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Big Bend Group Campground is located 19 miles west of Truckee, California in the Tahoe National Forest at an elevation of 5,700 feet. Visitors enjoy the area for its fishing and hiking opportunities, as well as its historic significance along the California Emigrant Trail. This campground is operated and maintained by Forest Service staff.
The South Yuba River offers swimming and rainbow trout fishing. The historic California Emigrant Trail and Loch Leven Trail are located nearby. The surrounding area offers many additional hiking, biking and off-road vehicle trails.
The campground offers two accessible group sites, Lincoln and Victory, which can accommodate up to 25 people and five vehicles each. Picnic tables, grills and large campfire rings are provided, as well as vault toilets and drinking water.
The campground lies along the gentle South Yuba River; just behind and across the river from the Big Bend Fire Station. Stands of pine and fir covers the area, offering pleasant shade at the group sites.
Donner Lake is located 15 miles east via historic Route 40/Lincoln Highway, the nation's first transcontinental highway. Many points of interest lie along Route 40, including China Wall, Rainbow Bridge, Sugar Bowl, Lake Van Norden and Ice Lakes.
**Physical Address:**
From Truckee, take I-80 19 miles west to the Rainbow Road Exit. Travel west about 1.5 miles to the Big Bend Ranger Station and Visitor Center. Turn right past the Visitor Center and cross bridge. The campground is on the right. Victory is the first campsite and Lincoln is the second one at the end.
**Mailing Address & Phone Number** displayed at the bottom on Recreation.gov is for **mailing** purpose, **not campground**.
The site itself is nice, but the road noise from Interstate 80 is deafening.
Nice group campsite and it's great that it's right on the river. It would be nice if the bathrooms had sinks and if the campground had bear boxes so you didn't have to store everything in cars overnight. The noise from the highway is also fairly loud. That being said, I would go back.
Very pretty, the perfect spot for a big family or large group. It is very loud as others’ mention in reviews. The noise and sounds from the freeway definitely effects the quality of the experience but having river access just for the 2 campsites is well worth it. Will absolutely be back. Each site has ample table space, huge fire pits and charcoal grills. The pit toilets are clean and the water is potable. Be sure to put big bend fire station in your map app.
Hands down, AMAZING! The Lincoln site offers some seclusion and extra parking next to its giant BBQ and campfire area. Access to the river from the Lincoln sitr can be tricky, 3-4 foot drop into the river. However, the Victory site was above expectations. There was a beach style entry into the South Yuba river which was comfortable to swim in all day with no strong currents, unfortunately very few fish, but some crystal clear water and picturesque backdrop. There was parking for 6-7, with 2x right next to the BBQ area. Room for several tents right alongside the river, and clean bathrooms attended to right before our arrival. The site had a bridge connecting it to the road, and the only traffic comes from campers at the site. Book it early!! Enjoy!!
