Woodcamp Campground

Pros: - Beautiful camping spot in the woods - walking distance to a lovely reservoir perfect for taking a dip in on a warm sunny day - low light pollution means amazing star visibility, especially over the reservoir Cons: - if coming from San Francisco side DO NOT take the Bowman road which is terribly unpaved for 13 miles! Go around through Truckee, which may be longer but your car will thank you for it! - no running water was a bit of a challenge and vault toilets are what they are; smelly and a little disgusting.

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.

Pros: (1) deep in the heavily wooded forest so you know you are roughing it; (2) some campsites have a flat spot for a tent, except for site 13; (3) no camp host watching over you since this place is no longer run by the US Forest Service. It is run by Nevada Irrigation District at arm’s length; (4) water spigots of potable water with strong flow at several spots in the campground; (5) proximity to the reservoir for swimming, kayaking or actual boating if the water level is high enough to reach the bottom of the ramp; (6) nice toilet paper; and (7) campsites have a nice picnic style table, fire ring with cooking grate, and sturdy bear boxes. Cons: (1) toilets are just pit toilets, no flushing and a fair amount of stink; (2) no running water in bathrooms for washing hands, brushing teeth or a shower; (3) no nearby store at which you might buy something you forgot to bring [recreation.gov website is full of outdated info]; (4) no source of local wood, you’ll have to buy it in Sierraville or Truckee on your way in; (5) this is best described as a RV campground because most of the ground is not level for a tent; and (6) the campsites are just dirt, a fine dirt that covers everything on you, in your tent, on your car. In summary, a decent spot for $24 a night.

We stayed here the first week of Oct. and the campground was nearly empty. Everything was great. Water spigots are close to all campsites and they now have flush toilets. Will be returning next summer.

Several first come first serve spots, but I'd recommend a reservation. The camp hosts were excellent but they're not resident hosts. The out house was stocked but extra stinky, so be prepared for that. Lake access is a short walk from camp. The camp was completely full Thursday to Sunday. Recommend reservation if possible.