Camp Observer1 of 3 photos
Wolf Creek California
Overview
Wolf Creek Campground is a modern facility on the north shore of Union Valley Reservoir. The reservoir offers plenty of opportunities for water activities like sailing, boating, swimming and fishing. Bring a bike to explore the neighboring bike trail.Eldorado National Forest includes the famed gold mining territory of the 1800s. Remnants of the days of the California Gold Rush are all around the region.
Recreation
The paved 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 down to 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 seek rainbow, brown and mackinaw trout or kokanee salmon. The reservoir also offers opportunities for swimming, water skiing and boating. The nearest boat ramp is at Yellowjacket Campground.
Facilities
Sites in this two-loop campground come with picnic tables, campfire rings and bear-proof food storage lockers. Most of the family sites will accommodate up to five small tents (1-2 person) or two medium-sized family tents (4-6 people). Vault toilets and drinking water are provided.Single, double and group campsites for up to 25 or 50 guests are all reservable. Some sites are tent-only.
A host is on-site, and firewood may be available for a fee (more campground details).
Natural Features
At an elevation of 4,900 feet, Wolf Creek sits in the Crystal Basin of the Sierra Nevadas. This is an area known for granite peaks, alpine lakes and pine forest.The climate is similar to that of the Mediterranean with warm, dry summers and cold, wet winters.
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).
Camp site features
Across 44 camp sites:
- Pets allowed: all 44 sites
- ADA accessible: 16 of 44 sites
- Group sites: 3 of 44 sites
- Longest rig: 50 ft
- Largest party: 50 people
Fees
* Recreation Fee: Recreation fees are the fees a visitor pays for things like overnight camping, a day-use pavilion, group facilities, a tour or a permit. Recreation fees vary by location and/or activity.
* Reservation Fee: A fee may be charged at the time a reservation is made to cover the cost of reservation services. This fee is in addition to the Recreation Fee and is non-refundable. Fees for camping, day use, group sites, cabins and lookouts: $8 if made on-line; $9 if made through the call center; $3 if made in-person.
Directions
From Placerville, get on Highway 50 and head east for 21 miles to Icehouse
Road. Turn left 21 miles to turnoff. Then go three-quarters of a mile to
campground.
Stay Limit
Check in from 2 PM, check out by 1 PM.
Reviews
Ratings (82)
5 stars
56
4 stars
13
3 stars
6
2 stars
5
1 stars
2
Brooke D
Loop:Cali
Site:029
Reviewed 10 days ago
Camp host was very accommodating and pleasant. Let us switch our site to 34, which we thought would be better than 29 because of the view and lake access; however, it was downwind from the toilet, which wasn’t a problem until our last night and someone kept leaving the lid up. Beware of families who want to claim the entire beach for themselves and jet skiers who want to tear up the cove to make wakes to jump. 29 was closer to a much calmer cove because there wasn’t much sandy beach access, but the water was still accessible from rocks.
Stephanie A
Loop:Cali
Site:016
Reviewed 12 days ago
This is the most beautiful campsite! Nice and clean with plenty of bathrooms available around the sights. The host is really nice and does a great job keeping this place clean for guests. She really makes you feel welcome! Make sure you keep your food in the bear box at all times though we did get a visit from Two big bears but they didnt disturb anything. Are food was locked up but they still come around. The lake is nice and warm can get a bit choppy but early hours is nice and calm.
Michael G
Loop:Cali
Site:031
Reviewed 13 days ago
Bathrooms well stocked, and kept clean as they could be. Bicycle / walking path is really great now that it extends to dam.
Juli G
Loop:Cali
Site:032
Reviewed 15 days ago
Theresa and Gary were great hosts, everything was clean and well stocked, for a holiday weekend it was an amazing experience.
Rene H
Loop:Wolf
Site:033
Reviewed 16 days ago
I absolutely love this campground! It’s clean, peaceful, and well maintained. The on-site hosts are incredibly friendly, welcoming, and always ready to help if you need anything.
The beaches are beautiful, with plenty of space to spread out—even when the lake levels are high. It never felt overcrowded, which made for a relaxing experience.
My only minor complaint is that the restroom can get a bit smelly during the heat of the day, but that's pretty typical for campground bathrooms and comes with the territory. One thoughtful camper even placed a multi-day candle in the restroom, which helped a little.
Overall, this is an amazing campground, and I can't wait to come back again next year!
Yuriy Z
Loop:Cali
Site:012
Reviewed 17 days ago
You guys need to change the Host. She’s count nine months baby as the person for site six person per site . so we have to rent another site. So sad.
