Cancel

    Open app

    Search

    Plumas-Eureka State Park

    4.3 (29 reviews)

    Plumas-Eureka State Park Photos

    You might also consider

    More like Plumas-Eureka State Park

    Recommended Reviews - Plumas-Eureka State Park

    Your trust is our priority, so businesses can't pay to alter or remove their reviews. Learn more about reviews.
    Yelp app icon
    Browse more easily on the app
    Review Feed Illustration

    Reviews With Photos

    My dog, Hunter, enjoying the camping life.
    Jayme W.

    I absolutely love camping at this location! The hosts were very nice and the facilities were very clean. I absolutely love that the showers are free! I would highly recommend this place to anyone wanting to find a new place to camp! I should also note that the dump for the trailer is also free at this spot. There is many things to do, but the museum was definitely the highlight. There are also many hiking trails for anyone who likes to hit the trails.

    Museum, store
    David F.

    Plumas-Eureka State Park is five miles west of Blairsden, CA via the Graeagle-Johnsville Road (County Road A-14). Hiking, camping, fishing and gold-mining history can be found here. We had camped here a number of years ago and had been impressed by the size and layout of the campsites at that time. This time when we returned it was only for day use, but we walked through the campground and were delighted to see it has been preserved as we remember it. A creek meanders through the campground, nice for occasional fishing or simply water play. Eureka Peak looms in the background, an impressive site. They have new showers with individual locking private stalls and, at this point, there is no charge for the showers or a time limit. Camping reservations are advised Memorial Day through Labor Day through ReserveCalifornia. After Labor Day the park "really clears out" and camping is on a first-come, first-served basis until the campground closes at the end of September. Reservations can be made six months in advance. A bonus of camping here is the nearby town of Graeagle, with the Graeagle store for supplies, plus restaurants and goodies like coffee and ice cream. On the hiking front, trails lead to several mountain lakes: Eureka Lake, Smith Lake, Grass Lake and Madora Lake. A few other distant lakes can also be accessed . The park store and museum is well stocked with regional nature guides and wildlife exhibits. The bathroom is sparkling new from an accessibility upgrade spring 2017. A picnic area and historic mining exhibits are across from the store.

    view from the parking area next to Eureka Lake
    Jessica Z.

    I love hiking in state parks and my experience at Plumas-Eureka this week was absolutely incredible. We went to the location that our google maps directed us to when we typed in "Plumas-Eureka State Park" and it took us to the parking lot of the visitor's center. Someone was there to help explain the trail maps and trail options to us. She encouraged us to drive all the way up to the lake and start our loop from there. We did the Eureka Peak Loop Trail. If you decide to drive up the road to the lake, be sure your car (and driver) are adequately prepared as it is a bumpy one-lane dirt road. Our Kia Soul rental car did fine, but it was definitely bumpy. Once we got to the lake there was plenty of parking as well as a restroom. The hike took us just under 2 hours with plenty of time for stopping to take pics and drink water. It is a fairly sunny trail, so bring your water and sunblock. As you can see from the pictures, the views are breathtaking. I'm so glad we took time for this trek, because it was wonderful.

    View from #32
    Sarah S.

    If you're looking for information on camping within the State Park, check out my review for Upper Jamison Creek Campground: http://www.yelp.com/biz/upper-jamison-creek-campground-blairsden?hrid=ukOmPhlYIPne0vnyMnxEKw The State Park is centered around where gold was first discovered in Plumas County. There are tons of things to look at it, lots of informational signs, activities for both adults and kids, gold panning for $4/day, a museum, and of course, entrances to tons of hiking trails. Best of all, this is just over an hour from Reno - an easy drive up 395 to highway 70.

    Park entrance
    Tracy S.

    What a gem of a little park this is! A little over an hour outside of Reno...I can't believe we'd never been here before! This state park is centered around the former Eureka gold mine, and the museum and surrounding buildings give you a good feel for what life was like during those times. The visitor's center and museum are absolutely charming and educational. Visiting the old blacksmith's shop was really amazing (you can buy things made there in the visitor's center), and we chatted with the smith for at least half an hour. I wish that tours of the Mohawk Stamp Mill were still given, but the state can't afford to bring it up to safety codes, so you have to admire it from the outside. (Be sure to ask to see the model in operation inside the museum.) You still get to see lots of cool mining equipment along a short interpretative trail that loops through all of the historic buildings. With all of this great history, nice trails, and one of the nicest campgrounds I've ever stayed at (reviewed separately), this park is WELL worth visiting!

