North Fork (CA)
1Heads up1 fire 19 mi away
- Right now
- Shut for nowOutside the published season, our reading
- A night
- $24From, per site
- Sites
- 1615 on recreation.gov
- Season
- – October 15Closes October 15. No opening date published.
The place
the agency’s own description · what’s there · 6 notices
In the agency’s own words
North Fork Campground is located along the North Fork of the North Fork American River in the Tahoe National Forest, off of Interstate 80, at the Emigrant Gap Exit. Visitors enjoy fishing and swimming in this scenic area. Keep reading
Recreation
A great swimming hole is located a short walk from the end of the campground, on the river. Rainbow trout fishing is a popular activity enjoyed by visitors to the campground. Hiking trails and hunting opportunities are found in the surrounding area.
Facilities
The campground offers single-family sites, a few of which are designated for tent camping only. Each site is equipped with a picnic table and campfire ring. Vault toilets and drinking water are provided.
Natural Features
The campground is near the beautiful creek-sized river, in a remote location. It is shaded by cedar, pine and fir trees and is a pleasant escape from urban life.
Nearby Attractions
Many hiking, and OHV trails are located nearby as well as foot trail access into the North Fork American Wild and Scenic River canyon. Many more trails can be found a short distance east on Interstate 80 at Grouse Ridge Non-Motorized Area and Donner Summit.
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
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 American River Ranger District (530) 367-2224 (voice), (530) 367-2226 (TDD).
In accordance with standard industry practices, Tahoe National Forest will assess an additional $5 vehicle fee per day for the second vehicle in each single family campsite, and on the third and fourth vehicle in any double family campsite, provided these vehicles are not joined to the first vehicle by a hitch and towed onto the site. In the case of motorcycles, the first two are considered one vehicle, and the third and fourth motorcycle are also considered one vehicle. No additional vehicle fees are collected for bicycles.
North Fork Campground is located on the Tahoe National Forest; this is not Forks Campground on the Sierra National Forest
Everything else this campground posts · 3
Click here for more information on the Tahoe National Forest
Don't Move Firewood: Protect California's forests from tree-killing pests by buying your firewood locally in Foresthill or by using down wood debris from the area that fit within the fire ring. For more information visit firewood.ca.gov.
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.
Tents and rigs
- Sites
- 16 · 2 tent-only
- Hookups
- None
- Longest rig
- 50 ft
- Accessible sites
- None listed
- Pets
- Allowed
- Shade
- Every site
Facilities
- Toilets
- Vault Toilets
- “…with a picnic table and campfire ring. Vault toilets and drinking water are provided. Natural Features…”
- Drinking water
- Yes
- “…and campfire ring. Vault toilets and drinking water are provided. Natural Features The campground is…”
Around the campground
- On the water
- River, Creek
- Fishing
- Hiking
- Hunting
- Swimming
- Night sky · 809th darkest of 1,201 in CA
- Bortle 3
No reading yet, book on recreation.gov
recreation.gov lists 15 of the 16 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 · 14
What you actually pay
“In accordance with standard industry practices, Tahoe National Forest will assess an additional $5 vehicle fee per day for the second vehicle in each single family campsite, and on the third and fourth vehicle in any…” · the U.S. Forest Service’s own agency notice
Derived by CAMPANAC: the agency’s published rate for this season, $24 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.
“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 · 7
rules read Sep 9, 2026 · rates Sep 10, 2026 · How we know all this
The sites
16 sites · which ones have room · the site map
The sites, ranked
from 15 mapped sitesAll 16 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. 15 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.
| AREA NORTH FORK | 001 | type not stated | 20 ft | 205 ft | ||
| AREA NORTH FORK | 002 | standard nonelectric | 32 ft | 39 ft | 171 ft | $24 |
| AREA NORTH FORK | 003 | standard nonelectric | 32 ft | 35 ft | 160 ft | $24 |
| AREA NORTH FORK | 004 | standard nonelectric | 40 ft | 35 ft | 159 ft | $24 |
| AREA NORTH FORK | 005 | tent only nonelectric | 38 ft | 157 ft | $24 | |
| AREA NORTH FORK | 006 | tent only nonelectric | 38 ft | 152 ft | $24 | |
| AREA NORTH FORK | 007 | standard nonelectric | 45 ft | 38 ft | 146 ft | $24 |
| AREA NORTH FORK | 008 | standard nonelectric | 45 ft | 38 ft | 183 ft | $24 |
| AREA NORTH FORK | 009 | standard nonelectric | 32 ft | 41 ft | 194 ft | $24 |
| AREA NORTH FORK | 010 | standard nonelectric | 38 ft | 41 ft | 232 ft | $24 |
| AREA NORTH FORK | 011 | standard nonelectric | 45 ft | 35 ft | 281 ft | $24 |
| AREA NORTH FORK | 012 | standard nonelectric | 45 ft | 35 ft | 250 ft | $24 |
| AREA NORTH FORK | 013 | standard nonelectric | 40 ft | 25 ft | 273 ft | $24 |
| AREA NORTH FORK | 014 | standard nonelectric | 50 ft | 25 ft | 248 ft | $24 |
| AREA NORTH FORK | 015 | standard nonelectric | 50 ft | 49 ft | 240 ft | $24 |
| AREA NORTH FORK | 017 | standard nonelectric | 50 ft | 49 ft | 192 ft | $24 |
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
Tunnel Mills IITahoe National Forest · 1.4 miRucker Lake CampgroundTahoe National Forest · 6.0 mi
Indian SpringsTahoe National Forest · 6.2 mi
Big Bend Group (Yuba River)Tahoe National Forest · 7.8 mi
SkillmanTahoe National Forest · 7.9 miFrom east bound Interstate 80 take exit 158A or west bound Interstate 80 take exit 158B south to Emigrant Gap. After exiting the interstate take a right on Texas Hill Road towards Emigrant Gap. Continue on Texas Hill Road for about 6.5 miles and turn right into the campground.
The weather
the next four days · the thirty-year normal
Next four days, and the thirty-year normal
Forecast
NWS forecast for Alta, CA
Typical weather
Typical October night 48°F, day 63°F.
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
North Fork (CA) 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 →