Just got back from 4 days of tent camping at Granite Flat. The campground was clean and well maintained. Bathrooms are vault toilets, and were well stocked and relatively clean throughout my stay. The campsite host was amazing and made sure we had everything we needed. You can tell he really cared for the campground and would often be tidying things up in the afternoons. As other reviews have mentioned, the campground it right next to the highway. I would highly recommend choosing a campground on the river side, as they are a bit further away from the street. You can still definitely hear the hum of cars going by, but the sounds of the river cover some of it up. Our site (#59) backed up to the river and we spent time swimming, tubing, and floating around every afternoon. It was quite refreshing during the peak of afternoon heat. I noticed that the sites vary widely in size. #59 has enough flat (and a bit rocky) space for one tent, but would have been a tight squeeze for two. Overall, I would recommend the campground if you are looking for a place to stay in the Truckee area (and don't mind the sound of cars passing by). It is close to a lot of day trip options (lakes, hikes, etc.) and the river running behind the campground was a huge plus. read more

Granite Flat Campground - View of the river behind campsite #59 - Campgrounds Near Me - Truckee, California

This is a beautiful, well-maintained campground that sits right up against the Truckee River. The sites are a decent size, and some are right at the edge of the water--those are the prime ones if you can snag them. Each site comes with a large bear box, a fire ring with a cooking grate, and a big picnic table. The bathrooms are vault toilets that were clean and well-stocked with toilet paper. There is a busy road nearby that drowns out the sound of the river unless you're right next to the water, but once night falls things calm down nicely. We stayed in a tent trailer while attending a show at the Salty Gebhardt Amphitheater, so we didn't spend a ton of time hanging out at the site, but it still made for a solid basecamp. Would happily stay again. read more

This is a beautiful, well maintained campground that sits up against the Truckee River. The sites are decent size and some are right at the edge of the river. The bathrooms include vault toilets that are well stocked with toilet paper. Each site has a large bear box, a fire ring with a grate for cooking, and a large picnic table. I have to say that I don't think I would go back to tent camp at this spot. The busy road nearby drowned out the sound of the river unless right near the water. Some campers were up and partying until almost 0300 when my husband and I were trying to tent camp. Lights from the road shined across our tent the whole night. This spot would be great if you have a camper or RV. read more

Great campsites. Nicely sized. Great river access and close to Northstar. Awesome spot. Only downside is the vicinity to the hwy which is noisy at night. We saw the other reviews and brought ear plugs which helped. Well priced. Well maintained. Would come back. Not a campsite to get out into the cuts and enjoy nature, but a solid home base for exploring around the area and affordable! read more

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Such a pretty little campground. I will say it is very loud at night if you're camping in a tent. The most frightening part about it was probably the semi barreling down the road in the middle of the night but other than that, you know what you know what you're getting into you you know you're by the road. Return to this beautiful spot absolutely read more

Granite Flat Campground - Morning shenanigans - Campgrounds Near Me - Truckee, California

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Great location , pretty river sites. But lots of traffic noise even at night. Bathrooms are vault toilet and were somewhat well maintained but not great. Camp spots are crowded next to each other. read more

Right next to river. Woken up at 5:00am by brush clearing operation (chippers and chainsaws) along the road. Respect for the guys doing the work. Vault toilets very clean. Never saw camp host. In a tent by the river, but spot was sloped, which gave us some issues. Spots by the road are flatter. Most campers used 5th wheelers, some RVs. Try #4 for tent camping spot, small but nice. read more