    Lisa M.

    One of the jewels in the California State Park system. The volunteers at this park were great - super nice and knowledgeable. The museum had some interesting taxidermy creatures, amazing maps of the mines and gift shop. The buildings were all in great condition. If the Assay Office is having a presentation = GO! Cliff, the volunteer that day, lead us through the process of measuring gold in the ore. The Camp Host suggested we take a hike (ha!) up to the entrance of the Eureka Mine. We did and found it to be a good hike uphill to the mine. Definitely hike up to Eureka Lake. It's a thigh-burner, but the reward are the views and the beautiful lake. Campground looks amazing...will be back to camp. When in Johnsonville, check it out!

    Eric W.

    Neat state park with some great hiking trails and camping. Visited the museum and it's fairly bare bones. Best part -- it's entirely free. They accept donations and the woman said they barely scrapped together funds to pay the state and stay open. Oh no! The museum details a lot of history of the area -- mining and supposedly the introduction of the sport of skiing to the Western Hemisphere! I visited later and went for a hike and loved seeing the mill and some other things. No wild animals fortunately.

    Fern Falls trail which was almost entirely covered by snow in late April
    Chelsea C.

    Didn't know what this was until I found and AirBnB in nearby Portola. Saw a lot of beautiful things in the park and loved how unpopulated it was. Problem is, trails and roads were completely blocked by snow and there was nothing to indicate this. I never saw a park ranger or anything of the like. They also have not marked the trails very well. We completely lost the trail several times and you could hike miles without a trail marker. The trails desperately need to be defined and marked and maintained. However, we did not pay a cent to spend the day driving and hiking around the forest. I can see why they can't maintain things if they don't have any money coming it.

    Park Resident

    See all

    8 months ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    2 years ago

    Helpful 12
    Thanks 2
    Love this 11
    Oh no 1

    4 years ago

    Helpful 3
    Thanks 0
    Love this 3
    Oh no 0
    Photo of Jayme W.
    189
    25
    23

    3 years ago

    Helpful 1
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    9 years ago

    Helpful 3
    Thanks 0
    Love this 1
    Oh no 0

    5 years ago

    Helpful 3
    Thanks 0
    Love this 2
    Oh no 0

    11 years ago

    Helpful 1
    Thanks 0
    Love this 6
    Oh no 0

    16 years ago

    Helpful 1
    Thanks 0
    Love this 2
    Oh no 0
    Photo of Nora S.
    268
    2348
    399

    14 years ago

    Helpful 1
    Thanks 0
    Love this 3
    Oh no 0
    Photo of Lisa M.
    2
    270
    28

    12 years ago

    Helpful 1
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    14 years ago

    Helpful 1
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    4 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    8 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 1
    Oh no 0
    Photo of M K.
    11
    77
    9

    11 years ago

    Helpful 2
    Thanks 0
    Love this 2
    Oh no 0
    Photo of Allie A.
    125
    2911
    1048

    12 years ago

    Helpful 5
    Thanks 0
    Love this 3
    Oh no 0
    Photo of D G.
    18
    104
    9

    13 years ago

    Helpful 2
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0
    Photo of Rose C.
    0
    148
    13

    16 years ago

    Helpful 2
    Thanks 0
    Love this 1
    Oh no 0

    11 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    5 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    9 years ago

    Helpful 1
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    11 years ago

    Helpful 3
    Thanks 0
    Love this 4
    Oh no 0
    Photo of tom w.
    0
    44
    0

    8 years ago

    Helpful 2
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    10 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    8 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0
    Photo of Yeti D.
    62
    142
    41

    10 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    13 years ago

    Helpful 4
    Thanks 0
    Love this 1
    Oh no 0

    11 years ago

    Helpful 2
    Thanks 0
    Love this 1
    Oh no 0
    Photo of Denise R.
    0
    178
    37

    13 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    10 years ago

    We went cross country skiing here. Thanks to the folks who maintain the trails! They were well groomed and marked. Great day!

