Modoc National Forest is the perfect place for adventurous campers and RVers. Modoc National Forest is a great camping destination for everyone. There are tons of nearby hikes, adventurous activities, and sights to see. You're sure to find the perfect spot for your California camping adventure.
Lava Beds has one campground, Indian Well Campground, located 1/2 mile (0.8 km) from the Visitor Center and cave loop. There are 43 sites available on a first-come, first serve basis. Sites can accommodate tents, pickup campers, small trailers and motor homes up to 30 feet. Note: not all sites can accommodate motor homes.
Pioneer Camp
$35 - $125 / night
Shady campsites and a creek running along side make Lower Rush Creek Campground a great getaway destination. Trailers larger than 22 feet are not recommended. In the winter months roads may become soft or impassable. Please do not create resource damage by driving on soft roads or saturated soil. Remember the weather can change quickly and you do not want to be unprepared for extreme conditions.
$15 - $20 / night
The campground is fairly nice. No functional bear lockers (camp host said there haven’t been bears here in over 9 years). The bathrooms (flush toilets) were clean. Weirdly, most of the campsites were vacant, but the online reservations showed that most of the sites were booked. We had a large noisy group next to us the first night. Otherwise it was quiet. The trail to the falls (Falls Loop Trail) was closed for repairs, which we knew when we booked. Not the nicest place we’ve been but not the worst. Probably won’t stay there again.
This camp grounds was peaceful and beautiful.
Most site were very level. I stayed in #49. It was perfectly shaded. The staff is friendly, the amenities are clean.
Verizon - no coverage. I had to go to their public wifi at their visitor center.
This park has a great Dump site, multiple stations easy in/out. Also has fresh water filling station
Very nice campground
Showers ($1 bills only), fire pits, and FCFS sites, as well as a friendly campground host. Beautiful spot right on the lake. Mosquitos and bees so bring bug spray.
We came here in the early spring which was super cold - got hailed on for a few hours. But overall the campsite was good.
We have never been to the lava beds and it was cool to experience. Hard to say how much of the weather played a factor in our review, but the campsite was just okay.
Caves were dope though! Highly recommend Skull Cave! Pictures don't do it justice.
This campground was well maintained and the sites were large. Ample access to water spigots throughout the sites. Bathrooms were standard with flush toilets. A short walk to the falls made it very accessible. Would recommend driving to the lake due to the length of the walk and elevation to return back. Not much else to do in the area. There is a campground store where they also sell hot food and overpriced supplies if needed.
Free usfs camping! Secluded little campground right off 299. Follow directions on Dyrt app as coordinates don’t quite take you to the actual campground. There is signage as you turn off 299 but mileage is off. Pit toilets, trash and seasonal? water (was off when we were here in late October). Sites may be small for a big rig but fit our van with plenty of room.
This campground and area was such a huge surprise for us. We chose it because it was located about where we needed to rest for the night, but instead got a wonderful experience. Super quiet. The lava beds/caves were amazing. The night sky was surreal.
After a long drive, we visited the Lava Tubes and found a campsite at Indian Wells. The open sky and views were gorgeous. The night sky with very minimal light pollution was even better. If you like astrophotography or star gazing, this is a great location. Just remember when you hear a rustle in the tumbleweeds, and your headlamp catches the reflection of eyes low to the ground, it's likely deer munching on ground covering and not something that makes you grab your gear and back away from the road. When we returned to our site, we saw tons of deer rummaging through campsites.
We love this site, great hiking trails/4x4 trail. Last night tho 3 guy’s on dirt bikes rode right thru our campsite & a few other campers around 11:00 pm & almost ran over our 2 Pomeranians. Be careful especially if you have children!
Huge campground at Burney Falls park, pretty populated and always packed.
A very unique spot to camp! If you want to get the full experience of the lava beds I would suggest staying a night or 2 here. You’re in walking distance of caves while camping! There isn’t any shade. There are bathrooms. There is a “plague” warning due to ground rodents having the plague… so be warned!
We have stayed on the lake before but at “dusty campground”, this time wanting to spend our trip in a little bit more of a civilized campground. The roads were paved unlike dusty but the campgrounds were just as dusty as dusty campground. Be prepared for everything to be covered from head to toe. We went July 12-14th and I wouldn’t swim in the lake, blue/green foam on the shoreline. Most of the campsites are more like RV sites with no flat ground for a tent. I wish I would’ve known that. There’s vault toilets around with toilet paper and 1 big bathroom with showers that is open 8am-9pm and runs on “tokens” that you have to buy with $1 bills only, no quarters accepted. Just a heads up. The campground was really pretty but I wouldn’t suggest for tent camping, for RV’s or car camping it’s nice. The bathrooms all smelt really good and were for the most part clean, the shower trash cans were overflowing with feminine products and wasn’t changed the whole time we stayed, so I’m not sure how often the bathrooms get cleaned. The camp host was friendly and offered people wood. Seems like the kind of place that you can do about whatever you’d like, music was blasting till 10pm when quiet hours started, that’s okay we just played our music too but those that are looking for a “relaxing camping trip” also shouldn’t come here.
Nice clean campground. I was close to the bathroom which was nice. Spacious and shaded camp spots.
