U.S. Forest Service · Eldorado National Forest · California

Northwind Campground

Location: 23 miles east of Placerville on Highway 50 and 11 miles north on Ice House Road (Forest Road 3),then east (right) on Forest Road 32. Northwind Campground Recreation Opportunity Guide (ROG) - This guide contains information, maps, and directions to assist you in enjoying your trip to the Eldorado National Forest.

Closed for the seasonFirst-come, first-served

More like this: first-come in California

Northwind Campground
Photo from the area. Region 5 Photography (CC BY 2.0), via Wikimedia Commons
1fire
active
Tmu Rx Support (prescribed burn) · 21 mi away
Interagency incident data as of 2026-10-16
Incident details ↓

Season & status

StatusClosed for the season. Forest Service sites close for the season; check the official page for the reopening date.
SeasonMay to October
ForestEldorado National Forest
BookingNo Reservations.
Fees$10/ single family site, $5 for extra vehicle.
RulesSingle units are limited to 2 vehicles and 6 people per site. Double units are 4 vehicles and 12 people. An additional fee will be charged for an extra vehicle if the parking spur will accommodate it. Vehicle = Any equipment that is required to be licensed/registered. Includes RVs, trailers, cars/trucks, boat/car trailer, motorcycle/atv, etc.

Eldorado National Forest recreation page ↗

Weather by month

NOAA climate normals →
Weather by month near Northwind Campground30°40°50°60°70°80°January: 9.62 inches of precipitation, 10.1 inches of snowFebruary: 8.77 inches of precipitation, 17.3 inches of snowMarch: 8.83 inches of precipitation, 13.5 inches of snowApril: 4.90 inches of precipitation, 5.4 inches of snowMay: 3.17 inches of precipitation, 0.6 inches of snowJune: 0.93 inches of precipitation, 0.0 inches of snowJuly: 0.03 inches of precipitation, 0.0 inches of snowAugust: 0.06 inches of precipitation, 0.0 inches of snowSeptember: 0.55 inches of precipitation, 0.0 inches of snowOctober: 2.92 inches of precipitation, 0.1 inches of snowNovember: 5.30 inches of precipitation, 3.8 inches of snowDecember: 9.38 inches of precipitation, 7.4 inches of snowJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecJanuary: 37.9°F averageFebruary: 40.6°F averageMarch: 44.3°F averageApril: 49.3°F averageMay: 57.2°F averageJune: 64.5°F averageJuly: 71.9°F averageAugust: 70.6°F averageSeptember: 65.9°F averageOctober: 53.5°F averageNovember: 42.9°F averageDecember: 36.6°F average0 in5 in10 in15 in20 inTemp °FInches
The line is the average temperature and the bars are average precipitation at Pacific House, 10 miles from the campground at 3,450 feet, station USC00046597 in the NOAA monthly climate normals for 1991 to 2020. Precipitation totals about 54 inches a year. The dotted line is average snowfall, about 58 inches a year on the same inches scale.

Getting there

Coordinates38.8315° N, 120.3486° W · Directions ↗

Fire nearby

  • Prescribed
    Tmu Rx Support

    21 mi from the campground

Distance is to the reported incident point, not the fire edge. Call the managing office before you drive.

Supplies & services

Dump stationDump station ↗1 mi
Outdoor gearSierra ↗19.3 mi
RV sales & serviceCustom Truck Accessories ↗37.6 mi

Locations © OpenStreetMap contributors. Call ahead; hours change seasonally.

Limited data for this unit

No site-by-site records, no amenities, no fee schedule or directions in the Recreation.gov record. What is here comes from the agency's own listing. The rest lives there.

Checked nightly. Modules appear as soon as the record fills in.

Explore

Trails nearby

Forest Service trail data →
  • 0.5 mi
    Ice House Bike Trail
    3.4 mi trail · hiking, horse, bike
  • 2.8 mi
    Union Valley Bike Trail ↗
    6.7 mi trail · hiking, horse, bike
  • 3.9 mi
    Millionaire Trail
    0.8 mi trail · hiking, horse, bike
  • 4.3 mi
    Bassi Falls
    0.5 mi trail · hiking, horse, bike
  • 4.5 mi
    Sugarloaf Peak
    0.2 mi trail · hiking, horse, bike

Trail and trailhead records are the Forest Service's. Distances are straight-line to the nearer trail end. Trail conditions are not tracked here.

Public land it sits in

On Wilderness Atlas →

This campground sits inside Eldorado National Forest.

Each unit is published as a centre point and an acreage rather than a boundary, so this section stands it in for a circle of the same area. Whether a campground is inside, and how far it is from one it is outside, are both approximate.

Guidebooks for California

We earn a small commission if you buy through these links. It does not change what we list.

Titles come from Open Library's catalog, matched by subject heading or by title.

Reference

Questions people ask

Do I need a reservation at Northwind Campground?

No. Northwind Campground is first-come, first-served. No Reservations. Sites are taken on arrival and paid at the fee station.

Source: Forest Service

How much does it cost to camp at Northwind Campground?

$10/ single family site, $5 for extra vehicle.

Source: Forest Service

Is Northwind Campground open right now?

Closed for the season as of Oct 16, 2026. Season May to October.

Source: Forest Service status

Is there cell service at Northwind Campground?

FCC coverage maps show Verizon 4G LTE, AT&T 5G, and T-Mobile 5G at the campground point. Terrain changes that from one site to the next.

Source: FCC Broadband Map

What if Northwind Campground is full?

The nearest public campgrounds are Strawberry Point Campground (0.5 mi, first-come), Ice House (0.8 mi), and Silver Creek Group Campground (2.3 mi).

Source: Campgrounds nearby