Best Tent Camping near Etna, CA
The Klamath National Forest surrounding Etna, California offers several tent-only camping options, including Etna City Park within town limits and more remote backcountry sites in the surrounding mountains. Etna City Park provides walk-in tent sites with basic amenities for Pacific Crest Trail hikers and visitors, operating on a $5 donation system. For more primitive tent camping experiences, Lovers Camp Trailhead and Mule Bridge Campground offer tent-specific sites with vault toilets and picnic tables. These established tent campgrounds serve as gateways to wilderness areas and hiking trails throughout the Marble Mountain Wilderness, approximately 10-15 miles from Etna's town center.
Most tent campsites in the Etna region feature natural, ungraded surfaces with minimal site preparation. Etna City Park offers grassy tent pads with nearby restrooms and showers (tokens available at Ray's Market), while forest service tent campgrounds typically provide only basic vault toilets and fire rings. According to camper reviews, many backcountry tent sites require high-clearance vehicles to access, with rough forest service roads leading to more remote primitive tent camping areas. Forest Service regulations typically allow 14-day stays at dispersed tent camping locations. Water availability varies significantly by location, with most primitive tent sites requiring campers to bring their own water or filter from nearby creeks.
Walk-in tent sites at Etna City Park provide convenient access to town amenities. One PCT hiker noted that "the camping area is in the left back corner of the park" with "a large shelter with picnic tables and electric plug-ins to charge your phone." For those seeking more secluded tent camping, the surrounding national forest offers greater solitude. Tent campers frequently use these areas as base camps for backpacking trips into the Marble Mountain Wilderness. Summer temperatures can reach over 100°F in lower elevations, making higher elevation tent campgrounds more comfortable during peak season. Wildlife sightings are common at forest tent sites, with deer frequently wandering through campsites at dawn and dusk.