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Fashoda Campground, located on a peninsula of the eastern side of Union Valley Reservoir, is an incredibly scenic place to camp. The lake area is a hub for activities like swimming, sailing, boating and fishing. Hiking and biking are also quite popular, and many campers make use of the Union Valley Bike Trail.
Head out on a sailboat or take the family water skiing. Union Valley offers a number of water activities. Anglers seek rainbow, brown and mackinaw trout and Kokanee salmon.
The Union Valley Bike Trail stretches 4.8 miles with an easy climb of 300 feet. The trail connects campgrounds on the east side of the lake, starting from Wench Creek on down to Jones Fork Campground.
All sites are walk-to tent camping sites. A parking lot is located above the campground. Perks of the campground include vault toilets, drinking water, showers and a picnic area. Campers can make use of the fee dump station at Yellowjacket or Sunset Campgrounds.
Union Valley Reservoir sits in the Crystal Basin, spanning 25,000 acres at an elevation of 5,100 feet. The area is part of the Eldorado National Forest, which is home to the famed gold mining territory of the 1800s. Remnants of the California Gold Rush days can be found throughout the region.
Wildlife thrives in the Eldorado National Forest. Bring a camera and be sure to look for spotted owls, bobcats, mule deer and porcupines.
Climb up Two Peaks and look down on a fantastic view of Union Valley and the Crystal Basin.
* Recreation Fee: Recreation fees are the fees a visitor pays for things like overnight camping, a day-use pavilion, group facilities, a tour or a permit. Recreation fees vary by location and/or activity.
* Reservation Fee: A fee may be charged at the time a reservation is made to cover the cost of reservation services. This fee is in addition to the Recreation Fee and is non-refundable. Fees for camping, day use, group sites, cabins and lookouts: $8 if made on-line; $9 if made through the call center; $3 if made in-person.
* Change Fee: A service fee may be charged at the time a modification is made depending on the changes.
* Cancellation Fee: A $10 service fee will be withheld from any refunds for a cancelled reservation.
* Cut-Off Window: The latest date and/or time that you can make an advanced reservation or a change to an existing reservation. Cut-off windows can vary by location, but are typically 4 days before your arrival date. A customer who cancels a reservation the day before or on the day of arrival will pay a $10.00 service fee AND forfeit the first night's use fee (see Late Cancellation below).
* Late Cancellation: If you cancel your reservation too close to the start date, additional service fees may be withheld.
From Placerville, take Highway 50 east for 23 miles. Turn north on Forest Road 3 (Ice House Road) for 15 miles. Look for signs to the campground.
Clean, friendly staff, near a beautiful lake. But sites are hard to come by and fill up fast. First come, first served if you can get there early on busy weekends. Showers, but you need a lot of quarters, every 3 minutes.
Stayed in camp site #23 & there are plenty of spaces for up to 6 tents, depending on size. Spaces for tents were relatively flat and spaced out generously. There was a bear box to store your food in, fire pit, a grill as well as a picnic table that can seat up to 12. There were 2 bathrooms close by both had water spigots. Best to bring antibacterial wipes for the bathrooms as some were pretty gross as well as TP, just in case. Overall this was a beautiful site, quiet for the most part, would camp here again.
This is a party campground for people who don't actually want to enjoy or respect the outdoors. This was by far the loudest and dirtiest campground I've ever stayed in. There was garbage everywhere, from small bits of plastic all over our campground to straight up piles of trash left behind by the other campers on Sunday. There was music, yelling, and bright floodlights until the early hours of the morning and the camp host did nothing about it. The pit toilet was absolutely gross by Sunday morning, with an overflowing garbage and toilet paper all over the floor. Campers didn't put their coolers in the bear boxes at night, so bears ate their food and they woke up the entire campground yelling about it at 2:30 AM. Really disappointing experience. Two stars because the setting is beautiful and we loved swimming, floating, and paddle boarding in the reservoir.
Great campsites and lake but a ton of bear activity. Dont seem to be scared of people and get to close for comfort. Make sure any food or other scented items are locked in the bear lockers
This is a very nice campground with lake access for most of the sites. The pit toilets are some of the cleanest I've seen anywhere! They regularly pressure wash the floors! The sites are roomy, with space for several tents at each site. Awesome views of the snow-capped mountains to the east.
