Plumas-Eureka State Park

We have been coming to this park every summer for nearly 30 years, This last summer was the breaking point for me, when we first started coming, the facilities (shower, toilets) were in serious need of repair, the outdoor actiivities were great, great fishing in the stream which is right in the park. But after 30 visits over 30years, things have changed over the past 10 years or so., In fact, the condition of the facilities has deteriorated even further. This past year was the worst, There was no hot water to shower or to wash dishes or otherwise. And the fishing was non-​existent.
The camp ranger said that the DGF had no intention of planting the stream this year. For the past few years,(ever since the Brown administration has been in place) the DGF always has some flakiy excuse for why they cannot put fish in to the stream,‘the water is too low’, the water is too warm’, we stocked only two years ago’, now this year the excuse is ‘we ran out of sizable fish’. Of course, every lake in the area received a planting. but not PESP. sounds to me like the State wants PESP to close and they do this by making your stay in the park as miserable as possible.
Security at the campground is limited to the campground host, This is usually a civilian who stays free in the park and acts to see that there is some order in the park, Previously, order was maintained by a park Ranger, who was a licensed peace officer, not an un licensed civilian retireee. The park is quite isolated from the main road or any telephone land line for that matter, (cell phones do not work well in the mountainous area. So, the potential for some disaster exists. Considering the recent mass shootings in urban areas, the potential here makes me feel uncomfortable at night or even during the day.
So, what could have been one of the States most beautiful and rustic state parks, Slowly deteriorates to a pile of rubble, most unfortunate. NO significant maintainance of the facilities, no fishing, weak security. But beautiful scenery. We normally camp here for one week at least every year, this past season, we left early to go home, our one and only vacation per year,!

We went cross country skiing here. Thanks to the folks who maintain the trails! They were well groomed and marked. Great day!

Honestly the world is missing out on this park, and I am happy about that. This past July we wandered thru the hamlet next to P-​E SP, Johnsonville — and the road ends at an abandoned ski area. It was (allegedly) the first ski area in California, something like 1890s? The lake up there is gorgeous, and completely swimable, and totally deserted. There is a picnic area, as well as a restroom (like you need it…).
On our way back down to the ski area parking lot, there were two guys with the most gigantic telescope I have ever seen, unloading it in pieces from the back of a van. They set up that night in the lot, and we and the park ranger were the only ones up there with these guys and we saw more planets, galaxies, and stars than I could possibly name. Truly amazing experience. Which would never have happened if I hadn’t come to Plumas-​Eureka. So if you worried about taking a shower, I guess I would say if that’s what’s really important to you, then this is not the place for you to come. Or if you cannot remember to bring your own baggies, then, you probably don’t want to come up here because probably you will have much larger problems than that. Regarding the carpenter ants, well, when there is not much water, and there is so much dead and stressed wood, there is a feast for ants. The rocks were indeed a sad affair, but that was done a few years back. I have found if I stay at sites on the perimeter of the campground, I avoid the rocks altogether. There are flat tent pads, we have camped there for four years and have had flat pads every year.

If you’re looking for information on camping within the State Park, check out my review for Upper Jamison Creek Campground:

The State Park is centered around where gold was first discovered in Plumas County. There are tons of things to look at it, lots of informational signs, activities for both adults and kids, gold panning for $ 4/​day, a museum, and of course, entrances to tons of hiking trails. Best of all, this is just over an hour from Reno — an easy drive up 395 to highway 70.

This place is really wonderful compared to the other 7 campgrounds I’ve been to in California. The space between campsites is enormous for a developed campground. The camp hosts were also very friendly and helpful. There’s a stream that runs through the campground which is great for cooling off. We let the dogs run through it. It’s also very quiet at night– no drunkards.
Off of campsite 53 there is national land that has dog friendly trails.
Cons: Park rangers were polite but not friendly. On a busy weekend they could use more poorly lit bathrooms. Also, they don’t clean the bathrooms on a daily basis. A couple stalls were awful, but there were still some useable ones– not horrible, but could be better.