I love this campground. The location is only about 1.5 miles south of the lovely town of Truckee with great restaurants, super hardware store, SaveMart groceries, and a new Grocery Outlet. Want a cold beer or firewood or forgot the eggs? You just have to drive a mile and a half to Truckee. A beautiful 12 mile drive takes you to the world famous Lake Tahoe where you will also find amazing amenities including a wonderful North Tahoe Arts gallery and store with works by local artisans. Be sure to hike the spectacular Rubicon trail which starts at the D.L. Bliss Campground. Granite Flats Campground does have the "traffic noise" and I do recommend you not stay in the sites along the road. Plan ahead or check for cancellations or go in the middle of the week so you can reserve the sites that are NOT #7, 9, 11, 13, 15, 17, 19, 21, 23, 47, 49, 51, 53, 67, or 68. If you are desperate and have strong ear plugs then be forewarned that those sites are basically the frontage road for HWY 89. hahaha. The camp host, Scott, is very dedicated and works hard many hours beyond his contracted job hours in an effort to make sure each campsite is clean for the next reservation. PLEASE people, pick up your cigarette butts, pistachio nut shells, bottle caps, dental floss, and crumpled up foil. These do not belong in the fire pit either. The hard working camp host takes pride in his work and I see him bending over picking up some campers dental floss on the ground and I am sad that some campers are not more considerate. The warning that there are bears is genuine but there are very strong and large metal bear containers provided. Keep food and scented items out of your car and tent. One of my photos is of a bear in the Granite Flat Campground in August 2020. Remember that bears don't see very well but have a keen sense of smell . . . and are smarter than you think . . . Don't sleep in your tent with marshmallow spilled on your clothes. hahaha. Enjoy your stay! read more

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Just completed a two day camping trip at Granite Flat! This place doesn't get enough credit. It's clean, organized and right along the river. Scott, the camp host was very organized weeks out, excited to be at work and friendly with any questions that came up. Yes the sites along the road can be loud but with a positive attitude it's still a great place. What I love most about this campground - the river! Went tubing all day never packed, absolutely clean and bathrooms were ok. Definitely not a bougie camp but definitely will be back for sure! The grounds were immaculate! Definitely good For a low key weekend. Give it a try! read more

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WARNING! Camp Host is an ahole! Had reservations for 1 night (paid $30 online). The campground was maybe a 1/4 full..I'm talking 50 open camp sites. We changed our campsite to a first come first serve site (moved our reserved sign so someone else could have our old spot). Camp host came unglued!! I'm talking crazy scary unglued! Said we were taking $22 out of his pocket (I'm pretty sure he pockets the walk-in money). Made us move back to our spot. No surprise the next morning to find the first come first serve sight still empty. I've alway found camp hosts to be, just that, gracious, helpful hosts. Not at Granite Flat Campground! read more

Not impressed. I have so far picked up 4 bags full of other peoples dog poop, their standard for "clean" restroom is someone poked their head in and confirmed there was TP, doesn't matter it's on the TP holder or just a roll on the floor... The website says 2 vehicles can park persite, $5 per night for the second car... but that's a lie. $5 a night to park at the opposite end of the campgrounds. It should also be noted that half their campsites are (no joke) less than 50 feet from the highway. I attempted to contact the camp host less than 10 minutes after they placed a note on our car and they couldn't be bothered to answer. You get 2 stars purely because the Truckee River is lovely, but next time I'd even take the crowds of Donner Lake over this. If you are coming thru for a night and need a place to crash this would work, anything else... there's such better and more welcoming campgrounds. read more

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Very clean campground. The grounds are very well maintained and these are the cleanest vault toilets I've even seen at any campground. Sites are level and paved. The camp host was very friendly and helpful(not Scott). And while some sites are close together, most of them along the river give you plenty of room. There are no hookups or dump station but there is potable water throughout the campground. There are places to dump close by. Road noise from Hiway 89 is loud during the day but less noticeable at night. Bring earplugs for a good nights sleep. read more

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Okay there is A LOT of traffic noise during the day, but the evenings are fairly quiet. You are right on Truckee River, which is the biggest draw of this campground. The toilets are vault style, BUT the camp host does a GREAT job keeping them clean. They never smelled, and not once did I feel they were too dirty to use. It is a national forest campground, so they still allow campfires, which I'm not sure that's a wise idea because, generally, ppl are idiots and they don't extinguish their fires properly. The drawback to this campground, the dirt is like talcum powder, it's sticks to everything, especially your dogs!!! read more

