Best RV Parks & Resorts near Crescent Mills, CA

Impressed with clean sites and tall pine trees. A very clean RV park and friendly staff. Call for reservations as its popular. Some lower sites had concrete pads for the provided table. Several seasonal private modular homes among the RVer. Secured large dog area with running creek within walking distance. A number of lower RV spaces within walking pathways to creek. Most were 30 amps and upper level had some 50 amps. Lots of back ends and pull throughs. Visitors must walk to the trash designated area fenced in with recycling bins. Only one bathroom building that housed laundry room. Shower stall in women’s area .50cent for 20 minutes and 2 toilet stalls that the door hits your knees a very weird old bathroom. We enjoyed the park and plan to return again.

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

Manzanita Lake Campground is the campground closest to the north entrance to Lassen Volcanic National Park. It is best accessed from California State Route 44/89. My wife and I reserved space A8 for a four-night stay beginning August 7, 2023. 

While the campground is well-maintained, I cannot, under any circumstances, recommend that space for anyone camping with an RV or travel trailer. From all appearances A8 looked perfect. But appearances can be deceiving. Looking at an online map of the campground A8 appeared to be a pull-through site which it is. The problem is the site dips down from the access road, bottoms out slightly, then rises again back toward the access road. It took us nearly an hour to locate an area within the space that would allow us to attain a reasonable level so that our refrigerator would operate on propane. And our travel trailer is only 18-feet in length. Once the trailer was reasonably level, the entry step was approximately 18 inches from ground to the step (see images).

Despite the initial difficulties, once settled, we found the campground to be quiet even though there is not a lot of space between sites. The camp store offers some grocery items but is mainly dedicated to the sale of tourist merchandise. It does have a gas pump offering only 87 octane regular gas at $4.99 per gallon - cash only which is below market price for the area.

We would camp at Manzanita Lake Campground in the future but would be highly selective in our choice of sites - driving through the various loops we noted that very few are close to level.

Stayed 2 nights, August 17 and 18 in B22, Loop B.  This is a smaller campground that contains 2 Loops, A & B.  We could see a bit of the lake from our site through the trees.  No hookups although drinking water is offered as well as restrooms.  Campgrounds are well maintained with bear lockers and rv sites ample.  Road into the park as well as rv sites can accommodate big rigs.  Generator hours are a bit odd although the only time we needed it was briefly in the morning to fix meals.  Clouds drifted in about 2:00 p.m. each day with some sprinkles for about 1/2 hour keeping temps cool.  Wonderful stay!  Definitely would come back - picked out our preferred site already!

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).

We live about 35 minutes away in Reno. We decided to practice camping with our new travel trailer at this campground. We have never camped even in a tent. The sites are paved. They are all back in sites. There's good room between sites. I think there's good privacy even though you can see that there are other campers around. There are tables, fire pits, flush toilets, and bear boxes. There's a shallow stream and access to it for the campsites along one side of the campground. There's a camp host by the entrance. It's hard to see the entrance to this campground because the sign is not close to the street. If you get to Frenchman Lake about 10 minutes away, you've gone too far. We've never had any cell signal with ATT at this campground. It's a very easy drive from Reno. We go there all spring and summer for quick getaways.

If the first place you think of when you hear “the Sierra Nevada mountains” is Tahoe or Yosemite, I would strongly encourage you to explore points north of Truckee/Tahoe in the Plumas National Forest. And, a great place to stay while exploring the area is Little Bear RV park. This clean, quiet, and very family friendly campground offers a mixture of full and partial hookup sites, plus cabins. It’s right on the Feather river, with a refreshing swimming hole walking distance from the campground. Plumas Eureka state park offers a number of hikes that even little ones can manage. It also has great picnic areas on the creeks that run through the park. Within a 30 minute drive are a number of gorgeous alpine lakes. Gold Lake is especially beautiful and peaceful. I spent 5 nights here and while I love the more “famous” Sierra attractions, I have to say: I didn’t miss the crowds. Plumas is what Tahoe was like in the 1950’s. Highly recommended.