Best Tent Camping near Colusa, CA

Recent Tent Reviews near Colusa, California

256 Reviews of 35 Colusa Campgrounds

• 

  Dominic J.

  Guide

  

  Jun. 28, 2023

  Kelsey Creek Campground — Clear Lake State Park

  Solid family campground

  Wasn't very private, but is good for tent camping in a safe family environment.

• J

  Jim B.

  Scout

  

  Sep. 8, 2023

  Nevada County Fairgrounds

  No tent camping here

  Says right on the web home page, no tent camping ( no car camping either).

• 

  Les S.

  Guide

  

  Sep. 24, 2019

  Live Oak Riverfront Park

  Beautiful river side park

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

• J

  Julie H.

  Traveler

  

  Aug. 3, 2021

  SacWest RV Park & Campground

  Decent city camping

  Right off the freeway - easy access to the city. We didn’t book ahead much and ended up with a site that just had rocks and a picnic table. No grass except at tent sites. Not wide enough to fully put out slider. The bathroom were great in the tent area. Nice pool and dog area.

• 

  Leah L.

  Traveler

  

  Jul. 17, 2021

  SacWest RV Park & Campground

  City stop

  Camp site is clean. You can order food and they will deliver. Wonderful ada bathroom/showers with a fold down bench. Friendly staff. Near freeway (lots of traffic noise. Quiet morning. Stayed for a quick night. The cabins and rv section are top notch. Tent sites are ok. If we come back will choose site 10 of 12. River was dry in july

• A

  Adam E.

  Scout

  

  Apr. 2, 2020

  Parkway RV Resort & Campground

  Quiet spot off I5, clean restrooms

  Tent camped here a few nights ago. A little spendy at $37 for a single night but it is super close to I5 and a few gas stations. Nice property with some grass to throw the tent on, none of the other residents were super loud. Restrooms and showers onsite and they were both clean. Didn't get to talk to any of the  property managers in person due to COVID-19, but the woman on the phone who did the booking was super helpful. Seems like a better for RV camping as there are many more spots for that.

• C

  Carina B.

  Guide

  

  Jul. 29, 2020

  Collins Lake Recreation Area

  Great camping near lake with safe swim area

  We have been to this camping spot a few times. It is big with a nice store. Music on the weekends on the deck. Some sites on waterside are nice. Nice beach. Can get crowded but we liked it. No issues. RV or Tent sites. Roads are steep in spots but no problems getting into site. You can boat and fish here but we didn't do either. Might be nice in the winter when nobody is around?

• R

  Renee T.

  Guide

  

  Jun. 19, 2020

  Putah Canyon Campground

  Nice lakeside sides

  We went during a month that only Self contained RVs were allowed. So we had two sites that were normally tent sites for our one camper. It was a lot of space and pretty quiet since the campers were spaced out. Bathrooms were all tied together so they couldn’t be used. Most of the sites are just a couple min walk to the beach front. Lake was warm and clear. Not a lot of upkeep, so there were some real janky stairs and stuff that I wouldn’t walk on. But the proximity to the lake makes up for it

• E

  Eric P.

  Scout

  

  Jun. 23, 2020

  Thousand Trails Lake of the Springs

  Glad to get out in 2020

  We were just happy to get out and camping. It’s definitely a place I’ll put on my list to camp at again, especially when they figure out their electrical issues. From what I could tell when driving around the majority of the sites were level; we had 4 spots and all were easy to back in.

  Some Pros - the market was well stocked; majority of the staff were very helpful; campsites on the outer rings had shrubbery for site separation and inner rings are great for groups; showers were close and they had hot water; kids loved fishing from the shore; quiet at night; deer had no problem hanging out with us as we had our meals.

  Some Cons - I’m not really a fan of “first come first serve”, it makes it hard when group camping; there wasn’t a single day when some campsite didn’t have electrical issues, in fact they turned a lot of their RV sites into Tent Sites because of electrical issues; no wood fires, propane is okay; at no fault to the site/staff, and all due to Covid precautions, there was no playground, boat rentals, etcetera.

• 

  Jeremy F.

  Guide

  

  Aug. 2, 2018

  The Aurora RV Park & Marina

  Ranger Review: Nature’s Coffee Kettle at The Aurora RV Park & Marina

  The Aurora RV Park & Marina is a work in progress. I can see what they want to make this campground into, but the reality of what it’s currently status is makes it difficult to stay there. I did get to try a couple of the different blends of Nature’s Coffee Kettle while I was there. Unfortunately I did have to cut my trip short as there was a mandatory evacuation order put into place due to wild fires.

