Rancho Seco Recreational Area

I love camping but this just isn’t the best place to do so. A night or two here is fine but a week would be far too much.
The grounds are very developed and well maintained. A roped off beach limits swimming to an area that hundreds of people often try occur, it’s just very fun. The picnic area is large but fills up early, so get there somewhere around dawn on a summer weekend if you expect to have a table.
RV sites are large and very level with all of the normal camp amenities like a table, water hookup, and electrical. The sites are very open and don’t give much privacy but then again if you have an RV, you can always go inside.
Restrooms are a mix of flush and pit toilets so enjoy the smell. Staff was friendly and accommodating.
I don’t think I’ll go here on my own but if my parents end up here again for a weekend, I might tag along.

Been here several times to boat, fish and camp. The staff are friendly and its $ 10 to get in. We recently brought our kayaks and had a great time. For all 4 it was $ 13 total at the gate. They have a camping place for tents, but they are right next to each other. Also, one for RVs and tent trailers. These have a lot more room. There are flush toilets by the daily access, but last time we were there they became trashed after a while. There are several port a potties and also showers. We go here for the annual fishing derby where they stock the lake with trout. There is a place to rent paddle boats and kayaks too. Gas motors are not allowed on the boats though. A lot of places to BBQ and picnic tables. We will be back.

Garbage. The area is nice. But here is how it happened.
My wife had been here before years back. She recalled it as a great place to spend an evening at and bring your dog. Went with the inlaws and we went in two different cars. The inlaws paid for us (second car) and my fatherinlaw told the female at the gate to let us know about their pet policies. The female at the gate simply issued us the ticket to hang on our mirror and rushed us through the gate. When we drove inside this is what we found.
1) A makeshift dog park. Its just a patch of grass by the water surrounded by chain link fencing. Looked slapped together. No real shade, nowhere for pet owners to sit at. To make matters even better… a no swimming sign at the dog park edge by the water…
2) No swimming signs throughout the whole park.
3) Swimming allowed in assigned area. No dogs allowed in the ‘beach’ area where swimming IS allowed.
4) Made the determination that dogs are only allowed in the park on the grass/​parking lots while ON a leash. Off the leash ONLY in the makeshift dog park.
5) The park offers no refunds despite our discovery.
6) Female at the front gate on ⁸⁄₉ at approx 1000 hours had a foul attitude. Requested to get her managers contact info and name and she had a patronizing attitude.
This Park is NOT Pet Friendly if you want your dog to get in the water with you. Better off taking dogs to your local park or other lakes, reservoirs, etc.

Go and camp here! Nice place to visit and stay. Your campsite host, Jim is excellent!

First time camping here, and I must say I’m pleasantly surprised. It is quite beautiful, and the space for RVs is rather liberal. They do have a lot of construction under way, which detracts a bit, but when they finish there will be even more to enjoy. The RV sites have water and electrical but no cable or sewer (there is an on site dump station).

Cute park next to closed nuclear power plant. Great playgound and lake to fish and boat on. Plenty of parking and reasonable fee.

After we bought our RV we needed a place to go test it out, so we chose Rancho Seco. The park was pretty empty considering it was March so we pretty much had the place to ourselves. There are many varieties of bird wildlife on the lake and we loved to go walk it in the early evening. Most of the amenities were closed because it was off season, but they have a store/​snack bar, boat rentals, fishing, sail boarding and hiking on the trails around the lake.
They have a few pull through sites but most are back in. We had some problems leveling so be prepared to block your tires or leveling jacks to get your rig leveled.
Wifi is only really great at the hot spot which is in the laundry room, otherwise forget it. We had problem with the electrical as they only have 30amp hookups and our surge protector would not function on the five different power pedestals that we tried. We had to use our generator and batteries for power. Water was fine, but no sewer, but they do have a dump station.
The laundry room is small and dingy… but cheap!
There are fenced in dog areas that are right on the lake so your pet can play near the water, but no pet swimming. One warning… watch out for all the goose poo. it is everywhere…:)
The staff was very friendly and rates were really cheap since it was off season, but doubles during the season.
Despite the power problems, we really loved this park, it is very pretty, way off the lightly traveled highway, so it is very quiet, and out in the middle of nowhere, so very dark at night.
Overall, loved the park… need work on the power system.

I’ve been going to this park since I was a young boy. Now I take my children here. Its only 5 dollars to get in. Which is extremely cheap for a family outing. Its almost always clean and there are almost always fish there. Nice bbq area; well maintained and clean. If you live in the sacramento area and you’ve never been here you’re missing out.
Like others haves said; plan a party here. Its a great family spot and the perfect spot to put youngsters on to their first fish.

