Best Tent Camping near Macdoel, CA

Large campsites with provided fire rings and picnic tables. Water spigot near the sites but no electrical hookups available, so this is dry camping. The flush toilet bathrooms in the campground are clean, but old, which makes them appear, at first glance, to be worse than they are. The bathrooms in the day use area on the outer edge of the campground are clean. I’m sure fish Lake is nice for swimming although when we went there water was 20% lower than normal and upon wading in you get stuck in the mud bottom before you can make it out to deeper water. The fishing was good! Our friends went fishing and had a great time. Firewood is available for sale from the camp host for 9 dollars a bundle. We brought firewood we purchased at the grocery store. The campsites are large and widely spaced enough that you can’t overhear people’s conversions around you but you can see them, so privacy is a little less here. The campsites are standard soft dirt floor. Its so fine that it gets everywhere though; especially if you have dogs with you. we had to sweep out the camper a few times. Fish Lake resort is within 5 minutes walking distance and has a little restaurant that serves breakfast during the morning and burgers, fries and local (some bottled, some on tap) microbrews for lunch and dinner. The restaurant is a bit spendy though. Attached to it is a small grocery store with food and camp supplies, which came in handy as we forgot D batteries; so $6 and 3 D cell batteries later and our indoor lantern worked great. The camp hosts are great! Very little to no bugs which surprised me being near a lake! All around a great 2 nights. On the last morning before we packed up the toilets had to closed because they couldn’t flush and the sink didn’t have running water. The water spigots also stopped working and we were told that the well the campground gets its water from just went dry. The nearby campground of doe point also had their well run dry. Bring extra water just in case. I would recommend this camp ground to people.

At highway 66 near Ashland this park has both RV and tent sites. The RV sites are full/partial hook up (30 amp only) and dry camping. Note though that even if you pay for partial or dry you will still need to pay $10/dump your tanks. We opted for just full hook ups here. The tent sites are near the creek.

There was some work being done that appear to be some upgrades. There is a nice pool area, a pond and the creek. The sites are level with picnic tables and fire pits. There are bathrooms, free hot showers, laundry, dog run, playground and store. Also available is propane ($3.50/gallon) book exchange and ice. Wifi was fast and free.

The road noise is noticeable but not too bad. Some of the spots can be close but for a night it wasn't bad. Pets are allowed on leash only but there were a couple of loose dogs running around so be aware. 

NOTE: Google tells you to turn on the street (Neil Creek Rd) just after the park so if you have a big rig then turning around could be difficult. Keep an eye out for the campground and turn into it directly from the main road instead.

All the office and maintenance staff were friendly and helpful and neighbors were friendly and quiet.  We didn't get the tweaker vibe mentioned in some previous reviews. This place is cute - maybe there are new owners (who changed the name from Glenyan to Ashland Creekside, maybe?) who are trying to turn things around.

Good cell service ATT, Verizon and TMobile.

Not a campground at all. It’s a hotel where they dumped gravel in the parking and erected goat pens for people to sleep in. 

No toilet paper or hand towels in the bathroom. All services were closed. No bar. No coffee. No rentals. The only shade is in your goat pen. 

The goat pen comes with a picnic table and two plastic Adirondack chairs. 

I’m camping alone so I had to move a picnic table by myself in order to set up my tent. On gravel mind you. The website shows an elevated platform. Not the case. It’s gravel. Big gravel. Hard tent piercing sharp gravel. Gravel. 

A car was parked in front of my “campsite”. 

Annoyed and exasperated in 100° weather and no one on staff to talk to I left. It’s June. Nothing is available last minute. I drank a local margarita and decided to suck it up 

The only fire pit was communal. Do not expect privacy. There are goat pens packed in right next to each other. You can hear everyone’s conversations. 

I felt obnoxious as I filled my air mattress due to the noise it made. 

Expect road noise and train noise. All night. 

Pros: the shower. 

Cons: literally everything else.

When I'm up in Mt. Shasta this is where I camp. It's easy for both vanlife and tent camping as well as car camping. 

I hesitate to tell anyone about this place because it's one of the less expensive campgrounds in the state, has a group camp, and the sites are far enough apart to offer some privacy. It's very basic. No showers. But there are vault toilets. The running water comes down the mountain in the form of a creek, and there is a water pump at the well for those who would rather not test their constitution with the stream. 

