Best Dog-Friendly Camping near Lassen National Forest

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.

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.

Silver Bowl campground is located in the Caribou Wilderness of Lassen National Forest outside of Lassen National Park. It is about 35 miles from Susanville and 30 miles from Chester. The last 6 miles of which will be on some pretty rough road, especially early in the season. There are cabins around Silver Lake and people tow boats up for the summer, so I'm sure as the season goes on the road gets easier. Chester is a great place to go for supplies, the Holiday food market has a everything you would need. Best to fill up on gas there too if you decide you want to explore the area.

Campground Review: Even though the FS website https://www.fs.usda.gov/recarea/lassen/recarea/?recid=11368 said it was open, the campground was not yet open for the season on May 26. In big snow years, it may not open until July. The adjacent Rocky Knoll campground had a gate and was closed. There are private cabins encircling Silver Lake, which is a short walk from the Silver Bowl campground, which I assume is why it had no gate. The information board was blank, and there was no payment envelopes ($12 a night during the season). Off to a rocky start to our Memorial Day weekend, we decided to make a loop of the campsite anyway. There was one other person there, in a camper who was there to fish. We jumped out to see if the bathroom was open, and thankfully one of the vault toilets was open. We decided we would stay for the night, since we were already here. So glad we made that decision, as we ended up staying three nights and it turned out to be a fantastic campground with lots of things to do during the day. Most of the sites are enormous. Site 8, where we stayed, could have easily been a 40 person group site and not felt crowded. There is a well pump for drinking water, however the pump arm wasn't on the well since the campground was closed. The Susan river is nearby for water if you have a water filer (which we did). There is trout fishing in the lakes close by, the Caribou Trailhead is close to the camp, which leads you into the Caribou Wilderness for backpacking or day hikes, and there is a network of fire/logging roads that you can use to explore other parts of the Caribou Wilderness. Dispersed camping is also allowed in the area, so if you drive up and the campgrounds are full, you are free to find a place to camp. You would need a campfire permit to operate stoves or have fires if you are dispersed camping, so check with the local ranger district for that. I would highly recommend this campground. Bring a fishing pole, a kayak to put on the lake, a hammock to put up in the trees surrounding the campsites, hiking shoes, or just do nothing. You can't really go wrong at Silver Bowl campground. 5 stars all the way.

Product Review: As a Ranger for The Dyrt, I get to test products from time to time. At Silver Bowl campground, I tested the Midland Radio X-Talker Extreme Dual Pack - https://midlandusa.com/product/x-talker-t77vp5/ - aside from a couple issues, which I will detail later, they worked great. The radios come self contained in a hard plastic carrying case, with all the accessories included. I will let the Midland website above go into more details and technical specs for anyone interested. On to the review.

When hiking in remote areas without cell service, or wandering around lakes fishing, it is a good idea to have some type of communication in case an emergency arises, or you just want to keep in contact with others in your group. These radios do exactly that. I took one with me, and left the other in camp with my girlfriend, and was able to communicate with her easily. Before going, I had familiarized myself with the radios and there various abilities. There are 36 channels, security codes to keep communication private in high use areas, high/low power settings to extend batter life, an NOAA weather alert mode that scans 10 channels and provides weather alerts and updates for your area. The radios have very clear, crisp sound. I didn't get out of range once, probably about 3-4 miles apart at most on various hikes or while fishing. I charged them up before leaving and with light use on the high power setting over 3 days, the battery was still showing two bars. the included hands free headsets worked great. A wireless option would be nice, however that would increase the cost, and for ~ $100 retail, they offer great value. These would be great to use hunting, boating, off-roading, at festivals, etc. They served every purpose I needed them to on this trip, with two exceptions:

• The NOAA channels didn't work at the campsite, which is likely a function of where we were located. They have worked every time I used them before, and since. The remote location made it so the radios couldn't receive the signal from the NOAA stations. But, being in a remote location in the mountains is the exact spot I would need the weather alerts the most. Around town or places with cell reception, most of us would just default to checking weather on our phones. That is a big downside in my eyes.
• The advertised reception of 38 miles must only be able to be accomplished in a dead flat desert with no trees, or on open ocean. I tested them around town at various distances and without direct line of sight, the best I was able to get out of them was 10-12 miles. I know that trees, buildings, hills, valleys, all affect the line of sight and account for the lower numbers, but to me this is an under-promise/over-deliver situation where I would stay on the more conservative side of the mileage range and if people get more out of it, it is a pleasant surprise.

Overall the range is a small nitpick and I won't downgrade them too bad for that, however the lack of access to the NOAA weather alert stations in remote areas is a big issue for me. I would give them 3.75 stars. They worked great, feel like they will hold up well over time, and come in a case that holds all the accessories needed, so all you have to do it toss them in the car and not worry about forgetting chargers, ear pieces, etc. They will be a fixture in our camping gear going forward.

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.