Camp Sylvester

Pinecrest, United States

5

Open now

3 reviews

Contacts

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Telephone:
+1 209-965-3172
Website:
www.campsylvester.org
Address:
28770 Dodge Ridge Rd, Pinecrest, CA, 95364
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Today

Today 1:00 am – 12:00 am
Open now
Local time (Pinecrest) 15:26 Saturday, 28 June 2025

Business hours

Monday 1:00 am – 12:00 am
Tuesday 1:00 am – 12:00 am
Wednesday 1:00 am – 12:00 am
Thursday 1:00 am – 12:00 am
Friday 1:00 am – 12:00 am
Saturday 1:00 am – 12:00 am
Sunday 1:00 am – 12:00 am

Description

Specialties

Rental Facilities for Group Lodging, Events, Recreation and Much More! Camp is an ideal setting for family vacations, group retreats and special events alike. We offer rental lodging facilities for hosting camps, retreats and special events (weddings, reunions). With updated cabins and recreation halls sprawling over nearly ten acres of the Stanislaus National Forest, Camp Sylvester provides the fresh air, green pines and excitement of an outdoor adventure with all of the comforts of a rustic resort.

Camp Sylvester is the largest year-​round group lodging facility in Pinecrest. We are a short 10 minute walk from beautiful Pinecrest Lake, a 4 minute drive to Dodge Ridge Ski Area and a great base camp for amazing hikes and sierra adventure.

The Pinecrest Lake Recreational Area offers a beach, lakeside picnic areas, box-​office amphitheater, full service marina, fishing, boating, restaurants/​café, art gallery, bicycle rentals, general store, great hiking trails and so much more nearby!

History

Established in 1927.

Located in Pinecrest, California, guests have been seeking adventure at Camp Sylvester for over 87 years. Founded in 1927 by Stanislaus and San Joaquin County farmers, its first incarnation was as a «pitch your tent» camp for farm groups and youth clubs. Named after Henry Sylvester, a longtime 4-​H Youth Advisor, the camp still plays home to 4-​H and FFA summer camps every year. In 1946, the Stanislaus County Farm Bureau took ownership for Camp Sylvester. Since then, the Bureau has maintained the grounds and hosted educational summer camps. The group has refurbished the camp’s 26 buildings and completed an all new 3,500 square foot dining hall and commercial kitchen in 2009.

Meet the Business Owner

Stanislaus County Farm Bureau O.

Business Owner

Stanislaus County Farm Bureau is a nonprofit voluntary membership organization whose mission is to serve as the voice of Stanislaus County agriculture at all levels of government, while providing programs to assist its farms and family members and educate the general public of needs and importance to agriculture.

Camp Sylvester working in cooperation with the Stanislaus County Farm Bureau is a 501©(3) non-​profit charitable organization that sustains educational and recreational camping facilities for use by non-​profit organizations, families, groups and special events alike.

www​.stan​farm​bu​reau​.com

Camp Sylvester also recommends

Dodge Ridge

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Sports & Leisure

Stanislaus County Farm Bureau O. says,

«Just 2 miles from Camp Sylvester»

The Steam Donkey

45

reviews

Traditional American Restaurants

Stanislaus County Farm Bureau O. says,

«Good food, good price, great mountain atmosphere located in the center Pinecrest. Full bar available.»

Mia’s

118

reviews

Pizza

,

Sandwiches

,

Mediterranean Restaurants

Stanislaus County Farm Bureau O. says,

«A local and guest favorite. Brick oven pizzas, entrée dining specialties and great homemade desserts.»

Nearby

Near this location:
1
ft
Mountain House Ski Club
Dodge Ridge Rd
1
mi
US Post Office
411 Pinecrest Lake Rd
1
mi
Pinecrest Lake Marina
31 Lakeshore Dr
1
mi
Cascade Creek Campgrounds
Pinecrest Lake Rd Ste 1
1
mi
Pinecrest Chalet
500 Dodge Ridge Rd
1
mi
Pinecrest Lake Resort
421 Pinecrest Lake Rd

