While the natural beauty of Rancheria Campground is undeniable, our excitement for our annual Memorial Day camp was completely overshadowed by the campground host's behavior. Without any reasonable cause, he approached our group at 12 noon and abruptly demanded that we turn off our music, which was neither loud nor disruptive. What made this worse was that other campsites were playing their music at much higher volumes, yet he chose to ignore them and single out our group. The situation escalated later that evening, around 8 PM, when our family was simply sharing stories and enjoying time around the campfire. The same host barged into our site and declared that we were "getting loud," warning us to quiet down and threatening to return "or else." Meanwhile, other campsites were openly showing movies and running loud sound systems without any intervention. This selective enforcement felt malicious, discriminatory, and completely unprofessional. No paying guest should ever feel targeted or treated unfairly, especially when others are allowed to do the very things we were reprimanded for. To make matters worse, the water service was never restored for the entire duration of our stay, an unacceptable inconvenience on top of everything else. Our group, along with our friends and family, will not be returning to Rancheria Campground. Beautiful scenery cannot make up for hostile treatment and inconsistent, disrespectful customer service. read more

Beautiful campsite #50 right on the water. Tree removal crews emptied water tanks without permission according to the ranger. This rendered the flushing restrooms unusable, sadly. Other than having to use the vault toilets (which were very clean) the campground and our site was excellent! read more

Rancheria Campground - Campgrounds Near Me - Lakeshore, California

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Great camping trip at Rancheria. There is nice space at each site, the lake was close and the Mariana across the way had great lunches! read more

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Love this campground. Didn't catch any fish, but can't go wrong with mountains, trees and a lake! We enjoyed the lack of a crowd in the off season and cold plunging in the morning... read more

I really enjoyed staying at this beautiful camping spot. Our campsite area was number 71. There was nobody on the sides of if, just in front which made it pretty private. We were a few steps away from the lake and bathroom. The spot is perfect. We went in late September And it was pretty cold at night so stock up on wood and plenty of warm clothes. There is a store nearby with essential items. The area has many hikes to chose from really nearby which is another plus. I would recommend kaiser peak but make sure you start in the early morning. read more

Rancheria Campground - Campgrounds Near Me - Lakeshore, California

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Site #27 very spacious! On the corner away from people. Restrooms are super clean! Host are very friendly. We arrived first come first serve at 1: 40 am. Setup & paid next morning. Will be back read more

First ever camping trip and it was amazing. On the website its super hard to review the campsites, but the pictures they have on the website don't give this place any justice, so I was skeptical at first. This Camp area is literally right on the waterfront, and the site I was at was literally a straight line to the water. FISHING WELCOME.!!! We had number 66 and we only needed a single 8 person tent, but it could've easily fit about 3 small tents or 2 large ones. They have FLUSHING toilets that are maintained very well, they never smell either. The spaces are somewhat close to each other but everyone minds their business and is kind. Even the workers are pretty nice and funny. Canopies welcome along with hammocks and other gear.! Parking spots for the campsites can easily hold 2 vehicles. On each site they give you a bear box, a table made out of hefty plastic instead of wood so you don't get splinters. They also have a fire pit with an attached grill. DOGS ARE OKAY HERE.!! With no fee.! Only meed leashes if untrained.!! Market 2 miles up-road, not a grocery but snacks and canned foods available. For meats you'd be better going to Shaver. read more

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Spent my 30th birthday here. 5 days and 4 nights of absolute bliss! The camp is huge and every site is spaced out from one another. I recommend the closest hikes; Indian Pools and Rancheria Falls while you are here. Not too mention, days spent at the edge of the crystal clear blue waters of Huntington Lake! My only complaint is the sanitizer they use in the morning to "clean" the bathroom. It smells 10x worse minutes after getting cleaned in the morning than any time of day! It just doesn't make sense. The smell only stays in the bathroom however, and thankfully, does not linger to campsites. I'd tell you the exact site we had, but then I'd have to kill you ;) it was the best in the whole place. Lake view, accessible to trash, water and restrooms, and no one even close to be nearing us! read more

Rancheria Campground - Huntington Lake. - Campgrounds Near Me - Lakeshore, California

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Love it!! Beautiful scenery and clean. Great camp host! They don't bother or fuss with you like Camp Edison.

