White Cloud
2Heads up2 fires, nearest 15 mi
- Right now
- Closed for the seasonOut of the season the agency publishes
- A night
- $24–$48Across the site types the agency prices
- Sites
- 4544 on recreation.gov
- Season
- May 23 – October 15Open May 23 through October 15
The place
the agency’s own description · what’s there · 5 notices
In the agency’s own words
White Cloud Campground is located right off of Hwy 20 in a nice wooded area. Scotts Flat Resevoir is 6 miles from White Cloud Campsite. Adjacent to the campground is Pioneer Trail used by hikers, mountain bikers and equestrians. Campground is available for both RV and tent camping (however, there are NO RV hookups or amenities, size restrictions on RV may apply). Keep reading
Recreation
The Pioneer Trail stretches 25 miles through the Tahoe National Forest and can be accessed from the campground. The popular path was designated a National Recreation Trail in 2003. Horseback riding, hiking, mountain biking and cross-country skiing are favorite activities on this popular trail.
Facilities
The campground offers several single-family sites, a few of which are designated for tent camping only as well as one double site. Each site is equipped with a picnic table and campfire ring. Drinking water is provided.
Natural Features
The campground is situated in a forest of cedar, pine, and Douglas fir trees, at an elevation of 4,200 feet.
Nearby Attractions
White Cloud Campground is located on the Highway 20 portion of the Yuba Donner Scenic Byway near many gold rush era historical sites and old mining towns such as Washington and Nevada City. Nevada City, about 14 miles west, is a scenic historical mining town with many historical attractions, top notch restaraunts, various lodging options, shopping, and stores for everything you may need. Other attractions include the Pioneer Trail, South Yuba River, Washintong Scenic Overlook, Alpha and Omega Scenic Overlook and Interpretive Trail, Rock Creek Nature Trail, Chalk Bluff OHV trails, and Grouse Ridge Non-Motorized Area. Contact Info This location is unstaffed. To speak with our main office for general information, please call: (530) 265-4531.
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 Yuba River Ranger District (530) 288-3231 (voice), (530) 288-3656 (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.
Click here for more information on the Tahoe National Forest
Everything else this campground posts · 2
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
- 45 · 8 tent-only
- Hookups
- None
- Longest rig
- 40 ft
- Paved pads
- 14 of 45
- Accessible sites
- None listed
- Pets
- Allowed
- Campfires
- Allowed, barring fire bans
- Shade
- Every site
Facilities
- Drinking water
- Yes
- “…with a picnic table and campfire ring. Drinking water is provided. Natural Features The campground is…”
- Camp host
- On site
- recreation.gov lists “Host”
- Stay limit
- 14 nights
- recreation.gov facility rule maxStay
Around the campground
- On the water
- River, Creek
- Hiking
- Mountain biking
- Scenic drives
- Night sky · 817th darkest of 1,201 in CA
- Bortle 4
No reading yet, book on recreation.gov
recreation.gov lists 44 of the 45 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 · 16
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 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
45 sites · which ones have room · the site map
The sites, ranked
from 44 mapped sitesAll 45 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. 44 of the 45 sites listed carry one, and a site whose type has no published rate sits out of the price rather than being called free.