This is a review for the people working at the Plumas-​Eureka State Park (Park) office. I would give them zero stars if I could…
We had a reservation for mid-​summer, and received a call from the Park 4 days prior to our arrival saying that there would be no showers and only chemical toilets available. So I canceled my 4-​night reservation. No showers, no go. We were planning on tent camping for Christ’s sake! And they said nothing of providing alternatives: like tokens for a shower at another facility, or trucking in water from somewhere. Yes, there are ways to make it work. For $ 35 per night, I expect a shower.
When I initially called ReserveAmerica to cancel, they refunded me everything but the $ 8 reservation fee; that, they said, can only be authorized by the State Park. Okay… so I called the Park… twice. Nothing was resolved at the end of the second call, so I waited another couple days, and I called ReserveAmerica today to see if they could see it in their hearts to refund that amount. As it turns out, the Park had called ReserveAmerica after my second and last call, and they told ReserveAmerica that the only way to refund the money ($ 8) was if the Park closes.
The moral of this story is: Only if you are absolutely sure you want to camp, even without water (showers, flush toilets), then go ahead and make a reservation at Plumas-​Eureka State Park. Otherwise, you may be without amenities and you gotta suck it up. (Note: I know all you die-​hard campers will not agree with me, but for those that actually LIKE and NEED to stay somewhat clean, this review is for them.)

Very few level campsites. Tent pads have been covered with jagged 2 inch crushed rock and then wood chips. Carpenter ants everywhete infesting this wood. Showers closed for season due to water shortage. Signs on showers indicate showers avaliable at other restroom but those are closed as well. Bathrooms were closed requiring use of Porta potties stationed at each restroom. Campfire program started and ended 30 minutes before published times. Museum indicated closed but was actually open. Very disorganized staff. Stamp mill grounds cordoned off so you cannot get close. Would be a good base camp for strenuous hikes into thousand lakes wilderness but no easy hikes less than 1.5 miles each way unless you drive to nearby samora lake. Cannot see any of the scenery through the trees in the campground. We have seen much better campgrounds. On the positive side it is not a popular place and there were several empty campsites each night of our stay. Not much litter about. BTW groceries in Graeagle are priced at highway robbery level. $ 10 for box of 25 quart zip lock bags… BYO everything!

I kind of happened upon this place while I was in the area and took a little time to explore it. What little I did manage to see what gorgeous. It was so calm and quiet. I loved it. The only hike I went on was the one to Frazier Falls but it was such a gorgeous view I would love to explore more of the area. The roads in the park are well kept but pretty narrow in some spaces so always keep an eye out for fellow motorists! I look forward to coming back and exploring more of what this state park has to offer.

One of the jewels in the California State Park system. The volunteers at this park were great — super nice and knowledgeable. The museum had some interesting taxidermy creatures, amazing maps of the mines and gift shop.
The buildings were all in great condition. If the Assay Office is having a presentation = GO! Cliff, the volunteer that day, lead us through the process of measuring gold in the ore.
The Camp Host suggested we take a hike (ha!) up to the entrance of the Eureka Mine. We did and found it to be a good hike uphill to the mine.
Definitely hike up to Eureka Lake. It’s a thigh-​burner, but the reward are the views and the beautiful lake.
Campground looks amazing… will be back to camp.
When in Johnsonville, check it out!

One of my favorite campgrounds if you are looking to camp with other people. Still fairly quiet compared to other campgrounds I’ve been to, dog-​friendly, and amazing hikes all over the place. With a bit of exploration, there are little lakes all over the region which are worth a couple of hours of huffing and puffing to get to. Camping facilities were decent. As always, if you come on weekends, try to come on a Thursday or stay until Monday when the number of visitors drop down tremendously and peace and quiet reigns and for the best choices of sites close to the water.

Car camping is usually a pull-​in off the road, with varying qualities of campsite dimensions, campground accessories, surrounding countryside, and limited access to communities and cultural escapes (if needed or desired). Plumas-​Eureka State Park is truly beyond compare (in our considerable experience) in each and all of these dimensions. Within the campground, the close access to flush toilets and warm showers provides an immediate comfort level, and the short walk to these facilities past respectful, tasteful campers provides a feeling of a community coexisting with respectful privacy. There is an ambient friendliness wherever you go in this spacious yet superbly arranged campground. On three nights of the week, a campfire is hosted by the affable, entertaining, and informative Patrick, who leads hikes to the lakes above the campground and liberally acts as interpreter for the wildlife and ample vegetation of this pristine Sierra landscape encouching P-​E. The lakes are swimming paradise, and the brook and brown trout fishing are an added lure (pun intended). As you enter the park, there is a museum which is filled with vintage gold mining detritus from the rich history of the area, and the Moriarity house adjoining the camp which affords campers a free tour of a house built in 1871 that retains its original construction and interior with diligent authenticity. The surrounding Lakes Basin area provides day hikes to exquisite hikes and swims in pristine high Sierra lakes where, after a couple of miles, the feeling is inescapable that the lake is your private private pool. Only minutes from the campground, the town of Graeagle and its superb mix of warm friendship and excellent food, drink, and music (see Unilocal for Graeagle Outpost), together with a superb micro-​brewery (The Brewing Lair, also supremely Unilocaled) on highway 70 just east of the 89 junction, and more great dining in the little town of Blairsden just 2 miles north of Graeagle, and you can see that this is a camping paradise unparalleled in any criterion a camper may wish to discover, though its price, reflective of the abundant facilities, is a bit high (low $ 30’s) relative to more primitive sites. Kids have a ball here, and the activities are so diverse and accessible that families comprise the majority of the happy campers at P-​E.

