Carlton

Show on map(530)478-6253
YUBA RIVER RANGER DISTRICT, THIS IS THE ADDRESS FOR THE RANGER STATION, NOT THE CAMPGROUND, 631 Coyote Street
Nevada City, CA 95959

Overview

Carlton Campground is located along the North Yuba River, adjacent to Highway 49 and 13 miles from Downieville. Visitors enjoy a wide variety of recreational activities in the area, including hiking, hunting, fishing, canoeing and biking. This facility is operated and maintained by the Tahoe National Forest.

Recreation

The North Yuba River offers swimming, wading and rainbow trout fishing. Seasonal rafting and kayaking are popular water activities. A network of trails through the surrounding area providing opportunities for hiking, biking and OHV use.  The North Yuba River Trail can be accessed from the nearby Rocky Rest trailhead.

Facilities

The campground offers single-family campsites suited for both tent and trailer camping. Each site is equipped with a picnic table and campfire ring. Vault toilets and drinking water are provided.

Natural Features

The campground stretches along the North Yuba River, next to the highway.  Stands of cedar, ponderosa pine and oak trees cover the area providing shade from the afternoon sun. 

Contact Info

This location is unstaffed. To speak with our main office for general information, please call: (530) 265-5431.

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.

Camp site features

Across 17 camp sites:

  • Fire pit: 16 of 17 sites
  • Pets allowed: 16 of 17 sites
  • Largest party: 6 people
  • Equipment: RV, Tent, Trailer

Services within 25 miles · OpenStreetMap

Nearest dump station: 18.3 mi · Loganville Campground

Directions

From Downieville, travel south on Highway 49 for just over 13 miles. The campground is on the left side of the highway. From Nevada City, travel north on Highway 49 for just under 30 miles. The campground is on the right side of the highway.

Stay Limit

Check in from 2 PM, check out by 12 PM.

Reviews

66 reviews
5 stars
42
4 stars
8
3 stars
5
2 stars
7
1 stars
4
BARRY B
Loop:Area Carlton
Site:
Reviewed 9 days ago
giant skunks attacked our campground and took my wife. Thank You!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Kylie D
Loop:Area Carlton
Site:
Reviewed 16 days ago
Special site! Some cons are the closeness to the highway and maybe not the fanciest bathroom facilities. But wow, camping right next to the creek was insanely cool!
avery n
Loop:Area Carlton
Site:
Reviewed 17 days ago
great campsite with a beautiful spot right on the river, the vault toilets are nice, the whole camp is well kept, we had a great time, and I’d love to come back to site 12 in particular, so highly recommend!
Maria H
Loop:Area Carlton
Site:
Reviewed a month ago
Camped at Carlton in mid September. Fire restrictions were at a level 2 so we obtained a permit for propane camp stove and fire. Know your restrictions before you go! The fire service comes by regularly to keep the toilets stocked and clean. The sites are large. My family shared sites 7 and 8 and it was perfect. Easy access to the river. Hiking is about half a mile away or you can drive to several locations nearby. A bear and two cubs had been spotted in the area but we never actually saw them. The place is great for star gazing too! It is adjacent to the road but there isn’t too much traffic at night so it didn’t really bother us. The campground has water. Bring bug spray or citronella. Overall it was a great little spot for dry camping.
Diego A
Loop:Area Carlton
Site:
Reviewed 2 months ago
Exelent
Denise L
Loop:Area Carlton
Site:
Reviewed 2 months ago
We stayed in Site #3, which was where we've stayed in the past (last time was 8 yrs ago, but had been yearly for the 8 or so years prior to that). We arrived to find burned wood in the fire pit, left by a prior camper (during a period of fire restrictions). We also found the bear box door completely broken off the box, due to rusted hinges. Rangers came through Sunday (the day we arrived) and Thursday (the day we left). Bathrooms had almost run out of toilet paper in the meantime. We didn't know until we arrived, that the vault toilet (single, wood frame building) near our site had been removed at some point since we camped last, so it was a bit of a walk to the 2-toilet brick building at the far end of the campground. The site has easy access to the river, down a small embankment. Is big enough for two 8-person tents, and a 10x10 pop-up. Fairly level and mostly rock free, it's easy to walk around.
Availability

See the Camp Sites section below to find detailed booking availability.

Reserve

Season dates

Peak season

Apr 15, 2027 – Oct 15, 2027

Reservable online

Off Peak season

Oct 16, 2027 – Oct 31, 2027

Reservable online

Peak season

Apr 15, 2028 – Oct 15, 2028

Reservable online

Off Peak season

Oct 16, 2028 – Oct 31, 2028

Reservable online

Camp Sites

Availability not checked yet

No availability

We don't have availability data yet for camp sites at .

Interested in seeing what camp sites you can reserve here? Check it now, or watch this campground so we keep checking it for you.

Nearby Campgrounds