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Carr Lake Campground is a hike in (short hike) campground on a beautiful lake. There are eleven campsites, operated by PG&E.; Easy access to many alpine lakes in the Grouse Lakes Area. Easy day hikes. Rough road for last 3 miles.
From Nevada City: Take Hwy 20 headed east toward Truckee for approximately 20 miles. Make a left on Bowman Lake Road (Forest Road 18). Stay on that road (windy, with tight corners and narrow spots, but paved) for approximately 6 miles and turn right on Forest Road 17, an unimproved dirt road (not recommended for low vehicles). Stay to the right for 3 miles, until reaching the parking area. From I-80: Take Hwy 20 exit and follow Hwy 20 headed west for approximately 5 miles. Turn right on Bowman Lake Road (Forest Road 18). Stay on that road (windy, with tight corners and narrow spots, but paved) for approximately 6 miles and turn right on Forest Road 17, an unimproved dirt road (not recommended for low vehicles). Stay to the right for 3 miles, until reaching the parking area.
1st, please don't drive out here with 2 wheel drive. The road is extremely rough and gets especially torn up without AWD. As for the campground, there's only 11 sites some with lake access some that don't. You have to hike in from the parking lot which is either close (sites 1-4) or a but of a trek. The vault toilets are at the end near sites 9-11.
This is a also great place to go backpacking whether you're experienced or just starting out! You can do a mellow 3/4 mi hike to some beautiful lakes or you can get a good hike in to more isolated spots. Dogs welcome!
Rough three miles of unpaved road to get here. I drove with mazda 3 FWD (6 inch ground clearance). It’s probably not the best, but it works. $15 dollars to camp per night. First come first serve as it’s off season. I camped at the furthest campsite, which was about 0.3 miles. I had my backpacking gears so it was no issue to carry them. This was a gorgeous place and day hiking trails are amazing as well. I would love to come back to backpack when it is allowed later.
We had a great time up there. It was surprisingly quiet for a Sunday morning, (we got up there around 11 am) some but not a crazy amount of people. Lots of people had dogs on leash and some off, but all dogs and people were polite either way. Would definitely say it's a moderate hike with lots of rocks and decent elevation, but there were soo many spots around multiple lakes to stop on the trail as well as a large amount of greenery and wild flowers. The trail is pretty obvious, but I would suggest downloading maps to your phone including getting home. The only downside to the spot is the complete lack of service which may confuse people who need GPS. It's pretty easy to get back to the main road as long as you pay attention going up. Our dog had a great time playing in the water. And we saw a large amount of baby catfish in the pond. Also this may be an obvious thought but make sure you have a full gas tank, check your tires, and bring waters, there is no store for miles and you will be out of luck if stuck.
Went in Oct. Was around 40°f at night and high 60°d day but was beautiful.
