As Highway 168 whisks you into the Sierra Nevada, the vast crops of fresh produce are soon replaced by rolling foothills peppered with trees as tall as they are old. Eventually, you reach an opening, a glimmer of blue among the green — revealing an oasis.

At an elevation of 5,627 feet, Camp Edison is a hidden refuge among the trees surrounding Shaver Lake that has hosted generations of campers for 60 years. The site includes 252 individual campsites available for reservation year-round.

Southern California Edison established the campground in 1963 to support a growing interest in camping at the lake and to demonstrate how electricity can be woven into the camping experience. When Camp Edison was founded, electric hookups in remote areas were a novelty. Today, each campsite has electric hookups and access to full-service amenities, enabling guests to camp with various comforts of home.

“Camp Edison is a great platform that lets visitors have a great time, but that also promotes SCE’s safety and electrification projects and all the forest management practices we do,” said Ryan Stewart, SCE senior manager of Camp Edison.

Now celebrating its 60th anniversary, Camp Edison continues to pioneer innovative and sustainable practices while offering a safe experience to all its campers. In addition to maintaining the campground and SCE’s 20,000 acres of forest land, Camp Edison’s Forestry team leads campfire programs, guided walks and recreational activities that educate visitors on wildfire safety, vegetation management and how to interact with forest ecosystems safely. SCE recently celebrated the milestone anniversary with longtime campers, volunteers, law enforcement agencies and the Shaver Lake community.

“Camp Edison allows SCE to pour into the community in a different way than we do in other parts of our service area,” said James Mackenzie, SCE principal manager of Land and Forest Management. “We’re able to provide education on environmental issues, our company goals and objectives, and build meaningful relationships our customers take with them when they return home.”

Camp Edison is part of SCE’s Big Creek Hydroelectric Project, which generates 1,000 megawatts of clean energy, critical to meeting California’s decarbonization goals. Recognizing its value as a unique feature of Shaver Lake, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission deemed the campground a licensing requirement to continue generating hydroelectric power.

While Big Creek has “the hardest working water in the world” and is an important component of California’s energy and water supplies, Camp Edison remains a relaxing second home for thousands of campers, creating lasting memories one camping trip at a time.

For more on SCE’s clean energy efforts, visit energized.edison.com/cleanenergy.