Cherry Valley Campground

A slice of paradise! We booked this camping whilst we were still in Australia and apparently it would be only an hour away from Yosemite (we definitely did something wrong as it actually would take us around 2h with our rental van to the visitor center). Turns out our “mistake” took us to this stunning - and very well looked after - campsite ✨ We ended up staying for 2 nights and spending a day at the Cherry Lake instead of heading to Yosemite straight away as our original plan. JJ is lovely and an outstanding host. We had a good chat and he sorted our booking out (we had 4 nights booked and he rearranged the following nights to another camping closer to Yosemite) - what a legend! The cherry valley campsite is so well looked after by him and his dog (he proudly says no bears would come around with his dog there). Thanks for it all, JJ! I hope we can visit you back soon :)

Beautiful remote campground. The lake is beautiful, there's a waterfall and great swimming area (take trail down from site #10). No cell reception here unless you have Verizon (spotty reception but works). No running water. You need to bring your water. Firewood is available on site. Night sky beautiful here because it's remote and away from light pollution. Definitely recommend.

Campground manager JJ (two j’s lol) helped make our stay worth the 5 stars. Beautiful secluded campground, amazing views and best view of the stars at night. JJ did a wonderful job at keeping the place clean and tidy for everyone and was very accommodating when needed. Just note the way up and down to the 120 is very intense so be careful! But otherwise perfect in our opinion. Definitely recommend!

Stayed at the campground with our scout troop! The bathrooms were so clean! I was totally impressed! JJ the camp host was extremely friendly and helpful! He was always making rounds around the camp ground and he let us know about trails that were available. I would gladly stay again at that campground!

Great campground. We loved our stay here. Camp manager had the wood and offered a ton of information. Small but step hike to a waterfall right off the campground. Watch out lots of spiders by the water and not a lot of space to sit at the bottom of the hike. recommend you take a snack and water. we loved the stay here and will be returning. make sure to bring your own water.

I wish I could give this place 6 stars. Just make sure you check in with site host JJ and his dog Zeke when you arrive. He’s very friendly and helpful and we got great tips from him the whole time. We booked site 10 knowing it was by the path to the lake, but when we got there JJ made sure to tell us about two first-come-first-serve spots at the top of the hill that by far surpassed the spot we’d reserved. We ended up with significantly more space, a nicer view of the campground, a little bit of water through the trees, and a bathroom just across from us. Which, I might add, was very clean and always thoughtfully propped open to help with smell. Thanks to JJs tips we caught multiple bald eagle sightings, a hike down to lake Eleanor, a short hike down to lake Cherry (footpath from site 10), and a hike over to Kibbie Creek, which might have been the single most beautiful day of hiking I’ve ever done. If we’d had time we’d have continued to Kibbie lake, but we just had too much fun exploring and relaxing at the creek. It’s a fast moving creek over solid granite so there are few to no bugs, the water was great to dip our feet in, and there is a series of small waterfalls that were stunning. Just wear the right shoes! You will thank yourself if you have good grippy trail shoes on all these hikes. Make sure to ask JJ about local hiking and swimming spots! He’s been around and knows all the good spots within a days drive. He also knows which spots are safe to swim and which aren’t, so make sure you listen!! He knows his stuff and might just save your life. He also has firewood available for sale if you forgot it, just bring cash. Main caveats: NO SERVICE. I have ATT and was completely without it. My partner has Xfinity and got away barely enough to send a text and no more. Invest in AllTrails plus (36/year and it was VERY helpful in keeping us on the trail), download maps on Google, or just bring a map. Also, just ask JJ! He has a massive map at his trailer that is very detailed. AllTrails was slightly wrong about the Lake Eleanor trailhead, so his map helped. DISTANCE: Nearest town is 33 miles away, so bring all you need. That said, the forest road there is beautiful and relatively easy to drive. Plus, the distance makes for great star-gazing. There is a gravel road on the dam where you can walk/drive out and get some sky. BRING WATER. There is a water spigot on site, but when you’re that remote, and especially if it’s busy, don’t rely on it. Get a big 10-20L water cube or two from a sporting goods store. My general rule is 1 gallon per person, per day. So 2 people, 3 days makes 6 gallons. We boiled a lot of water for tea and coffee and went through it quickly. Extra water can’t hurt. I brought a Lifestraw to drink from the creek and was happy I did. BUGS: We went in late April at the start of the season, and mosquitos were barely noticeable. I would imagine during the summer months there’d be more. it would be smart to invest in bug spray, long sleeve Sun shirts, maybe even mosquito nets for hats just in case. We kept citronella candles burning, sprayed ourselves down, and covered our ears and neck, and were just fine. There were quite a few fuzzy bumblebees flying through “on patrol” as we said at the time, because they sure did like hovering RIGHT next to our head as if staring us down 😂 totally harmless, though. BRING A CAMERA! The whole area is stunning. Never in my life have I seen so many varieties of moss and lichen. I know this is a popular summer spot because of the swimming areas, but springtime was breathtaking. Much of our Kibbie Creek hike was through dramatic landscapes scarred by fire years prior, so there are the husks of burnt trees rising out of dense oak and manzanita undergrowth, surrounded by wildflowers of all colors and dramatic granite outcroppings adorned with moss, and overlooking lake Eleanor below. If you stop and listen to the critters thriving up there, it’s a beautiful indicator of life finding a way. Thank you JJ! We had a magical anniversary trip and will be back.

I absolutely loved thia hidden gem!! The campsites are very well kept!! And the amenities are super!! I will say this is a campsite to come and stay, as the nearest store is about an hour away... only 30 miles, but the road is very curvy... You can walk to the lake, about a 15 min walk, just take your hiking boots as there is a lot of rocks... or... you can drive out to where the boat landing is and it will be easier... There are water faucets so you can refill water jugs for drinking or cleaning, just be mindful that the toilets even though they are cleaned twice a day, they are still just toilet pits... Take an axe and you can forage your own firewood!! Sooo recommend this, we used the pit at night for about 4 hours and in the morning for breakfast... We will definitely be coming here every year!!