U.S. Forest Service · Plumas National Forest · California

Bucks Lake Recreation Area

Bucks Lake is located on Oroville-Bucks Lake Road, 17 miles southwest of Quincy or 32 miles northeast of Oroville. Bucks Lake is a high mountain lake surrounded by the Bucks Lake Wilderness on one side and recreation residences/resorts on the other side. The area offers year-round recreation opportunities, making it a popular destination for outdoor enthusiasts. Showers are available nearby at Sandy Point Day Use / Boat Launch.

Open nowBooking not publishedTents only

More like this: first-come in California · tent only in California

Bucks Lake Recreation Area
Photo from the area. sterferg (CC BY-SA 3.0), via Wikimedia Commons
3fires
active
Pnf Rx (prescribed burn) · 13 mi away
2 more within 50 miles
Incident details ↓

Amenities & rules

EquipmentTents

Individual sites vary. Confirm on Recreation.gov or with the managing office.

Season & status

StatusOpen
ForestPlumas National Forest

Plumas National Forest recreation page ↗

Weather by month

NOAA climate normals →
Weather by month near Bucks Lake Recreation Area30°40°50°60°70°January: 7.65 inches of precipitation, 5.8 inches of snowFebruary: 7.59 inches of precipitation, 7.6 inches of snowMarch: 6.66 inches of precipitation, 5.4 inches of snowApril: 3.14 inches of precipitation, 1.6 inches of snowMay: 1.94 inches of precipitation, 0.0 inches of snowJune: 0.71 inches of precipitation, 0.0 inches of snowJuly: 0.10 inches of precipitation, 0.0 inches of snowAugust: 0.14 inches of precipitation, 0.0 inches of snowSeptember: 0.42 inches of precipitation, 0.0 inches of snowOctober: 1.94 inches of precipitation, 0.1 inches of snowNovember: 4.06 inches of precipitation, 1.7 inches of snowDecember: 7.32 inches of precipitation, 6.2 inches of snowJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecJanuary: 34.5°F averageFebruary: 38.0°F averageMarch: 42.6°F averageApril: 47.1°F averageMay: 54.7°F averageJune: 61.8°F averageJuly: 68.3°F averageAugust: 66.6°F averageSeptember: 61.1°F averageOctober: 50.9°F averageNovember: 40.3°F averageDecember: 34.2°F average0 in2 in4 in6 in8 inTemp °FInches
The line is the average temperature and the bars are average precipitation at Quincy, 13 miles from the campground at 3,420 feet, station USC00047195 in the NOAA monthly climate normals for 1991 to 2020. Precipitation totals about 42 inches a year. The dotted line is average snowfall, about 28 inches a year on the same inches scale.

Getting there

Coordinates39.8910° N, 121.1850° W · Directions ↗

Fire nearby

  • Prescribed
    Pnf Rx

    13 mi from the campground

  • Prescribed
    Pnf North Quincy Wcsl Rx

    15 mi from the campground

  • Prescribed
    Loafer Creek Dwr Vmp Rx

    28 mi from the campground · 68 acres

Distance is to the reported incident point, not the fire edge. Call the managing office before you drive.

Supplies & services

Outdoor gearREI ↗35 mi
RV sales & serviceMike Friend RVs ↗37.3 mi

Locations © OpenStreetMap contributors. Call ahead; hours change seasonally.

Explore

Video

Lower Bucks Lake - Plumas National Forest, CA

Trails nearby

Forest Service trail data →

Trail and trailhead records are the Forest Service's. Distances are straight-line to the nearer trail end. Trail conditions are not tracked here.

Public land it sits in

On Wilderness Atlas →

This campground sits inside Plumas National Forest.

Each unit is published as a centre point and an acreage rather than a boundary, so this section stands it in for a circle of the same area. Whether a campground is inside, and how far it is from one it is outside, are both approximate.

Guidebooks for California

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Titles come from Open Library's catalog, matched by subject heading or by title.

Reference

Questions people ask

Is Bucks Lake Recreation Area open right now?

Open as of Oct 26, 2026.

Source: Forest Service status

Can I bring an RV to Bucks Lake Recreation Area?

Bucks Lake Recreation Area is listed for tents only.

Source: Forest Service

What if Bucks Lake Recreation Area is full?

The nearest public campgrounds are Hutchins (0.9 mi), Sundew Campground (1.1 mi), and Mill Creek Campground (Plumas) (1.6 mi).

Source: Campgrounds nearby