Amazing little campground — not overcrowded and feels so spacious, with so much to see and do in the vicinity! Would come back here in a heartbeat. p. s. they have showers!

Visiting this park is a family tradition for many who frequent the Graeagle area for good reason. The campground is a hidden treasure. It was a little hard to find. We finally asked a local at the Graeagle Fros-​Tee for directions. They raved about it and told us exactly how to find it. Their family had been enjoying the campground for generations.
The camp hosts were genuinely warm and helpful. The campsites are immaculate. Many are secluded and situated around a picturesque river. The river is perfect for wading and just hanging out with the kids. The bathrooms and showers were clean and incredibly nice.
There is a visitor center within a short hike. We were delighted to discover it is full fledged nature museum. The museum volunteers are incredibly friendly and personally invested in maintaining this wonderful park. There are outside exhibits with lots of room for the kids to run and explore in a kid friendly environment. We saw a blacksmith shop with a working blacksmith. A few huge pieces of historic mining equipment are located in the same area.
There was a special event going on while we were there. We saw people dressed in period costumes using real spinning wheels. There were horse drawn carriage rides through the town and tours of historic buildings.
We stayed here late in the season last year and we can’t wait to return as soon as the weather warms up again!
IMPORTANT NOTES:
*Our GPS was horribly wrong. Stay on paved roads and ignore the GPS if it tells you otherwise.
*The people at the visitor center strongly suggested calling ahead to verify the park is open. Due to funding and other factors it is subject to periodic shut downs.
*The camp hosts told us reservations for the campground MUST be made online. Check in is done at the visitor center when it is open.

Neat state park with some great hiking trails and camping.
Visited the museum and it’s fairly bare bones. Best part — it’s entirely free. They accept donations and the woman said they barely scrapped together funds to pay the state and stay open. Oh no!
The museum details a lot of history of the area — mining and supposedly the introduction of the sport of skiing to the Western Hemisphere!
I visited later and went for a hike and loved seeing the mill and some other things. No wild animals fortunately.

Gorgeous, gorgeous hiking with views of the creek and the occasional waterfall. We hiked here and in the nearby Plumas National Forest in the Lakes Basin Rec area. The waterfall is a must (Feather River Falls or is that Indian Falls? in the Lakes Basin area). Plumas-​Eureka State Park also has an old gold mining camp at the beginning of the hike there, which was fascinating to look at.
The visitor center was closed when we were there due to the economy, but don’t let that stop you from enjoying the sense of history and gorgeous scenery!

What a gem of a little park this is! A little over an hour outside of Reno… I can’t believe we’d never been here before! This state park is centered around the former Eureka gold mine, and the museum and surrounding buildings give you a good feel for what life was like during those times.
The visitor’s center and museum are absolutely charming and educational. Visiting the old blacksmith’s shop was really amazing (you can buy things made there in the visitor’s center), and we chatted with the smith for at least half an hour. I wish that tours of the Mohawk Stamp Mill were still given, but the state can’t afford to bring it up to safety codes, so you have to admire it from the outside. (Be sure to ask to see the model in operation inside the museum.) You still get to see lots of cool mining equipment along a short interpretative trail that loops through all of the historic buildings.
With all of this great history, nice trails, and one of the nicest campgrounds I’ve ever stayed at (reviewed separately), this park is WELL worth visiting!

This lush state park and campground is situated along two creeks at the base of a dramatic mountain near The Lakes Basin Rec area. It is a former gold mine so there is lots of cultural stuff here from the Gold Rush. Several hikes lead to beautiful lakes. Because Graegle nearby is a retirement haven, there are lots of good dining/​drinking/​golf options nearby. One fine dining restaurant in an old lodge is walking distance from the park entrance (The Iron Door). Camping is $ 35 but you are supporting your state parks and get free hot showers. The «high cost» eliminates the noisy yahoos.