This is a great place to have a BBQ or picnic with lots of friends. The water seems pretty clean and the swimming area is fun. Lots of picnic areas but can get super crowded during the summer so come early to claim your spot!
My 2 complaints are that parking has gone up to $ 10 (!!!) and there is goose excrement EVERYWHERE! It’s all over the sidewalks, in the grass, on the beach… totally grossed me out.

Five of us camped at Rancho Seco camp site from Jun 21 — 23, 2013. This is one of the cleanest facilities I have ever camped at. The restroom facilities were inspected and cleaned several times during the day; all garbage cans were dumped at least 3 or 4 times during the day; if you even looked like you had a question, an employee of Rocky Mtn Recreation immediately asked if there was anything that you needed help with.
There were showers, for both men and women, one hot and one cold and once you got into the shower room, since there was no roof, you showered under the stars. The general store has everything you could ever want — but the prices are a bit high — like the mayo you may have forgotten — very small jar is $ 3.39. Besides, food cooked outside seems to taste better. Recommend bringing all of your own food and cooking supplies. Also, plenty of water and sun screen. Although, Herald and Galt are not that far away if you really need something that you won’t have to pay an arm and leg for.
Rates for entry into the park seem reasonable too — I think it was $ 20.00 per day for the 1^st car and 10.00 per day for the second car — but then that was the senior rate that we paid. The rentals at the Boat House are very fair — and you can’t beat $ 35.00 for an all day rental of a 2 person kayak. The water in the lake is warm — about 60 — 65 but will feel cool to 90 degree heated skin. There is a lifeguard on duty during the weekends only.
I am most definitely looking forward to coming back. I understand that during the week is the best time to come — less crowded. I do recommend that you bring flash lights for those nightly trips to the restrooms from your camp sites. Oh and the two towers — certainly are impressive especially at night with their red lights encircling them. Wonder if they will ever have guided tours though them — they are more or less historical — aren’t they?

It was Triathlon Day when I visited Ranch Seco park. That was over the summer so this review is long overdue. Not a whole lot to say about a park but I’ll break it down so it’s really simple.
PROS:
–Clean
–Nice, well stocked bathrooms (for a park)
–Grounds well kept
–Plenty of parking
CONS:
–Location. The park is quite a drive from highway 99. If anyone tells you it’s just off the highway, they’re lying.
Not a bad place for a triathlon, I’d visit again.

We went out here for the 7 mile trail walk, and to get away from the congestion of people and cars. It is pretty isolated, yes, especially on a fall day. The rate to get in has doubled to $ 10, and there are other fees depending on what you plan to do.
Don’t get spooked by the two nuclear reactors that greet you as you enter — they were decommissioned about 20 years ago, according to my research.
So. .. the hike itself is mostly through rolling grassland — not very interesting. I prefer green and wooded places, such as one would find in the Midwest and Northeast, but it is what it is – graze land for cattle, mostly, not a national forest or nature preserve.
The lake looks nice for kayaking and fishing. The park at the lake has plenty of shaded picnic tables, a swimming beach, and restrooms. There is a small off leash dog park. While I doubt I would ever want to camp here, I could see coming back for a group event, like a family reunion (if I had any family around here).
Be sure to bring plenty of water, sun protection, and snacks. The convenience store is not open off season and there is no water on the trail.

I’ve been to this place a couple of time and I must say it’s a pretty sweet area to hang out. What nice about this park is that you can BBQ, bring alcohol, go fishing/​swimmimg at the mini beach, get a tan at the mini beach, shower/​bathroom and there’s also a mini convenience store there in case you need more ice or snacks. Top it off you can camp there! There is a fee to get in the park and also a fee to camp there.
If you’re looking for a place to have a party or some sort of gather this would be the place you would want to check out.

This is an amazing park! And a big plus that its huge! So I live in Elk Grove and was invited to a BBQ at this location. Come to my surprise it is a well kept area, huge with a lot of grass area for sporting events, a lake you can swim and fish in, and a big enough lot for people to camp around. It’s all around great park, it’s like a combo park, you can almost do anything out here and best part is they allow alcohol. The only bad thing is parking is $ 10 and it’s really deep in the cuts.
It is fairly close to the power plants and I think a lot of people stray away for that reason, but it’s such a beautiful park with a great scene I don’t see why people would even remotely ignore this place. It is controlled by SMUD i believe so the water is clear and clean as can be, they don’t allow motor boats to keep polution out of the lake, how many clean lakes do you often see in Sacramento? NONE. Looking up from the grass i can see well below the water with all the rocks and fishes, it’s really an amazing view.
Anyone that wants to go camping, fishing, have a nice BBQ to play volley ball, football, or just to hang out, I would highly recommend this park. It’s not packed at all as people usually keep clear since it’s next to the power plant but I swear to you the view is amazing! I can say that it is comparable to Folsom lake if not more peaceful, less packed, and much cleaner.