We were in site 21 with a 21 ft trailer plus pop out. There wasn't enough room at this site because you have to park your trailer parallel to the road, barely enough room with pull out and open the door. You aren't allowed to have wheels on the dirt. We were not comfortable with this. Luckily we had family there as well that allowed us to park at their site, as they were tent camping. Site 10 on the river was beautiful. They used our site to park their car so all was well. We would have left this campground otherwise. We didn't realize this when booking online. The site description didn't inform properly,If you can avoid the highway side do, if you have an RV look for a site with a pull in not a shoulder site. read more

Really pretty right on the Truckee River. Spacious sites. But the comments about the camp host are legit. He's a grumpy old man. Gave us a few warning tickets/notes that helped start out campfire. Don't park an inch off the pavement nor keep your camp tidy when not there. Otherwise you'll give him something to do. Oh and the toilets were fine and didn't smell outside of them. read more

I have been here since 9/17/18 - checked in a day early- left a note at the camp host door as they were not in - as I was directed by Rex.gov, that I would leave a day early. I paid for three days on a disabled vet pass $33.00, no biggee - cept I was given the impression disabled vets were free. That would not been an issue - except for the no day use, and pay as you arrive signs every where. The day use was rabid, and the over nights- no receipts hung as directed- so I paid and apparently every one else ignores the rules. To include not picking up after their dogs - I had to pick up at least 15 piles of poop upon arrival. I have yet to see one drive thru by LE or park host, it's the 19th. With that said - great site, Park was clean (mostly empty during week), rest rooms were clean and stocked and it was quiet other than traffic on 89. I assume it's the off season as it closes Oct 8th...plenty of dumpsters and bear containers. Great place to relax during off season - sites are super close so summer may be a challenge. No showers, electric or sewer hook ups - lots of shade. read more

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This is not one of the better Ca State Campgrounds in the Tahoe area, as indicated by the 3 star avg rating. I remember staying here once. This camp is right off the main highway of 89 and you just pull in. You will hear the constant noise of the highway! I got in really late like midnight I think and just found an open parking pull in. It was a rainy night, so we didn't even get out of the RV. We left at 6am and didn't have to pay the $33.00 camping fee ..... I think that's a little high for what you get here at this camp. We stay and left and that was it. I wouldn't pick this campground unless there wasn't anything else left. read more

The campground host Scott is terrible. He should be a security guard at the local pizza parlor. Far from me 'HOST" he even used vulgar language while conversating with me... ruined the whole experience read more

My husband and I just stayed there over the weekend. Space 40. Everything was fine. Yes we have a RV and dogs and yes you will hear the traffic however if you did your homework you would see it is next to highway 89. It was a great campground, the camp host were excellent. Came by and asked if I wanted to move because of bear sightings. I stayed and the camp host/Rangers were friendly and very informative. Yes some of the other campgrounds were equally as nice. However it was a last minute and our neighbors were friendly and definitely played some great music. So we worked around the table issues and we had a terrific time. We are going back this weekend. Definitely do your homework and understand there is traffic that goes by. read more

I ENJOYED this campground, but.......... The ONLY drawback(s): 1-Close to freeway/roadway, so you get traffic noises even though you are camping 2-Toilet situation, IF people don't use responsibly, they can get funky! THIS kind of family FUN is not for everyone, some people just can't GET camping, you KNOW the type! Well, you won't find any stars HERE honey, unless you LOOK UP! Just a beautiful site we had (actually, we reserved 4), this was a combined FAMILY vacation (cuz that is how WE roll.) It poured rain on night # 2, but WHO CARED? It was beautiful, and we took shelter in our SECOND home (tent trailer.) We are kind of spoiled that two other members of our TRIBE have fancy travel trailers and a LARGE coach (which is nice, but NOT necessary.) The HOST of this Camp was AMAZING! What a friendly, friendly man! He checked on us often, then complimented US for picking up every last bit of our campsite, and noticed that when we were out for our nature walks, picked up after others. So, IF you expect to hear only NATURE, this is NOT your site. IF you expect a LARGE campsite, this is NOT for you. IF you can rent multiple sites next to each other and SHARE, THIS is for you. Everyone brings up valid points, but it is ALL up to the user. read more

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Always our weekend getaway go-to cheap & easy campground. No amenities, basic accomodations, but scenic and quiet. The Truckee River is right there. read more

