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The Wilderness Act of 1984 established 23 new wilderness areas including the 60,000-acre Snow Mountain Wilderness in the Mendocino National Forest. The Snow Mountain Wilderness straddles the summit of the North Coast Range within Colusa, Glenn and Lake counties. The area is less than a four-hour drive from San Francisco, Santa Rosa, and Sacramento. The central feature of this wilderness is the large broad topped Snow Mountain, which drains water toward the Sacramento River on the east and the Eel River Basin on the west. The wilderness also has the largest known waterfall on the forest. Elevations range from 1,800 feet in the gorge of the Middle Fork of Stony Creek to 7,056 feet on the summit of East Snow Mountain Peak. The deep canyons skirting the Wilderness compress ecological life zones creating a unique biological sky-island. Forty miles of trail are located in the wilderness. This leaves a vast amount of acreage very remote and highly conducive to cross-country exploration. The moderate hike to the top of East Peak affords visitors a magnificent view of the Sacramento Valley and the Sierra Nevada Mountains to the east, Clear Lake to the southwest, the Coastal Mountains to the west, and the timbered mountains of the Mendocino National Forest to the North. Good drinking water is scarce in the Snow Mountain Wilderness during much of the summer. Plan ahead and refill canteens at every opportunity. Mountain streams may look inviting but they may not be safe for drinking. Treat all water for drinking and cooking by either processing through a portable water filter or by boiling over a portable cook stove.
Dispersed camp site not as developed as the regular campgrounds. No traffic control such as paved loop road and parking spurs that you find in "developed" campgrounds, and no water system. Pack out garbage.
No Day Use Area or General Parking.
Small creek flows through camp early in the season (dry in late season). Camp is situated amidst oaks and ponderosa pines.
Has 6 developed sites and 1 vault toilet. No water.
Old train Caboose for rent. New queen bamboo bed, hot plate, cold refrigerator. Outdoor hot shower and claw tub. Sweet deck open space. Star studded sky. Artesian well water, drink from the spigot and bring bottles to take some home. Glen Eden hiking trail abuts the land. Camp in a quiet field across the dry creek bed. We have 3 dogs that roam hills, will do our best to keep them away most of the time. Have rooster who does crow up the sun. We are 15 minutes to Safeway in Lakeport, 20 minutes to north side Ukiah and 10 minutes to Upper Lake. We are 2 miles from the pristine Blue Lakes, day pass there for swimming and boating rentals. Also Clear Lake State Park is not far and they also offer swimming and boating. Disney boat rentals will deliver craft to Clearlake for you. My personal favorite is Highland Springs Reservoir about 20 minute drive on country roads, and pass the small aircraft airport and restaurant. Boating, swimming, hiking and BBQ available at Highland Springs.. We are not ADA. Cell phone and wifi won't work in this canyon. Climb the hill maybe. We are not fancy, we are unique. Come for bird watching, the quiet and the stars. We have some coupons for wine tasting from a few of the nearby vineyards We offer a farm stand with fresh eggs and vegetables in season daily. Highland Springs Reservoir offers swimming, BBQ and Disk Golf, all free. Lakeport has a drive in theater, google Lakeport auto movies drive in. New Rule: if you are inviting guests they must be pre approved. PLEASE DRIVE SLOWLY AND NOT RAISE DUST IN OUR NEIGHBORS DRIVEWAY TO OUR PROPERTY. We also have two big private campsites and one long term area.
Please read reviews here: https://www.hipcamp.com/en-US/dashboard/land/34844/listings
$39 - $175 / night
Dispersed Camping. Open year round but not accessible when creek is too high to ford. No tables, fire rings or services.
Guide
This campground is dry and built primarily for HOV people cuz the Elk mountain area is very much a dirt bike and four-wheel Haven.
It's got dropped toilets and it has potable water. Problem is that the spigots don't have any hose fittings, so you can't hook up, which I think is a good thing to keep people from taking over water for an extended period of time.
There's no other water anywhere else, no showers, no sinks or anything like that so prepare to come fully dry.
If you come with that in mind I would say this place is really really nice. It's very clean. If it's in a beautiful location and if you're into four-wheeling or dirt bikes, you're going to have a blast.
