Glory Hole Recreation Area

I came here the week of thanksgiving and while there’s 10 or more people here it’s still mostly empty and so so quiet. Saw deer and cattle and heard coyotes. The views are amazing, the sunset stunning and even though it’s cold the sun warmed my van and kept me cozy during the day. Half the sites are right on the ridge but some have flat spots just outside your door.
AT&T signal is 3 bars with booster and so great for work zoom calls.
Bathrooms are clean and the showers look good- quarters required $0.50 for 5 minutes.
I pulled in at 4:30 without a reservation, picked my campsite and easily reserved & paid before I even unbuckled.
I don’t see any hookups in these loops but there’s some in the other side of the road that look closed. I also didn’t see a dump station or spigot to refill.
Most sites are very level and paved. Some are tilted and some are pull through. I wouldn’t want to drive a class A through here but I bet someone more practiced wouldn’t have any problem.

The campsites at Glory Hole Recreation Area were virtually empty the entire time we were there. Skies were dark and the area was peaceful and quiet.

We saw a few deer and birds wander around the area. Our site was #100. It was relatively flat on the pavement area, but there wasn’t enough room to provide a flat area for the stairs so we had to come up with another solution which included extra wood under the stair legs.

We filled up with water at the entrance to the area, but due to the dump being closed (for at least a year according to the ranger), we had to dump at Tuttletown Recreation Area. It’s the sister site to Glory Hole.

Clear northern sky at our position for Starlink. With our cell antenna, we had 5 bars with both Verizon and AT&T. There aren't any hookups, but we were able to use both our solar and generator for power.

Gates close at night and reopen in the morning, so just check the times. There wasn't anyone at the check-in gate, but since we had reservations we just found our site and parked. There was a confirmation paper attached to our site number. Other than that, we didn't see anyone but a ranger drive by and wave one day.

It was so dark the Milky Way could be seen from our campsite. There was very little light pollution which made for the best conditions we could have hoped for for night time viewing.

We were the only ones here. All other campsites were empty. There were a few cars with boat trailers going in and out of the main road.

We camped here in our 40' fifth wheel with no issues. I used my Recreation pass and it ended up coming out to $12 per night to stay.

Nice and quiet, with hilly, challenging walks, during the week. No hookups, and awkwardly placed water spigots. no trails to speak of, and some sites have poor cell reception and/or no real views. And $8, and a 45-minute round trip, to the dump station at Tuttletown, since this one is closed. A serviceable stopover on weeknights—definitely not a “destination.”

But on weekends when it’s packed it’s unbearable: selfish weekend warriors who think they can make as much noise as they want, light awful, stinky, bad-wood fires, stay up drinking and smoking and shouting to all hours, and generally treat others as if they don’t exist.

Over Memorial Day weekend, the rangers allowed tent campers to stay, even though the signs and the website were explicit that *only* self-contained camping was allowed due to the bathrooms being closed. People were urinating in their campsites, or, in some cases, over in other people’s campsites. Or on random trees. I don’t want to think about how they took care of any other bathroom needs.

The big draw here is the New Melones Reservoir with powerboats and houseboats--but the marina doesn't open until May 1. Only a few day-anglers out on the water, and the campground nearly empty (even on weekend). Plus the weather gets really hot in the summer--enjoyed being here while in the 70s. Our site had a wonderful view of the reservoir through oak trees, so busy with acorn woodpeckers. Also watched some osprey from our site. Enjoyed a kayak on the lake, and a couple of excellent hikes nearby (Angel's Creek and Carson Creek trails).
However at this time, no dump station and had to pay $25 to dump at Angels Camp RV Park. Also bathrooms were closed. So dry camping only. I presume facilities will be open in the high season?

I visited during the week on late October. Winter was arriving with cool (not cold) temps and a little rain. The campground was empty - perhaps myself and one other site was occupied. The site was level for parking my Sprinter van. Nice large site with a table and fire ring. I made a campfire each night with found wood nearby.

AT&T cell service was ample for remote tech work including numerous video conferences.

I look forward to returning when the lake it full to play on the water.

Came here to test out our new camper. Paved pad. We have a truck camper and fit just fine on the pad, but large trailers will be tight. Cell signal was hit and miss. There is a trail down to the lake, but with the lake so low, it is a bit of a hike. Great shore fishing though. No hookups, but there is a dump station on your way in/out of the park.

Loved our stay at the Big Oak campground. This is definitely the perfect time of year to visit. Wildflowers are in bloom, everything is still green, and there’s no one there! We had the campground nearly to ourselves from Sunday through Tuesday. The entrance gate was unmanned, so we drove straight to our site. A park employee came by our site pretty quickly to welcome us and give us trail maps. We stayed in site 106 which was great and required very little leveling, but there were several other sites that caught our eye for next time. 116 and 117 had great views of the lake despite the low water level. Big bonus for us was no additional fees for our dogs.