Best Campgrounds near Alturas, CA

We came here on a recon trip to see if our 26' fifth wheel toyhauler would fit in the spots and the condition of the road to reach this place. 

We found this to be a very nice and under used campground. There was one other camper here, spoke to them and they stated they have been the only campers in the week they spent. 

The road was well maintained and smooth. We will certainly come back to visit with the toyhauler and RZR. Many FS roads to explorer here. 

There are allegedly 12 sites here, we were hard pressed to find them. the main area is graveled with 3 sites, the area to the north is dirt and we saw 4 sites. 

Based on the other review we expected to see wild horses and didn't see any or evidence of them either.

Due to the remote location, be prepared to have everything you need before heading there. 

Co Rd 502 is narrow but paved (Mail Rte Rd). 12 miles

Co Rd 506 Tuledad Rd is dirt, unimproved and has some washboard areas. Drive slow and you will be ready for the culvert crossing that have washed out a bit but at high speed can cause damage to your vehicle. 11 miles

Driving slow is needed for several reasons. 1. to avoid hitting poor road areas too fast and damaging your rig. 2. to spot and take pictures of wildlife 3. Basic respect to keep road from degrading further. 

We did not come across another person while driving in or out or during our stay at the campground. 

Tables in each site and fire rings, clean from trash. Vault toilets were also clean. 

Reservoir was down but still had enough water for the birds to enjoy. 

Excellent for night sky viewing. 

We have a 26' toy hauler fifth wheel, it has high ground clearance and upgraded suspension so we would had no difficulty with the road, when we come back with it. This was just a recon trip. 

Downside: this is surrounded by public land, Dodge Ranch so you can't explorer off the road. Makes the use limited to light weight boat, kayak or paddle board. If you like to just go to camp, sit and relax, the you can certainly do that. 

Advantage: Evidence of lots of wildlife, we saw pronghorn antelope on the way, a couple of foxes and plenty of birds of prey. No people

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.