1,201 in CA
- Bortle 3
- Fall color · reported 12 days ago, 5 km away
- Peak color
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 · 14
What you actually pay
Derived by CAMPANAC: the agency’s published rate for this season, $26 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.
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 · 5
rules read Sep 9, 2026 · rates Oct 1, 2026 · How we know all this
The sites
12 records · which ones have room · the site map
The sites, ranked
from 12 mapped sitesAll 12 records
The price is derived by CAMPANAC, not published per site: the per-night rate this campground publishes for each site’s own site type. 11 of the 12 sites listed carry one, and a site whose type has no published rate sits out of the price rather than being called free.
| Lower Loop | 01 | tent only nonelectric | 28 ft | 103 ft | 127 ft | $26 |
| Lower Loop | 02 | standard nonelectric | 40 ft | 122 ft | 71 ft | $26 |
| Lower Loop | 03 | standard nonelectric | 28 ft | 91 ft | 110 ft | $26 |
| Lower Loop | 04 | day use | 36 ft | 91 ft | 136 ft | $26 |
| Lower Loop | 05 | standard nonelectric | 28 ft | 120 ft | 12 ft | $26 |
| Upper Loop | 06 | standard nonelectric | 28 ft | 58 ft | 192 ft | $26 |
| Upper Loop | 07 | standard nonelectric | 45 ft | 58 ft | 192 ft | $26 |
| Upper Loop | 08 | standard nonelectric | 28 ft | 69 ft | 260 ft | $26 |
| Upper Loop | 09 | tent only nonelectric | 18 ft | 85 ft | 325 ft | $26 |
| Upper Loop | 10 | standard nonelectric | 28 ft | 114 ft | 380 ft | $26 |
| Upper Loop | 11 | standard nonelectric | 40 ft | 117 ft | 371 ft | $26 |
| Upper Loop | 12 | tent only nonelectric | 28 ft | 117 ft | 296 ft | $26 |
The agency files 1 more record here that isn’t a site for the night. It files it as day use. It’s in the table above, marked for what it is, and it isn’t counted as a site.
Getting there
the map and the coordinate · the agency’s directions · the phone number
Where it is
Crystal SpringsToiyabe National Forest · 2.8 mi
Hope ValleyHope Valley Reservoir Site No. 41 Water Reserve Withdrawal · 3.7 mi
Indian Creek Campground (CA)Sierra Front Field Office · 6.3 mi
Markleeville8.4 miWoods Lake CampgroundEldorado National Forest · 8.8 miCaples Lake CampgroundEldorado National Forest · 9.9 miFrom South Lake Tahoe, take Hwy 89 over Luther Pass to the 88/89 interchange. Turn left on 88; go approximately 1 mile to campground entrance on your left. From Gardnerville, Carson City or Minden, Nevada, take Hwy 395 to Hwy 88. Head south on Hwy 88 for approximately 19 miles to the campground entrance in Woodfords Canyon on north side.
The weather
the next four days · the thirty-year normal
Next four days, and the thirty-year normal
Forecast
NWS forecast for Alpine Village, CA
Typical weather
Typical May night 33°F, day 62°F.
Coldest night of the open season: typical May night 33°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
Kit Carson 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 →