The elevation is not as high as Panther Meadows and the access to the camp at McBride is easier.

Deer wander through the campground and sometimes visit the tents.

Bring everything you need or plan on running into town (about seven miles) to go shopping or out for meals. It's about another seven or eight miles to the Old Ski Bowl trail head where both campers and locals gather to watch the sun rise or set over the mountains.

This is undoubtedly the quietest campground we have ever visited.  Not just because there were few campers, but its location so far from any highway or city.  I would also like to give kudos to the the fire crews who saved this area from the fire last year.  The visitor center and campground are an island of green in the middle of a charcoal land. 

I would categorize it as a tent and teardrop campground.  There are some sites where larger RVs can park, maybe around 25', but most campground spaces will only hold the car.  They have a lot parallel RV parking and that requires you sign up for two spaces, one for your trailer, the other for your car.  The lower campground, A, is more open, great if you have solar.  The upper campground, B, has more spaces and some for larger RVs.  

The drinking water faucets are irregularly dispersed and few.  You cannot hook up to them to fill your RV, so be sure to bring some 5 gallon containers to haul water to your RV.  There are flush toilets and sinks with cold water, no showers.  Bring all your supplies, as the nearest town is about a 40 minute drive.  There are very solid metal fire rings and picnic tables.  The closest dump station is in Tule Lake, but is excellent, with water and good drain positioning - and its free.

We had excellent Verizon service and were able to surf the internet, load and download pictures without using any booster.  I was also pleased to get a staff member directly when I called for information.  There is a lot to see at this park and I highly recommend it.

PS The helmet they sell ($8) saved my head many a time during cave exploring.

Castle Crags State Park is a family favorite park, as is the hike to the Crags via Crags Trail. The park doesn’t have a ton of trails on offer, but it does have some great ones.

The campground itself is pretty standard. Sites along the road are less desirable in my mind because of the constant traffic going by, but the Upper Loop has some great sites. The Upper Loop is fairly densely wooded so sites don’t seem as on top of each other as other campgrounds. I have not personally stayed in Little Loop before, but with just four sites it seems like it could be nice and quiet.

All campers at Castle Crags State Park, and within a 10-mile range, should be aware of the well-traveled train tracks that parallel highway five. Several train pass each night and you will hear them. Even if you sleep like a bear (more on them later) you will likely hear the train. This isn’t as much of an issue in the Upper Loop, and I imagine Little Loop, but campers in the Lower Loop and Riverside Campground should definitely be aware of this. The train is by no means a reason not to camp here, but maybe bring ear plugs if you think you’ll be sensitive to the sound.

Personally I’ve camped there about half a dozen times and have seen bears more times then I haven’t. Because too many campers aren’t responsible with their food bears in the area have gotten pretty used to people and often come into camp. On our last trip a mom and two cubs were walking just 50 feet north of us in site 52 when the two cubs decided to come closer for a look. They got within about 10 feet of us and the picnic table before mom called them back, but it was a bit concerning (my wife was on top of the picnic table!).

I am not aware of any bad bear encounters where people or bears have been injured, but you may want to check with the ranger station about bringing bear spray. At least bring a whistle or some other way to startle the bear, remember they are pretty used to humans. Most importantly, remember to always lock up your food and any other items with scent inside the bear box. This is extremely important for your safety, for the safety of the bears, and the other campers around you.

As for the hikes in the park, you can’t beat the hike to “the Crags” via Crag Trail. It’s a tough hike and I highly suggest you start early when hiking in the warmer months. You can access this hike from all the camp loops or if you want to shorten the hike a bit you can drive up to the Vista Point. Plan on a side trip to Indian Springs for a water bottle refill and refreshing head-soak. The top section of the trail is very exposed and there is no water, so make sure you bring enough. The trail is steep and requires a bit of scrambling over rocks. Once on the top, after you catch your breath, you will be treated to spectacular views of Mt. Shasta and the surrounding area and lots of great places to explore the Crags. Summiting Castle Dome is possible but includes some class 4 climbing (don’t do this without proper gear or training).

Castle Crags State Park is also nearby the towns of Dunsmuir and Mt. Shasta. Dunsmuir has a good brewery and Mt. Shasta has about anything you could need, including a great outdoor store called The Fifth Season. Other nearby hikes to check out include Black Butte and Castle Lake.