Hampshire Rocks Campground sits along the banks of the South Yuba River near Norden and the Rainbow/Big Bend exit on Interstate 80. There are 31 sites at the campground.
We visited the campground for two days on the 4th of July, which was quite the blast.
The drive was quick from Sacramento, and we headed up the hill and made it to the Hampshire Rocks Campground within an hour and a half. The campground is just off the freeway and very easy to find.
All campsites at Hampshire Rocks Campground have a campfire ring and picnic table, and some sites are designated as tent-only. There’s also a large trash bin available to dispose of trash bags and vault toilets, and water spigots.
From the location, you can swim, hike, fish, camp, bike, or drive a scenic route.
Setting Up Camp at Hampshire Rocks Campground
Upon arrival, we noticed the campground had gone through an extensive tree pruning and downing. Some sites aren’t currently available due to being used as storage for piles of logs.
The camping fee is $24 per night and $5 per night for extra vehicles.
The campground lies right along the upper South Yuba River in a beautiful forest of lodgepole pines, mixed conifers, aspen, and dogwood — with many of the sites situated with direct access to the river.
We chose site 6, as we researched and found it was rather large and had the best access to the river along with sites 7 and 8 in a bend with larger pools. On the Recreation.org website, we noticed it said there were no bear boxes, so we came prepared to hang our food up in a tree.
Luckily, we were thrilled to find that our site and most of the sites we viewed did indeed have food storage lockers on-site.
On this particular camping trip, it was also our first time getting to try our 10’x10′ Coleman Light and Fast Instant Canopy. It went up in a flash and gave us shade over our picnic table right where we needed it. Since the tent is so light, I could see it not performing super well in high winds. As an added precaution, I added secondary guy-lines in each corner.
I might be an Eagle Scout, but we’ve come a long way as a family camping together. When we camped at the Peninsula Campground at Folsom Lake, I didn’t feel quite as prepared. Now, we’ve spent an entire week in the woods this year!
Fishing the South Yuba River & Hiking the Loch Leven Lakes Trail
One of the bestest perks of staying at site 6 at Hampshire Rocks Campground is its proximity to the South Yuba River. We brought a fishing pole and gear and spent all 4th of July fishing in the nearby pool off and on.
At the end of site 6 is a large granite rock you can walk out on and get to various pools within the lake.
We ended up catching and releasing three brook trout! Two six-inchers and one tiny little four-inch trout. All three were caught with a small, barbless lure.
In the morning, we also had a chance to walk a mile West of camp and enjoyed hiking the first mile of the Loch Leven Lakes Trail. There were lots of people parked along the road at the trail entrance. We climbed our way up to the top of the mountain, where we could view Interstate 80 from above, and we couldn’t wait to go back to make the whole trip to the Loch Leven Lakes and spend a night camping and fishing.
Final Thoughts – Hampshire Rocks Campground
One of campers’ biggest pet peeves visiting Hampshire Rocks Campground is the road noise from the interstate.
Yes, you can hear the freeway very loudly throughout camp! But, it didn’t bother us.
As I’ve mentioned before, I like white noise when camping and quickly got used to the sound. If you’re in one of the sites along the river the road noise is much quieter than the sites away from the river and closest to Interstate 80.
The Tahoe National Forest operates the campground and has historical value as a site along the California Emigrant Trail. Other nearby attractions include:
- Donner Lake (only 14 miles from the campground)
- Sugar Bowl
- Lake Van Norden
- Castle Peak Trailheads
- The Grouse Ridge non-motorized area
There are no RV hookups at this campground, and it’s noted on the Forest Service website that sites 14, 16, 21, 25, 26, 27, and 31 will remain closed due to additional hazard trees.
I’m looking forward to camping once again along the South Yuba River at Hampshire Rocks! I have more fishing and hiking to do.