There there's a small town not far, 15 minutes or so, that has gas, a market, pizza places, and a few other stores. So there's plenty of access to food and gas when necessary.
This has nothing to do with the campground. Just keep in mind that Elk mountain road, especially the part leading up to the top of the mountain right as you leave the campground is an absolutely terrible road, it needs a lot of maintenance..
Traveler
Visit was for 11/19/2024 found the gates locked, no entry. Seasonal? No signage to tell.
Traveler
Great camping, hiking, boating. Lots of nature trails. Super friendly staff
Scout
Long drive on a narrow bumpy levy road to find a full time trailer park. NOT A RV RESORT!
GuideWinding downhill road in a valley to get there only to find basically a trailer park. Restroom in need of repair and not very sanitary. There was only one site available when we arrived and the rest were mostly permanent/long term residents. The host was very friendly and helpful in getting us settled in and other guests were very friendly. Overall I’d say avoid unless you’re very weary of driving
GuideQuiet stop, but I wouldn't call it the most beautiful stop I've ever stayed. Camping spots are to the left and the right I'd the day use. Pit toilets. No garbage.
Guide
Loved this campground!! Family friendly, tons of amenities, and very clean. Highly recommended!!
Traveler
This is the worst campground I’ve ever seen. There was trash throughout the campground - including a used condom and condom wrappers in our campsite - bathrooms were dirty and had no soap, and there were several loud groups well after the posted quiet hours. We stayed one night and left early. If you’re into obnoxious parties, then this place is for you. The “potable” water is brown out of the tap.
Guide
We stopped here on our way back from Oregon. Unfortunately, we arrived late and left early so we didn’t really get to enjoy the amenities. We were in site A10 which we found a little difficult to connect the sewer hose without two hoses. The family room was handicap accessible and included a shower, sink, changing table and a toilet. Even though we were far from the office the internet access was strong. Overall, the stopover served its purpose well, providing a restful break before the last leg of our trip home.
GuideHot weather looking for a cool, on lake CG. We didn’t camp there. Thought we might but, instead just drove through. Day-use area close. Parking lot for boaters open. CG host said full; grounds not well maintained. Open sites with expired occupancy dates on them. Large groups with extra vehicles. Some sites looked like long term occupancy. Pleased there was no room. Don’t think would’ve been comfortable experience.
Legend
Heh, well, there's only one other review for this place, and it's from me from 2 years ago. So I won't repeat it all, because basically everything is the same except:
We arrived mid week with no reservations and the place was practically empty. It filled up on the weekend with loud partiers but overall it was a quiet and pleasant experience.
Great place to camp! Read my last review for more details!
ScoutI tried to call and the number is disconnected and when I emailed it came back as not found.
GuidePros: If you are a person who likes to either stay all day at your campsite or are a water sport/water toy type person this campground is for you. Cons: Bathroom near our campsite wasn’t working. Campsites were overgrown with foxtails, not good for my dogs. Trash in our fire pit. A few campsites away from ours had a huge poison oak plant at the back where you park your rig. A walkway near the campground popular for fishing had a tree fall on it, instead of clearing the tree, the park rangers closed it off. Not much hiking in the park, and if you decide to walk the couple short hikes, don’t bring your dogs, NO DOGS ALLOWED. For the number of workers this park employs you would think these things would be dealt with, but no. I guess this is typical of State Parks in California, so much potential but sadly California parks slowly deteriorate.
Scout
We just spent one night in sight 6 with our 24’ camper and we had a good experience. Didn’t really have neighbors too close and had a great view of the lake. It only took a couple minutes to get down to the water, however, there aren’t a lot of places to sit and relax for the day (i.e. not many beach spots) close by. The site itself was mostly level side to side but our back stabilizers were nearly fully extended (with blocks) and the front ones we barely had to put out. The water spigot is close-by but in an awkward spot where other folks were skirting the boundary of our campsite to get to. It’s close to the bathrooms/showers which we didn’t use much, they were mostly clean but were inundated with insects. Note: there were LOTS of bugs everywhere when in late May and early June.
Traveler
Nice camp ground, if you want solitude. Lots of birds chirping around. There is a small creek flowing. Clean toilets.
ScoutParking spot was good and level. Hosts were very nice and helpful. Bathrooms were horribly maintained. We ended up going to Truck Stop for a shower.