Kyle J
Loop:Grp
Site:G3
Reviewed 20 days ago
Site G3 is great for small groups. It has easy access to the bike path, and a short path with steps down to the water. While we were there no other campers used it so it was like a private rocky beach. The bike path is paved so bring your bike or skate board. There are only 2 bear boxes so plan to protect your coolers from bears.
Jack P
Loop:Cali
Site:003
Reviewed 21 days ago
Very nice place - sites are of a pretty good size and restrooms were very clean. Would come again
Martijn S
Loop:Cali
Site:015
Reviewed 21 days ago
Nice campground with a good variety of campsites. The new recreational trail around the reservoir is amazing.
Norma R
Loop:Wolf
Site:033
Reviewed 22 days ago
Theresa, our camp host was very accommodating and nice. The site worked for our group perfectly. Nice and close to the lake. Bathrooms always clean. Weather was perfect!
Barbara S
Loop:Cali
Site:027
Reviewed 24 days ago
Theresa was a fantastic host, the campground was clean and the weather perfect!
Heather T
Loop:Cali
Site:023
Reviewed a month ago
Our portion of the campground was super empty and quiet. The bathrooms were clean and even though our site was in between two bathrooms, we never smelled a thing. Beautiful place with an abundance of free firewood if you're willing to walk around and pick it up.
irma l
Loop:Cali
Site:027
Reviewed a month ago
We had beautiful weather and the lake was so clean and great for paddle boarding.
Juan P
Loop:Cali
Site:023
Reviewed a month ago
I love this place! The area is much more peaceful than the south side of the lake. The campground is well maintained, and the hosts are incredibly friendly and helpful. There are no shower facilities, but the location more than makes up for it. It's also close to the pumping station, which is an excellent spot for fishing. I always enjoy staying here and would gladly return.
Greg L
Loop:Cali
Site:035
Reviewed a month ago
A great camping site, the camp manager was very polite and communicative. The amenities were very clean. Plus, the lake was completely full, which I have never seen in the last 3 times we have been at Wolf Creek.
Michael G
Loop:Cali
Site:027
Reviewed a month ago
This campsite was perfect! The water was beautiful and not too cold for the middle of June. We were close to the bathroom but the smell never reached our site. Most of the fellow campers were kind and respectful. We will definitely be returning.
Kenneth G
Loop:Cali
Site:014
Reviewed a month ago
The hosts were very helpful and welcoming, excellent spot for a family to spend time during summer in the outdoors and a close walk to the creek with a great view.
Kendra C
Loop:Cali
Site:023
Reviewed 2 months ago
We loved this campground! We've been to a few other campgrounds around Union Valley Reservoir and happy that it met our needs yet again. There is a decent beach area. The camp sites are sloped so it makes it a bit tough for multiple tents to have flat ground BUT it also felt like because of that the sites were well spaced apart from each other. The bathrooms were very clean and the hosts were welcoming, stayed busy and everything went smoothly. We will be back for sure!
Mario G
Loop:Cali
Site:024
Reviewed 2 months ago
Three words….EX-CEL-LENT !!!! Wolf creek is the best campground in the Eldorado Forest. Absolutely coming back.
melissa h
Loop:Cali
Site:003
Reviewed 7 months ago
Family camping trip. Lake was pretty. Folks were friendly. Clean and quiet. Host was cool!
Jeff G
Loop:Grp
Site:G3
Reviewed a year ago
The site itself is wonderful as always. The new bike path is great. It has opened up much of the lake and is a pleasure to ride.
sierra s
Loop:Cali
Site:012
Reviewed a year ago
Growing up coming here for the summers, I loved the bliss it brings me. It’s taken care of and looked after. I love coming here ! And getting there very late with the convenience of paying on the phone and having full confirmation/receipt of payment for the site. It was great.
Beth C
Loop:Cali
Site:022
Reviewed a year ago
The camp hosts are nice and helpful but the sites are not cleaned very well and the bathrooms didn’t have enough toilet paper on the weekends. Also, charging to launch your boat and then to store it in the parking lot is ridiculous! You are charging enough for the site so it should be included. Also, I should have started with this, not being able to pay for a 2 week stay in a fcfs site is unbelievable!!! I had to pay $10 every time I had to reserve the campsite. This seems to me like it’s illegal
Theresa L
Loop:Cali
Site:008
Reviewed a year ago
Our family enjoys camping at Wolf Creek. Electronic payment for reservations and first come first serve sites now. No cash. Campsites are walking distance to the water. There are several bathrooms near by too! They have a newly paved bike path to ride. And most importantly, there are large locking bear boxes at each site to store your food at night and during the day when you’re away from the campsite.
