ABOUT BASALT CAMPGROUND: The San Luis Reservoir State Recreation Area is located 5 miles east of I-5 off of CA-152. The closest cities are Gustine, Los Banos, and Santa Nella, California.
Within this State Recreation Area are four campgrounds; the first campground is Basalt, where we stayed, the others were the campgrounds located at this SRA:
– Basalt Campground: 79 developed family campsites in a shaded, wind-protected valley near the very large San Luis Reservoir; some sites will accommodate trailers and motor homes up to about 30 feet. Each site has a fire ring & table with water faucets nearby. New restroom facilities offer hot pay showers & flushable toilets. A dump station is available to registered campers. There is a boat launch. Reservations can be made year-round. There are no electric hook-ups. We have stayed in this campground twice and loved both stays. There are many birds, squirrels, rabbits, coyotes, and tule elk. Our favorite sites are: 19, 50, 19, 20, 21, and there are others almost as good. We will definitely stay here again as there is good access from here of several National Wildlife Refuges. $30 per night minus $2 senior discount = $28 per night.
– San Luis Creek Campground has 53 campsites that offer water and electric hook-ups. Some of the sites border the shoreline. The campground has very little shade and is in an open area often susceptible to high winds. No flush toilets or showers are available. Each site has a fire ring and a table. Some sites will accommodate trailers & motor homes up to about 30 feet. A 5-mile walking trail follows the O’Neill Forebay shoreline and connects the campground to the North Beach day-use area. A dump station is available for registered campers. There is a boat launch. Reservations can be made year-round. The reasons we have not stayed at this campground are that it is almost full to completely full due to the hook-ups offered, it is by a busy day-use area, and of the 53 campsites offered most are “double” sites (two campsites side-by-side for families or friends traveling together) and even those sites that are single sites are fairly close to their neighbor.
– Medeiros Primitive Undeveloped Campground is located along the southern shoreline of O’Neill Forebay. A limited number of fire rings, shade ramadas, and tables are available. Drinking water is available in 3 locations. There are no flush toilets or showers. Chemical toilets are available. The campground is available on a first-come, first-served basis. We looked at this campground. The sites are not leveled nor is the road maintained. It’s kinda like, pull up to a tree if there is one and park. No thanks, but in a pinch, we could do a one-nighter. The campground is close to the road.
– Los Banos Creek Primitive Campground: This small campground is not within the large San Luis Reservoir complex, but is by the Los Banos Reservoir away from the other campgrounds. There are 14 campsites. Sites 1, 3, 4, 11, and 12 are right on the water. Kayaks can be launched from these campsites. Sites 1, 3, and 4 are in the busy section of the campground by the restrooms. The other 9 sites have water views and are located within a loop. There are no hook-ups. There is no water and no dump station. There are several porta-potties. It is a slightly more developed campground than Medeira in that it is well-maintained and the sites are fairly level (although a few are not) and roads are rough but fine. This campground is a distance from the busy roads and is located at the bottom of several hills in sort of a basin with water. Reservations can be made year round. We were told that in the spring, summer & fall, people line up at 6 a.m. to get a campsite. When we visited (early March), no one was camping there. We intend to try this campground tomorrow for a few days. A campground review will be written at the completion of that stay, but our initial opinion was that this looks like a great place to stay, in addition to Basalt. Site #12 is definitely the best site! $20 per night. Don’t know yet if there is a senior discount.
San Luis Reservoir State Recreation Area: located in Merced County; reservations available through www.parks.ca.gov/sanluisreservoir which may direct you to reservations.ca.gov, phone (209) 826-2709. Reservations phone # 1-800-444-7275. Individual campground phone #’s: Los Banos Creek (209) 826-6393; Basalt (209) 827-6846; San Luis Creek (209) 826-4714; Medeiros (209) 826-6240.
- 2018-2019 – 12/30-01/03
- 2022 – 03/06-03/11