Best Equestrian Camping near Janesville, CA

Officially this is listed as an equestrian campground. We were there during the off season so no one else was around. The campground was quiet and peaceful. Website stated that fees are not collected at this time. There are only 6 sites here and it is a compact little campground. The sites are a good size but the loop is tight and it took some creative maneuvering to back into our site. 

The road in was fairly smooth with some areas of washboard, managed fine in our 26’ Class C. Water is available from an hand pumped spigot at the entrance of the campground, website states non potable but we drank it and it was fine and in fact tasted really fresh. There is no garbage so pack in and pack out. 

The bathrooms were open. Each space has a bear box, fire pit and picnic table all in good condition. Sites were relatively flat and a mix of sun and shade. 

There is hiking and biking on the main dirt road and on the multiple side roads. There was a few vehicles coming and going but not so busy as to be annoying. 

The view of the huge meadow was nice and just before you reach the campground there are a few buildings that are open and some horse corrals. 

Zero cell service from AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile.

This little gem is a great place to stay while visiting Lassen. Located off a well maintained gravel road near beautiful Butte Lake. We had no problem towing our trailer to this location and neither did our friends whose trailer is 30+ ft. The campsites are spacious and well maintained. Lots of trees and within walking distance to the lake. Flush toilets were decently clean.

There are no sites located on the actual lake so you have to pack a beach bag, chairs, toys and snacks and haul them down to the waters edge if you want a beach day. Mosquitoes were HUGE so don’t forget bug spray!

The Cinder Cone hike along the old lava flow behind the campsite is spectacular! Don’t let the climb up the cinder cone dissuade you; the panoramic view from the top is well worth it! We did it with two 6 year olds. Don’t forget to visit the nearby Lava Tubes and geothermal sights.

Free! I do love free. I had spent the day in the sun and had no intentions of driving four hours away. I did Subway Cave 👍🏻, Burney Falls👍🏻, and took a much needed nap by Hat Creek. 

I pulled into another campground but there were kids running everywhere and the second I got out the mosquitoes came at me starved for my blood. I left. 

The next was Bogard. I had literally no idea where I was. I needed rest. 

It was beautiful. Aspens fluttered. Owls hooted through the night. 

Most of the sites are for horses so I tried to take another without corrals as I’m not a horse but light was fading, I took a horse one. 

I met all my fellow campers. So many dog cuddles. Kids rode bikes and played hide n seek. 

5 other sites were taken so it was nice and quiet. 

I found some wood someone had placed in my site previously and had a nice fire before sleep took over.

It was hot so no rain fly on my tent and the stars were abundant. So were the bugs. 

Literally the only downside. 

Easily 30 bugs came to bed with me. I used repellent to no avail. 

But hey. It’s free.

We did not stay the night here, as there was too much snow on Bridge Creek Springs Road in April for our RV to be able to get through. We spent the night in a clearing nearby though, and walked over to the campground to check it out. 

The camp sites are nicely spread out, and each comes with a picnic table and steel fire pit. The website says max trailer length is 25 ft, but the sites looked plenty large enough to accommodate longer vehicles.

There is lots of shade, almost no sun, so if you rely on solar power keep that in mind. 

Not maintained during the winter, but the campground is open. There are two unisex handicap accessible vault toilets, and one was unlocked and the other was locked. We saw several sites with dedicated horse corrals at the site. 

There is also a day use area. 

We saw a sign pointing the way to “water” but did not see any water spigots in the campground. The sign may have been referring to Pine Creek which passes along behind the campground. The website does mention handpumped water though, so maybe there was a spigot that we didn’t see. 

During the winter the campground has kind of an eery, disheveled look. However, when maintenance starts up again, and when the Aspen change color in the fall, this campground is probably a beautiful place. 

Zero cell service.

No fees even during open season.

Just a short drive down a forest service dirt road and you'll find yourself at Soldier Meadows---a gem of a campground! Located just 15 minutes from the oh so popular Lake Almanor, Soldier Meadows is a peaceful campground nestled among towering pines and a babbling brook. The campsites are huge, with lots of room to spread out. There is no water at this campsite, but if you bring your filtration system you can get water just steps away from your campsite. One pit toilet is located at the front of the campground. My mom and I camped here for a couple of nights as we were doing so day hikes on the PCT, great base camp. You are only 20 minutes from the town of Chester if you need to run in for a milkshake or more beer, you know the essentials! This is not a fancy campground by any means, but with no camp host there, it all seems a bit more peaceful ;)

Stayed at Butte Lake for two nights in late June 2022. None of the campsites has an unobstructed lake view, but it’s a short walk to the day use area on the shore. This is a good jumping off point for a ton of hikes on this side of Lassen NP; excellent signage tells you how far each destination is. The sites themselves are not very private; kids were rolling through our site on bikes all afternoon and evening, dogs were barking at each other, it was a little crowded feeling even though it was probably only at half capacity. (There were reservation cards on almost all the sites, but it seems like a lot of people didn’t show up.) That said, after driving past some of the other campgrounds right next to the highway, I was happy to have chosen this one.

Despite the remote location and the bumpy gravel road to get to this park, it is a very popular campground. Advanced reservation is a must. Make sure to read the signs about the wildlife and take the advice of how to store food seriously. We saw a bear just a mile outside the campground. 

The sites are large and spaced far apart and shady. The lake is only a short walk away and great for swimming, kayaking or paddle boarding. The lake is surrounded by lava and the beach has been formed by volcanic material and smells a little sulphuric but the water is very clear. There are several stunning  hikes starting right at the campground .