I love it here. I went as a teenager with a friend of mine and her family and I have been going every 10 years since. Lol. This time was amazing. I was divorced 10 years ago so a new group of eager wonderful people who have come into my life since then we’re there to explore with me. The sound of the waterfalls is mesmerizing to me. I live the campground because that’s the sound I get to wake up to. The beauty of the Falls is indescribable. To me waterfalls were the most majestic things I’ve ever seen because my brain can’t wrap itself around its inner workings basically. For once since I was a teenager I went on the Falls Loop trail hike lto the top of the falls and back to camp which was about a 2 mile hike. It was gorgeous. The trees throughout are tall and beautiful and plenty. You won’t be disappointed if you go here. It is a 3 1/2 hour drive for me but well worth it.
Falls were gorgeous. Rum trail is an easy little walk (largely paved). Large picnic area. Not much else to do in the park but good stop if you are thru hiking the PCT.
Bathrooms were clean, flush toilets, hot showers. NO cell service. Had a little camp shop.
NOT a very dog-friendly park, didn’t even see a pet area for them to get out and potty.
I stayed at the state park in a cabin for 2 nights ..me an my wife had a nice too good amount of trails...only few of them were closed due to a storm an fires...the falls are not even far to get too maybe 5 minute walk...worth it
Lake to swim and boat in, waterfall short walk, General store with everything you can imagine and firewood, close by a town where you can eat out. Junior Ranger program with iron on badge that changes every year.
Tucked away, this place was great! We didn’t have too many people there but it was a gorgeous sight!
Campground is big and right next to gurney falls
Clean camp. Nice restrooms. Wonderful hike down to the river below the dam
I stayed at this campsite after they opened from the pandemic while on a road trip home and I am so so happy I stayed here. The waterfall is like nothing I have ever seen before, and I was so blown away at it's size. The campground is a 5-10 min walk from the waterfall and while it is not private, each campsite has plenty of space I felt.
Bring a lock because the best bins require one! I recommend going down to the lake as well because when I went later in the afternoon/evening it was completely empty and we had the place to ourselves. Great spot to relax.
Where camped here just after they opened in April, 2021. The daytime visitors made for a large crowded parking lot and line at the entrance station, but so far on 8 campers in the 64 sites that were open.
It is a wonderfully shaded park (i.e. no solar) and the sites are nicely separated. However it is an older park and our 18 foot trailer was too large for many of the sites. There were no pull throughs and any trailer over 25 feet is going to have a problem. Otherwise, for the most part the pads were paved and flat.
They had solid picnic tables, aging stone fireplaces, but nice, newer heavy metal fire rings. Wood was available for purchase. There is no electric on site and the water faucets (not threaded) were scattered around the site. No dish water dump or cleaning station, but there was an RV dump station. They flush toilets with hot and cold water sinks as well as the showers (2 tokens for $1 = 4min) are excellent.
This is a cell dead zone. Absolutely no Verizon service until you drove back to Burney.
We really enjoyed the different hikes that were available, being around 2 miles more or less in length. The falls are the usual tourist zoo, but very beautiful. Once you get out on the trails, you don't see many people.
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.
The campground is standard fair, firepit/grill, lots of room. I've been up a few times and never had anyone next to our site given how remote it is. Great Nat'l Monument to visit during the winter because the caves stay the virtually the same temperature year round.
Explore the largest concentration of lava tubes in the whole world? Yes please!
Headlamp and helmet are musts. Gloves and kneepads recommended if you're planning on crawling around.
Nice hikes and petroglyphs to check out if you want some sunlight.
Great location on the way to many points north along with an excellent morning or evening adventure to the falls. Camp Host (owner/operator?) is awesome and worth the stay alone.
Sites are a bit tight so might not be the solitude you’d want to a multi day stay but was perfect and energizing for a night in transit!
Unlike the other campground on Lake Bitton (Dusty Campground) this is a more developed campground. It can be reserved - through PGE.
There is water. There are showers. And it is much larger - 20 plus sites. It can accomodate trailers. Lots of people here with boats as there is a boat launch. Sites have tables and fire rings. Pretty open so privacy can be an issue.
Towards the end of the summer the lake can get "murky" and full of algae. So you won't be swimming say in September. The lake offers fishing, boating and kayaking, Easy access from the campground. There is a "beach" like area on the lake.
If you get there at the end of the season you will get fall color.
Yo are an easy ride to get to Burney Falls State Park - or you can go across the lake to get h=there.
Camping near Modoc National Forest, California, offers a unique experience with stunning landscapes and a variety of outdoor activities. Whether you're looking for a peaceful retreat or an adventure-filled getaway, this area has something for everyone.
Camping near Modoc National Forest, California, is a fantastic way to connect with nature and enjoy the great outdoors. Just remember to plan ahead and be ready for whatever comes your way!
Frequently Asked Questions
Which is the most popular glamping campsite near Modoc National Forest?
According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular glamping campground near Modoc National Forest is Indian Well Campground — Lava Beds National Monument with a 4.9-star rating from 13 reviews.
What is the best site to find glamping camping near Modoc National Forest?
TheDyrt.com has all 6 glamping camping locations near Modoc National Forest, with real photos and reviews from campers.
