Best Equestrian Camping near Alleghany, CA

THE CAMPGROUND

The campground is great. Many sites have lots of space between them, while a few are side-by-side with just a vehicle parking space separating them. Each has a level, wood-bordered dirt/gravel pad set up for a tent - usually placed in as quiet/remote corner of the site as possible. Each has a picnic table, some type of fire pit (some have a metal ring with nice flipping grate, some are just a circle of large stones), and some type of cooking setup (some have a standard campsite charcoal "grill" while others have a metal table to set your cooktop on.

Very quite. Only noise is campground noise and one infrequently trafficked dirt road nearby (see below).

Campfires are allowed. If you drive in from the south (via Verdi), there is currently a designated area to collect firewood - it is scheduled for a prescription burn and you can pick up any wood from the forest floor - bring an axe and saw.

I visited mid-week during peak July season - there were two other campsites occupied (out of 20 total).

The campsite is in the middle of Dog Valley. The area is used for off-road recreation, so you may run into a few off-road buggies or trucks, and some may stay at the campground. But most stay in other "dispersed" camping, and there aren't nearly as many vehicles as you might see, for example, in a Nevada dunes off-road park.

The Crystal Mine is nearby… quick drive, bit longer walk. I didn't find many walking trails in the area, but may have missed them.

Verizon cell service picked up one bar, intermittently. Enough to get out occasional status update texts and check the weather, but not enough to be able to read stuff off the internet unless… you…. are…. really…. really… really… patient. If you hike up the hill at the nearby Crystal Mine, Verizon gave 2 bars and 5G… you are line of sight to Cold Springs. 

There is basically no radio reception at the campground, but one AM station came in during the drive.

There are two 'vault' toilets, both of which were clean and well maintained… no real odor, no spiders, etc. I saw one water spigot but it required a keyed handle to open so it was inaccessible … no other sources of water (potable or otherwise) at the site.

Trash cans are provide. No food/bear lockers provided (bear-safe food storage not required … but always a good precautionary measure).

I give it four stars because it is a good campground, and may be a good base for off-roading or mountain biking, but doesn't have many major sites nearby (hiking trails, rivers, lookout points, etc.) and I didn't find a variety of hiking trails nearby (a major one does run through the general area). Would be tough to keep kids busy, but great for a 2 day getaway for a couple.

Ok… let's talk THE ROAD….

The road is one of the reasons this site generally isn't too packed. There are two main ways in…

From The South (Verdi)

This is the roughest path. It has a fairly good incline and then decline into the valley, so I can only speak to my summer experience, but I suspect this may present a challenge for winter/wet driving.

For this route, you will spend 8.5 miles on a dirt road. I'd estimate this road is 10% "standard country dirt road, flat, fairly level, no major ruts, drivable by any vehicle at 25-30MPH." About 75% of the road is "unmaintained hill road, where you have to hug one side or another to avoid 6-inch+ ruts, loose rocks up to 5" in diameter, passable by a 2-wheel drive vehicle with reasonable ground clearance and not concerned about rocks on the paint, driving 10-15 MPH." The remaining 15% still probably doesn't require 4-wheel drive, but could benefit from it, involves going 5MPH to navigate deeper ruts or 'potholes'. The entire route is totally 100% passable by any truck/Jeep, even 2-wheel drive, driven slowly and carefully at times. Subarus would be fine. I *think* a standard sedan could make it, but you run a very good chance of bashing in the underside of your car… it is doable and I saw a little hatchback do it, but I personally wouldn't recommend.

From the North (Cold Springs)

For this route, you will spend 10 miles on a dirt road.

The first 3.3 miles (about 33%) is "standard country dirt road, flat, fairly level, no major ruts, drivable by any vehicle at 25-30MPH." Very easy driving. About 65% is "unmaintained hill road, where you have to hug one side or another to avoid 6-inch+ ruts, loose rocks up to 5" in diameter, passable by a 2-wheel drive vehicle with reasonable ground clearance and not concerned about rocks on the paint, driving 15 MPH." The remaining 2% is the harder road, as described above… just a few specific spots/turns, not long sections.

This north route is easier, but either way you go, there will be tougher sections.

To be fair - this isn't "off-roading." There are no boulders or 'technical' challenges. It is just an unmaintained (or rarely maintained) dirt road that has ruts, especially in uphill/downhill areas where the water runs across the road. Definitely not just a 'country dirt road', but a more typical mountain backroad.

Pictures below show the most common sections - 75% of the south path and 66% of the north path look like that or a little bit worse. The pictures aren't the worst sections - just more of the 'typical' road you can expect for most of the way.

Final comment: All of the above is about dry, summer driving. After rains, when the ground is wet, or in the winter - could be a very different experience.

Just returned from a weekend getaway to Loon Lake. We (2 people, 1 pup) stayed two nights at site #25 at Loon Lake Campground. Perfect location for daytime fishing and nighttime stargazing.

Highly recommended!

Highlights: Clear skies (above the smoke from wildfires) and crystal-clear water (warm) made for the perfect escape from the valley smog and smoke. The drive from Sacramento took less than the estimated 2hrs (even on a Friday night at 7 p.m.) and we arrived just before dusk.

Campground: Easy to find and easy to navigate. campsite was clean and flat enough for one tent. the table was slightly broken but not enough to cause any problems. definitely bring something for shade. Bathrooms and water spigots were nearby and you can cut through the back of the site to the Loon Lake trailhead for a nice hike around the lake. For lake access, look for trail near site #29.

Lake: Warm, clear water with sandy/grassy beaches all around. No luck fishing but the lake was stocked with trout late July so sure it was just us.

Considerations: Don't stay at site #25 if using more than one medium tent. Bring extra ice and supplies–the nearest market was too far to justify a trip (40+ mins one way). Drive around the lake to Rubicon 4X4 trailhead. Saw so many beautiful Jeeps and off-road vehicles.

This is a great small campground with walking access to the Mumford Bar Trail hike down to the American River.

One vault toilet. No water spigot. Pack it in, PACK IT OUT.

Excellent spot if ya wanna get away from crowds and don’t mind less amenities. If the local backcountry is posted no fires, usually can still burn in designated pits at this camp.

OHV and backcountry camping options abound in this area.

The hike down to the American via Mumford Trail is NOT a leisurely stroll. Pack plenty of water and be prepared to spend the night down at the river if you head out late. There is a camp space down there once you reach the river and pass through the thickets.

We stayed at sites 15 and 17 during the week. It wasn’t too crowded since school had just started and burning man was happening. These two sites are right on the road next to the toilets and trash bins. Some smells and lots of noises and foot traffic, some 4x4 traffic as well. Otherwise we had a short path to lake front and could keep our floats and boats tied up close by. The site was incredibly rooty/rocky - just be careful moving around at night! I pulled my van into the spot, while others tent camped. Lots of space and convenient. The water was chilly, the weather was pleasant (personally could have enjoyed a few degrees hotter), and there was a massive bug hatch blanketing the water with flying ants. Lots of bats flying around us at night. Dogs loved the site - we had a couple little ones and some hounds. I used an electric trolling motor inflatable boat to cruise around the beautiful lake. There is some road traffic/noise across the way and planes fly right over. The elevation made exercising surprisingly difficult here, including swimming! Overall wonderful camp trip.