Best Dog-Friendly Camping near Klamath National Forest

We visited here while driving south on the I-5. It was far enough off the highway to be peaceful and in beautiful Klamath National Forest. The campsite was clean and as we were there on a Monday evening we had the place nearly to ourselves, though some other folks we talked to said nearly all of the 20+ sites had been full over the weekend. The bathrooms were alright as drop toilets go, not very nice to be downwind of but what can you do. There was what looked like a nice little place to swim in the Klamath river and someone had left plenty of firewood around the sites, so we were happy. I would recommend stopping off in Yreka for food and things before heading into the camp as the campsite is pretty far removed from anything else. The road down is a little steep and winding, but not an issue for the 2013 Subaru Outback. We reserved a site online with no issue and didn’t have any problem claiming it. Would stay here again.

We stayed overnight on the way to New Mexico. It was clean, quiet, close enough to the freeway to be convenient without being loud. Dog park and playground were small, campsite were packed close together. It was generally nice but unremarkable.

This was a nice short distance away from the i5. Great view of greenery and lake and the night stars. If you happen to have pets be cautious there is a lot of broken glass everywhere, my dog had several cuts on her pads.

I stayed at this park with my daughter and dog for one night while passing through.

The facilities are very clean, showers have nice hot water for a minimal fee.

The dog park is small, but well maintained with poop bags on site for your use.

The RV Park workers were fantastic, checked on us during set up to make sure we had what we needed.

There are obviously quite a few long term renters at the park, but they showed pride in there homes and area. Everyone’s areas were clean and orderly, and the park was incredibly quiet.

Only down side is the sites are tightly packed together. My door was only a couple off feet off of my neighbors hook ups. When the camper next to us packed up in the morning, we were outside by our door. The smell of sewage was pretty strong, we just went in our camper and waited for him to finish up.

Worth a stop for the money if your going to be in the area.

Pretty awesome views and very clean. Also super easy to get to from Redding. We had an inquisitive fox which was cool and there were a few feral cats which was not cool. Only one other group while we were there.

Only gripe was the no fires sign posted which was a little confusing considering they sold firewood and charcoal at the camp store.

This is a great little campground located right near a beautiful lake and some great hiking.

The campground itself is small and first-come first-serve, so arrive early in the day to get a spot at all, much less the best spots. We arrived at about 10am on a Thursday in June and had our pick of the spots. For the three days we were there we only had "neighbors" one of the nights.

Nothing too special about this campground other than it is small, so less chance of getting some obnoxious, noisy group near you. There are pit toilets, but no potable water.

The campground is a short walk or really short drive up to Castle Lake, a truly spectacular lake with great options for hiking, kayaking, or paddle boarding in the summer.

The main hiking trail takes you up to Heart Lake and then offers great views of Castle Lake and across to Mt. Shasta. It's only about a mile each way to Heart Lake and then another quarter mile or so to a nice lookout point.

There is another trail that splits off about half a mile from the parking lot and heads east toward Little Castle Lake and eventually the Mt. Bradley fire lookout if you keep going. From there you can go just about anywhere on a series of fire roads.

Dogs are welcome in the campground and on the trails, but please leash your dogs. There are many other dogs on these trails and wildlife nearby, so keep your dog leashed to protect it and the areas around the trails.

The campground is also quite close to the town of Mt. Shasta and other great hikes like Black Butte and Castle Crags State Park.

Alpine View Campground on Trinity Lake, CA is centrally located to the small towns nearby (Coffee Creek, Trinity Center, Weaverville) as well as located a short drive to Bowerman Boat Ramp for boat launching. Though the website says year round availability, it was closed during our planned trip. Recreation.gov and the Trinity Alps Wilderness Forest Service website both contain information, however it is best to call the ranger station in Weaverville for the most up to date information.