| 1 | 001 | tent only nonelectric | 30 ft | 120 ft | 1,425 ft | $24 |
| 1 | 002 | tent only nonelectric | 35 ft | 66 ft | 1,541 ft | $24 |
| 1 | 003 | tent only nonelectric | 35 ft | 64 ft | 1,567 ft | $24 |
| 1 | 004 | tent only nonelectric | 35 ft | 90 ft | 1,612 ft | $24 |
| 1 | 005 | tent only nonelectric | 30 ft | 54 ft | 1,620 ft | $24 |
| 1 | 006 | tent only nonelectric | 35 ft | 100 ft | 1,703 ft | $24 |
| 1 | 007 | standard nonelectric | 25 ft | 54 ft | 1,647 ft | $24–$48 |
| 1 | 008 | tent only nonelectric | 25 ft | 76 ft | 1,785 ft | $24 |
| 1 | 009 | standard nonelectric | 30 ft | 76 ft | 1,798 ft | $24–$48 |
| 1 | 010 | standard nonelectric | 35 ft | 63 ft | 1,650 ft | $24–$48 |
| 1 | 011 | standard nonelectric | 35 ft | 72 ft | 1,761 ft | $24–$48 |
| 1 | 012 | standard nonelectric | 30 ft | 63 ft | 1,603 ft | $24–$48 |
| 1 | 013 | standard nonelectric | 35 ft | 72 ft | 1,729 ft | $24–$48 |
| 1 | 014 | standard nonelectric | 30 ft | 91 ft | 1,666 ft | $24–$48 |
| 1 | 016 | standard nonelectric | 35 ft | 117 ft | 1,415 ft | $24–$48 |
| 1 | 018 | standard nonelectric | 35 ft | 117 ft | 1,329 ft | $24–$48 |
| 1 | 019 | standard nonelectric | 40 ft | 132 ft | 1,434 ft | $24–$48 |
| 1 | 15A&15B Double Site | standard nonelectric | 25 ft | 87 ft | 1,550 ft | $24–$48 |
| 2 | 020 | tent only nonelectric | 35 ft | 71 ft | 1,486 ft | $24 |
| 2 | 021 | standard nonelectric | 40 ft | 61 ft | 1,507 ft | $24–$48 |
| 2 | 022 | standard nonelectric | 30 ft | 61 ft | 1,532 ft | $24–$48 |
| 2 | 023 | standard nonelectric | 34 ft | 68 ft | 1,596 ft | $24–$48 |
| 2 | 024 | standard nonelectric | 32 ft | 68 ft | 1,640 ft | $24–$48 |
| 2 | 025 | type not stated | 32 ft | 1,948 ft | ||
| 2 | 026 | standard nonelectric | 25 ft | 89 ft | 1,725 ft | $24–$48 |
| 2 | 027 | standard nonelectric | 32 ft | 89 ft | 1,773 ft | $24–$48 |
| 2 | 028 | standard nonelectric | 35 ft | 71 ft | 1,874 ft | $24–$48 |
| 2 | 029 | standard nonelectric | 36 ft | 97 ft | 1,864 ft | $24–$48 |
| 2 | 030 | standard nonelectric | 32 ft | 71 ft | 1,934 ft | $24–$48 |
| 2 | 031 | standard nonelectric | 35 ft | 97 ft | 1,937 ft | $24–$48 |
| 2 | 032 | standard nonelectric | 34 ft | 89 ft | 2,037 ft | $24–$48 |
| 2 | 033 | standard nonelectric | 30 ft | 65 ft | 2,123 ft | $24–$48 |
| 2 | 034 | standard nonelectric | 27 ft | 65 ft | 2,153 ft | $24–$48 |
| 2 | 035 | standard nonelectric | 35 ft | 88 ft | 2,018 ft | $24–$48 |
| 2 | 036 | standard nonelectric | 30 ft | 88 ft | 2,058 ft | $24–$48 |
| 2 | 037 | standard nonelectric | 30 ft | 107 ft | 2,010 ft | $24–$48 |
| 2 | 038 | standard nonelectric | 35 ft | 71 ft | 1,944 ft | $24–$48 |
| 2 | 039 | standard nonelectric | 35 ft | 84 ft | 1,943 ft | $24–$48 |
| 2 | 040 | standard nonelectric | 30 ft | 84 ft | 1,877 ft | $24–$48 |
| 2 | 041 | standard nonelectric | 35 ft | 87 ft | 1,913 ft | $24–$48 |
| 2 | 042 | standard nonelectric | 30 ft | 58 ft | 1,864 ft | $24–$48 |
| 2 | 043 | standard nonelectric | 40 ft | 75 ft | 1,827 ft | $24–$48 |
| 2 | 044 | standard nonelectric | 35 ft | 58 ft | 1,806 ft | $24–$48 |
| 2 | 045 | standard nonelectric | 40 ft | 75 ft | 1,760 ft | $24–$48 |
| 2 | 046 | standard nonelectric | 38 ft | 83 ft | 1,728 ft | $24–$48 |
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 45 listed
Getting there
the map and the coordinate · the agency’s directions · the phone number
Where it is
SkillmanTahoe National Forest · 2.9 mi
North Fork (CA)Tahoe National Forest · 11 miRucker Lake CampgroundTahoe National Forest · 11 miOnion Valley CampgroundTahoe National Forest · 11 mi
Tunnel Mills IITahoe National Forest · 12 miCarr Lake CampgroundTahoe National Forest · 12 miFrom Nevada City, travel east on Highway 20 for 10 miles. Turn right at the White Cloud Campground sign and then the first right into the campground.
From Interstate 80 take exit 161, Highway 20 to Nevada City and drive 26 miles west toward Nevada City. Turn left at the White Cloud Campground sign and then the first 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 Washington, 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
who answers for it
Who answers for this land
White Cloud 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 →