Glory Hole Recreation Area

Rented a patio boat for the day. Orientation for the group well organized- didn't just explain, demonstrated things as needed. Staff are extremely helpful. Well stocked. Clean and neat restrooms and dock area. New Melones, as always is beautiful.

This area is clean and has some very attractive and serene views. It is for self-contained camping since the restrooms are closed and I didn't see any hookups (water or electric). There were port-a-potties but the restrooms, showers, and dump stations are all closed.This site isn't for everyone. It's for those who need a place to sleep at night since there aren't safe walking areas around the camp or many common areas. You are either here as an overnight stay on your travels or because you are enjoying water play during the day and need a place to sleep at night.I would enjoy coming here to take in the views and hang out around my RV for a couple of days but most people would want more attractions or amenities to make it worth their effort.Note that although recreation.gov and camping review sites indicate there is a dump station--that is misleading. There is a dump station but it has been closed for months and, according to a park staffer, it will remain closed indefinitely.

We went there to survey the area For a possible camping spot. Nice area and nice to camp around spring time will revisit again summer to see how hot it gets when camping around summertime.

We reserved 3 spots in Big Oak Campground. It went very poorly. The weather changed so it ended up being 104-107 the entire time we where there. The camp sites where messy, broken glass, bottle caps (rusty!) burned beer cans in the fire pits, overgrown trees that hang down to 3' above the ground - it was so bad that I went to ACE hardware and bought trimmers and cut it back so it wouldn't damage my tent , or hurt someoneDue to the heat we ended up needing a lot more water, however on recreation.gov they don't tell you where water is at. It was in the middle of another camp area, on top of the hill. so we had to lug water up and down hills for a week. The water is HOT, running it for 5-10 minutes would not yield cool water below 90 degrees.Second issue that they don't say is these campgrounds are NOT FLAT, and have a LOT of vertical drop from one site to another, and from the road to the site, and parking spots. we're talking 5-10' in areas, and it's very hard to carry stuff up/down the slopes and not fall. The one bathroom/shower area was nothing more than a rest-stop style bathroom, with a shower head on a wall. The showers in the men's bathroom stopped working after the first night - it's quarter driven and wouldn't detect quarters, and then on full cold, it was about 100degrees. I suspect there is a above-ground pressure tank that gets cooked all day in the sun. This means you can't cool down AT ALL. The Women's bathroom had no lights. There was a switch on the wall, but it didn't work. There was a maintenance person that came by and we alerted them to it, and they said "oh yea it's been that way for a while, there is a work order, we don't know when it will be fixed". Fun side note, if any of the sewage pumps fail, they don't get fixed for years because they are so old the parts aren't made anymore. This is why some bathrooms are closed. We went knowing the water level was down. I'm used to having to drive to water and finding a spot that works to get in to it. NOT HERE. There is only ONE place you can access it - the boat ramp. The marina doesn't allow you to drive down, and you have to walk over half a mile up/down a steep slope. Over at the boat ramp, they have cemented large boulders /rocks around the water so people cant' access it. and the area where you can, it's a 30 degree rock face to go down.During one of the nights we had a Tarantula yes. the big ass spider, come out of the grass and start exploring our main food area... The ladies of the trip where NOT impressed.I've visited other lake camp areas, like Shasta, Whiskeytown, Berryessa and this by far was the worst trip I've ever been on.

We stayed at the Ironhorse campground for 3 nights in April. Space 66 has a loop driveway which was great for our 18 ft trailer. The camp spots are large and gives plenty of solitude. We had a great 180 degree view of the lake and surrounding hills and mountains. Most spots have oak trees for shade. This time of year the grass is green and there are wildflowers everywhere. The store at the marina is not open yet though. There is water about every 100 ft, not at every space. The camp host was extremely helpful and went out of his way to help us with a dead battery. We saw lots of wildlife- deer, turkey, hawks, birds, etc. a beautiful place and we will be back.

One of the nicest and cleanest campground and recreation areas in California is stuck with the most unfortunate name.I happened upon this place accidentally as the afternoon was drawing to a close and I was eager to find something quickly. I stopped at the registration booth and commented to the park attendant how new everything looked. Well, it ain't: he said it's just very well maintained. That's an understatement. Fortunately, the weekend prior to Memorial Day didn't produce many visitors so I had an entire campground section to myself. A surly gang of turkeys came by to complain about my presence on their turf -- they nest in the nearby trees -- but they soon relented after a staring contest and a hefty bribe that permitted me a good night's sleep.I wish I had the time to explore the lake the next morning but time was limited. By my next visit, I hope the local authorities have had the good sense to change the name. Let me suggest one: Angels Paradise. That's how it seemed to me.

We camped at site 131 which has a beautiful view of the lake. There are trees, but they offer very little shade. It was overwhelmingly hot, so more shade would have been nice. Great proximity to places like Columbia, Sonora, Twain Harte, Calaveras Big Trees. Very clean bathrooms. We rented a small patio boat one day, it was a bit over-priced for a dirty boat (hadn't had a basic cleaning in months), but we were able to cruise all day and park it to swim in the middle of the lake...only way to jump in really. No beachy areas to go dip your feet in without getting stuck in mud. If you get a chance to go for a swim from a boat, the water is lovely! Like 78-81 degrees! My kids loved it.Biggest issue for mid Aug camping at New Melones?! Tarantulas. Everywhere. . It was pretty disgusting!

was here over labor day weekend, and had an amazing time. i was there with friends, a bunch of 20 somethings lol, but i would say great place to bring your kids! we saw lots of kids biking and running around. we even went to the marina and kayaked. saw lots of wildlife too. bathrooms are clean and the water for showers gets hot!

Stayed here 5/5/23-5/8/23 campsites are decent, not much description of them on the booking site. There's no water available, the bathrooms are hit and miss on either portapotties with a rope to hold closed. The dump station is closed with no warning signs or reasonable alternative. The campground has so much potential if it was kept up.

We visited in the off-season and were underwhelmed. The tent site of our campground, and others, was nowhere near level. Lots of little litter 'fluff': bottle tops, labels, and cigarette butts. Picnic table is the aluminum tube and board type. Everyone else was here in a camper.It was annoying that the bathrooms near us were locked. We assumed COVID, but it turns out other bathrooms were open. Bathroom lights were still on all night, shining on our tent and drowning out the stars. You might have trouble sleeping, but the seven a.m. garbage and honey trucks will wake you up on time. On the plus side, it was very cheap; low enough to avoid the mountain temperatures; and right on the road to Big Trees.