Best Glamping near Etna, CA

We stopped here on a road trip along Interstate 5. The location was conveniently close to the freeway, but still felt like a real campsite instead of traveler's stop. We couldn't hear the freeway and it had nice amenities like flush toilets. Our site was also pretty shady, which was nice in summer. It was pretty scenic; we were located just by a walking path and with a view of the river, however, the camp host did not enforce quiet hours. The large group next to us was extremely drunk and noisy and nobody ever stopped by. They took off the next morning (loudly exclaiming that they needed to pack up to avoid paying), so there was likely never an interaction with the host. We arrived late and couldn't leave to alert the host as it didn't feel safe to do so. I'm not sure where the host is situated in relation to where we were, but I suspect you could hear the party throughout the camp, throughout the night, so we were surprised that no action was taken. It didn't feel safe.

Nice little campground right next to a pretty river.  When I stayed I was the only one at the campground.  The sites are near the road but it seemed to have light usage and I never heard cars in the night.  

No running water (unless you filter from the river) and no trash services, just a pit toilet.

This campground is a great place to stay before heading into the Trinity Alps.  A 20 minute drive on a dirt road leads to the China Gultch Trailhead, a popular trail leading to Grizzly Lake.

I would definitely recommend this site to anyone headed into the Alps.

We stayed for a week and our campsite was great. Lots of trees for shade, solid fire ring, polite staff. This is a great location for exploring the Mount Shasta area. However, KOA prides itself as a brand who delivers clean bathrooms and these were horrific. Each time was an horrifying adventure with either muddy dirt strewn floors, giant hair clumps, full toilets, etc. There were the cheapest plastic shower curtains that mostly resembled Saran Wrap which led to the water on the floor issue. There was only 1 stool in 1 shower so everyone else put your stuff on the filthy floor or use the 1 hook to hold your towel, yesterday’s clothes, today’s new clothes and your toiletries. I never felt clean leaving that bathroom which made the week stay more arduous than necessary. There was a woman who we saw cleaning the bathroom twice a day and it was the only bathroom for a rather large and busy campsite. Coming from other KOA which are cleaned every hour this was an adjustment.

Nice, small campground near the edge of Trinity Lake. Approximately 8 campsites can be reserved and 8 are available on a first come, first serve basis. There are no showers available, but there are showers at the nearby Bushytail campground up the road. Site 1 is the only site with electric hookups. The nearby lakeshore is quite muddy (depending upon water level), but provides great fishing and boating opportunities. A nice trail runs along the campground. There is no wifi or cellular coverage. Booking the site was a little confusing because the website noted "dry camping" - we did not know what to expect based on this description. However, there IS running drinking water and bathrooms with flush toilets and sinks on-site. Advise picking up firewood before arrival. There is no firewood available for purchase on-site. However, you are able to gather available wood. There is also a small store which sells firewood 10-15 minutes away  (Pinewood Cove).

We stayed here for 4 weeks while traveling for work in Redding, so I think our review is well qualified. We're traveling in a 40ft RV for reference though they do also have tent spaces. 

First off, I'm surprised to be the first one to review this campground on the Dyrt, since it has a lot of informative reviews on Google. We looked at a handful of other campgrounds prior to staying here. Covid and wild fires did have an effect on the other campgrounds that were open, but of those that were,  I think this was one of the best. 

It has all the amenities one could expect from a typical RV park, full hookups, wifi, cable, showers, laundry, etc. There's a cell tower on the way in to the campground. You can expect two to three bars of LTE from both AT&T and Verizon (we use both) . The staff is very friendly and helpful. I can't say enough about their exceptional attitudes. The spaces are all in the woods with mostly shade, though there are some that get more sunlight than others. The RV spaces are large and offer more privacy than most campgrounds. It tended to fill up on the weekends (sometimes completely) but was fairly quiet during weekdays with only a handful of people. Quiet and peaceful during the week. About thirty minutes to downtown Redding. Small gas station within walking distance, and a small grocery store in driving distance. 1.5 miles off the highway. Big rigs welcome. The website shows pictures of all the individual sites, quite helpful.

It was a mostly positive experience, but we'll mention two negatives. The bathrooms  sometimes got pretty dirty on the busy weekends and ran out of supplies at times. Hard to say if the pandemic was causing short staff or not though. The other issue is the bears. Its wasn't an issue of them bothering us, we only physically saw them one time in four weeks. They got into the trash pretty regularly though. It was very evident in the morning when the cans would be knocked over and rummaged through.  It could be easily solved with some bear-proof trash cans. Not really a big deal and it didn't have any effect on our stay. 

We'll definitely be coming back next time we're in the area. Checkout the reviews on Google for more perspective.

🌲🐸 If you’re reading this review, do your part to keep this lake pristine and quiet.

Toad Lake is a pristine mountain lake accessible only via a long, rough, and rocky single lane dirt road (Toad Lake Road 40N64). Take this road only is you have a 4x4 or AWD vehicle with suitable clearance and are comfortable driving on such mountain roads, there are very few places to turn around. The road is very rough, so expect to bounce around for about 1.5 hours while traveling at an average speed of 5mph. There are several unmarked forks while driving in - be sure to stay on the road that looks the smoothest and you’ll make it there fine. At the end of the road is a small parking lot with an information sign that sits at the trailhead to the lake. A short 15 minute hike (it would be hard to bring an ice chest) takes you the lake, where there is 2 picnic tables and a fire pit. DO NOT USE THE FIRE PIT - fires are not allowed and it is an illegal fire ring. Bring a gas stove to heat your food instead. The lake itself is small and surrounded with life! Beautiful flowers are everywhere. This is a very fragile ecosystem so please tread carefully. Be respectful to nature and your fellow campers. When we were there, there were four other groups dispersed camping around the lake. Sound carries very easily, so normal level conversations can be heard all the way across the lake. Please be quiet and conscious while you are here. There are no bear boxes, so make sure you bring a bear canister to keep your food (and the bears) safe. We carried one of our inflatable kayaks up the trail and to the lake. It was difficult but well worth it, it was such a peaceful ride. I would love to go back to Toad Lake. I highly recommend it, but only if you have a sturdy vehicle and are willing to keep this place pristine.