Worst campground ever! The roar of cars and trucks on the highway, which was at most 75 feet away, was unbearable. You had to shout to be heard by the people you were camping with. We were on the river side of the campground access road. Had we been in one of the sites that was between the access road and the highway, it would have been even worse. We were in site #69 and it was right on top of site number 70 with no more than 25 feet between the picnic tables and no trees or rocks to provide a visual barrier. So you better make friends with whoever is staying next door, otherwise you will be eating breakfast and dinner with strangers. If you don't heed my advice and stay here, you better bring earplugs or be staying in a well insulated RV. The only positive thing I can think of is that if you are camping with kids, you don't ever have to tell them to be quite, because no matter how much noise they make, no one can hear it. We left after one night and went to Tahoe-Donner private campground for Saturday night. read more

Stay away from site #24. Unless you have an RV. Pros: Lake Tahoe. 5 min drive to Truckee. Cons: No shade. Too many large rocks for tent camping. No shade. I'll only go back if sites #60, 63, 64, or 65 are open. Otherwise I'll never return. read more

I will echo a lot of whats already been said...do your homework, I didn't. We went wanting to camp in the woods next to a river. We ended up camping next to a highway in the woods. It was REALLY loud. You are way too close to the highway. This is a great site for stopping through on the way to somewhere else, or it would be great with an RV and some sound insulation. With a tent, it was pretty harsh. The sites are REALLY small. We were in a "double site" and it was about the size of a normal site elsewhere. The "normal" site across from us seemed like a joke, it was so small.......and rocky! And yet someone got stuck with it. You are right on the Truckee River, and it was really pretty, and there were spots deep enough to swim in, but it's mostly pretty shallow. It would be great for kids. The camp hosts were AMAZING. Probably the best camp hosts I've ever encountered, and they salvaged our experience with their kindness and hospitality. Overall, you *are* in the middle of some of the most gorgeous country in America, so we just reminded ourselves of that while we were listening to the roar of the highway. It's a really quick drive to Tahoe City. If you're planning on doing other things in the Tahoe area, this might make a good home base if you sleep with ear plugs. If you're looking for a camping spot to just sit and chill in the wilderness...........this isn't it. Bathrooms are just pit toilets and the water is just a few spigots scattered through the camp. There are no bear trash cans which was SUPER surprising considering all the bear warnings. Oh, and while we were there yes a bear ran through our camp site and went to the river for a bath. It was REALLY cute and awesome.........and a good reminder to store all your stuff in your car. A bear came around at night again but it didn't do anything. If you stay here, make sure to bring appropriate things to pack out your trash. There were actually no trashcans, even non-bear ones. This campsite is less than a mile from a CVS, SaveMart, McDonalds, and a Subway, so that was nice. I just went to McDonalds and got coffee in the morning, and that helped from my night of not sleeping. Overall: Not horrible, but not what we were looking for when we went camping on the Truckee river. Might go back with the kids for a weekend, but don't know if I could tolerate the traffic more than two days. read more

This campground is basically the size of a rest area, squished between a busy highway and the Little Truckee River which obviously wasn't even a puddle this time of year. $22 a night is down right offensive for basically camping next to the road. The traffic is too much to get past. Maybe it's worth $7 a night. Maybe. read more

