College Campground

Campsite is small but near the lake. I believe it’s been renovated as firepits are fairly new. There are pairs of flush & vault toilets so look around for your preference. Camp Host insisted on quiet time by 10pm even on the 4^th of July??? Convenience stores & gas less than 1mile away. Lake Huntington is not very pretty, Shaver Lake (closer to Fresno) is more worth while. Hike nearby are easy and short that end in either a waterfall or river pools for a cool dip. Saturday Mornings there are wilderness walk at 10am.

Just visited this camp site this past weekend with my cousins and we were at site 3 which is a double site, so there were two fire pits, two tables, two tent areas and two bear proof containers. The site was well shaded and not really close to other campers. However most of the other sites in the campground are very close together. The bathrooms are extremely well kept and smell so good. There is like a constant cinnamon smell in them. We were a 2 min walk to the lake which would probably have been even shorter if the water levels weren’t so low. There is a small mini mart just a min down the road that sells ice and fire wood and pretty much any little thing you may have forgotten. They also rents boats, kayaks, and canoes. The only bad thing is that the campsite is right next to the main road so there are cars driving by but it’s not that bad. Overall this was a great place to camp.

We had a horrible experience here. I paid for two nights for my campsite online. We arrived around midnight to find my campsite occupied. When my husband finally tracked down the culprits we noticed they were highly intoxicated. Turns out they were drinking and shooting drugs there. We politely showed them the confirmation email but they were too wasted to comprehend. The next morning I went to the registration office. I gave the 2 stars because of them and the site manager. They were so great! They refunded the fee for that night. The site manager tried to find us another campsite due to my fear of stepping on a dirty needle. But we decided to leave even though we paid for another night. The registration office couldn’t give us a refund for the second night.
About the site–
Cons:
It’s really close to the freeway.
The lake is dried up
The campsites are really really close to each other.
Pros:
Clean restroom
Easy to find
Nice and attentive keepers

I had originally planned on camping at Hodgdon Meadows but the Rim Fire continued to grow so we decided to head South East to get away from the smoke. The only campground with any availability on a holiday week-​end was College Campground right on Huntington Lake. There were no Unilocal reviews but I figure it had to be nice since it had recently been remodeled with only ten tent sites.
The campground is right next to the lake and it is a short three minute walk from any site to the nice beach front water where you can moor a boat. Sailboats do seem to be preferred on the lake but we also saw Jet skis and other power boats.
The sites were quite close to each other and the bathrooms but each one had a nice clean tent pad, fire ring, table, and bear box. The big boxes that accommodate the new larger coolers. The only water spigots are at the bathrooms. One is a pit toilet and the other has flush toilets and sinks. Both were incredibly clean and we witnessed the host cleaning regularly. Too bad… as it seems many people from the highway see the bathroom and pull in just to use the facilities. A few of the campsites were better than others as they did afford some privacy and space between neighbors.
The campground is located in a prime spot as it is close to the restaurant and store, boat dock, and hiking trails. It is also a great starting point to drive up into the Kaiser Wilderness for a day of Hot Springs, Sight seeing, and hair raising driving along the Kaiser Pass road which will take you to many high country hiking trails and lakes including Edison and Florence.
The biggest drawback is the proximity of the Resort Bar. The traffic goes up and down the road all day and gets especially loud with drunken pedestrians who are staying in the vacation rentals around 1:30. Don’t worry though as it quiets down very quickly after. I look forward to my next visit to College Campground.