Camanche Recreation Company - North Shore - Ione, California

Maira N. L.

As camping season is approaching, I wanted to share my experience.

This was the Yelp review I wrote last July when I vowed to NEVER return to this campsite which is crazy as I had gone 10 years recommending this place to everyone.

It is with a heavy heart that I write this review. My family and I have been loyal patrons of this site for over a decade (12 years), making at least two trips every summer. This amounts to a minimum of 24 visits, each one filled with cherished memories shared with our extended family and friends.

This weekend, we encountered a series of unfortunate events that culminated in an experience that was far from pleasant. The severity of the situation was such that I felt compelled to share my feedback, as I did not feel adequately heard by the staff during our stay.

First, when we arrived Friday night, the patrol agent gave us an official warning since we were too loud and would be asked to leave at 7 am the following day. I know their policy says no music, generators, or loud noises after 10 pm; however, it was only 11:30 when the officer rudely demanded we quiet down. We were talking/laughing and had not even been drinking, so we were baffled and uncomfortable. We didn't know what to do, so we all slept.
The following morning, another ranger came in to talk to us about our warning the previous night. We had violated their policy, and they were warning us. I said they needed to update their policy if loud talking was not allowed since I know there are quiet zones on Blue Oaks. Later that afternoon, another ranger stopped to tell us the strings on our campsite weren't allowed.

Later that night, we received yet another reminder that we were loud last night and to not "repeat last night's incident." At this point, this was the fourth time we had been approached by rangers, and although the second interaction was friendlier, we felt very harassed. On top of everything, the ranger gave us yet another warning, this time about "excessive trash" on our campsite. While we had a few glass bottles, we separated them since there weren't bins to recycle, but he said to throw them away. We had an extra bag and put them all in right that second, but go, Camanche Ranger, for discouraging eco-friendly habits! I guess everyone should throw away recyclables.

The craziest part was the next day, someone was drunk driving around the parking lot with a baby on the driver's side, and it took rangers forever to arrive, and they never escorted them out. My dad spoke to someone at the front, and it seems they have more funds to hire rangers and police people on their campsites but not enough to prevent harmful interactions. They should be funding their custodial staff, which is probably underpaid and understaffed by the extremely disgusting shape those bathrooms were in this weekend. No toilet paper for a whole day. It's so bad I canceled my and my friend's reservation for the fourth of July. There is no point in going somewhere you can't have fun. I highly suggest updating their website so people know what they're getting. I'm telling all my friends, coworkers, classmates, and everyone I've recommended how terrible the management is, which makes me sad since I loved this place.

Explorer45954159782

Had the best time with my grandparents! Everything was so fun it was my 1st time camping so we saw wild deer and a bucha other stuff. My favorite part was being able to go in the lake close to the rocks and just see nature in general. Food was the best part lmao homemade grandma's cooking never fails.

Gene X.

Worst service and BS statements all around (North Shore Entrance). Woke up at 3am to just get to the gate at 5am. I have a motorized Kayak, but I forgot my registration at home (only need registration if using motor btw). So fine, I told the girl with the nasty attitude that I won't put my motor on then, nope not good enough I need to turn around. Ok, so I already wasted my time and I don't really want to drive 2 hours back. So told her I will fish on shore then and not kayak at all. NOPE, sorry you have a kayak on the back of your car go somewhere else. What kind of BS is this Management? I'm pretty reasonable and I never write negative reviews, but this I can't let go. Will not be returning here ever, plenty of lakes that stock trout around here. This was crap!

edwinduerr

Stayed in one of the cottages, 4 person queen sized bed. There is a queen sized bed in the bedroom and a roll away bed in a closet. The room was very clean and everything was working. In the kitchen was a small 4 burner cooktop with built-in oven, a microwave, toaster, and coffee maker. There were also dish towels, dish soap, and sponges. There were basic pots, pans, and dishes. Soup bowls were pretty small. The sofa was comfy. TV had over air stations. No wifi but you could hook a laptop up to it if you bring an HDMI cable. I used my phone while I was there as a wifi hotspot. Bedroom has a reasonable sized closet which you can't see in the photo. Bathroom had liquid soap dispenser next to the sink and in the shower. No shampoo, no kleenex, but pleanty of towels and toilet paper. There was a small grill off the patio (like you find in many parks). Didn't use the A/C as it was cold but the heater worked just fine. Only complaint is that I did not like the taste of the tap water.

Susan G.

Parking area for horse trailers is Hard to find! Need more trails to ride. The trail that's there is a little rocky in sections, but easy ride with a pretty view of the lake.

Erin H.

COCKROACHES EVERYWHERE!! I’ve never seen anything like it, thousands of cockroaches came out every night! I refused to have my feet on the ground.|Bathrooms were broken in every way imaginable- broken showers, no toilet paper, spiders and webs on everything, broken mirrors..|Trash all over the site- toothbrushes, cans, tent spikes that cut my foot..|They charged us $150 for the privilege staying in a dump. They put zero effort into keeping this place nice..

Deirdre F.

I booked 3 sites and a cottage for a family camping trip. We also rented a barge in addition to our boat to accommodate our large group. Everyone that works there was awesome. Every staff member we encountered was helpful and kind. We stayed at Rabbit Creek and it was nice. The potties were cleaned everyday and the sites provided enough space for all of us. Dennell entertained my mom and aunt while they waited for us to arrive and Every time we saw her after that she was full of smiles. We had family showing up at different times which I'm sure was frustrating for the staff at the entrance, but they still remained professional and kind. We've always loved going to Camanche, but never had much interaction with staff. Now that we've met a lot of them, you all should know, that these folks are hard working kind people who do a lot to make sure we get to enjoy the lake. Instead of being quick to judge or get angry when something isn't going as expected. make conversation and ask questions you be surprised how far kindness and a smile go. Thank you team Camanche for all of you do.

Amber

We wanted to have a nice family day by the lake as a central meet up spot. We arrived at 10:30am, only to be refused entry, even though some of our family was already at the lake with plenty of parking available. There were no alternative solutions to spend time with out family. We offered to park far away and have them pick us up to prevent further vehicles entering, but they said they would refuse re-entry to our family if we did that. Beautiful lake ruined by not well thought out policies.