Upper Lake Clementine is the day-use swim area at the upstream end of Lake Clementine, the reservoir behind North Fork Dam on the North Fork of the American River. It sits inside Auburn State Recreation Area, which California State Parks runs on U.S. Bureau of Reclamation land under a managing partnership agreement. The dam is roughly three miles downstream, and the upper area is a separate unit from the boat ramp and marina at Lower Lake Clementine, with its own road and entrance.

From Interstate 80 in Auburn, take the Foresthill exit and follow Foresthill Road about 5.5 miles, then turn left on Upper Lake Clementine Road. A dirt access road drops roughly two miles down the canyon wall in switchbacks to a gravel lot at the water, and State Parks recommends high-clearance vehicles. The lot holds about 150 cars. From Memorial Day weekend through Labor Day weekend a day-use vehicle reservation is required on Saturdays and Sundays and is strongly recommended on weekdays, booked through LAZ Parking. Booking opens 10 days ahead at 8 a.m. and closes two days before your visit, and same-day reservations are not taken. Weekend visitors without one are turned away at the gate.

The beach is a broad strip of large, rounded river cobble along the south shore, right next to the parking lot, at the point where the North Fork slows and becomes reservoir. Water shoes help on the stones. Conditions shift through the season: early summer can bring noticeable current and cold snowmelt, while late summer is usually calmer and warmer. Powerboats are banned from marked buoys three miles above the dam all the way up to the day-use area, and trailered launching is never allowed here, so the upper lake stays quiet for swimmers, kayaks, canoes and paddleboards. State Parks lists no lifeguard service at this beach.

Parking is $10 per vehicle per day, a State Parks fee, and California State Parks annual and discount passes are honored. Whether LAZ adds its own booking charge on top could not be confirmed. The area is open weekends only from April 15 to April 30, daily from May 1 through September 30, and weekends only again from October 1 to 14. It closes for winter on October 15 and reopens after April 15 depending on road conditions. Daily hours are 8 a.m. to 6:30 p.m., and every vehicle must be out by 7 p.m. Dogs, glass containers and alcohol are not allowed, and barbecue restrictions apply in fire season.

Treat the water with some care. Algal mats at Upper Lake Clementine have tested high for anatoxin-a, and State Parks advises visitors on the North Fork to stay out of slow side channels where mats grow. Spring snowmelt brings strong, cold flows into the head of the lake. There is no drinking water anywhere in the recreation area and no cell service at the lot, so bring water and plan ahead. Rattlesnakes and poison oak are common on the canyon slopes, and summer highs regularly reach the 90s. Illegal parking and pedestrians walking on Foresthill Road have closed the area before, which is what led to the reservation system.

Long Point, a rock outcrop above the lot, gives a clear view down onto the beach and up the river canyon. Lower Lake Clementine, reached by a different road off Foresthill Road, has the boat launch, a marina and a 15-site boat-in campground, and the Lake Clementine Trail follows the river below the Foresthill Bridge toward the dam.