Eldorado National Forest

The Eldorado National Forest consist of nearly 600,000 acres with lakes, streams, and rivers; meadows and mountains; and campsites and picnic areas. There are over 400 hiking trails that pass through various terrains ranging in technical difficulty.The terrain ranges from meadow, oak foothills, to the 10,000 foot Sierra Nevada. Some hiking trails require reservations for day use permits. There are also campgrounds. Some areas, such as the areas affected by the recent fires, are off limits. For up to date information, It is advised to check out the fs.usda.gov website.The area is beautiful. Gorgeous alpine backcountry. Old growth forest. Pristine streams. There are access roads that will drive into the area. But most of the access roads are ruff, not paved, and could be hard to maneuver without a SUV.

Where do I start?! I absolutely love hiking here. It's a long drive for us, but it is so worth it! If you love Yosemite, then you will love it here as well. We hiked Horsetail Falls Trail, and I can't even explain how magnificent this place is. It is a 4 mile hike surrounded by mini waterfalls and rock formation throughout the hike. Your reward is getting underneath the main waterfall at the top of the hike. You will do a lot of rock climbing the further you hike, and it gets really steep. There are absolutely breathtaking views at the top. I love it! I recommend this hike to everyone. My tip for this hike is to bring lots of water because you will need it. Come early to snag a parking spot because it fills up fast and there is a $10 fee for parking. ENJOY!

Wide open spaces!! There are about 50 campgrounds spread throughout. Some have fees and reservation policies and some are free and you just show up and hope there is a good spot.The forest is almost 600,000 acres. All different terrains. The famous Rubicon trail is here. So much to do here for the outdoor enthusiasts. Water recreation, hundreds of miles of hiking trails, it is legal to shoot your guns here ( it is posted where it is not, obviously use common sense ).Off road vehicles are popular and not just on the Rubicon.We camped at the spot my son has been going to for years. Airport flat. It's one of the free campgrounds and it's quite a bit into the forest. No cell service. His favorite spot on the water was being used so we ended up with 3 campsites just next to it. This is dry camping here but they did have a porta potties that were acceptable. The water was cold but it was hot outside. The guys swam a lot.I thought the campgrounds were private and sites were huge! Most sites could fit our trailer and extra tents with plenty of room to spare. I have definitely paid for less enjoyable campgrounds.

The El Dorado National Forest is surprisingly snowy even in early May. I had been reading articles that the snow depth in the California mountains was half the normal depth. To the unaccustomed eye, the snow depth was surprising at this time of year. This was probably because I have never ventured through the mountains at this time of year. I am used to baseball games and bike rides in May. Many of the trailheads are closed on the Eastern side of the National Forest. We never traveled down the western side of the mountains. Instead, we stayed at higher altitudes, driving from lake to lake and hoping for an open trailhead. Finally, we found Shealor Lakes Trailhead. The trailhead was not closed, nor was it necessarily open. The entrance wasn't blocked off, but part of the parking lot was unusable due to the large snow drifts. We hiked in until the snow levels stopped our advance. At this time, I didn't have much experience in deep snow hikes. Nevertheless, it was beautiful to see the mountains in transition from winter to spring. There were little streams running down the path and on the side of the mountain that, I assume, are not there in mid-summer.

This is a great National Forest with many campgrounds and even areas of disbursement. It seems they have something for everyone. Lakes, rivers, redwood trees, trails and beautiful hilltop views. We had been there before and found a large variety of different types of campers. The person who answered the phone today was very helpful in letting me know which campgrounds I might like based on my set-up and interests (we like "quiet" camping so we can hear nature....not neighbors).Future campers coming -- This is gem, please keep it that way -- keep it clean and be respectful- don't make the forest rangers become your personal sanitation service and understand you are not the only ones in the forest. (This is not just for this great National Forest --- a trend of noisy disrespectful camping seems to be becoming the norm in the last 5-10 years, especially on weekends). Don't let that happen here, please.

