Wench Creek
2Heads up2 fires, nearest 18 mi
- Right now
- Nobody has saidNo season, no closure, no bookings to read
- A night
- $36From, per site
- Sites
- 102100 on recreation.gov
The place
the agency’s own description · what’s there · 12 notices
In the agency’s own words
Wench Creek Campground is located in a beautiful ponderosa pine forest on the east shore of Union Valley Reservoir. The campground has 2 group campsites and several single family campsites. Plenty of water activities await at this reservoir in the Sierra Nevada foothills. The Union Valley Bike Trail and Bassi Falls Hiking Trail are worth exploring. The Union Valley Trail runs right through Wench Creek. Keep reading
Recreation
The Union Valley Bike Trail spans 4.8 miles with an easy climb of 300 feet. The trail connects campgrounds on the east side of the lake, starting from Wench Creek on to the Jones Fork Campground. Interpretive signs along the trail tell the story of the use and development of water resources in Union Valley. This trail can be used by both hikers and bikers. Anglers delight in seeking kokanee salmon, rainbow, brown, small mouth bass and mackinaw trout. The reservoir also offers opportunities for swimming, water skiing and boating. Boat ramps are located near Sunset and Yellowjacket Campgrounds.
Facilities
Firewood is available for a fee and it is possible to moor boats on the shoreline. Amenities include grills, fire rings, drinking water, picnic tables and both vault toilets. Electric hook-ups are not available. Single family sites are available on a first-come, first-served basis. One group site is tent-only, and the other is a standard site for tents, RVs, or trailers. Each group site can accommodate up to 50 people ( more campground details ).
Natural Features
Union Valley Reservoir sits in the Crystal Basin at an elevation of 4,900 feet. The area is part of the Eldorado National Forest. Eldorado includes the famed gold mining territory of the 1800s. Protected remnants of the days of the California Gold Rush are all around the region. An abundance of wildlife can be found within the Sierra Nevada Range, including black bears, mule deer, bobcat, gray fox, bighorn sheep, pikas, martens and a variety of squirrels. Several species of reptiles, amphibians and birds also inhabit the area.
Nearby Attractions
The Desolation Wilderness is nearby, offering the opportunity to get away from the crowds and enjoy the serenity of nature.
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
There are no electric/sewer/water site hook-ups 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 to move from a reserved site to a first come first serve site. Site Transfer Policy
Click here for more information about Eldorado National Forest
Tents and rigs
- Sites
- 102 · 2 group
- Hookups
- None
- Longest rig
- 35 ft
- Paved pads
- 2 of 102
- Accessible sites
- None listed
- Pets
- Allowed
- Campfires
- Allowed, barring fire bans
- Shade
- Every site
Facilities
- Toilets
- Vault Toilets
- “…drinking water, picnic tables and both vault toilets. Electric hook-ups are not available. Single family…”
- Drinking water
- Yes
- WATER SPIGOT on 102 of 102 campsite records
- Boat ramp
- Yes
- Store
- Nearby
- Firewood
- Mentioned
- Camp host
- On site
- recreation.gov lists “Host”
Around the campground
- On the water
- Reservoir, Lake, Creek, Beach
- Biking
- Birding
- Boating
- Fishing
- Hiking
- Swimming
- Water sports
- Wildlife viewing
- Night sky · 744th darkest of 1,201 in CA
- Bortle 3
- Fall color · reported 7 days ago, 23 km away
- No change
No reading yet, book on recreation.gov
recreation.gov lists 100 of the 102 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 · 20
What you actually pay
Derived by CAMPANAC: the agency’s published rate for this season, $36 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 Oct 1, 2026 · How we know all this
The sites
102 sites · the site map
All 102 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. 100 of the 102 sites listed carry one, and a site whose type has no published rate sits out of the price rather than being called free.
| WENC | Group 001 | group standard nonelectric | 35 ft | 662 ft | $160 |
| WENC | Group 002 | group standard nonelectric | 385 ft | $160 | |
| Wench I | 001 | type not stated | |||
| Wench I | 002 | standard nonelectric | $36 | ||
| Wench I | 003 | standard nonelectric | $36 | ||
| Wench I | 004 | standard nonelectric | $36 | ||
| Wench I | 005 | standard nonelectric | $36 | ||
| Wench I | 006 | standard nonelectric | $36 | ||
| Wench I | 007 | standard nonelectric | $36 | ||
| Wench I | 008 | standard nonelectric | $36 | ||
| Wench I | 009 | standard nonelectric | $36 | ||
| Wench I | 010 | standard nonelectric | $36 | ||
| Wench I | 011 | standard nonelectric | $36 | ||
| Wench I | 012 | standard nonelectric | $36 | ||
| Wench I | 013 | standard nonelectric | $36 | ||
| Wench I | 014 | standard nonelectric | $36 | ||
| Wench I | 015 | standard nonelectric | $36 | ||
| Wench I | 016 | standard nonelectric | $36 | ||