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    Ask the Community - Plumas-Eureka State Park

    Review Highlights - Plumas-Eureka State Park

    Plumas-Eureka State Park is truly beyond compare (in our considerable experience) in each and all of these dimensions.

    Mentioned in 5 reviews

    Read more highlights

    Verify this business for free

    Get access to customer & competitor insights.

    Verify this business

    The Discovery

    The Discovery

    4.5(287 reviews)
    50.0 miMidtown

    We loved our visit to the Discovery Museum in Reno! We only had about an hour before closing, so it…read morewas a bit rushed--but even in that short time, we had so much fun exploring all the different areas. Heads up: the gift shop closed before we could grab anything, and the closing announcements were pretty firm--if you weren't already in line, it was a no-go. Totally fair, just something to keep in mind when planning your visit! There are so many exhibits that we definitely had to move quickly, but it was still 100% worth it. Pro tip: save the downstairs water feature for last--it's an absolute blast for the whole family! As a special needs family, we felt really comfortable here. Our 5-year-old loved the freedom to walk and explore, and our 1-year-old had a great time in the littles area and with the water play. The huge cloud play structure looked amazing, but we skipped it since there's only one way in and out--just didn't feel like the right call for us this time. Bonus: let your kids take the stairs to burn off energy! But if you've got a stroller, wheelchair, or just want an easier route, elevators are available too. Overall, such a fun spot--we'll definitely be back (with more time next time)!

    I will say the kiddos love this place…read more We have been twice. Before I wanted to get a membership, but now seeing how it is. I am happy thay we just go once in a while. The museum is not very large and most of our kiddos love the Truckee river exhibit as they play there more. It could be the age. Just bring some spare clothes or a towel as they may be drenched. As they get older they may like to do the other exhibits more. They have lego, space, anatomy, physics, and engineering zones. They also have a lab with daily activities. The amazing part is there are plenty of things to do. The downside is the parking lot gets packed fast, but thats a good thing. So give yourself time if looking for a spot. Its super cool for the kiddos and there is even a cute little toddler playground. So please enjoy the space and time.

    Photos
    The Discovery - The Terry Lee Wells Nevada Discovery Museum (The Discovery) located in downtown Reno, Nevada.

    The Terry Lee Wells Nevada Discovery Museum (The Discovery) located in downtown Reno, Nevada.

    The Discovery - Auto repair shop

    Auto repair shop

    The Discovery - Energy/Energía exhibition funded by Tesla

    See all

    Energy/Energía exhibition funded by Tesla

    North Star Mining Museum - Replica of where they'd melt the gold into bars

    North Star Mining Museum

    4.8(11 reviews)
    42.8 mi

    We were exploring Grass Valley and decided to try North Star Mining Museum. It was too bad that it…read morelooked so small on the outside because we did not allow enough time to really enjoy all the exhibits. We started in the parking lot learning about the larger mining machines. It was a warm day and, at our advanced age, it took time for us to work our way down the driveway to the museum entrance. The docents were very knowledgeable and brought the exhibits to life. We were able to get about half way through the museum before we needed to get to our next appointment. Go see the North Star Mining Museum.

    This place is awesome! Please make sure you've got at least an hour or 3. There's old tools on the…read moreoutside on display, a gorgeous river running along side to admire, inside the building there two rooms. The first room with displays and smaller parts they'd use to mine and the second room is where the big tools are! Steve and his volunteer were so kind turning on the big machines, showing how each tool worked and how they would mine the mountains. So much history, so many fascinating tools, interesting old time accessories, and so much information! If you're wondering how they started mining a mountain side to how they made the gold and what powered it all go check out North Star mining museum! This place makes you never want to leave, there's so much information here please take an hour to look around at least. You will have a great time whether you're 5 or 85, male/female or space creature the history of mining will fascinate your socks off. Check them out.

    Photos
    North Star Mining Museum - Upstairs back room

    Upstairs back room

    North Star Mining Museum - Seasonally open, but not yet...

    Seasonally open, but not yet...

    North Star Mining Museum - Making power to fuel mining gold. PG&E was born here in this area.

    See all

    Making power to fuel mining gold. PG&E was born here in this area.

    Plumas-Eureka State Park - parks - Updated May 2026

    Loading...
    Loading...
    Loading...