Vermillion
October 2026
About
Overview
Vermillion Campground is located on the northwest shore of Edison Lake, in a shady stand of Ponderosa pine. Most sites provide lake views. The campground is ideal for tents, as well as small RVs. Visitors can enjoy mountain views of the surrounding John Muir and Ansel Adams Wilderness areas.
Recreation
Edison Lake has a free public boat launch. Canoeing and kayaking near the shoreline are popular activities. Anglers can fish for rainbow, brown or brook trout. Sandy beaches within the campground provide lake access for swimming.
Campfire programs are offered throughout the summer. Numerous hiking and equestrian trails are in the area.
Facilities
Each campsite has a picnic table, campfire ring and bear-proof food storage locker, all set off a bit from the parking spur. Some sites are sloped and not suitable for tent camping. Vault toilets are provided. There are 8 water spigots in the campground with potable drinking water.
Limited supplies and pay showers are available at the Vermillion Valley Resort, which is within walking distance.
Natural Features
The Sierra National Forest, located on the western slope of the central Sierra Nevada, is known for its spectacular mountain scenery and abundant natural resources.
The terrain includes rolling, oak-covered foothills, heavily forested middle elevation slopes and the starkly beautiful alpine landscape of the High Sierra.
Contact Info
For facility specific information, please call (559) 893-2308.
Nearby Attractions
Vermillion Campground is an excellent base for exploring the Ansel Adams or John Muir Wilderness Areas. The Vermillion Valley Resort offers ferry rides across the lake to trails within the Ansel Adams Wilderness.
Charges & Cancellations
Once your reservation start date has begun, neither the Recreation.gov Contact Center nor the campground manager will be able to modify your reservation.
Amenities
Phone: 559-893-2111
Is VERMILLION 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 VERMILLION 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 VERMILLION for cancellations is the paid part.