Best Cabin Camping near Valyermo, CA

Very large park for RV, cabin and tent camping. As it's listed as a "resort", we figured it would be pretty upscale. Disappointment upon our arrival. Floods have been in the area and much of the sites were closed and being cleaned?? The road closest to our site was washed away (from earlier reviews it's been months), so a long jog or drive around the perimeter to get us to the pool, laundry and hot tub…speaking of which, the pool, hot tub and laundry facilities all needed attention. You could actually see people's footprints (bottom of pool and on pool and hot tub entry steps)…that much sand, dirt, etc…I didn't venture in. When we arrived, we started driving around to find the best site for our rig. We're a 32ft class A w/20ft enclosed cargo trailer tow. So, all in all about 55ft. Well, that wasn't easy. Most of the park's electric and some sewer connections didn't exist or were "down" for repair. We have yet to actually SEE someone working on these issues. We are currently here and checked in for a two-week stay. After some boon docking prior to our arrival, we wanted all the bells and whistles the park boasted they had. Took us just over THREE HOURS to find a decent spot. Many levels to this park and most didn't have a decent WiFi (we have our own router) signal. Some sites had dumpsters blocking them from being a true "pull-thru". That left us with about two areas to choose from. It's dusty, dirty, and, really, not ready to be called a "resort"….more rustic than we'd been looking for or what website photos showed. We would not recommend this "resort" to anyone. Several folks with dogs they let simply sit outside and bark, poo, etc….strict rules against that, in most all resorts we've ever visited. Unless you plan on tenting, cabin or what have you, it's not worth it. Very disappointing! :(

Cool drive to get to the campground. You drive up and down these hilly roads up the mountain to get there. Once there, there's a parking lot that fits about 20 cars. There's about 100 yd hike to the campsites. There's a road that leads to the campsite but it's been blocked off. Only the campsite managers use that road so it's not accessible by RV, just tents. A campsite manager stays in a little trailer overnight so if there's any problems there's somebody there you can go to and ask for help. There's about six campsites and their first come first serve, no reservations. I went during the week and was the only one camping. This place is heavily used for day camping and hiking. There's not a lot of privacy because there's always lots of people passing by who are hiking and biking. You can stay overnight which I did and everything was fine but there's not a lot of privacy. The next day as I was leaving there was another guy sitting up his tent. I bet on the weekends they can fill up pretty fast. It's in Bear country so they provide food storage for each campsite also trash containers too. Each side has a picnic bench and a fire pit. The fire ban has been lifted so you can have a fire. Each fire pit had wood left at it so you didn't have to go searching for campfirewood. Bathrooms included male and female toilets but no showers or water. There's a creek that runs through the campground which makes it very pretty. I saw two to three cabins along the outskirts of the campground that I assume were for rentals. There was one family at one of the cabins the night I stayed. About a 20 minute hike and you can end up at a waterfall which is very pretty. But there are several trails to take for hiking and biking and I saw lots of people doing that. Overall a good campsite four stars. Would have been five stars if they had showers and running water. I didn't see any bears although there was an animal outside my tent at one point in the night I could hear him nosing around. So it's important to keep all of your food and anything with any kind of smell in the bear boxes

Although it's a members only you can still get in on a trial it is an excellent place to buy into though I must say so they have activities themes that very from weekend a weekend such as example there was a petting zoo they had a Western one time but you can tent cap you can pull your RV in or you can rent a cab in there they have several different kinds of cabins Little ones and then really big ones just suit your family size they have full hookups you can also purchase cable TV if you wish you can park right on the lake there's two lakes in one pond there's one catfish lake and then a trout lake The legs are stopped on Thursday and there's no fishing on that day The place is very clean while kept the staff is friendly they do have rules and you should have buy them as fort makes everybody comfortable in their camping experience there you can stay there for up to two weeks one time of year you're allowed to stay three weeks 21 days then you must leave for two weeks and you can come back in the daytime but you need to wait two weeks before returning to stay the night they have several pools to have an adult center and an adult pool there's tons of things for kids to do as well as the kid pool and they have a really awesome water park this place is well-built and it keeps growing and they keep adding newer and cooler things every time I rate this place and awesome and I will be returning there and I will be putting more media up as I return