Wais N
Loop:Grp
Site:G3
Reviewed a year ago
It was an amazing experience. Beautiful & breathtaking views, calm scenery, and lovely stay. My entire family enjoyed the stay. We will highly recommend this for anyone. Thank you so much for your swift service
Anthony A
Loop:Cali
Site:039
Reviewed a year ago
Had a great stay, the camp host John was very nice and helpful, can’t wait to go back
John K
Loop:Cali
Site:023
Reviewed a year ago
The two campsites we reserved were maintained excellently! Restrooms were very clean and the reservoir, beautiful!
lori b
Loop:Cali
Site:028
Reviewed a year ago
Camp host was great and flexible. Word to the wise the website does NOT acurately reflect the size of all of the spaces. When we arrrived our space, which said it would be 45' was approx 28'. The camp host was able to accomadate us with another space. Spaces up near the camp host had a lot of mosquitos. That my be just due to the time of year, (May).
Oleg V
Loop:Cali
Site:027
Reviewed a year ago
I always choose side 27, I like it, but there is one problem - the fire place, it does not work, it is crooked. I ask to fix this problem.
Tom S
Loop:Cali
Site:018
Reviewed a year ago
excellent location. plenty of toilets. campsites are fairly large and spread out. great spot to launch kayak or paddle boards.
beth m
Loop:Grp
Site:G3
Reviewed 2 years ago
Need another bear box please!
Everything was clean, tidy, safe!
Adrienne L
Loop:Wolf
Site:036
Reviewed 2 years ago
Absolutely loved the size and location of this site. We had two 26 foot 5th wheels that fit perfectly and still had plenty of room. A cute little creek ran behind this site as well as a bike trail. Short walk to a beachy area and the lake. If you like to have some privacy, this is the ultimate double site
Marilyn T
Loop:Cali
Site:026
Reviewed 2 years ago
The campground hosts were friendly, helpful and perfect for the role! We love Wolf Creek Campground and Union Reservoir. The campground is quiet and the adjacent campers were friendly and very courteous. Our only wish is that there were restrictions on motorized boats - especially near beaches and in coves. We have young granddaughters who love to swim, and the whole family has paddleboards or kayaks, so it would be nice to have areas of the reservoir that were safe for swimming and non-motorized watercraft, to be away from jet skis and motor boats - avoiding speeding craft and wakes. Restricted-use hours for motorized craft would also be very welcome - for those of us that go to Forest Service land to enjoy nature and peace.
Tom G
Loop:Wolf
Site:033
Reviewed 2 years ago
No toilet paper for our two-day visit in any of the bathrooms.
Samantha K
Loop:Cali
Site:009
Reviewed 2 years ago
Sites and reservoir are amazing. . Watch out for the two bears that have little fear of humans and are nightly looking for food. Summer weekend crowd is thick and noise from nearby neighbors at night was not enforced.
Mine B
Loop:Cali
Site:003
Reviewed 2 years ago
Very nice beaches to hang out. The facility was very clean and friendly host/staff.
We heard about the bears, but we think it is caused by people reading the wild bears. Something that campers should be educated…. NEVER FEED THE WILD ANIMALS. let them be wild. They don’t naturally like humans.
Beautiful place! We will be back for sure!
JULIE B
Loop:Cali
Site:025
Reviewed 2 years ago
This is a great campground. Less crowded than the others we saw. It was Memorial day weekend and it didn’t feel overcrowded . Overall campers were respectful of the curfew hours. Only downside was the people above us made their dogs poop around the large trunk by our site and it was smelling pretty gross!
Toilets were cleaned a refilled daily, camp host was nice and answered our questions. The sites are by level, lower level, closest to the water ,mid level and higher level more protected by the trees . Plenty of restrooms , there was wood to buy from the host, bear boxes to keep your food and scented items. The bike path take you almost around the lake and connects all the campgrounds. Water was clean and refreshing. Ideal spot for SUP, wakeboarding and boating .plenty of fisherman caught some trouts . We will be back !
Agustin C
Loop:Cali
Site:003
Reviewed 3 years ago
Exelente lugar , muy limpio y seguro, los baños limpios , mucho espacio para disfrutar el lago, caminar entre los árboles y poder descansar de la vida cotidiana, se los recomiendo ampliamente, gracias.
Nikkita D
Loop:Cali
Site:011
Reviewed 3 years ago
This was a top campground for my little family and this year it was clearly not taken care of as well as it had been in the past.
Popularity
Moderate · 43%
Busiest in July, when about 43% of sites are booked. Based on 9 years of reservations.
