Thousand Trails Ponderosa, Lotus CA

If you stay at the camp site by the river or closer it will be the best place.
But now the river is flooded and closed, so you can only stay in two sites
The lounge is cozy, but it's also closed
And the condition of the bathroom and shower room is a bit disappointing.
Otherwise near to access many place and hiking area.
Stayed section “A”
Mobile reception 5G 3 till LTE 3 bars by T-Mobile
There are many historical and meaningful places around, but if you are a family with young children, I would definitely recommend the Dave Moore Nature Area Trail.
I think it's perfect to stay here for a week.

The campground is wonderful! Beautiful river views & access, e have been here multiple times. Customer service was very accommodating when we’re had difficulty getting our whole group in. However, this trip the checkin person was a bit rude & abrasive this trip.

This place is horrible! The worst of the worst! Manager was a total b$&@h! There spots are so close and dirty, half the camp was closed due to problems. Manager looked filthy with long greasy multi colored hair. She was riding in her cart with a glass tumbler with a clear beverage and ice, really? Argued with us on finding a spot for us, said 70 footers camp there, what? Are you drunk? Who tows a 70 footer? Dumpster sitting right out in the road, caused a scratch on our vehicle (40’). It looks like a homeless camp, could not get out of there fast enough. Beware!

Great RV park along the American River. Whiter Water rafting outfitters across the street, beach in the campground, lodge with wifi.

Half of the park is down with electrical problems. My wife just passed away in April so my Daughter is traveling with me. Now they want to charge her $5 a day for her car because she is not a member. My parents have been will TT for at least 40 years. When it was having troubles in the 80s they donated thousands of dollars. I have been a full member for over 5 years and this is how they thank us. You do not want to join TT, all they want is your money. They don't care about you.

Access from freeway 80 is the hell, from freeway 50 is ok. Restrooms should be renovated, not clean and too old, but people working there are very nice and helpful.

Been here 4 times over the years. Rented a cabin in 2022. Very clean, fully stocked with dishware, flatware, linens and towels. Place was spotless. Amenities are great! Highly recommend!

Great spot on the river with decent facilities. Local hangouts nearby with live music and friendly atmosphere.

Amazing place, fun for the whole family. Would highly recommend as this is by far one of the cleanest nicest campsite I've visited.

Relaxing place right on American River, near Marshall gold discovery site and town of Lotus. Supplies available in Placerville and good location for exploring, Short drive up hill to Georgetown and Jeep Jamboree start of Rubicon trail.

Sarah & Stormy! These Ladies were Amazing! Thank You! We had true American River/Gold Country experience. We stayed in cabin #1.
The previous reviews are not close to accurate.
When one camps, it is a laid-back atmosphere the staff always had a smile on their face and a willingness to help more. We stayed for a week and it was so much fun! We found little waterfalls, Trails, blackberries, calm water, rapid water, & super cool people. The state park was nearby. It was a really cool experience. The visitors center there is mindblowingly cooool! I feel like it is a Hidden Gem the gift shop nearby was probably one of the coolest gift shops I ever saw also and very affordable I love the blacksmith whom you learn about a railroad ring its cute! The rings cost a dollar in the gift shop.
I would say beware of the $10 per kid gold panning.
This Ponderosa TT park offers free gold pans to check out (state park gift shop nearby has free life jacket borrowing, 6$ gold pans, 1$glass vials). A lot of people bring something to float on and tie it off, a lot of other people enjoy the White Water rafting. The water is higher in the afternoon. My biggest con was the cabin was not wired with the proper wattage. If you want to use the microwave you are not allowed to use the air conditioner which is difficult preparing dinner for five little boys while it's 103 outside. They should really take a look at that! I have not had this issue at other Thousand Trails cabins.

I saved the best for last the two employees name Stormy and Sarah, the staff were Beyond accommodating friendly and just generally really great humans! They made us feel like we were their favorite. We cannot wait to come back again we left this campsite feeling like we made some new best friends, great family memories, and a breath of fresh air away from all the noise of the city.

I love staying at this campground. I wish it had sewer hookups on the river, but with the rivers proximity it's understandable that it doesn't. The staff here is super awesome!

Beautiful location right on the river. Only disappointment was the bathrooms in F Section. The urinal does not work in the men's room. The showers are disgusting with paint peeling and mold growing all over. There is no place to put a towel, or anything, for that matter. The women's room showers had hooks and a seat that was filthy. There is hair all over and plenty of mold. Don't think either restrooms were cleaned during my stay.

Can't beat it! River, rocks, beach and pool! I'm buying into thousand trails for this park alone! Plus the staff is super fun and helpful.always a good time!

Great resort, the river is beautiful! Pet friendly, close to Sacramento, easy to get to, decent phone service and stores nearby. My family loved it!

The campground itself is mountainous and precarious in places, but we found a nice shady spot in the E section. It's a popular place on the South Fork of the American River. The park was packed for 4th of July, everyone rafting, swimming, fishing, biking, and cooking out. The sites by the river are 30amp with no septic. There is a dump station up at the top of the park, or there is full hookups in the D section near the pool. We had spotty 4G on Verizon. Update: on hot days, the "30"
amp sites don't have enough amps to to run just one air conditioner, made our cord overheat due to low watage. Had to use our generator during the day. We will pay the extra fee for the 50 amp sites next time.

One of the best scenic Thousand Trails campgrounds you’ll find. The grounds have tall pine trees scattered around this campground which borders the South fork of the American River. The surrounding views are just amazing.

This resort offers a few full hook up campsites that are found near the swimming pool area. They also offer partial hook up RV sites along the river for an additional fee.

Be sure to check out the frozen yogurt stand and Gorilla Taco restaurant. You will not regret it.

The staff here were super friendly and very accommodating.

My only disappointment comes from not the campground or staff but actually from my fellow campers. Someone or two came into my campground on a Friday night during my stay and removed the fire pit ring from my site. I couldn’t believe it. How rude to not only invade someone’s space but to take something from it. I’ve never experienced this before in my hundreds of camping experiences at over a dozen Thousand Trails. I thought I might have been overreacting when I first arrived by locking my bicycles to the picnic table but now I’m glad I did.

The Ponderosa RV Resort in Lotus, CA is one of our favorite Thousand Trails resorts! Our first time staying there, we were having trouble finding a full hook-up site. It was a Saturday when I noticed a golf cart approaching, it was Janelle & Mike the weekend caretakers. She hopped out & asked how she could help. They immediately went to work, Janelle had Mike go to a spot that looked like a possible no-show & he put our name on it. They are a great team! They go the extra mile to make each camper comfortable! I love that!

Love love love this campground. You can’t beat the views from the lower level. There were issues with an unruly group renting cabins when we were there. Lots of good food within walking distance. Great hikes all around, especially in Auburn State Park. Make sure to pan for gold at Marshall’s in Coloma! Very spotty cell/wifi.

Beautiful location but spaces along the river were almost on top of each other. As Thousand Trails members we were supposed to have free camping but we were charged $5 a night for "premium" spot. Never heard of this before. It was very difficult to find our way around our first time in the park with lots of curves and hills. It would be wonderful to have someone take you to your site.