Best Tent Camping near Chico, CA

I tent camped and loved it. Very quiet and beautiful scenery. A water faucet and picnic table at every campsite .

This campground is just south of Lassen Volcanic National Park.  It has two main sections, one for RVs and the other for tents.  There are a small number of RV sites with full hookups and then a larger number of tent sites.  The RV sites are fairly small, but felt separated enough to have some privacy.  The tent sites are a bit more rustic.

The other slightly odd part is that most of the RV sites were filled with people who came and stayed for the entire summer, year after year.  We were the only not long-term camper in the RV section.  

Pros:

* Close to a lot of amazing scenery with Lassen

* Well kept, clean, quiet campground

* Camp store/restaurant is great

* Laundry on site

* Access to a nice little creek w/swimming hole

Cons:

* Camp store is open limited days

* Tent sites only have pit toilets which are not the best maintained

OK:

* No fires in the RV sites

* Showers were not always very clean

There are 4 tent sites and 20+ RV sites.

9 miles away from the Lassen Volcanic NP southwestern entrance.

They have restrooms and showers (one stall and one shower for men and one and one for women).

There are are two fire pits for the “community” but we were the only tent campers for two nights in the middle of June. Each site has a picnic table and charcoal only bbq also.

Perfect RV and tent campground just outside of Lassen National Park. The RV sites are somewhat close to each other but there are plenty of trees around so you really have a forest feeling. There is a good restaurant and general store next door where you register. We would definitely stay here again.

This campground was very close to Lassen NP, which is convenient. Check-In is simply looking at your name on the board and finding your campsite, which is not clear from the confirmation email. It would've been nice to speak to a host to get the lay of the land. The vault toilets in the tent area are very dark even during the day, and are not well maintained. The showers were also very dirty with dead bugs everywhere. The trail down to Mill Creek while short, is incredibly steep and narrow. The creek itself is beautiful and you can hear it while you fall asleep which is nice. The tent sites in the upper numbers are well spaced out. And there are deer in the area that come right by your site :) Mosquitoes were not bad at all even right next to the creek. I would maybe try another campground that came recommend from a fellow tent camper while at this one. Also, I couldn't get a cell signal for Verizon the whole time I was at the campground.

The good. Managers are there daily. Dumping trash and cleaning the pit toilet.

The bad. Managers are there daily being passive aggressive in reminding you they can kick you out, walking around looking in the same vehicles (even yours as you stand there) and writing down plate numbers. They like to remind you of the 14 day in 365 day limit for the region, not just here. They like to talk about their database and what will happen if you try to camp somewhere else and they love complaining about tent campers outside the parking lot. Also, no fires, ever.

That being said. Blm law enforcement they claim to have in their pocket reminds everyone that tent camping is allowed outside the parking lot.

It is clean though, the rivers is blah and turkey hunters might fire off next to you but walk the road. Plenty of trails, beautiful meadows, horseback riders seen regularly. Quiet at night usually to. If not tell the managers, they’ll get right on that lol.

I won’t go again but that’s not because of the CG.

Details: Law Enforcement does visit, they are nice Locals are a problem Be prepared for management complaints, not camper complaints Town is 20 minutes away Free stay with a weird 14 day regional rule, inquire with management

Why we booked: Came to see Lassen NP. Manzanita Lake Campground canceled on us, and we needed a spot with plenty of FCFS availability.

Campground: Basic USFS campground. Heavily wooded with pine and sequoias, sites relatively spacious, vault toilets and threaded water spigots throughout. We were able to fill our tank by connecting a couple of hoses. Some spots for okay solar—we were getting 200W of a possible 400 after picking a sunny campsite in the summer. Being on a 55mph road, you do get road noise that dies down at night. Probably makes this a better campground for RVs than tent camping. Combining Verizon and T-Mobile with our router and booster let my wife and I work on video calls with few problems.

Quirks: Huge stacks of free firewood due to work done since a huge fire swept through the area a couple of years ago.

Site: Ours was one of a handful that can fit bigger rigs. Most folks should be able to get in here just fine—but if you're bigger, be good at backing.

Nearby: The southwest Lassen NP entrance is about 20 minutes away. The town of Chester is 20 minutes the other way, with propane and diesel and some decent food.