3 reviews of Camp Sylvester

No registration required
Place rating: 5
San Bruno, CA
WOW! We had our wedding at Camp Sylvester on 9−19−15 and just wow. It was everything I wanted it to be and more. I knew I specifically wanted a summer camp and let me just tell you, if you are looking for the same look no further! I’ve already done all the hard work for you… I literally called nearly every camp in the north state, and no one could come close to what they offer at Camp Sylvester. Camp Sylvester is affordable… a camp actually wanted me to pay 10k a day to use the facilities, that was on top of the per person per night fee, seriously CRAZY! Camp Sylvester is scenic… what a beautiful place to be married, we booked it site unseen and couldn’t believe how lucky we got. The camp itself is adorable, little wooden cabins nestled in the Forrest, hanging patio lights over the picnic area, rustic amphitheater, it’s just perfect. We had our ceremony in the amphitheater down by the lake and took a little canoe-​I-​do ride after, the lake is picturesque, and only a 10 minute walk from camp, but also ample parking for those that couldn’t walk that far. Camp Sylvester has a dream kitchen… so many camps I called wanted us to eat camp food that they would prepare while we were there, I have a foody for a husband and that was absolutely not going to work. Camp Sylvester has everything you need to cook for a crowd! Walk in fridge, multiple stovetops, ovens, industrial dish washer, industrial coffee maker, ice maker, etc etc… our whole group pitched in all weekend and we had a great time making our group meals! Ken made everything so easy for us, he gave some great recommendations for vendors that they use regularly for kids camps. We rented bed linens for the bunk beds from a company they work with closely. He answered my 845 questions quickly and happily, he was a great help throughout the entire process. All of our guests raved and raved about the location, many commented on wanting to have family reunions, company outings, their weddings there! It is truly a magical place and I count myself lucky to have had our wedding there! If you’re thinking about having your wedding at Camp Sylvester I would highly recommend it!
Place rating: 5
Berkeley, CA
I want to recommend Camp Sylvester to anyone looking to have a large get together in a beautiful setting. We stayed at Camp Sylvester and had our wedding there this summer. Camp Sylvester was an awesome place and Ken went above and beyond to make it a great few days for us even in the midst of a major fire nearby.
The caterers were very impressed with the kitchen area and said it was the best place that they ever had worked in, our guests were impressed by the cabins and the outdoor space, and they keep improving the space!
Place rating: 5
Riverbank, CA
Camp Sylvester is another place that is home to a million and one of my childhood memories. My brother and I grew up going to 4-​H camp here and I wouldn’t trade the weeks I spent up there for the world!
Strangely enough, I had no clue that my future career as an Ag Reporter for the Stanislaus County Farm Bureau would lead me back there. The Stanislaus County Farm Bureau has owned Camp Sylvester since 1927.
Sylvester, like the Farm Bureau, is a non-​profit camp that hosts a wide variety of youth groups year round.
Since Camp Sylvester’s original dining and mess hall was left in ruins after high winds toppled a 130 foot fir tree on it back in December of 2006, campers have had to depend on a portable kitchen.
Being thatI had so many memories vested in this camp, I have written several articles since the accident trying to spread the word for donations.
Just today, we broke ground on the new hall which is costing in the range of $ 1 million to construct.
You can imagine how nearly impossible raising that amount of money can be for a non-​profit group. But, on the brighter side, it is finally being built (not that we couldn’t always use more money), the new hall will be state of the art for camp standards and other improvements will be made to the rest of camp as well.
I was actually there this morning to take photos of the ground breaking and the place I am happy to say, other than the bulldozers leveling the area for the new hall, is just as it was when I started attending camp as a 9 year-​old in 1990.
Words do not describe the wonders of this camp for children, It’s just a half mile walk from beautiful Pinecrest lake, and a bout three miles from Dodge Ridge Ski Resort.
If you know of ANY youth organization that is looking for a camp to attend, look no further that Camp Sylvester. They will accommodate groups as large as 220 year round at incredibly low rates. I think the rates are $ 25 per camper, per day. Church groups, boy and girl scout groups, 4-​H groups, FFA groups, and many schools attend every year.
Several groups that used other camps while the camp was closed because of the Tree incident have already reserved Camp Sylvester for next year because they said the other camps didn’t come close to the quality and convenience of Sylvester.
For reservation and more info: (209) 965‑3172