New Melones Lake (Glory Hole & Tuttletown)
Angels Camp / Sonora (Calaveras-Tuolumne) · near Angels Camp · Gold Country & Central Valley
Camping
At a glance
- Difficulty
- beginner
- Elevation
- 1100
- Campsites
- Glory Hole ~144 (Ironhorse + Big Oak) + Tuttletown (quieter, group sites)
- Season
- Year-round
- Fee
- ~$22 standard / ~$18 walk-in
Permits and booking
- Reservation required
- Yes
- How to reserve
- Recreation.gov (federal - Bureau of Reclamation), ~$8-9 booking fee. STATUS FLAGS: the dump station is currently out of order, and boat ramps close when the lake drops below ~870 ft elevation - check the current level on Recreation.gov/USBR before towing a boat.
What is here
- Setting
- lake-river
- Amenities
- Flush toilets & showers · Drinking water · Boat ramps & marina · Group camps at Tuttletown
- Best for
- Big, low-cost federal foothill-reservoir camping for anglers and boaters
- Features
- Largest foothill reservoir on the Mother Lode · Hundreds of sites, real showers, low fees · Excellent bass fishing · Near Angels Camp & Columbia
Worth knowing
- Dogs
- Allowed
- Good for a first timer
- Yes
Camping detail
- Camp type
- developed · rv · walk-in · boat-in
- Intl tip
- Confirm the lake level and ramp status on Recreation.gov/USBR before towing a boat - ramps close below ~870 ft, and the dump station is currently out. Shade is thin; bring your own. Pair with historic Columbia and Angels Camp.
The guide
New Melones is the biggest foothill reservoir in the Mother Lode and the only federally run one, which shows in the value: hund…
In the Guidebook
Everything above is yours for free. The written guide to New Melones Lake (Glory Hole & Tuttletown) — what it is actually like, and what we would tell a friend before they went — comes with the Guidebook.
Getting there
- Coordinates
- 38.043, -120.535