Indeed a beautiful place to camp! Fresh air, tall pine trees, refreshing clean waters ...it is gorgeous scene. But prepare to be truly roughing it!! We stayed at Sunset-Union, a lovely spot near the beach of the reservoir. It could be that this camp is low budget, but there were no bathroom facilities near our camp. They just had his/her outhouses--AKA a hole in the ground with a toilet seat. The smell is unbearable and hardly clean. They have several water faucets around the camp, but we are not allowed to wash our hands, wash dishes or do anything except pitch water in your pail and take it back to your site! At your site, there are no bear boxes! So each night we had to clear out everything back into our cars. With a party of 9, we had a lot of food and supplies. It was a hassle having to hide everything each time and the next day not knowing whose car we put whatever supplies. I know, it's camping... but we like camps with some amenities like bear boxes or flushing toilets! Perhaps it's the fact that this was a National Park and the system is different from the State Park system. But the previous years of camping at State Parks we have been spoiled with their amenities. Services like bear boxes and nice bathrooms with sinks you can use and real toilets that flush and don't reek of who knows what! Anyway, despite those things... we enjoyed our time. The Eldorado Forest is beautiful none the less.

We went back to Gerle creek campground early June. We really packed for the wrong weather! It rained the first day but was sunny/cloudy the rest of the days. The lake is super full, couldn't access the fishing dock. Too cold to swim. Still had a great time! We always love the scenery.This was our first time experiencing a bear near the camp grounds! Make sure to use the bear-proof box they provide for you. I was awaken early morning by people alerting other campers that there is a bear walking around. The bear was able to push down a large garbage bin. Always a great place to camp, but it is very rural!

Wow this place is gorgeous! So quiet, peaceful, great place to come out for a hike or bring the pooch out for a day of fun!I would highly recommend, even the slay day park area (can't remember what it's called) that has an entry fee was worth it. Just so peaceful.

Pretty awesome spot. They just put in bear boxes so right on. I've been camping here for around 5 years now. My wife's been camping up here for 26. It's a good spot. Its usually pretty quiet and there are lots of spots with only a few camping slots. there's also great places to camp that are hike in only which clears out most of the riff raff. I went up this last weekend and their were some jackass's doing the usual jackassery.... blasting bad music all day and night, annoying everyone around them with their wanna be hickness. Some lady across the way called rangers on them... hoo boy. Those rangers take care of business!next day they got hit with multiple visits, breathalyzer tests, and all sorts of awesomeness. That night..instead of listening to dudes grab-assing each other while playing beer pong...i actually got to sleep before 3am and didnt have to listen to any disney inspired country songs. Sweet. The rangers = awesome.

We love camping in the Crystal Basin region. Sometimes we do a bit of free primitive camping on national forest land to avoid crowds and sometimes we opt for one of the many public campgrounds that dot Ice House Road. Most recently we stayed at Gerle Creek Campground and for the most part, loved it. We had site #21 which meant we had no one behind us. The good: Easy walk to a very pretty reservoir where no motorized boats are allowed. Cold but fun swimming - if you can make it out to the little island, it's great. Nature walks abound, and if you are lucky and there are few people about, we let our dogs off leash to run and enjoy. Bathrooms were well maintained but note it's not flush toilets. Next to each toilet is a bear-proof garbage container and a water spigot. The camp host can sell you firewood ($8). It's about 12 miles to the nearest public showers at the Fashoda Campground ($3 in quarters as of 2013). We really liked that there was not only a fire pit but also a stand-up BBQ grill for charcoal at each site.The bad: Unfortunately, for the most crowded nights (Fridays and Saturdays), we noticed a trend of groups of families and friends who booked several campsites but congregated at one, completely ignoring the "six people max per site" rule. In our case, we had a group of about 35 people (yes, we counted) who booked surrounding campsites, but pretty much set up their tents and ate all at the one site next to ours. It was a church group, so there was a lot of singing and praying and group activities. Another family group reserved three sites and congregated at one site as well. So by sheer misfortune, we were surrounded unexpectedly by large groups, who should have just gone to a group campground.We hoped the camp hosts would do something about it, but they didn't seem to care. Very annoying, but we gritted our teeth and waited it out. It's not fun to expect a max of 12 people in the two nearest sites but instead get 45 people. It gets LOUD.If you book online, prepare to spend about $25 a night with assorted fees. Additional fees are charged if your site has more than 1 car and if you bring dogs. We don't know what the fees are because the camp host never bothered to collect it from us.PRO TIP: Book your stay starting on a Sunday - most campgrounds empty out until the weekend crowds start arriving Thursday and Friday.