Best Dog-Friendly Camping near Lassen National Forest

Our annual camping trip to Eagle Lake at the Merrill Campground in Lassen National Forest started as a family trip for a good friend about three generations ago. Ourselves and other friends have since tagged along for the last 6-8 years (some longer). We now routinely book 6 or more campsites, most with power for trailer hook ups though a couple of us still tent camp. Half the group are avid fisherman and go out every morning. The trout fishing is world class and makes for an out-of-this-world fish fry! This is one of the most pristine and quiet campgrounds we visit. The camp hosts and other campers are always extremely friendly and respectful. The facilities are clean and well maintained, the marina is well stocked (both fishing and daily food/drink essentials). We look forward to coming year after year.

This is a first-come, first-serve campground within the Lassen National Forest, about 14 miles from the southern entry gate of Lassen Volcanic National Park. My family and I arrived on a Thursday afternoon in June and there were plenty of campsites available. There were more people arriving on Friday and Saturday but still a handful of sites were available and it never got very crowded. The campground is near a highway but it stayed relatively quiet the whole time, since there's not much traffic on the road. The campground loop roads are not used much and make for a safe area for kids to ride bikes or scooters nearby the campsites. The only complaint I had about the campground is the large amount of cut wood logs that were stacked around the camp sites. It made the view a little less scenic but provided for a large amount of firewood. If you enjoy a quiet and serene camping experience near a National Park, I would definitely recommend this campground! It's also near the town of Chester, which has gas stations, restaurants, and a grocery store, as well as Lake Almanor, which has boating, swimming, and hiking trails.

So, we already knew we were in trouble. Lassen Volcanic was closed(it was on fire), which is the whole reason we were here. Lots of smoke, but the campground wasn't in danger. We came in anyway. This was the last stop before we started home.

The campground had a lot of cancellations, so it was unusually quiet. That didn't bother us! We had a back in site- 33. The best site in the campground! It's close to the dog park if you have a dog.

The bathroom/shower is 3 sites down. Very clean. 

Also close to the walking trail, basketball/volleyball courts& a neat tree swing. All this is under tall pines. This isn't a large campground, but it's VERY nice. Lots of trees& shady. Has a gift shop at the office. 

The pool was open. Lots of hornets& 2 people got stung while in the pool. They have traps out, but the hornets are persistent!

 Laundry I didn't use, but it's there if you need it. Everything was very clean. Service was friendly.

So, this is a good base for Lassen Volcanic. Since we couldn't go, there's other things to see. McArthur Burney Falls is a bit of a drive, but well worth it. We also stopped at Subway Cave, which we loved& Hat Creek Rim Overlook(which was a waste of time with the smoke). The rest of the day we chilled at the pool! We will definitely be back someday to see Lassen!

High Bridge Campground is located in the Lassen National Forest, about 10-15 minutes outside of Chester. Chester is a good town to fill up your gas tank, get supplies, etc. There are lots of small places to eat, a great grocery store called the Holiday Market, and quite a few outdoor equipment stores. It is also a good jumping off point to explore the Caribou Wilderness, Lassen National Park, or the Lake Almanor area. There are plenty of lakes and streams in the area as well.

Campground Review: High Bridge Campground is run by the Forest Service https://www.fs.usda.gov/recarea/lassen/recarea/?recid=11318 and cost $14 per night. There was nobody there to collect payment when we visited, just drop you money into the payment slot by the information board at the entrance. There may or may not be campground hosts there. The campground itself is separated into two loops. The first is directly in front of you as you drive in and the sites are located on, or close to, Warner Creek. The second is up and over a slight ridge, where the sites are located on, or close to, the North Fork of the Feather River. Both loops have water and vault toilets. Be sure to check the second loop before you set up, as I think the better sites are on the loop on the Feather River. We had set up camp before realizing the other loop was there, and although our site was wonderful, some people may prefer one loop to the other. Each campsite has a table and firepit, some sites are larger than others. The campsite was pretty buggy in Late May, there may be less bugs later in the season. We had campsite #6, at the end of the first loop. There were no sites close by, it was a massive campsite, very private and backed on to Warner Creek which is great to take a dip in or fish. There are trout in both Warner Creek and North Fork Feather River. There were no signs of bears while we were there, however the information board had warnings about them. Our stay was very peaceful, as we were the only people on our loop. Just lots of birds, deer, and the sound of the river. An absolutely fantastic 5 star campsite.

Product Review: As a Ranger for The Dyrt, I get to test products from time to time. At High Bridge Campground, I tested the Renogy Portable Outdoor Water Filter https://www.renogy.com/renogy-portable-outdoor-water-filter/ . The website provided has more of the technical specs for those who are interested.

Overall, the filter worked great. It is very simple to use, filled up a 1.5 liter Nalgene bottle in about 3-5 minutes. I filled up the Nalgene bottle 4 times while I was there and that was the average. The website claims a 3000 liter or 1 year lifespan for the filter, so that should be plenty unless you are going on a months long thru hike. If you were in a rush for some reason, you could really start pumping and fill it faster if you wanted to, the website claims a flow rate of 600ml per minute, but I was never in a rush and took my time filling up my bottle while i soaked my feet in the river. The input water hose has a small gasket that attaches over one end to keep sand, silt, bugs out of the hose when pumping, as well as a foam floater to put around the hose to keep it off the bottom of your water source. Once pumped through the filter, it outputs via another small hose. Purely as a device to filter water, it is a total success. It is fairly lightweight (8 or 9 ounces), it is compact (not much bigger than an iPhone, although about 1 1/2 inches thick), comes with a stuff sack, backflush syringe, hoses, etc, and gets the job done perfectly. Also, the price is a reasonable $40. It has found a home in my car camping gear box and will be traveling with us from now on.

But, I can't give it a full 5 star rating when compared to something like the Sawyer Squeeze or other competitors. First, it has a lower flow rate than many other water filters on the market. Second, the filter needs to be replaced after 3000 liters or a year of use. Third, it can't be hooked up easily to any type of water carrying system/bladders etc. Fourth, there are multiple parts to the filter - see pictures - (Filter/Case, two separate hoses, floater, gasket, backflush syringe) that could get lost of broken while backpacking, making it more difficult to use, or useless.

It gets a 3.75 out of 5 stars. It is great for car camping or emergency preparedness, but I would not recommend it for backpacking or thru hiking, based on my reasons above.