Value: Perfect!

Some of my family has camped here in the past at one of the tent sites. We decided this time around to reserve one of their cabins. We stayed at the Diamond P cabin which has the best view of the lake within this group of cabins. You can walk to the lake (it’s about 100 yards) from this location. Though it does fill up fast (by 11am it was pretty full). They have a large portable toilet there for use. We spent our time at the pool which is near the flushable toilets and the ice cream parlor, restaurant, and camp store. The pool goes from 3.5’ ft to 5’ back to 3.5’ ft.

The cabin was great. Two bedrooms, each with twin bunk beds and a full bottom bunk and twin above. Small bathroom with shower, mini fridge, hot plates, microwave, and dishes. Dining table and futon in the living area. Nice wide front porch to sit on and enjoy the view, communal tables and bbq for all the cabins. This unit also had a swamp cooler to help manage the heat.

Check in is 4pm and check out is 11am. There is also a small game room with a pool table, a baseball field, paddle boats, and kayaks to rent.

The down side is how quickly the easiest access to the lake fills up. Everyone has to drive over from the tent RV site to access the water. There are other places you can drive and park to get to the water, but there it a drop off into the water from there vs a gradual walk in.

We stayed here after a long day of hiking the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT). The trail goes right through the "resort" town. The place is very eclectic, full of antique, unusual and thrift store kinds of stuff. You can stay at the motel, cabins, RV or tent sites. There's a restaurant, bar, and country store. The prices at the store are exorbitant, ($5 for 4 ramen packs). The bathrooms were dirty and so was the shower. The laundry machines outside the bathrooms were broken. The waitresses we had for dinner and breakfast were rude. We spent a lot of money at the store, restaurant and bar and as soon as bikers and locals showed up we stopped getting any kind of service. You can ask the staff for password for the wifi but the wifi is extremely slow and cell service is almost nil. Camping was weird. We had to ask three people before we got directed to where to camp at. One person suggested if we paid the bartender $20 we could get a campsite. Another one told us the campground was full with a family reunion. We were finally directed to free camp sites behind the school house. It wasn't a reunion, unless Grandma is really hip and likes rave music. But the baby there did not like it and cried all night. We were next to the "festival". The rave music played until 7 am. The bartender in the morning told us that they have music festivals like that all summer long. Even being free this place was not worth the stop. Caribou Crossing up the road was kinder and had amenities that worked.

Pitched 2 tents on asphalt. 3 other cars here. Picnic tables and an outhouse. Saw/heard great horned owl, fox, then cows in the morning.

I love the potato patch. Large spaces and great easy going people; primarily tent campers. Clean, clean creek...Deer Creek, Lassen Snow melt.

Fishing is made easy as the Creek is planted two times a month.

RV, Camper, Tent, and hammocks within few yards from creek. But get to sleep right next to the creek. And wake up to it with beautiful forests. Bring tube and rope! You will thanks me. Dog MUST be on leashed.

Easy access to water (creek) and firewood. Definitely a lot of mosquitoes, but once the fire kicks in they scatter. Not much hammocking options. Go with a tent.

Had a great site big enough for a couple of tents. Nice clean site near lake. Hubby enjoyed fishing. Kids loved canoeing out onto the lake. Amazed to watch a bald eagle grab a fish and fly away.

This is a hidden gem on highway 36. Most of the sites had good shade for both trailers and tents. You have to boil the water, so we brought plenty with us. Lassen Park is just a short drive away.

Jake from the Dyrt here!  The Buddha Trailer spot welcomes vanlifers, RVs and tents!  This spot comes with a nice deck and chairs so you can show up ready to relax on the homestead!  Check them out and make sure to leave a review on the Dyrt!

General tent spots available with picnic tables. The campground itself is tucked back in the trees with fewer spots than some of the more popular spots near by. Close to the creek. A little uneven on the ground front, but enough choices to make due. This site is mostly shaded, so can be colder than other setups around.

Wonderful spot. Sites were kinda small, but we we able to fit 2. -6 person tents and a 4 person in a row. Wasn’t windy when we got there in the morning, but that night the wind started and almost blew everything away. STAKE down, no matter the weather. Water was super warm, but gets icky in the summer, so definitely need to go early in the season.