We actually had booked a dispersed camping spot close to this campground, but once the high winds picked up on the plateau we were on we decided to high-tail it over to Castle Crags to have a less windy night!

It is right next to the highway and close to a high-volume railroad track, so BRING EARPLUGS! It really does get very noisy. There are a wide variety of sites (some include a grade you need to back your camper up onto), some close to streams, etc etc. so from that perspective it's quite nice. And if you want to climb the Crags you really can't pick a better location.

They have the usual bear lockers and fire rings, there is usually a host, and the bathrooms are actually quite nice (well-heated, which is what we needed during a soggy November trip!) The gas station down the street has a VERY big selection of beer (I was super surprised).

Be careful of two things: one, there is abundant poison oak in the area and two, we found a very big and nasty spider in the bag of firewood I bought.