  Campground Review

  First off this park is designed for RV use, but the owners have converted a few spaces for tent camping. During my visit I stayed in a tent. I booked the site through booking.com and paid $22.00 a night.

  The Good

  Each site has its own water sipget and two electrical outlets that work well. There was plenty of space at the site to setup two 4-person tents. The site is at the North end of Clearlake and you have some pretty spectacular views all day long. There is a beautiful public BBQ sitting area right next to the private beach. You can use the canoes, kayaks, or paddle boat all free of charge and they provide life jackets. There park does provide WiFi at no additional cost and it worked reasonably well. The mangers there are very friendly and approachable. They checked on me multiple times to make sure everything was okay.

  The Bad

  At the time of my visit the campground was undergoing renovations. The office area where the bathrooms/showers, laundry room, and community lounge were all at some stage of construction. THe bathrooms were clean, but only one shower and toilet worked. There was no mirror in the bathroom during my stay. I could not for the life of me get the shower to spray warm water at all so I had a week of cold showers, which wasn’t too bad given how hot it was. I did report this to the mangers, but the issue never got resolved. For tent camping the site were too close together and no picnic table was provided at the space I was at. If I had booked through AirB&B I would have been in a different area that had a picnic table.

  Product Review

  As a Ranger for The Dyrt, I get to test products in the field. At The Aurora RV Park & Marina, I tested two different blends of Nature’s Coffee Kettle. I tried the Colombian and Sumatra blend. Overall I would give this product a 4 out a 5 stars.

  What I liked about camping with the Nature’s Coffee Kettle:

  • Portable and easy to pack. It takes almost no space at all as it is completely flat when empty.
  • Easy to make. Boil water and pour into the kettle and wait. That’s it!
  • Easy to clean. Once you’ve had your coffee take out the coffee pod and dispose of it. Rinse out the kettle and your done.
  • The kettle is reusable! You can re-order new pods and keep using the kettle
  • Many different things you can brew. Currently they have variety of coffee blends and tea blends. They also have Hot Chocolate, but that comes in its own kettle.
  • Some of the best coffee I have had while camping. The coffee was really good! Way batter than my normal percolated stuff.

  THings to be aware of

  • You have to be really careful when pouting the boiling water into the kettle. It is easy to still some of that water on yourself (I did this).
  • The pouch is not insulated so if you want to drink hot/warm coffee you got to drink quickly.
• 

  Gina C.

  Traveler

  

  Jul. 26, 2019

  Lake Francis Resort

  Fun cabin rental

  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.

• 

  Meg R.

  Guide

  

  Nov. 10, 2020

  Colusa-Sacramento River State Recreation Area Campground

  Made Myself at Home

  I came to Colusa for work and only needed to stay for a couple of days, but I found the campground a comfortable spot to settle in for the week and catch up on some writing. I enjoyed biking the path along the river and fishing in the evenings. There are stray cats around town and the park. I lured one in with some treats.

• 

  Julie D.

  Ranger

  

  Oct. 25, 2020

  Harbin Hot Springs

  Unique camping experience

  The camping area is first come first serve.  Very peaceful.  There are platforms that are right on the creek where you can pitch your tent.  We have an 8×8 tent and it was a little tight, so if your tent is bigger than that, you might want to call to get exact dimensions.  Otherwise, there is a large open field for camping too.  

  Lots of shade and decent space between platforms. Close to the parking area, though the creek is between the parking and the camping platforms, so you can't drive directly up to your site.  Very clean showers and restrooms nearby.  No picnic tables at the individual sites.

  One downfall (though very understandable) is not being able to have campfires or camp stoves, even in the winter.  You cant really cook any food, BUT the cafe onsite had very tasty food if you want a hot meal or coffee.  

  The camping fee includes use of the hot springs too, which are amazing.  Clothing optional, and I would say not that many people had clothes.  The trail to the hot springs is right by the camping area, and a nice little hike.

• 

  Coleen C.

  Traveler

  

  Aug. 12, 2018

  Collins Lake Recreation Area

  Lovely lake

  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.

• T

  Tamara P.

  Scout

  

  Aug. 6, 2019

  Thousand Trails Lake of the Springs

  Rustic. Huge. Nice

  Clean and Rustic. WiFi is very very limited- drive to top of hill or lodge( very sporadic) Great Lake for swimming, fishing and small boats. Store on site. Clean swimming pool. Ideal for Tent or RV.

• 

  Debbie R.

  Guide

  

  Aug. 1, 2018

  Collins Lake Recreation Area

  Collins Lake in June Beautiful campground and Lake. Fishing there was wonderful lakeside and great hikes. Registration area and cafe has ice cream available and souvenir store.

  This campground is above Marysville California.

