Tahoe National Forest · California
Overview Packsaddle Campground is located in the Packer Lake area near the Sierra Buttes, north of the Yuba River. Visitors enjoy a wide variety of recreational activities in the area, including hiking, horseback riding, hunting, fishing, canoeing and gold panning. This facility is operated and maintained by the Tahoe National Forest.
Sites at Packsaddle are reserved through Recreation.gov. Sites here can be reserved in advance through the official system, and they are claimed fast — cancellations then trickle back all season, unannounced, at any hour of the day or night.
| Total sites | 18 |
|---|---|
| Site types | Standard |
| Location | Nevada City, CA |
| Book through | Recreation.gov |
| Official listing | Recreation.gov |
Because sites are booked months ahead, a steady share of reservations get cancelled as trips fall through. Each cancellation instantly returns that site and those nights to the official calendar — first-come, first-served, no waitlist, no announcement. Refreshing the booking page yourself, every few minutes for weeks, works in theory. In practice, the people who get these sites are the ones who hear about the opening first.
ItOpened scans the Recreation.gov calendar for Packsaddle around the clock. When a site matching your dates and your vehicle opens, you get a text with a direct link to it. You book it yourself, in your own account, at the normal price. We never book, hold, or resell — your fee pays for monitoring, and openings are first-come, so speed is the whole game.
| Logger Campground | Cancellation alerts available |
|---|---|
| Granite Flat (California) | Cancellation alerts available |
| French Meadows | Cancellation alerts available |
| Schoolhouse Campground (CA) | Cancellation alerts available |
| Cottonwood Creek | Cancellation alerts available |
| Wild Plum | Cancellation alerts available |
| White Cloud | Cancellation alerts available |
| East Meadow Campground | Cancellation alerts available |
| Lakeside (Truckee) | Cancellation alerts available |
| Shirttail Creek | Cancellation alerts available |
| Lewis | Cancellation alerts available |
| Boca Rest Campground | Cancellation alerts available |
| Indian Springs | Cancellation alerts available |
| Silver Creek-Truckee | Cancellation alerts available |
| Hampshire Rocks | Cancellation alerts available |
| Salmon Creek | Cancellation alerts available |
| Giant Gap | Cancellation alerts available |
| Pass Creek Campground | Cancellation alerts available |
| Prosser Family | Cancellation alerts available |
| Sardine Lake | Cancellation alerts available |
| Chapman | Cancellation alerts available |
| Goose Meadows | Cancellation alerts available |
| Boca Campground | Cancellation alerts available |
| Upper Little Truckee | Cancellation alerts available |
| Woodcamp Campground | Cancellation alerts available |
| Yuba Pass Campground | Cancellation alerts available |
| Big Reservoir Campground | Cancellation alerts available |
| Cal-Ida | Cancellation alerts available |
| Diablo | Cancellation alerts available |
| Loganville | Cancellation alerts available |
| Boca Spring | Cancellation alerts available |
| Carlton | Cancellation alerts available |
| Indian Valley | Cancellation alerts available |
| Skillman | Cancellation alerts available |
| Garden Point Boat-in Campground | Cancellation alerts available |
| North Fork (Ca) | Cancellation alerts available |
| Ramshorn | Cancellation alerts available |
| Sierra | Cancellation alerts available |
| Fiddle Creek | Cancellation alerts available |
| Lower Little Truckee | Cancellation alerts available |
| Findley Campground | Cancellation alerts available |
| Boyington Mill | Cancellation alerts available |
| Cold Creek | Cancellation alerts available |
| Ahart Campground | Cancellation alerts available |
| Fir Top Campground | Cancellation alerts available |
| Little Lasier Meadows Campground | Cancellation alerts available |
| Union Flat | Cancellation alerts available |
| Dark Day Campground | Cancellation alerts available |
| Madrone Cove Boat-in Campground | Cancellation alerts available |
| Rocky Rest | Cancellation alerts available |
| Berger | Cancellation alerts available |
| Cottage Creek Campground (CA) | Cancellation alerts available |
| Emigrant Group | Cancellation alerts available |
| Hornswoggle Group Campground | Cancellation alerts available |
| Coyote Group | Cancellation alerts available |
| Gates Group | Cancellation alerts available |
| Big Bend Group (Yuba River) | Cancellation alerts available |
| Forbes Creek | Cancellation alerts available |
| Prosser Ranch Group | Cancellation alerts available |
| Tunnel Mills Ii | Cancellation alerts available |
| Calpine Lookout | Cancellation alerts available |
| Sardine Peak Lookout | Cancellation alerts available |
Page data refreshed 2026-10-29. Site facts come from the official directory listing for Packsaddle; cancellation statistics come from our own scanning logs.