Best Glamping 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.

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.

Just outside of Milford, CA in Plumas National Forest is this tiny campground right off of the Milford Grade. There are about 6 sites but some were so overgrown that they would not be pleasant to stay at. 

There is a vault bathroom but no water or trash. 

During the season is runs $15/night plus $7 for additional vehicle. We stayed one night on the off season in April and it was free. 

The sites did have picnic tables and fire pits though some fire pits were overgrown with grass. Some sites are very small and will only fit a car and tent. Quite a few people drove through the campground but chose not to stay.

This is a good spot for a night while traveling through but I am not sure why anyone would want to stay longer than that as there is not much hiking except for the main dirt road. The paved part of the road is full of rundown abandoned trailers and houses. The dirt road into the campground was fairly smooth. 

We were the only people there that night. If the campground was full then you would be able to see just about everyone there from any site so zero privacy. 

Cell reception was barely usable with a WeBoost, without that there was none with AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile.

Off season visit, September 12. I rolled in five minutes after 5pm, so the entrance staff had left, and the cafe closed. Bummer. But as I struggled to figure out where to look for a campsite on the park map, I found the hiker/biker site, and got excited about a potentially cheap night.

It was empty when I arrived and set up camp. Two picnic tables, one fire ring, a couple of bear boxes that seemed a little flimsy, and one had noticeable gaps between the wooden boards. That one was empty, but the other one had random bits of helpful things for Pacific Crest Trail hikers who stop through, since the PCT runs past this park.

I headed to the shower, and almost forgot to bring quarters in the event that it cost something, which it did. 50 cents for 2 minutes, and a quarter for every minute thereafter. I was just glad I had quarters to use, since the cafe was closed.

Walked back to my site, dropped stuff off. Headed out to see the falls that are the focal point of the park. And they are pretty impressive. Not hugely tall, but wide, with interesting fractal patterns of falls. Apparently due to three very different layers of rock being eroded away at different rates. There are a number of hikes around the falls.

When I got back to my site, there was a PCT through hiker there. It was interesting to talk to him about his experiences. He was heading north to south, and had started late, missing all the snow in the north. Now he just had to get south fast enough to avoid snow in the Sierras in October and November.

That night, the trucks on the adjacent highway were ridiculously loud. I think there was a particularly loud period from midnight to 1am, and then they started back up again around 5:30am. I think the sites on the other side of the campground would be ok, but anything on the highway side probably got a decent amount of noise. Probably the worst part of the campground, and more annoying than the trains I experienced at two other camps on this trip.

The next morning I was up hoping to get a good breakfast sandwich at the cafe, but they only had standard convenience store food, which mean frozen breakfast burritos to microwave. It was ok, but I didn't feel so bad about missing dinner there the night before. I also stocked up on snacks, knowing I was camping in the middle of a National Forest next, and there would be no food whatsoever. Jerky, Milky Way, Fritos and Cheetos. Probably some other stuff. Then I went out to talk to the PCT hiker, who had gotten not just his restock package, but also a care package from a friend. And he ended up with so much food we both started laughing. He had offered some to me as he started unpacking, and I was hesitant to accept, but thought he could probably spare a few things. But by the end of the unpacking, it was clear plenty of it wasn't going to fit in his bag, so I ended up with a few different bars, and granolas, and the like. Pretty sweet. Another PCT hiker came up as we were wrapping up, and I think he probably got even more.

North is open, South is closed for Summer 2024.

It took some digging on this information as the USFS website is wrong.  

I camp here on the South campground at least once every year.  For the 2024 season, they CLOSED it at the last second.  

The North campground is OPEN, but you cannot reserve it.  First Come First Served (FCFS).

Boat ramp is at the North campground, but if you just have a paddleboard or kayak, you can just walk to the water by just waking down the road and launch at the edge of the lake.  

There is a General Store within walking distance and restaurant/bar right on the lake too.  I highly advise reservations for dinner on the deck.