We love the Huntington Lake area so thought we would give Upper Billy a try. Beware! We booked on Reserve America(no map on their site). It was the only campsite available on short notice(that should have been a clue). We could barely get our 27 ft trailer around their loops. Tent campers had their vehicles sticking out on the roads which made it near impossible to get by without side swiping our trailer. Our site, #20, was listed as having a «slight» grade. That was false as well. The campsite was small and has numerous squirrel holes all over. We have two little ones and worried they would get caught up in one. Well, as the sun set, my husband twisted his foot in a hole that was covered up by a rock. Our trip was cut short and we had to leave in the AM. My husband ended up with a broken foot and will be out of commission for some time. On another note, the noise level from our neighboring tent campers was extreme and went on until after midnight. No sleep for the kids. I never saw the host and don’t even know if there is one on sight. The only reason I even gave this place one star is because it is located near beautiful Huntington Lake(no views from our site). It appears that Lower Billy Creek Campground is modernized and has cement sites for RV’s and trailers. It is also on the water-a much better choice.
Julie Z.
Rating des Ortes: 4 Oakland, CA
I saw Huntington Lake featured in Sunset magazine around May. The next week i made our reservations for the 4th of July weekend. sunset, you came through for me again! This place is fantastic! After checking into the main visitor’s center, We made our way to Upper Billy Creek Campground which is one of the last campgrounds from the visitor’s center on the west side of the lake. Our sites were 39&40 and they were no more than 200 yards away from the lake. Although we barely left the campground, there seemed to be plenty to do. There was a resort and marina no more than 2 miles away. They have a restaurant and live music there. You can also rent boats. About 4 miles the other direction was another ‘resort’ with a store and restaurant. There were a few things I really liked about this place: 1) dog and kid friendly. We had two sites with two dogs and 3 kids. That was definitely the norm here. 2) lake access. There aren’t big beaches where you’re going to play in the sand all day, which is what I normally prefer. This place has smaller lake access spots, where you can bring a cooler, set up your chairs and go swimming in the sparkling water. It felt like we had a private beach… freakin fabulous! 3) away from it all. It was kind of a long drive from Oakland: about 4.5 hours with traffic on the way home, but really worth it. Sometimes I get sick of going to all the same old places. It was good to just really get away to somewhere new. 4) flush toilets and clean bathrooms. I like to rough it, but it’s always nice to have a well appointed bathroom. 5) huge sites! I can’t remember if I reserved a group site, but ours could easily fit two tents. There was even two tent pads. They only allow one car per a site, though. But, I think you can pay extra for another car. The only thing I wasn’t crazy about was how close the campsites were to each other. I mean, you definitely weren’t right on top of each other, but you could clearly see the other people and their tents. Not a huge deal, though. Camping is a communal activity, right? Plus, once it gets dark you really can’t tell. Also! This is a big one! Apparently there are two ways to get up to Huntington Lake from Shaver Lake. One is an easy, scenic drive up highway 168 the entire way, but the other is a nail biting, hold on to the seat of your chair, be ready for adventure and to possibly fall off a cliff, drive up Huntington lake road. So, what I’m trying to say is, after you pass shaver lake do not turn on to Huntington lake road, just stay on hwy 168 and enjoy the ride through the mountain. All in all, our family will definitely be returning to Huntington lake next year.
