Red Fir
October 2026
About
Overview
Situated on the north side of the Loon Lake Reservoir, Red Fir Group Campground offers a primitive group camping experience in the lush Eldorado National Forest.
Recreation
The nearby lake provides fishing, swimming and boating, and the campground is just a short walk across the road to the water's edge.
Visitors also enjoy off-road vehicle and motorcycle riding on the popular Rubicon Jeep trail.
Hiking and wilderness backpacking are popular activities. Day permits are available at the nearby Loon Lake trailhead and overnight permits are available at the Eldorado Information Center.
Facilities
The campground offers tent-only campsites, accommodating a group of up to 25 guests.
A group kitchen area is equipped with multiple tables, a campfire circle and grills. Accessible vault toilets and drinking water are provided.
Natural Features
The campground is part of the Crystal Basin Recreation Area, situated at a 6,400-foot elevation and nestled in a forest of tall pine trees.
Nearby Attractions
The campground is not far from the Desolation Wilderness.
Charges & Cancellations
- Change Fee: A service fee may be charged at the time a modification is made depending on the changes.
- Cancellation Fee: A $10 service fee will be withheld from any refunds for a cancelled reservation.
- Cut-Off Window: The latest date and/or time that you can make an advanced reservation or a change to an existing reservation. Cut-off windows can vary by location, but are typically 4 days before your arrival date. A customer who cancels a reservation the day before or on the day of arrival will pay a $10.00 service fee AND forfeit the first night's use fee (see Late Cancellation below).
- Late Cancellation: If you cancel your reservation too close to the start date, additional service fees may be withheld.
- Refunds: Refund requests made through www.recreation.gov will be charged a $10 processing fee. This fee is retained by the reservation service contractor along with the non-refundable reservation fee. All requests for the return of the non-refundable reservation fee and the cancellation fee will be declined by the campground concessionaire as they did not receive these fees (these are the fees retained by the reservation contractor, a different entity).
Amenities
Phone: 831-245-6891
Is RED FIR fully booked?
A campground showing no availability is almost never full for good. People cancel — plans change, weather turns, someone books three weekends and keeps one — and the site goes straight back into the booking system, usually without warning and often at odd hours. The reason sold-out campgrounds feel impossible is not that sites never free up; it is that nobody is watching at the moment they do.
CampHawk watches RED FIR in CA for you. We recheck it every 15 seconds, around the clock, and the moment a site opens we send a text, an email and a push notification — and on Recreation.gov we can put the site straight into your cart, so it is held while you get to your phone.
Searching is free and needs no account — the calendar above is live right now. Watching RED FIR for cancellations is the paid part.