We actually stayed here overnight in our Tioga. Weird place. Lots of Russians swimming and weird guys living out of their vans. We swam with the Russians but never borrowed any pork n beans from the other campers. Too creepy. Maybe it’s all that radioactivity that makes the place seem weird. Try it, it’s an overnight adventure. Just stay away from the creepy guy cooking weenies and living out of his van with the tinted windows.

A lot of people poke fun at this lake for the nuclear reactor that use to be active but little do they know it’s a pretty fun lake to fish in.
Fish species located in the lake are mostly warm water species like largemouth bass, shellcrackers, Bluegills, and catfish but SMUD also cooperates with DFG to stock the lake in the colder months with rainbow trout. SMUD holds two trout fishing derby at this lake every year, once in December and another in March. During the derby the lake is stocked with two thousand pound of trout. 600 lbs of giant cutbows from Mt. Lassen and some 1400 lbs of catchables rainbows or at least that’s what they say.
Anglers fishing for largemouth at this lake will find success during late March to September tossing plastic worms, cranks and jigs. The lake does offer anglers a chance to catch a trophy bass, and by trophy means over the 10lbs mark but it gets harder every year due to the amount of «bucket grabbers.» A majority of anglers will find the most success in the lake during spawn where consistent action can be found with 2−3lbers.
Rainbow trout during the stocking months can be taken with powerbait, cranks, spinners, spoons, etc.
Shellcrackers and Bluegills in the deeper end of the lake can get to the whopping 1 lbs mark and make a good fish fry if the angler is willing to spend the time to search for them!
Overall, the lake is quite nice for small budget anglers who just want take short trip and find a nice fishing locations without being bothered by jet skis, and loud outboard motorboats zooming by. The best thing about the lake is the fact that only electric trolling motors are allowed so it can ensure an anglers time on the water won’t be bothered by drunken jet skiers.

I absolutely LOVED this place. This is as good as it gets. After a horrible camping trip our «good» friend hosted, we weren’t satisfy so we decided to go to Rancho Seco Recreational Area for a picnic. Many reasons to why I loved this place.
— There is a day fee, and it is $ 5.00 per car. Which isn’t bad.
— I believe camping is $ 15.00 per night, but it’s soo worth it. Sadly, we didn’t get a chance to camp there, but we sure are planning on a trip back there.
— They have free showers! I thought showers there were coined operated showers, but instead it’s free! There’s also, hot & cold water which is perfect!
— They have mini convenience store which has lots of stuff. Water ballons for the kids, nice cold water to drink, batteries, fishing supplies, sun glasses, sandals, and much more.
— The park is real clean!
— They have a little beach there, although I didn’t swim I seen plenty of little kids swimming.
— You can launch your own raft, and it’s free. Only thing is, you can’t jump off the raft.
— There are fishes there! They stock the fish every once in a while.
— They have water faucets for you so it’d be perfect to have a balloon fights.
I highly recommend this place. There’s only one problem. You can’t find this place on your GPS or IPhone. You have you go on the website and get the directions from there.

We went to Rancho Seco Recreational Area to check out vernal pools. It’s a 2hr drive from Berkeley so I had to get up really early. It’s off Hwy 104 near Hwy 99.
Once you pass the two towers you’ll make a right turn, where there’s a sign for Rancho Seco Recreational Area. The cost to enter is $ 5 per car.
Look for the Howard Ranch trail sign on the Left and park. There’s a pit toilet there. No water, so bring your own. No toilets on the trail either.
We went on a guided 7-​mi round trip hike on Sat 4÷19÷08, though you don’t need to go with a guide.
The vernal pools were all dried up already! Big letdown. There were some flowers along the trail and near the vernal pools. Tidy Tips are my favorite.
Hike was short and mostly flat.
There’s Lake Rancho Seco there. We had lunch near the General Store which is small. Good if you forget something.
There’s a Amanda Blake Memorial Wildlife Refuge — we didn’t find a way to get in. The museum was closed when we went. We did a short wildlife Trail walk to see Ostriches. Couldn’t see the Oryx up close, only from a far.
Worth it to check out! Recommended.