Best Campgrounds near Sawyers Bar, CA

This spot is great, plenty of space, quiet, great views of Mount Shasta, easy to access. Lots of spots tucked away to park next to, and even more tent spots you can walk to hidden just off the drivable areas. Saw about 5 people camping around us, mostly in cars with tents and some vans. There’s more than enough room for many people. There’s also a small creek you can bushwhack to to the east, and castle lake is a 30 min walk up the road.

I would probably not recommend with a trailer. I made it down with my Tacoma and a 12ft travel trailer but it was a stretch. Super easy to get in, but took a long time to turn around and get back out. Anything bigger than and you’re probably stuck. Other than that it’s perfect!

Really love this campground though it does have some limitations. It's about 15 minutes west of Willow Creek off the 299. Very well shaded and has a creek running through it alongside the majority of the sites. There are two larger group sites towards the back, and at some points the creek gets deep enough to recline in, though not fast or deep enough to be unsafe for anyone older than a toddler.

For me, the major drawback was that the cell service gets patchy as this site is in somewhat of a cleft in the mountains, and the geography also limits the amount of direct sunlight throughout the day. As such, I had a difficult time getting signal and had trouble sending or receiving texts the further away I got from the camp entrance. Though some might view this as a positive, it is also a potential safety concern should an emergency arise. This may be mitigated to an extent by current technology allowing some phones to utilize satellites for emergency communications, but I can't speak from experience as to whether or not it's effective in this case.

Additionally, the mosquitoes can get pretty thick due to the proximity to water. 

Usually this would work best for me as a base camp to return to after a long day at the Kimtu shore.

Very close to Willow Creek which is convenient, but once night falls, beware, or bring very good earplugs. 

This never would have occurred to me as a potential issue before experiencing it firsthand, but the site is right next to the highway, and cars are not the issue. This is a precise point where due to the grade of the road, every. Single. Passing. Semi. Downshifts, and there are plenty that go by all night. It's like sleeping next to the gods themselves, if they had sleep apnea. I slept miserably because I kept getting jolted awake by that unmistakable, obnoxious gurgling of exhaust at random intervals anywhere between 1 to 20 minutes at a time. If that's not a big deal to you, then you'll probably be fine, but I would have been eternally grateful to have known that in advance.

Nestled among the trees, this campground was delightful! We checked in early (sorry we forgot to call!!) so the campground was fairly empty which made getting into our site C-5 a little easier as the turns were just a bit tight in our 43’ motorhome with toad. Yes, the sites are mostly dirt and rock but our site was level and that is a big plus!! We could hear some traffic noise but not a problem for us. It was quite warm when we were here so did not make use of the hiking trails or other amenities. They also have eggs for sale which we did not need but would have purchased. The chicken coup was super cute with its trailers housing the chickens and roosters. We would definitely visit again. We found the host, Jay very helpful!