Sardine Lake in CA -- Campground & RV Camping
Sardine Lake in CA
CampgroundUSFS
16 mi from Portola
Official campground & reservations ↗
Road Access
- Road difficulty 4 of 5: a difficult drive in.
- Recorded as maintained for high-clearance vehicles, dirt, pitching to 14%, 100% of it on a shelf.
Rig fit
- Maximum published vehicle length: 48 ft.
- Longest published RV site: 42 ft.
- Driveway grade: slight.
Campground details
Setting
Sardine Lake Campground sits along a wet meadow at the base of the Sierra Buttes in the Tahoe National Forest. Shaded by lodgepole pines, the facility offers single-family campsites and one double site, each equipped with a picnic table, campfire ring, and bear-proof food storage locker. Vault toilets and drinking water are available on site. The campground provides access to nearby Sardine Lakes and Sand Pond for swimming, canoeing, and fishing, with local trail connections to the Deer Lake Trail, Tamarack Lakes Trail, and Pacific Crest Trail.
Getting there: From Sierra City, travel north on Highway 49 for 5 miles. Turn left at Bassett Station on Gold Lake Highway and continue just over a mile to Packer Lake Road and turn left. Continue for about 1 mile and turn left into the campground. From Sierraville, travel south on Highway 49 for about 18 miles. Turn right at Bassett Station on Gold Lake Highway and continue just over a mile to Packer Lake Road and turn left. Continue for about 1 mile and turn left into the campground.
- Little separation from through roads or other sites here, a 27-site campground with the nearest through road 0.1 miles off.
- Sierra Buttes stands 2,789 ft above the map pin, 2.4 miles southwest.
- Sand Pond lies 0.3 mi off.
- Most of them shaded.
Climate averages
October normals 38–63°F, 3.6″ precipitation. Monthly averages, PRISM 1991–2020.
Starlink Radar
Open sky · Terrain & buildings · Tree canopy
Estimated horizon in eight compass directions, using 10 m USGS elevation. Sky clearance 71 of 100.