Chilcoot
October 2026
About
Overview
Chilcoot Campground (5,100 feet) is located just downstream from Frenchman Lake alongside Last Chance Creek. The sound of flowing water along with shade from the surrounding pine and cottonwood forest are key features making this a great place to relax and enjoy the outdoors. Chilcoot Campground is one of five campgrounds in the popular Frenchman Lake Recreation Area of Northeastern California's Plumas National Forest. The campground is far enough away from the lake that visitors can experience the serene sense of solitude that the remote mountain setting provides.
Recreation
Frenchman Recreation Area offers a wide variety of recreational opportunities. Water sports including fishing, skiing, jet skiing, swimming are readily available supported by two boat launch facilities, several fishing access points and day use areas. Camping, picnicking hiking and exploring forest roads can each provide the type of adventure you are looking for. Dispersed camping (camping outside developed campgrounds) is not allowed in the recreation area. Winter activities range from snowmobiling to ice fishing and cross-country skiing.
Facilities
The campground has 40 single-family tent and RV camp sites. Some sites are available for tent camping only. Fifteen campsites are available for reservations during peak camping season. All other campsites are available as 'First Come' sites as long as the campground is open. Paved roads, paved campsite parking, water, flush toilets, host, firewood and trash service are available during peak camping season. Tables, campfire rings and recently added bear resistant containers are provided at each campsite
Natural Features
This campground is situated at the southern end of Last Chance Scenic Area. The scenic area is the result of Little Last Chance Creek cutting through ancient lava flows. This is the interface of desert and mountain climates characterized by less precipitation than areas to the west and more than areas to the east. Desert scrub grows alongside pine forest. A variety of wildlife make this area home.
Nearby Attractions
Chilcoot Campground is one of five campgrounds in the Frenchman Recreation Area.
Little Last Chance Scenic Area
Frenchman Lake is less than three miles from the campground.
Sierra Valley - Largest valley in the Sierra Nevada.
Stores and services in the towns of Chilcoot and Loyalton.
Contact Info
For facility specific information, please call (530) 836-2575.
Amenities
Phone: 530-836-2575
Is CHILCOOT 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 CHILCOOT 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 CHILCOOT for cancellations is the paid part.