Pass Creek Campground

Campground is nice. I would suggest that potential campers contact Nevada Irrigation District prior to making reservation to confirm availability of potable water and boating access to the lake. Potable water is usually available, but it doesn't hurt to check. The boat ramp was gated and locked during my stay. Boat access for trailered boats is limited to those that meet the golden mussel inspection requirements. The ramp was supposed to be open Thursdays thru Sundays from 9am to 5 pm. The personnel from NID hired to open and close the gate as well as checking watercraft for required mussel stickers failed to show Thursday and Friday, which led to quite a few upset boaters

Quiet campground. Close to the lake. Great camp host. It was a beautiful trip.

It was a beautiful campsite next to a beautiful reservoir. We definitely enjoyed how clean and peaceful it was. We will be back

Site #9 is clearly the best site at Pass Creek. 3 people actually came up to me telling me they wanted that site. Always book ahead for this site. Plenty of room for corn hole, horse shoes etc.

Stayed at Pass Creek Campground, Jackson Meadows Resorvior for large family Fathers Day weekend. New camp host was rude, unfair and unjust. He ordered some vehicles to move off dirt and allowed others to stay, he inforced pet leash rule, but allowed his own dog to run free 90% of time even when roaming the campground to check on things. He poured buckets of water on campfires when he saw campers were not sitting right next to campfire, even when it was still being monitored. It was clear he wadms in over his head anf didnt know what or how to inforce.

The spot was great and shade covered by the trees. The camp host was very nice and it was near the water.

Great Campground, very quiet, bathrooms are cleaned and stocked daily. There is no camp host at Pass Creek anymore and you have to drive over to another campground to see the host. Last two years the Forest service didn’t provide locking clips on the large dumpsters which created a bear problem as they quickly learned they were not locked out of free food at night and left garbage strewn all over the campground. The poor hosts were great about getting it cleaned up but I felt sorry for them as a simple clip could have avoided the whole mess. Forest Service should be more attentive to their jobs to avoid this in the future.

Alabama Hills was full, we got in late. This was a great alternate.

Been coming to Pass Creek for over 20 years. Always the same nice roomy camp spots / beautiful scenery / friendly camp hosts / best of all you can touch the stars at night.

Busy weekend but mid week nights were quiet and peaceful.

The site itself is beautiful. We started in #9, and it was by far the largest and most leveled spot we saw in the campground. Reservoir is a short walk and the water was crystal clear. Found a nice spot to setup for the day 100 yards from the boat launch. Think we even got lucky that no motorized boats were allowed while we were there. Peaceful and serene site.

This was our 6th visit to pass creek. It’s one of our favorites. This year there wasn’t a host so campers noise levels were louder and past 10pm and the toilet paper in the bathrooms never got restocked so it ran out. The lake was amazing especially because no boats were allowed so it was a paddleboarding paradise. Campground definitely needs a host or the host from east meadow needs to make the rounds and stock the toilet paper.

If you are tent camping this is the best spot, lots of room for multiple tents.

Very clean. The management staff does an awesome job.

RESERVED AT YOUR OWN RISK !!!! As we arrived to our camp spot we were surprised that the spot had been taken by other family, thankfully I had reserved 3 spots but they refused to move and we were harassed to stay cramped up in 2 camp spots. Second day the same group of people told another family they wouldn’t move and forced them to stay in camp 4 instead of #14. They kept walking into our campsite. The host was never there and this was nearly resolved with violence. They never moved out of site #5

The campground is fine. The problem is with Recreation .gov. The campground did not have potable water due to a pipe break caused by nearby logging operations. So, hydrants were not operational as well as bathrooms with sinks and flush toilets. They do not post this information when making a reservation. If you cancel the reservation upon learning of the campground issues, you will still surrender a healthy portion of your reservation fee. I would suggest that people contact Nevada Irrigation district for information on the campground prior to making a reservation.

I am woman who was solo tent camping. I felt safe. The campground and permanent restrooms were clean. As usual the blue porta potties were yucky! The bushes worked well for my needs at night. The fresh water had been shut off! Yikes! I did not come prepared for that! I should have been informed before arrival. The lake was great and and the sunset gorgeous!

Nice campground. Beautiful lake. Can’t wait to go back!

