Established Camping
Merrill Campground
About
USDA Forest Service
Lassen National Forest
Overview
Merrill Campground is located in the Eagle Lake Recreation Area of the Lassen National Forest. This recreation area has five campgrounds, three designated day use areas and a marina on the south shore of Eagle Lake. All of these recreation facilities are connected by a 5.2 mile paved hiking/bike trail. The Osprey Overlook, another day use area in the recreation area, can be hiked or driven to for a scenic view of the southern end of Eagle Lake and the surrounding forest basin. The Lassen National Forest offers a variety of lakes, streams and wilderness areas for recreational opportunities. The forest offers miles of trails that are used for hiking, mountain biking, off-highway vehicle riding and in the winter months, snowmobiling.
Recreation
Fishing for the Eagle Lake Rainbow Trout, a California Heritage Trout, is the primary recreational activity on Eagle Lake, but the 3rd largest natural lake in California (22,000 acres), provides for plenty of room for swimming, kayaking, skiing and all other boating activities by motor or sail. There are no 2-cycle restrictions for outboard boat motors or PWCs.
Facilities
Merrill Campground is a unique US Forest Service facility. Totally rebuilt in the early 2000s, it is the prototypical RV park in a Forest Service campground. With 57 full hook-up sites, 64 partial hook-up sites and 51 standard, no hook-up sites, Merrill offers whatever type of site you prefer. Partial hook-up sites have water and electric, no sewer. All electric hook-up sites have a 50, a 30 and two 20 amp outlets provided.All site camping/parking spurs are at least 45 feet, but most are 55 to 75 feet in length, and are essentially double wide. Each site is equipped with a table and a campfire ring with grill. The campground has flush toilets, potable water points, grey water dumps, limited WIFI and firewood is available for purchase. An RV Dump Station Facility is conveniently located just outside the campground with a $5 dump fee. Forty-five sites, #15-#42 and #57-#75, are designated walk-in sites, the other 125 are reservation sites. The paved bike path runs through the campground. The Eagle Lake Marina store with gas, propane, fishing and camping supplies, shower and laundry facilities and boat launch are located 2.5 miles from the campground.
Natural Features
Eagle Lake is located where the Sierras meet the Cascades at the southwestern end of the lake, and the Modoc Plateau of the Great Basin at the northeastern end. This unique location offers diverse landscapes, geology, wildlife and vegetation. Merrill Campground is located in a mature conifer forest of pines and firs on the southern shoreline of Eagle Lake, at an elevation of 5,100 feet.
Nearby Attractions
The Lassen National Forest has many other recreational opportunities and the Lassen Volcanic National Park is an easy day___s drive to and from Eagle Lake Recreational Area.
Location
Merrill Campground is located in California
Directions
From Susanville, California, take Highway 36 west for 2 miles to County Road A-1. Turn north and continue 14 miles to the Eagle Lake Recreation Area. Continue past Gallatin Road, the first highway you will come to in the lake basin, and follow the signs to Merrill Campground. Located on County Road A-1.
Coordinates
40.5481194 N
120.8120056 W
Access
- Drive-InPark next to your site
- Walk-InPark in a lot, walk to your site.
- Boat-InSites accessible by watercraft.
Stay Connected
- WiFiUnknown
- VerizonFair
- AT&TUnknown
- T-MobileFair
Site Types
- Tent Sites
- RV Sites
- Standard (Tent/RV)
- Group
- Cabins
- Tent Cabin
Features
For Campers
- Market
- Trash
- Picnic Table
- Firewood Available
- Phone Service
- Drinking Water
- Electric Hookups
- Toilets
- Alcohol
- Pets
- Fires
For Vehicles
- Sanitary Dump
- Sewer Hookups
- Water Hookups
- Pull-Through Sites
- Big Rig Friendly
Quiet lake access
Quiet starry nights. Recreational lake. Friendly peeps.
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Great
Beautiful campground
Convenient
We did not have reservations and just showed up. It’s nice that they have first come first serve sites available with full hook ups. The Camp Hosts are wonderful people
Lake enthusiast paradise
Close proximity to Eagle Lake. Sites are close together = no privacy. Bathrooms were clean. No showers but flushing toilets. Limited cell coverage. Great hiking trail on paved path accessible from campground.
Beautiful park
We loved our stay here. Stayed at the end of May 2022. Sites are large and spaced out. Big trees everywhere. Restrooms are clean, but don’t have anything to dry your hands with. Also no showers here. But everything is so nice it makes it a non-issue. Lake is amazing. Nice 10 mile paved trail for biking and walking.
Annual Eagle Lake Trip
Our annual camping trip to Eagle Lake at the Merrill Campground in Lassen National Forest started as a family trip for a good friend about three generations ago. Ourselves and other friends have since tagged along for the last 6-8 years (some longer). We now routinely book 6 or more campsites, most with power for trailer hook ups though a couple of us still tent camp. Half the group are avid fisherman and go out every morning. The trout fishing is world class and makes for an out-of-this-world fish fry! This is one of the most pristine and quiet campgrounds we visit. The camp hosts and other campers are always extremely friendly and respectful. The facilities are clean and well maintained, the marina is well stocked (both fishing and daily food/drink essentials). We look forward to coming year after year.
