Best Cabin Camping near Anderson, CA

The Trinity River Adventure Inn cabins are a group of three cabins located on the bank of the Trinity River. The closest town for supplies is Weaverville, about a 15 min drive west. The towns of Lewiston and Douglas City are closer, but hit and miss on when things are open and what they offer. All three cabins can be rented individually, and I am sure if you group needed the space, you could rent all three at the same time. The other cabins were occupied during our stay, but that wasn't an issue. Each cabin is different, there is a large A frame cabin for larger groups, a smaller fisherman's cabin closest to the river for one or two people, and a mid size cabin for groups of 3-4. The A frame and the mid size cabin both have patios to bbq (grills provided) and hang out on, full kitchens, and very comfortable living room and bedrooms. Everything is provided, from cooking utensils to bedding/towels. Just bring food/drink. There is even satellite tv and wifi. Firewood is provided for the wood burning stoves. There is a large grassy area that slopes down to the river for people staying in all three cabins to use. There is easy access to fishing right out the backdoor of the cabins, and you could put in and take out kayaks if the water level is high enough. Boat launching facilities are located a few miles away. It is a fantastic location central to Trinity Lake, Lewiston Lake, Whiskeytown reservoir, and the beautiful Trinity Alps, with plenty of boating, swimming, water skiing, hiking, backpacking adventures within 30-60 minutes.

This was our first fire lookout, but will not be our last! The drive up to the lookout was tough at times along well-used, but not really well maintained, logging roads. We had a high-clearance all-wheel drive Subaru Crosstrek and while the all-wheel drive didn't seem super necessary, the high clearance certainly was. The trip to the top took about 45 minutes from Hwy. 5, so be sure you have what you need when you head up there.

Along the drive up we did see a bear along the side of the road, but other than a few deer and lots of birds and squirrels, not much other wildlife.

The lookout is great and has two twin or double beds, a table, and a couple of cabinets for storing items. There are no kitchen facilities at this lookout. There is a picnic table and fire ring located on the ground next to the lookout. I don't recall if the table was chained down, but we brought chairs to sit by the fire and enjoy the spectacular views of Castle Crags and Mt. Shasta. There are pit toilets located just a few steps off the road that leads in to the lookout.

Although you do feel like you are way off the beaten path when you are there, do put your gear away each night and day and lock the door to the lookout and you car as day hikers do come up to the lookout, which is a little weird. Not many when we were there, but a few and we were glad that we locked up our gear as to not tempt anyone.

The hiking around the lookout isn't fantastic as you are mostly limited to logging roads, but we hiked around a fair amount nonetheless. It would be a great spot to bring mountain bikes, not sure about the legality of dirt bikes on the logging roads.

The beds were about as bad as you'd expect a bed in a fire lookout to be. We brought our inflatable air mattresses and slept in sleeping bags, but the beds were still really saggy. If you're extra picky about your bed or have back issues you may want to bring an air mattress or something to help stiffen up the bed.

Bring a spotting scope and/or a telescope as there are some wonderful views west to Castle Crags and north to Mt. Shasta. We couldn't see hikers on Mt. Shasta but did see many going up Castle Crags with our binoculars.

Overall it was a great space and also worked well with out dog. We set him up with a dog run when we were outside and then he slept in the fire lookout with us as night.

This will surely be a trip you remember if you stay here. Enjoy!

Manzanita Lake is a really family friendly campground. It’s great seeing the kids ride around the loop on their bicycles and scooters. We had a perimeter site in the A loop, adjacent to the trail that runs to the lake. These sites feel particularly spacious. Due to the type of pine forest, none of them will be private. The interior sites were ok on space for being in a National Park. There is a mix between 3+ night campers and the one nighters, so the park doesn’t completely empty out each day. First come first serve campers would be advised to read the reservation signs carefully, sometimes they are marked a day or two before occupancy and that might be enough time to squeeze in a visit.