This is a special location

Close to the lake, quiet, spacious campsites!

clean and beautiful the whole time

Great, quiet, serene campsite. Site 12 and its surrounding is fully shaded but a little hilly.

This camp ground was very nice bathrooms were clean and the camp site are good for smaller trucks and small boats fishing was good and the rain did not bother us as we were able to have a camp fire as others did das well

Great little campground! Not as large as East Meadows across Pass Creek, and that's a good thing. Felt quieter, sites are equally as large (though driveways are on average a bit shorter). Wouldn't recommend Class A in the campground proper, but there is an overflow area where folks set up with their Class A's and Toy Haulers. Bugs were present but manageable as of an early August 2023 visit.

Pass Creek is a bit hit/miss when it comes to sites. Some are really nice, while some sites are not great at all. Some of the sites are even setup backwards, meaning couldn't back a trailer into them at all. (site 21 is a great example of this). In July 2023 there was a LOT of leftover dead branches and twigs covering almost every part of the ground. It would have been awesome to have that stuff raked out, especially around the fire pits. The table area in site 22 was on a hill and definitely not level. If you have a trailer, take serious note of the size of your particular site. You would never get a trailer and a vehicle to fit in sites 20/22. But other sites are pretty deep. Location wise, Pass Creek is great. It's a close walk to the boat ramp and beach. Bathrooms have real flushing toilets. Sinks were kinda broken and the women's room had several BLACK WIDOWS living in the restroom! With a little bit of effort put into maintenance, Pass Creek could be amazing. It just felt like other than chopping down a few trees, they aren't really keeping up on maintenance.

Love this place. End of the season so water was not potable but it was peaceful, there is no cell service ( bonus)!!! beautiful lake and adjacent to PCT for hiking

Pleasant campground, but site #21 has no flat spot for a tent.

Cleaned and nice weather

Mike the camp host was excellent. Location is fantastic.

Mike is the best camp host! Very accommodating, friendly and helpful. Nice spaces, just wish we had cell service

Very clean Campground

The campground is at elevation 6,200 ft, in a dense Ponderosa Pine forest, so it's a good place to escape extreme summer heat if you live in the Central Valley. It's a small campground with just 1 loop, so it's easy to find your campsite even if you arrive after nightfall. There is a boat launch just down the hill within easy walking distance, with very nice swimming beaches along the shoreline. The water temperature in the lake reaches a maximum of about 72°F in late summer. Restrooms have running water and flush toilets, but no electricity, so it's pitch dark on moonless nights; be sure you bring a flashlight. The large, open area of the boat launch offers excellent stargazing and a great view of the Milky Way. It's a good site for astrophography on moonless nights, with very low light pollution. The campsite pads are all paved, and enough water spigots that you never have to walk more than a couple hundred feet to get water. There is an RV dump station across the road from the entrance driveway ($20 fee). There was lots of down wood (mostly tree branches) just lying around everywhere for making a campfire. The nearest large town is Truckee, about an hour drive each way, so try to make sure you don't forget anything important, as there's no where close to buy anything you might have forgotten or need more of, like fuel or food. It's a really nice campground, and I know I'll be back. Just be sure your vehicle's tires are all on pavement - the Ranger can cite you if your vehicle has a tire off pavement on the dirt.

Beautiful campsite. Great facilities. Love riding or walking to the dam (about a mile) and watching the water shooting out of the hill - it's pretty amazing. Star gazing is fantastic if you walk down from the campground to the boat dock after dark. My favorite camping spot.

Take a pass on Pass Creek. We drove past through this campground on a recon mission looking for nice places to camp. What appealed to us was the relative remoteness, so we (mistakenly) thought this would be a quiet campground. We did violate our own rule of not camping somewhere that allowed motorboats so shame on us, but we figured the location looked quiet enough. The clientele of this campground is a little shady. Dogs wandered the campground unleashed and partiers stayed up partying loudly until all hours of morning. Many campers also created a 4th of July parade, which could have been *quaint* except it wasn't - at 9:30 at night. Additionally, throwing candy?? Great for your Main Street USA July 4 celebration but not in the forest. Now, I understand that campgrounds can be hit-or-miss and the campers here were likely a rowdier bunch being that it was a holiday weekend, but I think this was all facilitated by the fact that there is no on-site camphosts. Nice enough guy, and we only saw him on day one (so stock up on firewood if/when he comes around because you're likely not going to get topped off during your stay), but he really turned a blind eye to people exploiting the 2-week stay rule, I think there were people who were living in the overflow camping parking lot for probably the bulk of the summer. The campsite itself was pretty. The bathrooms had major issues that were known to whatever agency and according to the camp host, were not going to be fixed. All in all, if you want to go, I'd go during a quieter time but not in the midst of summer. There are much better places to camp in this area.