Mind you, we went on a Saturday morning during Covid to escape our house but so many others had the same idea. First of all the gates for the campsites were locked but that didn't stop anyone from walking their stuff in, including us. Our spot was nice and had lots of shade. The only drawback was the one open vault toilet that was pretty dirty. Hey, when you gotta go, you gotta go. I thought, dang I shouldn't brought my poop bucket!! If I only would've known!! Who can't pop a squat in the dark though?! It was pretty rowdy at night with someone yelling at the top of their lungs and a dog barking but hey, we were under the stars and not couped up at home or with masks on. I wasn't complaining. I love nature and I'll ignore the drunks. Other than that, there is a little store that Adam and his family run. They are great!! The brownies are bomb, so get one early. They also tent cabins up there so give them a call. Great people! It's definitely convenient and worth the effort!

We reserved and camped at this beautiful campground back in July of 2018. It was a great experience. We pulled a 27' Travel Trailer from Livermore, CA and picked out the perfect site #94. It was the furthest RV site north of the campground and we had power, water and sewage. It was a lake front campsite so we had a nice view of the lake right in our "front yard" :-) We had a picnic table and a fire pit for our use.
The fishing was awesome, but I suggest fishing in the mornings before the afternoon winds come in as the weather cools down. We had our kayaks and it is a beautiful lake to kayak. But when it gets windy, know your limits :-)
The campground is close to the Lassen Volcanic National Park. We took a drive there for a visit and it was spectacular. 
The campground also has a great store there. It has all the camping necessities. If you are into hiking and biking, this campground has the accommodations for that activity. It also has a kid's park.  They also have cabins if you do not want to use a tent or RV.

This is my go to spot for a random day when I want to go camping! My weekend getaway. There’s almost always a site available, there hiking trails nearby, the restrooms are decently clean except on major holidays, the lake is a nice 15 min walk down some stairs, there’s a convince store across the street from campsites

I have camped here a few times and it is one of my favorite go to spots. I like that there is a camp store near by just incase case someone forgets their coffee mug🙄 or if you need some more firewood. The spots are inexpensive, $10 per night, most nights. There are lots of trails to hike and things to explore. It's a nice place to go when you need to get away from the city.

Spent the night here and it's not bad at all. The night I went there was a retreat or something that played music through 11pm.

The walk to the lake from this site isn't too bad; it's quiet nice. Around the lake you'll find some short hikes.

If you've ever want to just get away and go unplugged for a day, is highly recommend this place considering it's under $15/night.

Sundown by 6pm for us!

First of all this campground is not a campground if you want to get away from people because there is a lot of people passing by looking at you. You can’t really be isolated or have privacy even though it is a campground. People come here to hike into the trails to the waterfall. Which I can say the waterfall is nice. But other than that I wouldn’t recommend coming here to camp. Maybe day use only but not overnight camping. I didn’t camp here but someone else had there tents up and it was overcrowded with people heading to the waterfall.

Whenever I need to get away from LALA Land, I head up here.  I grew up in the mountains of western Pennsylvania, so , sometimes , I need to kick back and recharge. Sort of going back to factory settings, as it were. 

  There are lots of cool spots up here and plenty of quiet.  Whether you like to hike, or fish or just kick back, this is a nice little hidey hole to do it in. There is a small , 2 acre lake that is occasionaly  stocked with fish. Not so often during drought, though.

  There are few amenities , such as no showers no close by stores, or other distractions. There is a small concessionaire store near the Ranger outpost.  It may or may not be open, depending on the fire danger and the time of year.  Take your own food, water and anything else you need to regain your sanity and go up here.

  Don't forget your bear canister for your food. There are bears and other wildlife that live up here year round. 

