31N17N - North Manzanita Dispersed Camping

Same experience as the other reviews. Arrived late Friday night on Labor Day weekend and found a spot right at the beginning of the dirt road - coming from Redding direction, turned right off of 44 onto the dirt road then took the first right. The turnoff is on Google maps and was easy to find even in the dark. Nobody else around that we saw, even given the busy weekend! Agreed with others on the road noise but it was fine. Just a few minutes from Manzanita lake. Great find!

About one mile south of the northwest entrance, so it’s convenient. Follow the instructions from other campers as they’re spot on. We camped to the right of the road, as we saw another camp site that was filled to the right. Tent campers will have no issues finding a spot. We didn’t venture too far down the road due to having a lower car, but we had plenty of options.

Although you feel secluded, the highway isn’t too far, so you’ll have some road noise (nothing crazy). We did hear coyotes off in the distance, which is so cool and spooky at the same time. Bear activity was reported in the area before we arrived, so keep that in mind. Make sure to bring your buh spray!

Will definitely stay here again if we visit the park again. Arrived June 19, left June 20.

Immediately prior to turning down road to Lassen turn in to dirt road. Again less than 50 yards on right is area to camp. Could also turn a big rig.

A 4 wheel drive is not required, it's just a dusty road. About 100 yards further, you could walk up the road and grab some water from the stream.

No Verizon phone or internet reception

We found this spot based on advice of the rangers in LVNP. Overall a great place to camp if your looking for a free option to camp/boon dock very close to the park.

Right when you turn off 44, go up a small hill, maybe 100m, then there is a clearing on the west side of the road. There is a perpendicular dirt road at the clearing (running west/east) with several spots to park a van, trailer, or even smaller RV. We saw four distinct sites where people had made fire rings—however due to the number of pine trees the ground is covered in a thick layer of pine needles— make sure you sweep at least a 20’ fire ring down to dirt around the rock pit before you make a fire. You can also hear noticeable road noise from 44 in the front spots so not super secluded.

Many of the sites we checked (near the entrance and deeper into the woods) had bumble bees coming out of holes in the ground so be careful picking your site, particularly at night so you don’t wake up to an unpleasant surprise.

Going further south down the main road you can find many other more hidden camping spots deeper in the forest, but the road is rougher and only suited for a 4x4.