Best features: 1. Flush toilets with lav sinks in restrooms 2. 6 water spigots in the loop, no campsite further than ±100 feet from a water spigot 3. All sites have paved parking pads 4. Location in mature Ponderosa pine forest, most sites have lots of shade. 5. Fire ring and picnic table at every site, picnic tables in good condition 6. Most parking pads are flat enough to level out an RV if you have good jacks and leveling blocks 7. Free boat launch ramp with plenty of parking. Boat camping on the lake is allowed if your boat is fully self-contained. 8. In mid-summer, lake is just warm enough for swimming and water skiing without a full wetsuit (mid-July water temp 70°F). 9. Glorious night sky viewing, not a lot of light pollution. 10. Campground was quiet, not a lot of generator noise or loud partying while I was there. 11. The lake can be quite windy, but the heavy tree density softens the wind to just a light breeze in the campground. 12. No electricity in the restrooms, and the whole campground is pitch dark on moonless nights; be sure to have a headlamp or flashlight. 13. There are Golden Mantle Squirrels everywhere. Don't leave ANYTHING out on your picnic table that even smells like food, or the squirrels will carry it off if they can, as soon as your back is turned. Lots of insects both day and night, don't leave your tent door unzipped any longer than you have to. Bring mosquito repellant and long sleeve shirt/pants for early morning and evening when mosquitos are most active. 14. If you are bringing any watercraft, make sure you empty and dry the bilges, baitwells, and cooling system before you arrive. Be prepared to sign a form stating that you have dried out and inspected your boat to prevent the spread ofr zebra and quagga mussels before you launch it. 15. There are no stores closer than about 30 miles (Truckee), so make sure you have everything you'll need before you get there. 16. It's a great campground, you'll love it!

Always a great visit several times a year Great camp host at Pass Creek always very helpful

It is always a great experience at bat Creek

Host was great, smoke was bad but overall was a beautiful campground.

NO WATER ONLY ONE PORTA POTTY for the two bathrooms that where close by my site

Physically, the campground is pretty nice with plenty of trees. The camp sites aren't too badly spaced and there are obvious spots where people usually put tents. Unfortunately, most of the people "camping" here are bring RVs and generators. They run generators day and night and are pretty noisy right up to the 10pm cutoff and starting as early as 7am. There are also a lot of people with Polaris Rasrs and other similar off road vehicles making a lot of noise. This is a pretty crowded campground -- if you are tent-only and prefer the sounds of nature to the sounds of generators, go elsewhere. People seem to dislike the idea of sorting their trash despite large, well marked recycling bins next to the dumpster at every location a dumpster is available. Camp host was pretty nice and the toilets were clean. Bring your own drinking water - the well is dry!

I like this campground, and have been going there for years. This time I arrived to find lake level extremely low, creeks dried up. smoky skies, and no potable water. These things are really out of anyone's control, however, an email notification regarding the lack of potable water would have been nice so that one could plan accordingly.

The camp host was very nice and so helpful, thanks Larry

Beautiful area to play in the lake and go bike riding. Trash is not emptied on a regular basis. It was overflowing (the bear proof trash didn't close) the entire time we were there.

Love this campground. It’s beautiful and fairly small so you don’t have a million people. Camp hosts are always helpful. The reservoir goes back and forth as to levels but still lots of fun for fishing, kayaking, boating and just playing in the water. Hidden gem….don’t tell anyone😉

Like this campground, but space was too small for travel trailer plus truck. Parking can be a hassle. Flush toilets nice. Mostly empty midweek in June.

My favorite place. So beautiful and well maintained

Beautiful, clean and quiet campground. Unfortunately the weather was cool and windy, but we plan a return trip.

Campground and bathrooms were very clean. Camp host was the best, our second year with this great couple. Evenings were quiet with all generators off before 10pm.

What a wonderful place to get away. Lake is a little low, but still a great get-away. Highly recommended