Overview

Spicer Reservoir has a surface area of 2,000 acres when full. Maximum speed on the lower portion of the lake is 10 mph; the upper portion, surrounded by the Carson-Iceberg Wilderness, is managed for non-motorized uses only. Spicer Reservoir visitors enjoy camping, fishing, hiking and horseback riding. The campground offers 60 family sites and 1 group site.

Recreation

• Camping
• fishing
• non-motorized water activies

Important Notices

• Bears frequent the area; use appropiate food containers

• There are no electric/water/sewer site hook-ups at this facility

• Please Note: One vehicle per single site. Most sites can accommodate 1 extra vehicle that is not included with the reservation fee. Extra vehicles will be charged a $5 per night fee and collected at the campground.

• Fire Restrictions: Fire restrictions may be imposed at any time due to hot, dry weather conditions, at which time campfires and charcoal fires may not be allowed; call (530) 644-6048 for local information and conditions.

• Reserved Sites will be held until check out time (NOON) the day following your arrival date. Sites must be occupied by the checkout time of that following day to hold a reservation or the site will be forfeited and released to other guests. Once your reservation start date has begun, neither the Recreation.gov Contact Center nor the campground manager will be able to modify your reservation.

• Refunds: Refund requests made through www.recreation.gov will be charged a $10 processing fee. This fee is retained by the reservation service contractor along with the non-refundable reservation fee. All requests for the return of the non-refundable reservation fee and the cancellation fee will be declined by the campground concessionaire as they did not receive these fees (these are the fees retained by the reservation contractor, a different entity).

• Don't Move Firewood: Protect California's forests from tree-killing pests by buying your firewood locally and burning it on-site. For more information visit firewood.ca.gov.

• First Come First Serve sites remain listed as FF for the entire season. They will not show occupied/available as the status of these sites is ever changing. You must be on site at the campground to claim a FF site. No guarantees upon arrival that these FF sites will be avaiable.

• There are fees to move from a reserved site to first come first serve site. Site Transfer Policy 

• Click here for more information on the Stanislaus National Forest

Notifications and Alerts

• Christmas Tree Cutting Permits Information: Recreation.gov Christmas Tree cutting permits will go on sale on Friday, October 10, 2025. Christmas trees are $10.00 each and there is a maximum of two (2) trees per permit for a total of $20.00. Fourth graders can use their Every Kid Outdoors pass to obtain one (1) free tree. There is an additional $2.50 reservation fee for all permits. Tree cutting dates are Friday, November 28, 2025, through Wednesday, December 31, 2025. Starting in 2026, Christmas trees will increase in price to $20.00 per tree.

Directions

<p>Located nine miles southeast of Highway 4 on Spicer Reservoir Road (7N01), a winding paved route where safe travel speeds average 20-30 mph.</p>

Rental Options

Learn more about gear rental options for your trip