Hey Campers, The Rancheria campground is still closed (as of Aug 13, 2019) for public safety reasons. The area is experiencing a high a level of "tree mortality" and the Forest Service is in the process of cleaning up the dead trees and limbs. Once that is complete, it will be reopened. No reopen date has been set yet. https://www.campsitephotos.com/campground/ca/rancheria/ read more

Had a great time ..bear boxes very large..clean bathrooms.running water.the only downfall of huntington lake is they need more restraunt choices. The water is very clean to swim but takes your breath away gettin in water..campground was very clean. read more

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Husband and I enjoyed a weekend getaway in September and camped in non electric site on the lake. It was so pretty. Warm sun on picnic table during breakfast and dinner but perfect amount of shade during day. Clean running water bathrooms were a plus because we normally dry camp. Site was leveled and clean for tent and plenty of space between sites. Disappointed the neighbors used generators so much but guess that is downfall to non electric sites that we were near. Lake was gorgeous and stars were stunning. Memories for a lifetime with my husband of 25 years. Will come back for sure. read more

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Great spot - went at the end of the season so it was empty and quiet. Kids loved riding their bikes around and while it was chilly it wasn't too cold to wade around in the lake and play on the beach. Will decently be back! There wasn't cell service in the campground but I got signal at the lake. It was kinda happy medium! read more

Rancheria was totally revamped this year (2012). Arrived on Friday 8/31 after staying one night in Dorabelle down at Shaver. Couldn't do 3 more days of Dorabelle's pit bathrooms (see that review for details). Dorabelle's nice hosts told us about Rancheria up at Huntington opening that very day, so we headed over to check it out. Part of the campground was open, the other half was still being worked on. We picked a hike-down site to the tree lined lakeside area (not much of a hike really). Here is the hassle part about camping anywhere in Huntington Lake: You must head over to a main registration place where we dealt with the most unpleasant human ever. To protect her name I'll just say she sports short red hair and her name is that of a 1 cent coin with Lincoln on it...... I watched her work her magic with her victims in front of me and thought "Wow, they must have ticked her off!!!" Nope, they likely didn't. It was just her rank personality in general treating her poor fellow *nice* employees and customers alike as if we were poop on her shoe. Her reputation must be legendary in these parts because when we commented to a local person about the beast who works the camping registration counter - they immediately identified her by name. Rancheria was very nice though. We had a great spot, however there are quite a few double sites and we were flanked by two - lesson learned. Double's hold up to 12 people. I will try not to camp near double spots again - of course at around 10 pm a couple of families with kids and dogs came pulling in to set up in the dark. Still- Kids, noise, dirt, bugs, is all part of camping and Rancheria has a lot of good sites to chose from. The new bathrooms are wonderful, the roads repaved, Sinks in the bathrooms and sinks outside. The parking pads newly paved, the sites scraped out and paths laid with DG, large bear boxes. It does get chilly at night and there is a constant breeze (probably why sailboats love it). We noticed that the interior campsites were much warmer. Both at Shaver and Huntington I was disappointed with the amount of trash found by the shore. I picked up a grocery bag of trash every time I took the dog for a potty trip. It is sad that people discard bottles, chip bags, socks, etc., read more

We went to Rancheria campground in Sierra National Forest for Memorial Day weekend 2018. This has been one of the best campgrounds we've been to and we've been to many! Campground was very well kept and restrooms which were flush toilets were soooo clean. They only thing that was a little confusing was that the registration was off-site but the rangers told us where to go. It is walking distance to Huntington Lake. Water was COLD at the time. Many of the campers were fishing right by their campsites. We rented a boat at Rancheria Marina to go fishing. We also did the Rancheria Falls hiking trail. The waterfall was amazing and the hike was not too difficult. read more

