Big Meadows Campground
Location: 22 miles east of Georgetown on Wentworth Springs Road and 27 miles northeast on Forest Highway 2. Big Meadows Campground Recreation Opportunity Guide (ROG) - This guide contains information, maps, and directions to assist you in enjoying your trip to the Eldorado National Forest.
More like this: first-come in California
Season & status
| Status | Closed for the season. Forest Service sites close for the season; check the official page for the reopening date. |
| Season | June to October |
| Forest | Eldorado National Forest |
| Booking | No Reservations. |
| Fees | $10/ single site, $20/ double site. Single units are limited to 1 vehicle and 6 people per site. Double units are 2 vehicles and 12 people. An additional fee will be charged for extra vehicles if the parking spur will accommodate it. |
| Rules | CAUTION: There are bears in the area. Please keep all foods, soaps, and garbage contained. Do not feed the animals. Please use the fire ring provided. Please keep family pets on a leash at all times. Use only dead and down wood for your campfires. Please use the stove or fire ring provided and make sure your fire is dead out before leaving. Use only water, not soil. Check out time is 1:00 p.m. |
Weather by month
Getting there
| Coordinates | 39.0745° N, 120.4274° W · Directions ↗ |
Fire nearby
- PrescribedTmu Rx Support
27 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 station | Dump station ↗ | 15.1 mi |
| Outdoor gear | Alpenglow Sports ↗ | 16.6 mi |
| RV sales & service | DeMartini RV Sales ↗ | 34.7 mi |
Locations © OpenStreetMap contributors. Call ahead; hours change seasonally.
No site-by-site records, no amenities, no fee schedule, no directions or photos 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
Worth a stop
- 2.5 miFrench Meadows Boat Ramp ↗Boat launch
- 2.7 miFrench Meadows Picnic Site ↗Day use
- 3.3 miMcguire Boat Ramp ↗Boat launch
- 3.6 miMcguire Picnic Site ↗Day use
- 13.9 miMckinney/Rubicon Trailhead ↗Trailhead
- 13.9 miMckinney/Rubicon Trailhead ↗Trailhead
Trails nearby
- 0.5 miHellhole 4WD Trail3.8 mi trail · hiking, horse, bike, ATV and 1 more
- 1.2 miHellhole ↗7.5 mi trail · hiking, horse, bike
- 1.3 miHunters ↗9.6 mi trail · hiking, horse, bike, motorcycle and 1 more
- 2.3 miCampground Water Supply0.07 mi trail · hiking, horse, bike, motorcycle and 1 more
- 2.6 miMiddle Meadow2.1 mi trail · hiking, horse, bike
- 3.8 miMosquito Ridge ↗28.8 mi trail · hiking, horse, bike, motorcycle and 4 more
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
This campground sits inside Tahoe National Forest.
- inTahoe National Forest ↗National Forest · Forest Service · 1,181,139 acres
- 0.4 miEldorado National Forest ↗National Forest · Forest Service · 793,653 acres
- 4.5 miGranite Chief Wilderness ↗Wilderness · Forest Service · 28,374 acres
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.
Other campgrounds nearby
Cabin and lookout rentals nearby
On the National Register nearby
- Laura Russ Westphal HouseBuilding · Homewood · 14.7 mi
Guidebooks for California
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Titles come from Open Library's catalog, matched by subject heading or by title.
Reference
Questions people ask
Do I need a reservation at Big Meadows Campground?
No. Big Meadows 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 Big Meadows Campground?
$10/ single site, $20/ double site. Single units are limited to 1 vehicle and 6 people per site. Double units are 2 vehicles and 12 people.
Source: Forest Service
Is Big Meadows Campground open right now?
Closed for the season as of Oct 16, 2026. Season June to October.
Source: Forest Service status
What if Big Meadows Campground is full?
The nearest public campgrounds are Hell Hole Campground (0.6 mi, first-come), Middle Meadows (2.6 mi), and French Meadows (2.7 mi, partly first-come).
Source: Campgrounds nearby