Union Flat
1Heads up1 fire 33 mi away
- Right now
- Closed for the seasonOut of the season the agency publishes
- A night
- $24–$48Across the site types the agency prices
- Sites
- 11All of them booked ahead
- Season
- May 20 – October 15Open May 20 through October 15
The place
the agency’s own description · what’s there · 7 notices
In the agency’s own words
Union Flat Campground is located on the North Yuba River, near Highway 49. Visitors enjoy a wide variety of recreational activities in the area, including hiking, hunting, fishing, canoeing and gold panning. Keep reading
Recreation
The North Yuba River offers swimming, wading and rainbow trout fishing. Seasonal rafting, tubing and kayaking is available.
Facilities
The campground offers several single-family campsites and one double site. Some sites are designated for tent camping only. Each site is equipped with a picnic table and campfire ring. Vault toilets are provided.
Natural Features
The campground stretches along the north bank of the North Yuba River. A tumbled rock wall from early gold dredging activity separates campsites from the river. A forest of pine, fir, maple and oak trees covers the area, offering shade in many sites. Contact Info This location is unstaffed. To speak with our main office for general information, please call: (530) 265-4531.
Nearby Attractions
Union Flat Campground is located on the Yuba Donner Scenic Byway (Highway 49) near many gold rush era historical sites and old mining towns such as Goodyears Bar, Sierra City, and Downieville. Many points of interest lie along Highway 49 and are part of the 49 miles of Highway 49 driving tour; look for interpretive signs and other historical sites along this tour route. Gold Lakes Basin offers boating, fishing, biking, and hiking. Boating, fishing and swimming are available at nearby Sardine Lakes, about 14 miles east of the campground. Sardine Lakes Resort offers boat rentals, lodging, and a restaurant. On the water, visitors enjoy boating and fishing. Anglers will find rainbow and brook trout in many of the lakes, streams, and rivers throughout the basin. Over 30 miles of maintained trails for hiking, mountain biking, and motorcycle singletrack branch out across the area and the Pacific Crest Trail can be accessed at a few spots east of Sierra City and in the Gold Lakes Basin area. The historic towns of Sierra City and Downieville offer historic and cultural attractions, restaurants, shops, churches, and vistor information.
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
In accordance with standard industry practices, we will be assessing a $5 additional vehicle fee on 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 to be one vehicle and the third and fourth are also considered to be one vehicle. No additional vehicle fees are collected for bicycles.
Bears frequent the area; all food must be kept in approved containers
Utility hookups and showers are not available
Everything else this campground posts · 4
Click here for more information on the Tahoe National Forest
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.
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
- 11 · 3 tent-only, 1 walk-in
- Hookups
- None
- Longest rig
- 50 ft
- Accessible sites
- None listed
- Pets
- Allowed
- Campfires
- Allowed, barring fire bans
- Shade
- Every site
Facilities
- Toilets
- Vault Toilets
- “…with a picnic table and campfire ring. Vault toilets are provided. Natural Features The campground…”
- Stay limit
- 14 nights
- recreation.gov facility rule maxStay
Around the campground
- On the water
- Lake, River, Creek
- Biking
- Fishing
- Hunting
- Kayaking
- Mountain biking
- Scenic drives
- Swimming
- Water access
- Night sky · 509th darkest of 1,201 in CA
- Bortle 3
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 · 15
What you actually pay
“In accordance with standard industry practices, we will be assessing a $5 additional vehicle fee on the 'second vehicle' in each single family campsite, and on the 'third and fourth vehicle' in any double family camps…” · the U.S. Forest Service’s own agency notice
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.
“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
11 sites · which ones have room · the site map
The sites, ranked
from 11 mapped sitesAll 11 sites
Toilet distances are OpenStreetMap’s, measured for 11 of the 11 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. 11 of the 11 sites listed carry one, and a site whose type has no published rate sits out of the price rather than being called free.
| AREA UNION FLAT | 001 | tent only nonelectric | 40 ft | 94 ft | 131 ft | 46 ft | $24–$48 |
| AREA UNION FLAT | 002 | standard nonelectric | 25 ft | 71 ft | 183 ft | 85 ft | $24 |
| AREA UNION FLAT | 003 | standard nonelectric | 25 ft | 71 ft | 192 ft | 156 ft | $24 |
| AREA UNION FLAT | 004 | standard nonelectric | 20 ft | 78 ft | 140 ft | 243 ft | $24 |
| AREA UNION FLAT | 005 | tent only nonelectric | 50 ft | 116 ft | 242 ft | 328 ft | $24–$48 |
| AREA UNION FLAT | 006 | standard nonelectric | 17 ft | 78 ft | 127 ft | 321 ft | $24 |
| AREA UNION FLAT | 007 | standard nonelectric | 16 ft | 71 ft | 95 ft | 465 ft | $24 |
| AREA UNION FLAT | 008 | standard nonelectric | 31 ft | 71 ft | 130 ft | 512 ft | $24 |
| AREA UNION FLAT | 009 | tent only nonelectric | 27 ft | 87 ft | 202 ft | 449 ft | $24–$48 |
| AREA UNION FLAT | 010 | standard nonelectric | 20 ft | 96 ft | 182 ft | 584 ft | $24 |
| AREA UNION FLAT | 011 | walk to | 36 ft | 96 ft | 128 ft | 680 ft | $24 |
Getting there
the map and the coordinate · the agency’s directions · the phone number
Where it is
LoganvilleTahoe National Forest · 4.5 mi
PacksaddleTahoe National Forest · 6.4 mi
BergerTahoe National Forest · 6.8 mi
DiabloTahoe National Forest · 7.3 mi
Wild PlumTahoe National Forest · 7.6 mi
Sardine LakeTahoe National Forest · 7.7 miFrom Downieville, take Highway 49 north about 6 miles. The campground is on the right side of the highway.
The weather
the next four days · the thirty-year normal
Next four days, and the thirty-year normal
Forecast
NWS forecast for Downieville, CA
Typical weather
Typical October night 39°F, day 72°F.
Coldest night of the open season: typical October night 39°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
Union Flat 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 →