This is a great little campground located right near a beautiful lake and some great hiking.

The campground itself is small and first-come first-serve, so arrive early in the day to get a spot at all, much less the best spots. We arrived at about 10am on a Thursday in June and had our pick of the spots. For the three days we were there we only had "neighbors" one of the nights.

Nothing too special about this campground other than it is small, so less chance of getting some obnoxious, noisy group near you. There are pit toilets, but no potable water.

The campground is a short walk or really short drive up to Castle Lake, a truly spectacular lake with great options for hiking, kayaking, or paddle boarding in the summer.

The main hiking trail takes you up to Heart Lake and then offers great views of Castle Lake and across to Mt. Shasta. It's only about a mile each way to Heart Lake and then another quarter mile or so to a nice lookout point.

There is another trail that splits off about half a mile from the parking lot and heads east toward Little Castle Lake and eventually the Mt. Bradley fire lookout if you keep going. From there you can go just about anywhere on a series of fire roads.

Dogs are welcome in the campground and on the trails, but please leash your dogs. There are many other dogs on these trails and wildlife nearby, so keep your dog leashed to protect it and the areas around the trails.

The campground is also quite close to the town of Mt. Shasta and other great hikes like Black Butte and Castle Crags State Park.