Sly Guard Cabin
October 2026
About
Overview
The Sly Guard Cabin is less remote than other cabins on the Eldorado National forest and is a great choice for families with children. Sly Guard provides the cabin in the woods experience with the convenience of modern amenities. The cabin is near Sly Park Reservoir, also called Jenkinson Lake, the tourist area of Apple Hill, a variety of wineries, a number of hiking trails, and the historic mining towns of Coloma and Placerville. The Sly Guard Cabin was constrcuted in the early 1940s by the Forest Service as living quarters for rangers "on guard" in the Sly Park area.
Recreation
Hiking, mountain biking, and picnicking are great options while staying at the cabin. Cedar Park trail is just steps away from the cabin, where you can take a relaxing walk along the 1.2 mile paved loop trail. There is also an observation deck along the trail offering views of Pyramid Peak and the Crystal Range. There is a horsehoe pit on the cabin grounds. Sly Park Creek has a swimming hole and Sly Park Reservoir attracts lots of boaters and anglers. Gold panning may also be done in the creek.
Natural Features
At nearly 3,600 feet in elevation, Sly Guard Cabin sits among Ponderosa and Jeffrey pine near the town of Pollock Pines. The cabin is well shaded during the day, keeping it cool in the summer. A downhill dirt trail leads guests south to Sly Park Creek and the bottom of the spillway at Sly Park Reservoir.
Nearby Attractions
The Sly Park Environmental Education School is located across the street. Guided nature walks are conducted daily on the trail adjacent to the cabin.
A resort at the entrance of Jenkinson Lake (Sly Creek Reservoir) offers a small store, restaurant and bar, pay phone, gas and fishing supplies. It is about a 2-mile drive.
Amenities
Phone: 530-644-2324
Is SLY GUARD CABIN 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 SLY GUARD CABIN 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 SLY GUARD CABIN for cancellations is the paid part.