Amazing
Grew up camping here as a child and have so many great memories of Eagle Lake. Unfortunately things have changed quite a bit due to the shift in climate in the area. The water was very low and air a bit smoky upon arrival in early September. Sites are great, with lots of shelter the further inland you go, and just enough pine tree shelter close to the water. Many sites available when we drove in on a Saturday afternoon, so we chose one with a view in the grassy area facing the lake. Amenities are great: flushing toilets, potable water, a general store with a good selection of items. A big, lakeside trail to bike/ walk that spans quite a distance and ends near the marina. The camp host played the French horn at sundown which was unexpected, but really lovely and relaxing to listen to as the sun set. Expect the days to be very hot, but nights extremely cold in the latter half of summer. Come prepared for the mountain climate with warm sleeping bags/ down blankets. Expect to hear some fishing boats and a bit of traffic at dawn if you stay during trout season. Always a good idea to check air quality and burn bans before arriving.
Amazing
Grew up camping here as a child and have so many great memories of Eagle Lake. Unfortunately things have changed quite a bit due to the shift in climate in the area. The water was very low and air a bit smoky upon arrival in mid September. Sites are great, with lots of shelter the further inland, and a bit of pine tree shelter close to the water. Many sites available when we drove in on a Monday afternoon. Amenities are great: flushing toilets, potable water, a general store with a good selection of items. The camp host played the French horn at sundown which was unexpected, but really lovely to listen to as the sun set. Expect the days to be very hot, but nights extremely cold. Come prepared for the mountain climate with warm sleeping bags/ down blankets.
In Sight of the Lake
One of several campgrounds at Eagle Lake. We like this one because there are several spots close to the water and in the sun. In the heat of the summer there are plenty of spots deep under the thick pine trees that shade the area. In the shoulder seasons it's nice to camp in a sunny spot or at least have the option.
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Quiet Campground BEFORE Trout Season
We stayed here for 4 nights and loved it. The lake is appropriately named as we saw bald eagles daily. We opted for the loop with water/electric hookups knowing there was easy access to a dump station across from the entrance to the campground. While we loved our site, it was probably the least shaded of any site there. With no campers in the dry sites closest to the water, we had the perfect unobstructed view of the lake. The campground is very well maintained and the sites are exceptionally large. As it was the last week before trout season opened on the lake, our side of the campground was nearly empty. Not sure that will be the case now. We enjoyed walking the paved Eagle Lake Recreation Trail to both Christie Campground and the marina. Each direction is about a 4 mile out and back.
Nice, quite and spacious
Clean and quite. The sites are spread out and offer a lot of privacy. Full hookups $35, water and electric $30. Dry camp $20. On the south shore of Eagle Lake. No fires or Charcoal at this time. Would come back again. Stayed 3 nights.
Will be back
Came in just for a quick overnight stay on our way home from Oregon. We will be back. Extremely clean, easy to get in your spot. We have a 30’ travel trailer and there was so much availability, we did go mid Sept so kind of off season. Plenty of shade trees, full hook ups. A decent walk to the waters edge by reasonable.
Eagle Lake
Amazing. Such magnificent views driving through the forest to get to Eagle Lake. We planned to stayed 3 days here as we camp in our RV trailer and part of the camp had full hook-ups. Upon arrival there was only one site left #24 which was considered full sun. (Minus trees) It was hot! Most sites had majestic trees and paved. The rest rooms well cleaned with soap. No towels just bring your own. Many campers had their kayak or fishing boats. We travel with electric bikes and dog carrier in tow. There is a total of 6 miles of paved bike path. We loved it! We rode to the other dry camp grounds all very big and spacious with the tall trees. Well whether you dry camp or partial hook-ups across from Merrill entrance is the RV dump station with full cleaning hoses at a reasonable price. We will be RV camping with reservations in the future as we selected some sites. It’s quite and peaceful unless you supply your own satellite, music, or videos. Highly recommended.
Tall pines and wide lake
We found this campground just about 20 miles outside of Susanville—-the road is winding, but paved all of the way. The campground is set in deep pines that reach the sky alongside a wide Eagle Lake. There was decent distance between campsites, and lots of fishermen and firefighters were using the campground. We had a full hookup site, even though we could have gone off the grid with our little solar panel. There was a nice biking/hiking trails long the south part of the lake, a it ran by a nearby well-outfitted store. The only reason this campground didn’t get 5 stars is that there are no local showers.
lake view
fire rings, tables, flush toilets. close fising and hiking. gorgeous pine trees, lots of birds. good fishing!
Merrill Camground
Verry quite and relaxing, clean bathrooms and wifi (if your into that sort of thing).Mostly RV campers. my wife and I were in a tent while everyone else was in an RV.