French Meadows Campgrounds reopens following modernization project

Just in time for the launch of summer, the French Meadows Campground has reopened following major modernization efforts. On Monday, the Placer County Water Agency (PCWA), in partnership with the U.S. Forest Service, celebrated the reopening with speeches and a walking tour, providing those in attendance with a glimpse of improvements. Speakers included Tahoe National Forest Deputy Forest Supervisor Amber Waters; Lisa Mara, chief of staff for Placer County District 5 Supervisor Cindy Gustafson; PCWA General Manager Andy Fecko and PCWA Board Director Josh Alpine, whose district runs from Auburn to Lake Tahoe. "... In the middle of that district is this beautiful campground where people come from all over, not only Placer County but the state to enjoy and recreate and have a great time," Alpine said. According to PCWA, the $6.8 million project aimed to improve recreation, water system reliability and accessibility in the Middle Fork American River watershed. Improvements include wider parking areas, new paved roads and upgraded campsites, flattened tent pads, a new outdoor amphitheater area with log seating, safety improvements, hazard tree removal as well as ADA-compliant restrooms, picnic tables, fire rings and water faucets. "To be able to walk around, take it all in, see the new benches, see the new fire rings, see the widened area of roads finally for trailers to come in and back up, but also, of course, for fire safety and community safety. It is quite lovely out here," said Waters. PCWA confirmed the improvements are part of its license requirements for the Middle Fork Project, which includes commitments related to environmental stewardship, recreation and public access throughout the watershed. Revenues from Middle Fork Project hydropower are reinvested into public recreation and watershed improvements. "This campground rebuild, as well as campground rebuilds we have coming up, was all part of that collaborative, consensus-based effort to reoperate our project to reflect modern values," Fecko said. "This campground was originally built in the 1960s. It had small roads. Very small sites. Small turnouts and that was reflective of the time, but we knew when we were doing the relicensing process that we needed to upgrade, not just French Meadows Campground but all the facilities that make up the Middle Fork Hydroelectric Project." Fecko noted recreation surveys during the relicensing process revealed roughly 75 percent of the facilities' visitors were residents of Placer and El Dorado counties. "It's really important to us that we have top-notch facilities, boat ramps, campgrounds because those are the people that pay their water bills to PCWA and we want them to come up here and have a really good experience," he said. Upgrades to the South Shore Water Supply system, which serves the campground, nearby picnic areas and boat launch, were completed at the same time to limit impacts to a single recreation season, according to PCWA. Aging infrastructure was replaced with a vertical well and more than 5,000 feet of new water distribution piping. Fecko noted the modernization of French Meadows Campground is the first of several planned rehabilitation projects due to the amount of visitors the campground gets every year. Future improvements include Lewis Campground and McGuire Picnic Area Conversion in 2030, Ahart Campground and Gates Group Campground in 2032, and Coyote Group Campground and Poppy Campground and Trail in 2034. Campground details and information on reservations can be found at Recreation.gov. Information on recreation opportunities in the Middle Fork American River watershed can be found at MiddleForkFun.com or pcwa.net/recreation.