Me and my family usually camp away from community type campground like this one but this year we decided to stay here....and I am in love with this campground. The camp hosts were very sweet and helpful. I love that the restrooms were always clean and theres no long wait line. I love the little beach area behind the little amphitheater. The water temperature was perfect, the waves were a little strong but water was crystal clear. I'd recommend camping at this campground. It does get cold at night so bring extra blankets or clothes. read more

This campground is great! I'll make it easy and do a pros/cons list. But a little background, I take my dog camping with me and we camp in a tent, so our cooler is our food storage. Pros: - Campsites aren't too close to each other - The small hike to Rancheria falls (you do have to drive a short distance because it's a little dangerous to walk next to the highway, ps: road gets really bumpy when driving up) - The environment, good amount of shade/sunlight - The lake is walking distance - Clean campsites and bathrooms - Gas station very close by Cons: - There's no camp store, you have to drive to the gas station if you need ice (this is a problem for me because as I mentioned we use a cooler to store our food/drinks) - Not really any entry to the lake so you can set out a blanket and relax lakeside - The shore of the lake mainly had trees, so there were only a few openings to actually be near the lake Ps: If you have T-mobile you don't get any signal here. read more

Absolutely beautiful! Our site was literally a few steps away from the shoreline and great fishing (rainbow trout). We hiked out to the falls which proved to be SO worth it. It was more incredible than we could have expected! We'll definitely come back! read more

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Awesome campground. Right next to the lake. Clean bathrooms. 3 host total i guess. Just fyi, the host dont sell firewood.

For many years we have been camping at Rancheria (except for the last two, when it was closed for renovation), it is almost a family tradition now. Rancheria sits on the East shore of Huntington Lake and it is quite spectacular. The good news is that everything has been re-done, driveways, campsites and flush toilet restrooms, it is all new and looks great. The bad news is the staff, the lady at the registration office was more concerned with warning us about everything under the stars on things we should not do, she was unpleasant, not welcoming, not friendly, but we figured we would be at our camp soon and everything would be better. To our surprise, the lady host at the campground was not much different and soon enough we were dancing to the same toon. The first thing that came out of her mouth was that we needed to make sure we registered before seting anything up at our site, she had a whole speach about rules and regulations, that she even forgot to welcome anyone in our party. This place has more rules than our HOA. Sadly, unless there are changes to their staff or attitude, that may have been our last visit. Sergio H read more

I don't know how one could have a bad experience here. Was happy to find availability on short notice for just one Saturday night. The drive-in campgrounds are clean and fairly well-spaced apart. Had the most enjoyable time walking and climbing rocks at the base of the lake and river with our two hounds. Lake was very low but no less scenic. Was also pleased to find that the water was so accessible from the campground. Rancheria Falls provided a good 2 mile hike nearby. Overall, this was a great hit-it-and-quit-it campsite, but I can imagine returning and finding lots to do over a few days as well. Only thing I would caution was that there were several 'walk-in' sites, which was new to me, and I don't think those would provide the privacy you'd hope for while camping. read more

We have been coming to Rancheria for years and have always enjoyed it. The redone campground is beautiful, but not for the light of heart. Cold nights, breezy afternoons, outer loops have just pit toilets and no sinks but spotless. (Ok, I don't want to encourage too many people to go there...) Camp hosts are wonderful! Wish I knew their name. Even warned us about possible noise from a group next to us and told us to come wake them at any time. We didn't have to. Huntington Lake is like a trip back in time. Relaxing, old buildings, not much to do except to enjoy the wonderful outdoors. Oh, prior reviewers are correct about the woman at registration. She was rude and not friendly at all. We assumed she must be someone's relative and kinda laughed it off. But she is giving NFS a bad name tho. She wouldn't work for me with that attitude...at least not dealing with customers. read more

This was the first time we have camped here! We loved it! The fishing was great! Caught 8 trout in one day!!! The camp hosts were very nice and friendly! The bathrooms were clean. And I like how the campsites are not neck and neck with the neighbors. The entire staff even the office crew were very friendly. Penny Champagne in the office, highlighted all the available campsites and told us to drive around and find the perfect one and then come back and reserve. We did just that. Smooth and easy transaction. Overall, perfect experience!! Thank you!! read more

Best Camp ground ever. Have been coming here since I was very young. Always clean and so close to lake access from many sites.

