Overview
A brief introduction to Tahoe National Forest
Meadow Lake (previously: Excelsior; Summit City) was a historic mining town in Nevada County, California. It was located on the southwest shore of Meadow Lake, about 18 miles northwest of Truckee as the crow flies. Situated at an elevation of 7,290 ft (2,220 m) above sea level, the reservoir of the same name is one of the highest lakes in elevation within the Tahoe National Forest.
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Scan for cancellationsContact Tahoe National Forest
- Recreation.gov
- Booking site: https://www.recreation.gov
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Other nearby parks
Open to camping at other nearby parks? Here are a few other parks you'll find in the vicinity.
Reviews
Camper reviews for Tahoe National Forest
Nice
There were parts of the Campground that flooded this last year and so there were fewer campsites available but I enjoyed my stay this last summer. Some of this camp area is more accommodating to people with off road play equipment, but there are sections that are more mellow. There is also Prosser Family and the Prosser group area.
Lovely area needs more support from the Forest Service
We visited Woodcamp in midsummer of 2022. The drive in from Highway 89 is mostly paved, but you'll need to navigate about a mile of dirt road before turning off to the campground. The gravel can be a bit rough in places--slow going for cars or folks pulling trailers. The road to the campground as well as the sites is paved in asphalt.
Woodcamp has the feel of a local's place. It's not heavily used (one night midweek was had the place almost to ourselves) and quieter than campgrounds frequented by tourists.
Our site was very privately situated with access to abundant firewood, but it had little tree canopy. We enjoyed unusually cool summer weather, but the lack of shade could make things very hot. (Other sites were more heavily wooded, but not as private and somewhat small for trailers.)
Lake levels were low enough to keep us from enjoying the waterfront--tossing a towel down on the crusty old lake bottom didn't sound appealing. The day-use facilities at Webber Lake just down the road were terrific, though.
As others have noted, there is ample water available throughout the grounds, and there are two bathrooms: one set of pit toilets and a newer bathroom with sinks and flush toilets. For some reason, they are both located right next to each other.
We spent one afternoon at our site and noticed three different forest service trucks pass through. One appeared to be a fire patrol, the other two passed through without a greeting. We're not sure what they were there for. Neither of them stopped to service the bathrooms or fix the lock on the women's room, which was broken the entire length of our stay.
Map
View a map of Tahoe National Forest
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