| Wench I | 017 | standard nonelectric | $36 | ||
| Wench I | 018 | standard nonelectric | $36 | ||
| Wench I | 019 | standard nonelectric | $36 | ||
| Wench I | 020 | standard nonelectric | $36 | ||
| Wench I | 021 | standard nonelectric | $36 | ||
| Wench I | 022 | standard nonelectric | $36 | ||
| Wench I | 023 | standard nonelectric | $36 | ||
| Wench I | 024 | standard nonelectric | $36 | ||
| Wench I | 025 | standard nonelectric | $36 | ||
| Wench I | 026 | standard nonelectric | $36 | ||
| Wench I | 027 | standard nonelectric | $36 | ||
| Wench I | 028 | standard nonelectric | $36 | ||
| Wench II | 029 | standard nonelectric | $36 | ||
| Wench II | 030 | standard nonelectric | $36 | ||
| Wench II | 031 | standard nonelectric | $36 | ||
| Wench II | 032 | standard nonelectric | $36 | ||
| Wench II | 033 | standard nonelectric | $36 | ||
| Wench II | 034 | standard nonelectric | $36 | ||
| Wench II | 035 | standard nonelectric | $36 | ||
| Wench II | 036 | standard nonelectric | $36 | ||
| Wench II | 037 | standard nonelectric | $36 | ||
| Wench II | 038 | standard nonelectric | $36 | ||
| Wench II | 039 | standard nonelectric | $36 | ||
| Wench II | 040 | standard nonelectric | $36 | ||
| Wench II | 041 | standard nonelectric | $36 | ||
| Wench II | 042 | standard nonelectric | $36 | ||
| Wench II | 043 | standard nonelectric | $36 | ||
| Wench II | 044 | standard nonelectric | $36 | ||
| Wench II | 045 | standard nonelectric | $36 | ||
| Wench II | 046 | standard nonelectric | $36 | ||
| Wench II | 047 | standard nonelectric | $36 | ||
| Wench II | 048 | standard nonelectric | $36 | ||
| Wench II | 049 | standard nonelectric | $36 | ||
| Wench II | 050 | standard nonelectric | $36 | ||
| Wench II | 051 | standard nonelectric | $36 | ||
| Wench II | 052 | standard nonelectric | $36 | ||
| Wench II | 053 | standard nonelectric | $36 | ||
| Wench II | 054 | standard nonelectric | $36 | ||
| Wench II | 055 | standard nonelectric | $36 | ||
| Wench II | 056 | standard nonelectric | $36 | ||
| Wench II | 057 | standard nonelectric | $36 | ||
| Wench II | 058 | standard nonelectric | $36 | ||
| Wench III | 059 | type not stated | |||
| Wench III | 060 | standard nonelectric | $36 | ||
| Wench III | 061 | standard nonelectric | $36 | ||
| Wench III | 062 | standard nonelectric | $36 | ||
| Wench III | 063 | standard nonelectric | $36 | ||
| Wench III | 064 | standard nonelectric | $36 | ||
| Wench III | 065 | standard nonelectric | $36 | ||
| Wench III | 066 | standard nonelectric | $36 | ||
| Wench III | 067 | standard nonelectric | $36 | ||
| Wench III | 068 | standard nonelectric | $36 | ||
| Wench III | 069 | standard nonelectric | $36 | ||
| Wench III | 070 | standard nonelectric | $36 | ||
| Wench III | 071 | standard nonelectric | $36 | ||
| Wench III | 072 | standard nonelectric | $36 | ||
| Wench III | 073 | standard nonelectric | $36 | ||
| Wench III | 074 | standard nonelectric | $36 | ||
| Wench III | 075 | standard nonelectric | $36 | ||
| Wench III | 076 | standard nonelectric | $36 | ||
| Wench III | 077 | standard nonelectric | $36 | ||
| Wench III | 078 | standard nonelectric | $36 | ||
| Wench III | 079 | standard nonelectric | $36 | ||
| Wench III | 080 | standard nonelectric | $36 | ||
| Wench III | 081 | standard nonelectric | $36 | ||
| Wench III | 082 | standard nonelectric | $36 | ||
| Wench III | 083 | standard nonelectric | $36 | ||
| Wench III | 084 | standard nonelectric | $36 | ||
| Wench III | 085 | standard nonelectric | $36 | ||
| Wench III | 086 | standard nonelectric | $36 | ||
| Wench III | 087 | standard nonelectric | $36 | ||
| Wench III | 088 | standard nonelectric | $36 | ||
| Wench III | 089 | standard nonelectric | $36 | ||
| Wench III | 090 | standard nonelectric | $36 | ||
| Wench III | 091 | standard nonelectric | $36 | ||
| Wench III | 092 | standard nonelectric | $36 | ||
| Wench III | 093 | standard nonelectric | $36 | ||
| Wench III | 094 | standard nonelectric | $36 | ||
| Wench III | 095 | standard nonelectric | $36 | ||
| Wench III | 096 | standard nonelectric | $36 | ||
| Wench III | 097 | standard nonelectric | $36 | ||
| Wench III | 098 | standard nonelectric | $36 | ||
| Wench III | 099 | standard nonelectric | $36 | ||
| Wench III | 100 | standard nonelectric | $36 |
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.
25 of 102 listed
Getting there
the map and the coordinate · the agency’s directions · the phone number
Where it is
Yellowjacket0.8 mi
Big Silver GroupEldorado National Forest · 1.1 mi
Wolf Creek CaliforniaEldorado National Forest · 1.3 mi
FashodaEldorado National Forest · 1.9 miOn Highway 50, go 21 miles east of Placerville to Riverton. Turn left on Icehouse Riverton Road. Go 19 miles north to Wench Creek turnoff, then turn left 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 48°F, day 63°F.
Coldest month of the year: typical February night 33°F. Bring the bag rated for it.
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
Wench Creek 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 →