ScoutThe camp area is closed, as of 2/9/2024. No indication of that on the BLM website.
Scout
If your going camping here for peace and quiet think again. Popular spot just 1 mile up the road where people go to drink and shoot their firearms. Also constant atv/dirt bike activity. Not any firewood available so bring some. Every site has a little fire pit and a bench. Pit toilet bathroom in the middle of the site. Other than the noise it’s a great little site! Only 6 spots. So first come first serve! 8 mile unpaved road no need for 4wd but would help.
ScoutQuiet great people everything g bear buy. Walked to bakery and the Olive Pit store and Restaurant
TravelerGreat free campground! We've stayed here many times. It's open, grassy level and quiet. Next to a stream and surrounded by hills. The only tough part is getting across the stream to some of the hikes. It's a hot spot for horses which of course have no stream problems, so the only negative is fly's sometimes. But just keep your screen door closed (& fly swatter handy). We always manage to level out in our 23" Winnebago View. There is lots of open space so no crowding. There is a rural road near by but traffic noise isn't a problem. Perhaps I should say it's awful so fewer people come and it's not discovered.
Traveler
We travel with 2 dogs in a 38’ class A with a tow. We did not make reservations just took a chance, success! The woman at the counter was very nice and cheerful they did have a spot that we would fit without unhitching. This is an older park so we were somewhat squished together but not bad. Very nice dog area (not fenced). Seemed to be mostly long term river’s here. Not bad for a one night stay. Those with longer rigs 40+ may want to think twice because of the tight turns and narrow lanes
Guide
It is a nice campground for a one night stop. Easy access right off hwy 5 and surprisingly quiet being so close. The camp hosts were nice, I would like to see the hosts do a little more maintenance around the CG. Clean up would be nice. Cigarette butts in the bbq, trash in the fire pit. Didn’t use the showers but the bathroom was average, needed a code to access which was emailed when we registered online. Not a more than one night place for me but nice enough.
GuideNo trees just dry open land inhabited by an unusual amount of flies. It was crazy how thick they were. An almost dry creek runs alongside the open field of camping pads. To close to the road and way to exposed to feel comfortable to stay. If I needed a place to get some shut eye before heading onward, then maybe. I had a car full of flies that went to the coast with us. It was crazy.
Guide
Nice relaxing camp, 5 - 10 sites. No water, 1 pit toilet. Quiet and beautiful area. Follow the M5 route from M10 coming from Stonyford. Don't rely on Google maps or you'll spend hours trying to reroute after trying to drive up a ATV trail. Beautiful single lane dirt road up the mountain once on M5, steep drop offs. Dusty with mild bumps and some wash boarding. 2wd truck easily. Maybe if your adventurous in a civic. Must obtain a permit to have a fire, easily obtained online or through local forest service office.
Scout
We rented a camping yurt and we were so surprised how big it is! We received a key to our own bathroom and shower! They had a sink to was dishes in and a place to clean our fish. We rented a motor boat for a few hours to explore the beautiful lake. Pet friendly. Great little beach. A dock to fish from. Everything you need to have a great time! They also have bigger yurts and cabins to rent. Also, RV parking .We have already booked another visit.
Traveler
Reservations.gov implied campground was full, we took a chance for the night and MANY SPOTS WERE AVAILABLE! But river access has been eroded in this last year so access is down the way at the county park (under the busy roadway, meh). But beautiful oaks, and a fine spot for the night. Friendly staff and campground hosts
Scout
This place is clean. We were greeted by the camp host with a smile! Very friendly! She answered all our questions and showed us around. We feel in love with this place! 💕 You can fish right from your camp spot if you get a spot right on the water. Clean bathrooms, club house with games and a kitchen. Fire pits and BBQ's. Green grass in the BBQ area with a beautiful gazebo that has grapes growing on it! Felt very nice and cool since it was very hot in Aug. I highly recommend this place! 😉😎
Tent camping near Elk Creek, California, offers a chance to immerse yourself in nature while enjoying various amenities and activities at well-reviewed campgrounds.
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According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular tent campground near Elk Creek, CA is Snow Mountain Wilderness with a 5-star rating from 1 review.
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