Lake Francis Resort - Dobbins, California

rich C.

The staff here seem fairly incompetent and uncaring. My cabin's septic tank was overflowing, spilling over and bubbling out some really nasty stuff. They told me they'd send someone to deal with it, but never did.

Massive health hazard here, and luckily my brother-in-law is a health and safety inspector for Fish and Wildlife who visits this area quite often so he'll be making surprise visit soon. He's not very happy with the pictures and videos I sent him and the way staff handled the situation. Apparently he's had issues with this resort in the past and they made a good turn around years ago, but seems they fell off again. If they're allowing sewage to seep into the land of a state park, the fines are going to be massive.

With that out of the way, Lake Francis is an amazing lake. Great views, great water and fishing. Usually fairly good people.

The staff of this resort is what makes it terrible. Don't stay at the resort if you don't have to, especially in the piss poor cabins.

Samantha

Our family had a great time camping at Lake Francis! The campground is up high, while the resort and lake are low. So there are some hills. But there are nice trails to get around and things are overall close together. We had a campsite and a cabin. The cabins are adorable and have a lot of amenities. The lake is perfect for swimming,fishing and paddle boarding.

Tammy S.

I only went for a day trip but the lake was clean and cool and there was plenty of shade. There is also a nice pool and ice cream shop onsite. I'll definitely be back....a great place for kids too!

María Q.

Terrible place. We decided to rent a cabin for camping instead of pitching a tent because we have a toddler (1.5 yo) and it’s hot, and this place advertised having “AC”. The cabins are what you’d expect, no surprise there: basic, dirty, yucky. But the AC did not work appropriately, the inside of the cabin was an inferno of heat 75% of the day (hotter than the 107*F outside), there’s enormous gaps all over the walls inside the cabinets where outside air comes in, and the malfunctioning and leaking swamp cooler they call “AC” is false advertising. For $189 + tax per night, this place is not worth it and I would not come back. Maybe I’d consider a bare cabin in the fall/winter, but after this experience I doubt I’d want to be back. The AC is not an AC, and the cabin is not prepared to hold air in, nor run any cooling appliance, the breaker kept blowing and the fridge fuse burnt so we were left without a fridge. Most of the personnel at the front desk were rude and not accommodating, all they could do it wait ‘til closing time to close the door in your face 5 minutes early. There was one lady who checked us in who was nice, never knew her name. The handymen were also nice and tried to change our AC to a portable unit, but it just wasn’t enough. It’s super expensive and the lake is brown, not clear, full of goose poop, frankly very risky disease-wise. We actually ended up leaving a day early so even paid for an extra night we didn’t use, we were having such a bad time. The toddler was miserable, no one slept, the pool is FULL of noisy rude people, the “arcade” was unbearably hot, just an all over very bad experience. I can’t believe we paid almost $1000 for a torture of an experience, definitely not what we thought we were paying for. No one offered to reimburse us for the malfunctioning appliances, no one cared about anything. Very sad.

Casey L.

Check-in was simple and the RV park is laid out well. It was extremely hot during our stay, so having to load into the car and drive 2 minutes to the lake or pool wasn’t as convenient as we would have liked. Had ice cream each night and it was extremely good. The last night they had music playing in the courtyard of the general store area and the kids had a blast. They even brought out a huge cooler full of water balloons and the chaos ensued. It was a wonderful finishing touch on our short getaway.

Jessica V.

We have been camping here for the weekend. There is some sort of religious group holding a retreat, which is fine, except that they are using a PA system to blare their music and their sermons literally all day and night, sometimes screaming so loud my 7yo is in tears. When I called the office to ask for help getting them to at least turn the volume down, I was told there’s nothing they can do “because they’re allowed to make noise until quiet hours at 10pm”. So one group can ruin the entire campground’s experience, and that’s just fine? I came here to enjoy nature with my family, not listen to a constant stream of screaming and chanting from the world’s loudest PA system from sunup to sundown. We used to love coming here, but after tonight, we won’t be back.

Courtney M.

This is our first time camping at Lake Francis. We have wanted to come for years but have put it off because of my 69 year old mother with mobility issues and daughter with celiac disease. The distance and trails to the lake didn’t seem feasible with their mobility and frequent bathroom needs. We decided to take a chance and check it out anyway. I specifically called to ask about golf carts for their needs and was told it’s strictly prohibited. We are rule followers and like to respect our campgrounds. Only to get here and find golf carts everywhere. I spoke with the office AGAIN as well as gate staff, and was told golf carts are accepted, especially in our situation. I am devastated. The terrain is much worse than I expected and my 8 year old daughter and mother will have to spend the weekend in the trailer. I wish we would have known. It’s not right. We called and followed the rules and are paying the price only to see everyone else out enjoying their trip.

Sherrie D.

We love Lake Francis Resort. We come here often with a total of 8 couples. 4 couples have RV’s and the other 4 rent cabins here. It’s nice because the RV sites are close to the cabins. There are short, but nice trails around the resort. The lake is perfect for canoes or paddle boards and swimming in summer. There is a cute village with game room, store and pool.