Best Dog-Friendly Camping near Westwood, CA

This is a small campground with just a few spaces under shady pines. The campground is right along the Susan River that is reputed to have some pretty good fishing. If fishing isn't your thing the pretty, burbling river adds a zen quality to your stay. One of the main attractions for staying here is that it is right at the trail head for the Biz Johnson trail. This is a hiking, biking, horseback friendly trail that travels along an old Rail Road right of way from Westwood all the way to Susanville for a nice, mostly level path of 25 miles. There are picnic tables, fire pits and one pit toilet. It is a very quiet out of the way spot to stay.

We have been going here for years.  The spaces are large, sunny and shaded with lovely trees and all within walking  distance from the lake.  Staff is friendly and helpful and the park is always clean.  Love the fishing, swimming and hiking.  Beautiful views of the mountains and lake any direction.  Family and pet friendly at a reasonable cost.

This place is cool - the Mineral Lodge and Restaurant is where we checked in for campground. We needed a place to stay before heading into Lassen Volcanic NP. The Mineral Lodge and campground next door are family owned and have a community feel. No frill campground, does have hookups.

$35 per night plus $2 pet fee

Sites very close together. Bathroom old but works. Poor T Mobile service. No wifi.

This place is magical, serene and if you are not put at peace then there is no hope.  Out of all the camping we've done since we've been fulltiming this one is definitely at the top of the list.

The campground is very small: only 5 sites plus the extra site near the bridge. There is a creek and our spot (#4) was next to it. Perhaps it was nice because we had the entire place to ourselves for a whole day. Others showed up later, but surprisingly both large rigs picked sites that kept us all hidden from each other, which was very nice. 

There was no fee when we were here. No garbage service so pack in and pack out. There are water spigots but water had not been turned on this early in the season. 

The bathroom is set back a bit from the camp sites and looked as if someone was using it as target practice unfortunately. Fire pits and picnic tables are at all sites except the first long back-in spot right when you pull in near the bridge. 

The sound of the creek downs out any sounds from neighbors. Sites are both partial sun and shade. The road in was about 3 miles of dirt road but surprisingly smooth and we made it fine in our 26’ Class C, and later much bigger rigs came in so the road is good for most sizes. 

Nearby is the Bizz Johnson trail and runs from Susanville to Westwood. The trail was created on an old railroad line and is nice and wide and relatively flat. 

Without WeBoost three is zero cell reception for AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile. With it we were able to watch a movie at night on our T-Mobile hotspot and be able to do some browsing on the Verizon cell phone. No bugs when we were here in April but we saw wasp traps all over (full of wasp carcasses) so I’d guess they are a problem at other times of the year.

Stayed one night and loved Eagle Lake. Rare USDA campground with power and water. Lovely forest area shades the camp. Lots of families with bikes and dogs all on leashes. Great bike paths to ride or walk right next to the lake.

This place is beautiful. The lake is a great place to read next to or fish. Campsites and restrooms were well maintained. There was little privacy in between spaces but the beauty of lake made us forget all that. Dogs aren't allowed on trails so be mindful of that if brining your critter with you.

Our visit to Lake Almanor was amazing. My Dad brought his sail boat and the wind was perfect for sailing. The campgrounds are spacious and the restrooms are clean. Their is a nice cafe within walking distance. They do patrol this campground a lot. Keep your dogs on a leash. The small town of Chester is not far away and is a delightful little town. P.S. Could not find my photos :-(....

The first morning we were there my dog found and ate some weed that someone had carelessly and irresponsibility discarded on the ground and she became extremely ill and had to be rushed to the emergency vet for treatment. Practicing leave no trace is so important for the safety of all animals and the preservation of our wild lands.

The road in took about an hour and a half and I would not recommend attempting it without 4WD and high clearance. There is one stream crossing but it is minor.

Stayed at Butte Lake for two nights in late June 2022. None of the campsites has an unobstructed lake view, but it’s a short walk to the day use area on the shore. This is a good jumping off point for a ton of hikes on this side of Lassen NP; excellent signage tells you how far each destination is. The sites themselves are not very private; kids were rolling through our site on bikes all afternoon and evening, dogs were barking at each other, it was a little crowded feeling even though it was probably only at half capacity. (There were reservation cards on almost all the sites, but it seems like a lot of people didn’t show up.) That said, after driving past some of the other campgrounds right next to the highway, I was happy to have chosen this one.

I decided to go on a last minute solo trip and called this places for a one night reservation. Next time I definitely want to stay longer. It’s a great family spot and there were lots of dogs and kids running around. The tent camping spots are far enough from people and you don’t feel like you’re on top of each other. You can choose if you want to glamp or camp here, so it’s also a good place if you have friends that don’t like dirt but want to be around pine trees.

One thing I will warn is google maps did tell me to turn too early and I was wondering around a neighborhood for a little bit. You turn right off of 44 to get to the site.

I was actually a workamper in the summer of 2017 here at Little Bear. This park is absolutely beautiful! There is no special loyalty to this place, so I promise I am not biased. The grass is so green, dogs have an area to play, you are right next to a river that you can tube down, and shade from the trees is perfect on a hot day! The only complaint I could have is that there are too many old people 😂 but hey they were all so nice so I can’t even complain about that. The owner Todd is a genuinely great guy, and you will see him working most days. So much love and care goes into making this place beautiful every day, its worth a visit! A good stop to make if you come here is Upper Sardine Lake! By far the prettiest place on Earth, and only 20 minutes from this camground.

My all Time favorite spot maybe because I grew up in the area and there are lots of wonderful hikes lakes and waterfalls. This park is nice well taken care of lots of redwood trees. A creek runs through it. You can access some hikes to lakes right from the park. Seen a few tarantulas. A mtn lion lives near by saw him once at dusk while walking my dog along the trail toward the mine he was drinking water and we surprised him. He surprised us too! Rare to see them. Bears are in the area but never have I seen one in 25 years but there are bear boxes and bear proof trash cans so don't leave your ice chests out! Roomy site. Pay close attention when making a reservation some sites can only accommodate 1 tent. Sites are a bit pricey $$$ but there are showers and flush toilets and it's a fairly quiet place.