Best Equestrian Camping near Lassen Volcanic National Park

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.

This is my favorite campground in Lassen because it is not crowded and the sites are decent sized. It's right by Cinder Cone (amazing views up top), Butte Lake and many nice hiking destinations. Bear boxes (yes, you need to use them), toilets, running water (though you need to check late season). It is a gravel road. There is a boat launch for kayaks and canoes..

This campground is 45 minutes from the main park road, so plan accordingly. If you stop at Hat Creek Rim Overlook on the way by, there is cell reception. Firewood and supplies are available at Old Station.

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.