Best Tent Camping near French Gulch, CA

Very glad I got the site I did(SC10). The shoreline sites allow you your own little spot on the lake, although some seemed better then others. Site was sloped and uneven but did have a couple flat spots for tents. Not a ton of shade but what little shade it did have was next to tent flats. Table, fire and bear box were in full sun all day which makes afternoon food prep on a hot day a bit brutal. You do get some noise from the 299 at night. The walk in and out to the parking is a bit steep and further then other sites but it does mean you get a little more privacy. I was there to kayak fish for the weekend and the site was perfect for that. My guess is the place becomes a madhouse in the summertime and the non shoreline sites are pretty close together. I personally wouldn’t stay in a non shoreline site here, but that’s me. The lake is beautiful and there’s a beach at the campground, though really hot in the summer. I would give site SC10 4-stars but the campground overall 3-stars.

We camped in Oak Bottom in October when the days were hot and the evenings were cool. Because it's the shoulder season, their were fewer people there, which allowed us to have more space... no one in adjacent sites. However, if you are there during the high season, you will be crammed on top of one another. The only reason to tolerate that would be the close access to water. Again, because we were there during the late season, the water was low enough that it took some strategizing to get down there to get our SUPs in the water. Once we were in, it was perfect... cold and plenty deep. Oak Bottom is a tent only site, which is also a positive in my book. No generators or other vehicle sounds. The others in our area were also very quiet... no annoying music or loud voices during quiet hours. But, of course, that can't be guaranteed and I'm sure is different when the sites are filled since they are so VERY close together. Overall, I would recommend camping at Oak Bottom. If you're going during the busy season and you can afford it, reserve two spots!

The camp ground was beautiful. Pretty close to the water, however, this year summer 2021 the water is very low. The camp ground offers bathrooms, bear boxes, very nice fire rings and clean water. There is no camp host so bring your own wood. The fee is $25 a night. The trash cans were over flowed and there was bags of trash outside of the garbage. Please don’t do this)-:

Weird vibes: when we pulled up there was only one other truck there. They were two people yelling at each other pretty loud so that was kinda awkward but, nothing crazy. Then we set up our tent and other car came to the spot next to ours and checked the bear box and was walking around the spot. They moved parked at another spot and did the same thing. I’m not sure if they left something or what was going on but, they just walked around to each site checking the bear box’s??

Not sure if I would return unless more people were there because I felt uncomfortable leaving my tent and things there unattended.

Nice well shaded campground, some sites enjoy lake views although Trinity Lake is very low at this point. Site 67 is a nice size, lots of space between adjacent sites. Two tent flats, table and fire ring. Some sites have bear boxes, 67 does not. Close but not too close to the bathroom. Camp host was friendly. Easy walk/ drive to the lake. I would check site map and reviews if possible, some sites looked very small and unappealing while others were very spacious.(67) No firewood for sale on site. Overall campground was nice and site 67 in particular was very good. 3.5 Stars.

My second time here...dunno why I didn't review it on the first.

Mid-July and a main gateway to the Trinity Alps, I figured this place would be fairly busy.  Exact opposite!!   Not a soul in camp & very few cars at the trailhead parking lot (about a mile up the road).  There are 8 spots, 4 fairly close to a parking 'slot', 4 that you can park in an open area and walk to (at most 10-15 yards away).  There is one pit building with 4 toilets, 2 men/women.  There were trash/recycling receptacles.   All spots had fire rings/picnic tables, several had bear boxes.  There was NO cell service (Verizon & T-Mobile).  With temps into the high 90s, the jewel of this camp was Canyon Creek.  The color of this creek was the most beautiful gray/blue I had seen.  Crystal clear water at a refreshing mid-60s? temperature.  With a hot summer day...it was perfect!!