  Enjoy the peace and quiet and reclaim your soul.

This was our first time going to this campground and we loved it! It was entirely sold out for both weekend nights, so plan ahead.

We found the campground to be very clean and well-maintained. The toilet facilities were also very clean and did not smell.

The campsites in the area where we were, were spacious and spread out. We liked very much not being on top of one another and appreciated how vast this campground is.

It was incredibly windy when we went in April 2021. In addition to the wind, it was very chilly in the evenings and through the night. Plan accordingly.

T-Mobile signal was poor and Verizon and AT&T cell signals were slightly better.

There are easy to make hikes - meaning not necessarily any specific trails at the campground, but there are plenty of places to explore and wander from the campground. I understand you can also drive a short distance to Trail head hikes which we did not do.

Another review here on The Dyrt states something about a burning man group. When I called the number for the campsite to inquire about this, I was told that there is a large group of people that come here regularly and do their ‘burning man thing’. We really didn’t notice much of a difference between this or any other campsites as far as people/activity other than they have a live DJ who played one night until 2 AM.!
Being that there is no camp host here, you may want to keep that in mind. Although we were in the other loop, we could hear the thumping of the base from their music throughout both evenings.

For a desert getaway, I would highly recommend trying this place out.

So this weekend, I got a wild hair up my butt to go camping. Keep in mind I’m 8 months pregnant and kept forgetting everything at my house.

With that said, I tried Silverwood to late and KNEW that it’d be packed. I was a bit disappointed but came across North shore.

It’s a nice little getaway from the hustle bustle with decent shade(depending on site) and relatively cool neighbors (campers).

I will say it’s down the way from a community hospital so you might here some forms of traffic including a rescue helicopter but it’s not an end all.

Again this was not my first choice. We got there and found no showers but they did have running toilets and cool tap water near our site. We totally lucked out and were able to switch with a couple who wanted more privacy and shade.

We eventually stayed on site 4 which was even and open. Our tent (as pictured) was nestled amongst the few trees on our site- only downside was the constant traffic going to and from sites 5/6- a bit of a drag. I felt like it was the prefect spot given the leveled ground and the fact that we had a kid and dog posse.

But let me tell you about the ranger named Shawn. Omg, he’s a character but he’s a good one. Gave him a tip, he tried to help us not spend money unnecessarily on wood and lent us his ax to go collect nearby. Super chill, down to earth guy who was just generally a lover of nature- you could tell.

Again, no showers. A bit of noise, but manageable. Quiet hours are the usual 10-7 but we unfortunately were situated next to a group that violated both times- how can someone go to bed after 10 and manage to wake up before 7 and make noise is beyond me....but it’s also been a while since I knew what having no kids and a dog meant- lol.

Would recommend IF you reserve a decent site. The first one we originally had was 3, super hilly and not leveled. Recommend 4,5,6 if you can and even the one right next to that (assuming it’s 7). Lake is a stones throw away!

Hope that helps!

We’ve done Crystal Lake probably 6 dozen times or more in our time in California and it never disappoints on the spectacular views. Its not dispersed but definitely slightly more rustic than people plan for. The number of people who come up here in the winter and are shocked that the piped ground water is frozen, are well, “special”. That being said in the summer you can make the most out of what the campsites offer but get ready to get in line. Since it’s so close to LA and touts often as the place to go for newbie campers you get all kinds of kinds. Any summer holiday weekend spent up here will be filled with drunk yelling and loud radios. Its par for the course. That being said as soon as the temperature drops and/or precipitation hits this place is much emptier and filled with much more experienced and considerate campers. I come from rural western PA, so this is our bread and butter. PS you cannot beat the food at the store or the ambiance, hot cocoa is only minutes away by foot with friendly service and a happy smile. Easy access to source your own firewood locally, and the hiking trails are numerous with amazing views and a high chance of solitude. All in all great for around the year, experienced campers who can stand weather, worth it to hold out for LA’s “off season”.