Great place to camp. I thought the campsites being close together was going to bother me but it was fine. The host was nice and welcoming. They have all the amenities except for showers. read more

We've been camping here for the past 18 years and like it more since it was renovated. This place is just beautiful, even when we had the draught, we still came. It's just such a peaceful place to relax with mother nature. It's always kept very clean. We would always sray on ite 68 just by the shore but now we've been staying further back where we see more deer and bear activity. We still haven't seen an actual bear, just their little surprises to let us know they were there. Love it! read more

Came here a couple weeks ago with a group of friends. We had a blast! The campsites were clean and the weather was beautiful. Perfect nights for enjoying a campfire! The drains at the dishwashing sink and water spigot were backed up despite the fact that there was a sign asking to be considerate of what you're rinsing. Also, there were a couple tour buses that dropped off passengers for a few hours on Sunday June 25th. They completely invaded the campsite access portion of the lake, driving out those of us campers who were enjoying some quiet fishing and swimming. They also left behind piles of garbage, fishing tackle, broken bottles and miscellaneous items of clothing and shoes. I know this because I walked from my campsite down to the lake to fish after they left and ended up clearing out an entire bags worth of the above mentioned garbage. Clean up after yourselves!! The forest is beautiful and we are lucky to have it to enjoy. A suggestion for the private campgrounds... public access belongs away from the pay for use campgrounds. Other than this, we had an awesome time! read more

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Simply beautiful! Campsites 87 and 88 which where hike in, were not as bad as i thought. Just about 40 feet from parking. Bathrooms were very clean. Park well kept by park attendant. Walked around campground, all campsites are very close to lake. Campsites are bigger than what I expected. Peace and quiet. Prepare yourself and expect water to be cold and bring extra warm clothes and blankets. read more

The drive from Prather (the town before the mountain) is intense to say the least. We drove a 30ft Motor home and towed our boat. You will likely overheat if going during the daytime so run your heater. The drive up and down the mountain is an hour, and there are quite a few sharp turns it is a winding steep road, you will pass Shaver Lake and the little populated town, otherwise there is NOTHING around. The Campground is absolutely beautiful, but beware you are in the middle of the Forrest. There are Bears, Wolves, Fox's, Raccoon's, and Cows that traveled through the campground daily. There are Vaulted toilets (just a hole in the ground) and a few running water toilets throughout the campground. There is no Dump site for you to dump your Grey/Black water (you need to go to Shaver Lake to dump). Once you get to Huntington Lake there are 2 stores where you can get items you may have forgotten. The Lake is a Sailing Lake, which is something we were not aware of, this means there is a lot of wind on the lake and is choppy in some spots. The water was ICE cold, to the point where it was painful to swim. The kids however didn't mind. There is enough wood in the Forrest you don't need to bring wood to burn, however I would advise bringing an Axe or Saw to cut the wood to fit into the pit. There was no cell phone service so we were able to get the Teenagers to engage with us all week, it was truly a beautiful week spent in the wilderness. It was missing a star only because there was no dump or showers in the camp ground. Although we have a motor home and were able to shower, the tent campers around us were not able to shower. However you could pay $5 at the store and have a hot shower. read more

They say they provide internet . . You get 2 hours to check your email that takes 55 mins to load, then you are cut off and must buy more time. . No cell phones work there. Stay was for four days and told if we need to leave early, there would be no problem to get a refund. Because of no internet and our business we wanted to leave a day early. Whoa, here comes the nasty. They said it would be a $15.00 cancellation fee, which I agreed to out of the $42.00 per night. I explained that we would leave in the morning if they would refund us the balance of $27.00 after the cancellation fee. They wrote me a check which I refused because I paid them cash and felt they should refund me in cash. Since they had an attitude at this point, I was not comfortable with the check. . They threw money on the counter and told us to "get the f##k out of their park!" The mother, daughter, and worker were all nasty. We were shocked at the foul language and packed up and left immediately. There is no cell phone service and they could care less if you cannot get their slow internet to work before it cuts you off. Terrible people running this place. . . Never again. . Beware read more