Best Campgrounds near Alturas, CA

Free camping on national land off of Lava Beds National Monument Rd. There are many pulloffs down this road, I was going to go to the spot next to here that others logged, but there was a van there and it was dark so I didn’t want to wake them up by trying to search for a site next to them. so I figured I’d go down the road and see if there were more secluded spots. There was! This was great, I barely heard any cars pass by. the flies and bees are plentiful but nothing I couldn’t handle, and I don’t like bugs lol. Fire ring available. 10/10 basic stopover spot that’s 20 mins from the Lava Beds Visitor Center !!! oh and Tmobile service actually worked great for once, I was even able to take a video meeting here in the morning! Coolest zoom background ever.

Small campground with 10 or so sites. 6 of them are drive up, and there are 4 tent only sites that you have to cross a small bridge to get to. We walked around back there, and you can tell these barely ever get used. Site #5 fit our 22 foot travel trailer and truck really well. The loop around is tight, but you could probably get through with a 24 or 25 foot trailer if you were careful. I wouldn't try anything bigger than that though. 

This was a decent (and free!) place to spend a night if you are traveling through, but probably not worth it to spend more than a day. We came on a Friday afternoon in mid July and had the whole place to ourselves. By that night we had one neighbor, so it is definitely quite, and even during the busiest times you will probably get a spot no problem.

The creek is small, and access is somewhat hard to get to since it has steep sides on a lot of it. There are quite a few ticks that like the grass near the waters edge too. We were careful and still ended up pulling a few off that night, so use caution. Didn't notice any hanging around the campsites themselves. 

Also, you are within sight of several properties and houses right next to the campground, so it doesn't really feel all that remote or private. Someone ended up cruising up and down the road in the middle of the night with loud engines, and it kept us awake, so all and all wasn't a super pleasant camping experience, but if all you need is a quick overnight spot it would do the trick.

We didn't stay at the park, but the cabins and RV area looked well kept and cozy. We are reviewing the kindness of the owner Jim, who we met when we had to stop by looking for gas when we mismanaged our gas amount and were still 30 miles out of Merrill. Jim welcomed us and filled our tank with an extra 5 gallon container he keeps for emergencies. He could have charged us an arm and a leg, but he only charged us the actual price of the gas approximately$5/gallon and was super helpful. The property looked very well maintained and I would recommend it to anyone road tripping with an RV or looking to stay at a cute cabin close to the lava beds, especially considering the kind hospitality. We hope this review pays forward the generosity we received from Jim during our encounter.

Gorgeous spot in the woods. So quiet, birds singing. Yes this area had fires but plenty of big beautiful pines remain and new life is springing up everywhere. Coming in you drive a paved rd for 9 miles and then a well groomed dirt rd for 1/2 a mile. There’s 2 spots that would fit our 32’ 5th wheel. Not sure about further up this rd as we stopped here. We are only spending 1 night I expected it to not be great. If I’d known it was so beautiful we would have scheduled in a 2nd day & gone to the Lava beds & caves 5 miles away. We had 2 bars Verizon so not great but Full bars on our T-Mobile Home so great internet, and full streaming.