South Fork Group - Eldorado NF (CA)
October 2026
About
Overview
South Fork is the largest group campground in the Crystal Basin Recreation Area, nestled in the vast expanse of the Eldorado National Forest. The remote location affords visitors a true outdoor camping experience.
Recreation
With the South Fork of the Rubicon River located within walking distance, the group camp provides excellent fishing, swimming and other water sports and activities.
Facilities
While the campground can be used as a single group site that can accommodate up to 125 guests, it can also be reserved as multiple single-family sites.
A group cooking area with food preparation tables and double grills is available, as well as campfire rings with grills at each site. Vault toilets are provided, however, drinking water is not available at the campground. Visitors can boil stream water or fill up at nearby boat ramps. A parking area is also available.
Natural Features
Situated at an elevation of 5,200 feet, the campground sits between the Union Valley Reservoir and Loon Lake.
It is also just minutes away from Gerle Creek Reservoir, a serene mountain lake where motorized boating is prohibited in order to preserve a peaceful and quiet atmosphere for visitors.
Nearby Attractions
Swimming and non-motorized boating are available at Gerle Creek Reservoir, 5 miles north of the campground.
Amenities
Phone: 530-644-2324
Is South Fork Group - Eldorado NF (CA) 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 South Fork Group - Eldorado NF (CA) in Pollock Pines, 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 South Fork Group - Eldorado NF (CA) for cancellations is the paid part.