Campground Review:

Given that Alpine View was closed when we arrived, to our dismay, I still spent time wandering around the campground, adjacent boat launch area, and the lake access area from the campground itself. There are three loops, each with access to potable water and flush toilets, as well as lake access. Some sites are located very close to the water, most have water views through the trees, and some are more private than others. The maps available when reserving your site give a good idea of privacy and lake access. All sites have picnic tables and fire rings/grills. Although it says that bear lockers are provided at all sites, that wasn't the case when I visited. This could have been due to the campground being closed however. There are also ADA sites. The campground is set among a pine forest along the banks of the lake, and no two sites are alike. Lots of character in the individual campsites that may not show up when reserving. Cost is $20-$35 depending on the time of year, with the high season between May-Sept. I can't wait to get back and spend some time here, it seems to have something for everyone. Easy access to the lake, easy boat ramp access, convenient to the multitude of hikes in the Trinity Alps, swimming, fishing, etc. Pets welcome.

Product Review:

As a Ranger for The Dyrt, I get to test products. At Alpine View Campground, and a nearby hike to Mt. Eddy and the Deadfall Lakes, I tested the Boost Oxygen 22 oz Supplemental Oxygen - Original product - https://www.boostoxygen.com/product/natural/. Both the campground and the supplemental oxygen get 4 stars.

The elevation at the campground was ~2500 feet, and after exploring the campground and surrounding area, chasing after two crazy labradors, I didn't notice much of a difference when using it. The canister is extremely light, I would have no problem adding it in to my pack for a backpacking trip, and simple to use. Put the mouthpiece over your nose and mouth, squeeze the trigger and inhale 95% pure oxygen. At this elevation, in clean, crisp mountain air, there wasn't much to be noticed. In hot air, humidity, or smog I could see it being useful. Where the product really shined, however, was on our hike up to the Deadfall Lakes. The trailhead began at 6200 feet or so, our destination of Middle Deadfall Lake was at about 7200-7300 feet of elevation, depending on which map you are looking at. After gaining ~1000 feet in elevation in a little over a mile, while hiking through meadows, stream crossings, and ultimately snow, in 35* weather, a couple pulls off of the oxygen canister was welcome relief. There is no lightheaded feeling, you just notice you are no longer panting or breathing all that heavy. The size, weight, and usefulness of this product make it a no brainer for hiking, skiing, climbing, etc at altitude. My only negative is that it wasn't useful at lower elevations for me. Perhaps it would be useful after long runs, or strenuous weight lifting at lower elevations. But it did work more than as advertised after hiking at higher elevations. I would recommend it, and will be using it again in the future for any outdoor activity at higher elevations, especially because of it's small size and the fact it weighs next to nothing. You won't even notice it is in your pack.

Please don't mind the two crazy labs that kept photobombing.

Says they are dog friendly, but they are NOT!! Very misleading.  If you like bringing your doggies camping with you this is NOT the place to go!

Camp site coordinates are incorrect. Search for Camp Creek Campground, there are also Juniper Point/Mirror Cove that have free sites. Coordinates took us into a “neighborhood”, onto a private road, and all over the place while we arrived past 10pm.

Using Google Maps we were able to find out that there were nearby campgrounds and the county website says they were free FCFS.

We stayed at Camp Creek Campground right next to the dock/launch. Camp site has a nice stone table, within minutes we were swarmed by mosquitoes and our dogs had multiple thorns in each of their paws. The table became their safe place. Waking up we discovered the water was full of blue green algae with no notices around. There’s also big piles of horse poop as the horses are allowed to roam the recreation area.

Site is okay if no dogs, port-a-potty was clean. You’re better off staying at Fish Hook/Blue Heron RV Park or closer to I-5 at another RV camp site than camping here where the water should not be accessed.

Fowler’s is a a basic site campground, small but plenty of spots. They don’t offer much but the basic fire pit and non-flushable bathrooms but the hikes to Lower falls and Middle falls make up for it!! Super dog friendly and great river to fish from. Mccloud is about 10-15mins from the camp ground with a store and local brewery. Fowlers is a great camp spot for all trail heads either north or south.

I wanted to love this place.  Simple, pretty, quiet ( at least at check in) but 1 am, a group of partiers ruined the experience with loud kids, loud adults and loud dogs as if it was 1 pm and not 1 am and shouting at each other as if they were a football field away and not just a few feet.  They camped no where near me and yet I could hear them, clear as day. They were left unchecked and it really ruined the stay.