We were searching for a campground that was near the river and not too far of a drive from Reno. This looked promising and we reserved site #30 on reserveamerica.com. On that website, this sounded (and looked) like a great campground - access to fishing and swimming, close to the water, and the individual sites looked nicely separated. I was sorely disappointed when we arrived, and here's why: 1) The campground is RIGHT off of 89, like you can see it even from the farthest camp site. The traffic dies down at night, but that's pretty much all you can hear all day long. When the traffic does calm down, you can actually hear the river, but it doesn't last very long because, oh what do you know, here comes some more cars. Some of the sites are a few feet away from 89. You'd better hope that a car doesn't veer off the road, because they will be taking out your tent. Some of the drivers like to lay on the horn while driving past the campground. 2) The sites are not spread out at all. I could throw a stone from my table and hit the table in the next site over, no problem. You can hear the conversations of the other people in the sites next to you. 3) They say you can fit 4 tents in these sites. Yes, I see 4 decent enough spots (at least in our site). But two of them are right on the campground road and the other two are right next to each other. You'll be crammed in. Luckily we only had 2 tents, so this wasn't an issue, but it could potentially be for other, larger groups. 4) Some of the sites are all gravel. Sounds comfy to sleep on... These may be RV sites (there are definitely more RV sites than tent sites). But still, it's nice to have dirt and pine needles rather than rocks. 5) In our site, the table was extremely close to the fire pit. This meant we were cooking and eating in smoke. The tables are attached to cement blocks so they can't be moved. We were able to shimmy it a little father away, but not much. Some of the other sites' tables were at a better distance from the fire pits. 6) No cupboards or bear boxes. I assumed that because they did not have these, bears and raccoon were not an issue. We were wrong. A bear got into our ice chest (luckily only eating some lunch meat and butter). Usually, the advice is not to put your ice chest in the car, but this was really the only choice we had after this. Luckily the bear did not attempt to get into the car. Some of the better points: 1) The camp hosts were friendly and stopped by often to check up on you (make sure you had firewood, etc.) 2) Bathrooms (vaults) were clean enough and always plenty of toilet paper. 3) Plenty of bathrooms and water spigots within walking distance. 4) The river can be seen from most of the camp sites and it's a quick walk down. It's really low this year so there were no spots to swim (but you could wade out) and we didn't see any fish. This isn't the campground's fault so I won't count it against them. 5) You're really close to Truckee. So when we needed to run to the grocery store to get more lunch meat, it wasn't a big deal. Although we were disappointed in the campground itself, we made the best of it and had a great time. I'd really only recommend this campground if you have an RV. read more

Husband and I stayed here from Fri-Sun in July. The site has vault toilets and potable water, but signs prohibit using the spigot area for washing of any kind. Most of the sites are park in, but we had a walk-in site (#75). Site 75 was great, as we were far enough away from others to have some privacy. The downside is that there is a trail to the river just off #75, so a lot of campers will go through or just around your site to access it. The upside is that there is a lovely view of the water from the site. The highway noise at this site is pretty loud, and honestly, it did detract from the experience. The site is pretty close to town, so if you forget something, it's only a five minute drive away. If you choose a walk-in site, there is a pull out on the highway that is actually closer for loading/unloading than the official parking space for #73-75. Sites 71-74 are *very* close together and would be great for a group. All in all, we would camp here again, but liked Goose Meadows better. read more

Hi I just spent Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday camping at site number 8 at Granite Flat Campground. Very well maintained, pit toilets, potable water and no showers. During the week is the time to go. Only about 30% full. Site 60 is really nice. The river is huge and extremely unsafe for even experienced swimmers. The sound of the rushing river pretty much drowns out the highway noise. A great "wayside" campground that we used as a base for kayaking out of Sand Harbor Tahoe, and biking out of Squaw Valley. We also spent a day just hanging by the river next to our fire pit. Also 50% discount if you have the California Poppy Pass (which I buy every year). This pass gets you free entry into California State Parks. Oh yeah, the park steward, Brandy is a little rough around the edges, but very attentive. Wood will cost you $8 for a 5-gallon bucket full. Bill C. Grass Valley, CA read more

Arrived mid day and the place seemed really nice. The hosts were very kind and told us to pick any spot that was open since we had reserved a walk in site online not knowing it was a walk in and had a baby with us. We chose our spot and set up camp. Played in the beautiful river and had a great evening until the middle of the night when people parked along the main road, walked over to our truck and the couple next to us truck and attempted to break into them. We woke up and checked and thankfully they didn't get into them. Then we woke up again to the morning camp host writing a ticket because we moved our truck closer after the attempted break in. We made sure to move to a spot that wasn't reserved for a few more days (as instructed by the day before host) and planned to move it in the morning. He was extremely rude about it all even though we explained that the day before host said we could park and camp in any site that was open. The car traffic and sound was horrible. Besides the river this place is not a great spot at all! Will not be returning again! read more