Near the City of Oroville this man-made lake was formed by the tallest earth-filled dam in the country at 900 feet at max capacity. (770 feet above the stream bed of the Feather River)
The lake offers a wide variety of outdoor activities including camping, picnicking, horseback riding, hiking, sail and power boating, water-skiing, fishing, swimming, boat-in camping, floating campsites and horse camping.
Lake Oroville Visitor Center has a museum, exhibits, videos and a store. The view from the 47-foot tower, with two high-powered telescopes, is a spectacular panoramic view of the lake, Sierra Nevadas, valley, foothills, and the Sutter Buttes mountain range (smallest in the world).
RECREATION
Lake Oroville offers camping, boat-in camping, floating campsites, horse camping and horseback riding, hiking, mountain biking, both sailing and power boating, waterskiing, fishing, picnicking, and swimming.
CAMPING
Please camp only in designated areas. Reservations are recommended from late spring through Labor Day
Loafer Creek — 137 sites at the Coyote Campground can accommodate tents or trailers up to 31 feet and campers or motorhomes up to 40 feet (no hookups). Drinking water and restrooms, coin-operated showers, laundry tubs, and a launch ramp are nearby. An RV sanitation station is available. Six group sites accommodate up to 25 persons each; limit of eight vehicles per site. Larger groups may reserve more than one site.
Bloomer Horse Camp has three first-come, first-served seasonal campsites, with a vault toilet and no showers or running water. Check in at the Spillway kiosk before the ten-mile ride to camp.
Bidwell Canyon — 75 sites with hookups accommodate trailers up to 31 feet and RVs up to 40 feet. Facilities include a lakeside marina with a launch ramp, store, snack bar, fuel dock, boat rental, and a pumping station for boat holding tanks.
Spillway — Shaded picnic sites and overnight camping for self-contained RVs are located at the north end of the dam. Drive across Oroville Dam to reach the facilities, which include a launch ramp and restrooms.
Lime Saddle — Hookup and non-hookup sites accommodate RVs. Features include a five-lane launch ramp, picnic facilities, and restrooms. The nearby marina offers boat docking, fuel, fishing boat rentals, boating supplies, a store, and snack bar.
Floating Campsites
You will need a boat — your own or a rental boat from the marina — to reach the ten 20’ x 24’ floating sites. Each site sleeps up to 15 people and has a camp table, sink, propane barbecue grill (propane provided), a lockable closet, an accessible restroom, a covered living area, an upper sun deck/ sleeping area, and room for tents. Bring your own drinking water.
Boat-in Camps
Boat-in camping is first-come, first-served, and only in designated campsites identified by signs at beach areas around the lake. Ask directions to your camp at the park entrance or launching area. Each camp has six to twenty-six individual campsites; boat camps are located at Craig Saddle, Foreman Point, Goat Ranch, and the Bloomer Primitive Area at Bloomer Point — Bloomer Knoll, Bloomer Cove, and Bloomer Group Camp. The group camp accommodates up to 75 people. Sites have tables, stoves, pit toilets, and garbage cans. Bring your own drinking water.
Horse camping — Loafer Creek Horse Camp has 15 campsites, an accessible restroom with showers, pipe corrals, and horse exercise and washing stations.
PICNICKING AND BOATING
North Thermalito Forebay is reserved exclusively for sailboats, canoes, and other non-motorized boats. The shaded, grassy day-use areas have barbecue stoves and picnic tables near a 200-yard sandy swimming beach. Four shaded ramadas can be reserved for picnic groups. Piped drinking water and restrooms are nearby.
The Forebay Aquatic Center, at North Thermalito Forebay offers watercraft rentals and classes seasonally. South Forebay has a paved launch ramp for fishing and power boats, parking, and restrooms, but no drinking water.
Loafer Creek Area has a seasonal swim beach and lawn area with 100 picnic sites. Overnight boating is permitted, but boats must have self-contained sanitary facilities, and all waste and water outlets on board must be sealed. Use sanitation stations around the lake at the marinas.
Boat mooring is permitted except where posted otherwise; marina berths are leased by prior arrangement. Overnight camping on shore while boating is not permitted, with the exception of the boat-in campsites; however, boaters are welcome to go ashore for day use.
SWIMMING
The Loafer Creek Area and North Forebay near the Aquatic Center are the only designated swimming areas at the lake. Lifeguard service is seasonal only; do not allow children to swim unattended.
FISHING
Rainbow and German-brown trout, large- and smallmouth bass, black and spotted bass, and some catfish and salmon are caught here. All anglers over age 16 must carry a California sport fishing license. Shore and boat fishing are permitted in the North and South Forebays, but no motorized boats are allowed in the North. Do not fish or take your boat into the designated swim areas.
BOATING
Boating
Boat Ramps
Boat Rentals
OVERNIGHT FACILITIES
En route Campsites
Environmental Campsites
Family Campsites
Group Campsites
Primitive Camping
RV Sites w/Hookups
RV Dump Station
Boat-in/Floating Camps
RV Access
TRAIL USE
Bike Trails
Hiking Trails
Horseback Riding
DAY-USE ACTIVITIES & FACILITIES
Historical/Cultural Site
Picnic Areas
Env. Learning/Visitor Center
Exhibits and Programs
Fishing
Guided Tours
Interpretive Exhibits
Scuba Diving/Snorkeling
Beach Area
Swimming
Nature & Wildlife Viewing
Windsurfing/Surfing
Museums
Family Programs
Geocaching
