Best Glamping near Shingletown, CA

We stayed here for 4 weeks while traveling for work in Redding, so I think our review is well qualified. We're traveling in a 40ft RV for reference though they do also have tent spaces. 

First off, I'm surprised to be the first one to review this campground on the Dyrt, since it has a lot of informative reviews on Google. We looked at a handful of other campgrounds prior to staying here. Covid and wild fires did have an effect on the other campgrounds that were open, but of those that were,  I think this was one of the best. 

It has all the amenities one could expect from a typical RV park, full hookups, wifi, cable, showers, laundry, etc. There's a cell tower on the way in to the campground. You can expect two to three bars of LTE from both AT&T and Verizon (we use both) . The staff is very friendly and helpful. I can't say enough about their exceptional attitudes. The spaces are all in the woods with mostly shade, though there are some that get more sunlight than others. The RV spaces are large and offer more privacy than most campgrounds. It tended to fill up on the weekends (sometimes completely) but was fairly quiet during weekdays with only a handful of people. Quiet and peaceful during the week. About thirty minutes to downtown Redding. Small gas station within walking distance, and a small grocery store in driving distance. 1.5 miles off the highway. Big rigs welcome. The website shows pictures of all the individual sites, quite helpful.

It was a mostly positive experience, but we'll mention two negatives. The bathrooms  sometimes got pretty dirty on the busy weekends and ran out of supplies at times. Hard to say if the pandemic was causing short staff or not though. The other issue is the bears. Its wasn't an issue of them bothering us, we only physically saw them one time in four weeks. They got into the trash pretty regularly though. It was very evident in the morning when the cans would be knocked over and rummaged through.  It could be easily solved with some bear-proof trash cans. Not really a big deal and it didn't have any effect on our stay. 

We'll definitely be coming back next time we're in the area. Checkout the reviews on Google for more perspective.

We stayed 2 nights in late October and were the only campers beside the host. There are 2 pull thru sites (10 & 12), we stayed in 10 in our 40' coach with tow. Flush toilets in 2 different buildings, no soap or hot water at the sinks, however. All sites have a nice picnic table and fire pit. Lots of water spigots throughout the campground but they don't have threads to allow a hose to hookup. There are also a few decent size garbage bins that are bear proof. Maybe it's the time of the year or lack of campers but the host wasn't ever seen. Lots of sites had litter here & there and the fire pits contained the previous camper's trash. Garbage bins were nearly full. The trees over the main road need trimming, lots of branches scratching the motorhome roof unnecessarily. Lake Shasta was really low so we didn't attempt to scramble down to the water. $25/night without discounts for a basic site. Yurts are more. 50% discount for golden or access National pass.

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.

17 sites at Ah Di Na and no booking is available so get here early on busy weekends.

My partner and I were lucky to nab the last spot Thursday before 4th July weekend. Several people arrived after us and did not get a spot.

The drive down from McCloud lake is along a dirt forestry road. It’s steep and rocky, lots of loose debris and some hairy areas that require higher clearance. A compact crossover will make it but a family sedan will not. Leave your RV at home. The road is narrow in some parts. We drove a 4runner in 2H the entire way. 2 wheel drive vehicles with good clearance will be ok in dry weather. Drive SLOWLY. The jagged rocks can shred up a tire in a hot second.

Sites vary in size and quality. Some will have a metal fire pit while others have a stone one. Some have picnic tables and others don’t. Potable water is available and there are flushing toilets. Firewood is not available for sale here as there is no host. Either bring your own or bring a saw for collecting wood. A ranger will drop by every day to check fees and complete maintenance.

There is a historic trail that takes you on a tour of the old resort. River access leads to a pebble beach and there are deep pockets of water for fishing. It gets crowded in the afternoon as people swim and sunbathe so early morning or late evening is your best shot at landing some fish.

Mosquitos are everywhere so be prepared. In the early evening it got so bad that I wore a headnet.

Walking distance to the conservancy which is down the same dirt road the campsite is on. Lots of good spots on the way too.

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.

The camp ground was beautiful. Pretty close to the water, however, this year summer 2021 the water is very low. The camp ground offers bathrooms, bear boxes, very nice fire rings and clean water. There is no camp host so bring your own wood. The fee is $25 a night. The trash cans were over flowed and there was bags of trash outside of the garbage. Please don’t do this)-:

Weird vibes: when we pulled up there was only one other truck there. They were two people yelling at each other pretty loud so that was kinda awkward but, nothing crazy. Then we set up our tent and other car came to the spot next to ours and checked the bear box and was walking around the spot. They moved parked at another spot and did the same thing. I’m not sure if they left something or what was going on but, they just walked around to each site checking the bear box’s??

Not sure if I would return unless more people were there because I felt uncomfortable leaving my tent and things there unattended.