There are both plumbed and vault bathrooms, but there is no electricity—so wear a headlamp to the bathroom at night. There is also a water and drain area for dumping dish-wash water, etc. Each site has a bear box, and use of it for all food and food prep, as well as toiletries is expected—campers cannot use their cars. In A loop, we are only a short walk from all things Lake, the laundry and showers, and the camp store. The store has a small menu of hot food offerings available, and the groceries surmount to things found at a gas station plus a few extras like bacon. While travelers should always buy where they burn to prevent introducing invasive bug species, buying wood right outside the park might be a smart choice; the bundles here are $10 each! Ice is $4.65+ for a small 7 lb bag. Showers are $1.75 (7 quarters) for 3 minutes. Many of the groceries are double normal prices. I didn’t dare to check their gas prices! The kayak and canoe rentals are more reasonable. Cabin packages with cook stove, etc, are no longer available with reservations—even though they are still advertised. If staying here for a bit, adventurers will have to drive through Chester to get to other points in the park, like the Devil’s Kitchen (a most beautiful hike). Chester has gas, grocery, hotels, more campgrounds, and some really great local eats. Also check out Drakesbad Ranch if comparing alternatives; we hiked by it on our outing to Devil’s Kitchen and it looks pretty neat.

Waking up to the sound of the wind in the braches of the tall pines, while feeling nothing more than a breeze down below, is a pleasant experience. The drive through Lassen Volcanic is stunning. Under the snow capped peak, wildflowers cascade down the mountainside to frolicking creeks and waterfalls. Emerald lake shines like a deep, green Emerald, and around the corner, Lake Helen is a sparkling Sapphire. The geothermal areas are always interesting and remind us of the forces behind this volcanic tower, and that Lassen is still active. All in all, a great place to car camp.

This campsite is pretty awesome. We stayed at site #21 in loop D. The sites were very large and came equipped with a fire ring/grill, bear box and picnic table.

We had a great time exploring the park and hanging out around Lake Manzanita.

Lassen National Park is beautiful and we hope to be back soon. Even during a busy Labor Day Weekend the park was crowded but nothing like a bigger national park (think Yosemite) in a regular weekend. It was nice being able to experience the park without feeling totally overcrowded.

The camp store was very convenient if you forget anything!

This campground is BIG. there are four loops of sites.  I am a tent camper so this area can be on the crowded side for me with not enough privacy.

That being said the lake is beautiful. Easy access for kayaks and canoes.

The sites are clean, have table, food locker and fire sit.  Bathrooms are flush with showers available.  Close by are cabins to rent on the lake and a store, rentals and even gas,

Great jumping off site to get thru Lassen Park. Can take 45 minutes to get to the other side but there is lots of hiking and incredible views.  And crazy geo thermal sites such as Bumpass Hell.

Nice spot near the NP. Level spot, nice clean bath and shower area. Got a nice hot shower, thank you!

We stumbled across it when all the campgrounds in the national forest and national park for closed for the season and what a nice surprise. They had a little grocery store with ice cream..we had some ice cream. It was delicious.

They had the cutest little resort with little cabins, yurts and spots for a camper or big RV. They had a volleyball court, cornhole and a basketball area. Great little spot! We would absolutely come back. Internet on my phone was hit or miss outside. They offered internet for a cheap price. $1.95 a day. 12 minute drive to Park entrance. Otherwise, you are in the middle of nowhere. 20 minutes to a grocery store. Beautiful spot!

General: Four loops plus a cabin loop, however, after September 5 at noon, the only loops open are A, B, and cabins. 

Site Quality: Some pull-throughs and some back-in. The back-in sites were, for the most part, better suited for tent camping as the camper pads were quite short and many were not level. We lucked out in that our camper pad was only slightly unlevel and we could make it work with our camper van. Some sites were close together with minimal separation while others had more trees separating them. 

Bath/Shower house: There were several toilet options ranging from vault toilets to basic bathrooms with flush toilets, to larger restrooms with dishwashing sinks. Although there was a soap dispenser in the two closest to our site, there was no soap. The very cold water was oh-so refreshing on a cold September morning! The dishwashing sink in the A loop was locked but we did see campers using the one in the B Loop.

Activities/Amenities: There is a camper store with food, showers, gas, and laundry available. You can access both Manzanita and Reflection Lakes (1.5 and.5 miles respectively) from the campground. The Chaos Crags trailhead is approximately a half mile from the A Loop. There are kayak, cataraft, and SUP rentals available for Manzanita Lake but it was a bit chilly when we were there. There is zero cell service in the campground but it is noted there is a milepost where you can grab a signal. On our Chaos Crags hike, however, we got a strong signal on Verizon!

The campground was okay but worth it as a base camp for exploring the northwest part of the park. Happy this one has not been outsourced to a vendor and the price is still reasonable ($26 or$13 with the senior pass).