• 

  Sean J.

  Traveler

  

  Aug. 28, 2017

  Bidwell Canyon Campground — Lake Oroville State Recreation Area

  Clean and quiet

  Just got back yesterday from a weekend trip with the family. The campground is huge 137 sites in 3 groups, we were one of maybe 15 sites occupied while there. The sites/bathrooms were all very clean, didn't smell at all. Unfortunately the beach access/swimming area has turned into a meadow which was nice to see deer but there wasn't a place for the little ones to swim (but that's the drought out here for you). A lot of the sites are very uneven, ours was almost terraced, and the tent area was barely big enough for our 8 person tent. When I took a drive around it looked like many were similarly sloped/ terraced not a flat site. Unfortunately this weekend was 108 or so as highs, so it was a very hot weekend. The campground would likely be better in late September/October.

• L

  Lindsey F.

  Traveler

  

  Jun. 23, 2021

  Parkway RV Resort & Campground

  Great Stop of I-5

  Stayed here for a second time driving from Southern California to Oregon. The sites are spacious and there is a pool to cool down during the hot summers. There is wine tasting as well. Management kept in communication with us through text (my preferred method). Easy access to I-5, very close to a Pilot for larger rigs. Definitely somewhere I plan to stay on my journeys through California.

• L

  Lisa C.

  Scout

  

  Aug. 10, 2023

  Manzanita Canyon - Lake Berryessa - USBR

  Manzanita merged with Steele Canyon

  Gorgeous views, room for multiple tents, but no shade and difficult access to rocky waterfront. Site was $45 a night, plus a $35 resort fee. Fire ban in effect, porta potties were clean and didn't stink. Staff was super nice. Full bars on Verizon service!

• 

  Aulden F.

  Scout

  

  May. 31, 2023

  Pine Grove Cobb Resort

  Lovely and charming

  Four of us stayed in the Glamping Tent for two nights and it was perfect- very comfortable and relaxing. We also had access to our own private bathroom and shower a short walk away which was great. Would stay here again, highly recommend!

• 

  Jake C.

  Legend

  

  May. 31, 2023

  Laughing Buddha RV/Tent Camp

  Private spot with a deck

  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!

• O

  Olivia W.

  Traveler

  

  Apr. 23, 2022

  Cache Creek Regional Park Campground

  Free, beautiful, not too busy

  BLM land, can camp anywhere >500 feet from the parking lot. The site in in a valley between a small creek (that runs right next to the roadway) and a small mountain “range” on the opposing side. We were the only tent campers there on Friday and one additional camper came Sat. Bring lots of bug spray and watch for ticks but super worth it especially if you’re local

• K

  Kailey L.

  Scout

  

  Aug. 7, 2022

  Schoolhouse Campground (CA)

  Busy!

  We’ve stayed at both Dark Day and Schoolhouse. Schoolhouse is definitely busier and louder. It’s mixed RV and tent with no RV power so the generators are loud and you’ll be surrounded by them. The parking spots are large enough to fit your boat and tow vehicle so getting to and from the lake isn’t awful. Prefer Dark Day to schoolhouse but we will stay at either.

• 

  Lev E.

  Scout

  

  Apr. 13, 2023

  Manzanita Rock Meadow

  Wilflowers at the Yuba River a must see

  Manzanita Rock Meadow was perfect for us. We have a campervan and the spot was level and very clean, affordable, and with great views and even a composting toilet inside a privacy tent. We got to meet Galen when she brought us firewood and she told us about some great trails on the Yuba River to catch some amazing sunsets. We’ll definitely be back next time we are in the area!

• 

  Susan R.

  Ranger

  

  Jun. 9, 2021

  Buckhorn Recreation Area

  Great Spot, very windy

  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.

• S

  Steven E.

  Scout

  

  Jun. 7, 2023

  Laughing Buddha RV/Tent Camp

  Gorgeous, Well-Kept, and Well-Managed Campground

  This was a very nice, private spot, with a large deck for my tent and water and electricity if needed (I didn't but it was nice to know it was there).  The space was unsurpassed for quiet and privacy, with plenty of trees but not choked with underbrush. 

  There was much to explore in the area, and I was able to get my questions answered quickly.  I'm happy I picked it, and would go again!

• R

  Ryan L.

  Scout

  

  Jul. 8, 2021

  Thousand Trails Lake of the Springs

  Easy in and out

  This was my first camp out spot ever. I called ahead and made sure they would be okay with me sleeping in my Outback. They said it would be okay as long as I had the gear to sleep outside in a tent as well. The place was quiet and we had no issues. I just suggest getting there early enough so you don't have to drive in the dark through the country roads to get there like I did : /