Best Tent Camping near Weaverville, CA

Big parking lot picnic benches and one group tent site

Loved listening to the creek while falling asleep, lots of shade and the staff was friendly. Sites are nicely spread apart #8 #9 being the best that were open. not rv accessible tent sites

Beehive point offers camping right on the waters of Shasta Lake and has absolutely amazing views. We have been up there a few times and it has rarely been busy. Depending on the water level real estate on the beach can get tight, but there are spots off the beach that are wooded. You can tent camp or bring your travel trailer. The entrance is a little rutted so if you bring a trailer just be cautious. the beach has a ton of drift wood for fires, we have yet to bring our own. There are some small stores and boat launches near by.

The RV/tent sites are all well designed with good separation.  Most of the campsites have nice views of the mountains that surround the lake.  Some walk-in campsites are located close to the lake.  It appears that a lot of the walkways and facilities are designed to accommodate people in wheelchairs or people with walkers.  It looks like everything is maintained at a higher standard than I've seen at most Forest Service campgrounds.   The 7-mile-long winding access road is narrow with a sharp drop-off on one side. It can be a little nerve-racking to negotiate with 2-way traffic.

This campground was the favorite of the trip. The tent sites are well spaced, the check-in process was quick and you got to speak to someone to get a map and ask any questions too. The store had everything you could've possibly forgotten, along with soft serve ice cream. The bar/restaurant had live music until 10pm. The lake and marina was a short walk. And the campground was located near the cutest downtown area of Mount Shasta. If you want dinner in town, check out Yak's for the best burger ever! This resort is great for groups, saw a lot of groups that were there for at least a week. Lots of bear activity warnings, but I didn't have any issues. Bathrooms and showers were pretty clean, nice and hot with good water pressure. Would absolutely stay here again!

This spot is so incredibly scenic for a free campsite. Camp right on the lake/river. We stayed on a Thursday night until Friday morning and there were only a few other people there, we could see any of them from our spot so we felt totally isolated. High clearance helps to get to some spots but we did make it all the way through with our minivan after a little trial and error. Had like 1 bar of spotty service only enough for maybe a phone call (Verizon). Very hot during the day, not chilly at night but cool enough to tent camp and enjoy a fire. The kids loved playing and swimming in the river. One star off because there is quite a bit of trash at the entrance of this place, lots of broken glass so keep your shoes on, and the mosquitoes were bad when the sun started to go down but wasn’t a problem with a fire, thermacel and bug spray. Don’t forget to get a CA fire permit if you want a fire or to use a camping stove it only takes a few mins to obtain online

We stayed here for 4 nights in a towable trailer.  I highly recommend getting a spot near the tents and exit to the river road if you are towing a trailer.  We were on the end of Raccoon Rd and it was fantastic.  The tent sites looked great with plenty of space for you to set up.  Several people even brought small trailers like RPods into the tent area and just didn't use hookups.  There are plenty of dirt paths out to the lake both from the KOA and nearby.  Many people brought ATVs to utilize these and it looked like a great time.  We used out truck and mountain bikes to tootle around on them and had a great time.  This place would be great if you tow a boat and just want to set up with tents in an RV site as well - we saw many people doing that.  Kayaks were available to rent in set 2 hour timeslots, banana bikes available if you are into that.  There are plenty of games like bocci and ladder ball.  All in all we had a great time and would highly recommend it.  Great place to use a base camp to hit nearby rivers, ponds, trailheads, or even the lake.  20 minutes away from the main marina on the south side of the lake where you can rent a boat for the day too!

En route Phone GPS was not reliable, luckily they have a big sign. Check in was ok, family run business and the office was a mess. Small store carries some essentials. You have to drive through several long term older Travel trailers that look like they have been there for years. I camped at site 28, which was actually a group site. It was great to have a large unoccupied area to one side, but the other side had an unoccupied long term TT that stunk like rotten fish. It was so bad we never put out our patio rug, or cooked outside. Across the way was a clean small pool which was very nice. We enjoyed riding our bikes around the loop, and walking down to the Trinity River. There are 2 river spots from the campground. Both are scenic, only one is safe to enter the water and that spot had a very small river rock spot to set up a couple chairs. If you are tent camping or in a smaller RV, their are some better sites that are further away from the permanent old Travel Trailers closet to the entrance. If you are there over a weekend they do have a very large outdoor laser tag area. They technically do have a free Wi Fi, however it is very weak, almost nonexistent. Verizon had no cell coverage.

This is a great little mom and pop rv campground. There are tent sites away from the rv part, but we never checked that area out. The rv spots are very clean, and even though they’re close together with no privacy it was an amazingly quiet park. The park is about 1/4 full time residents, 1/4 permanent vacation spots that people keep trailers at and visit from time to time and the other half is campers. We stayed for a week and became buddies with the camp host Craig who gave us great fishing tips for the area and had some great conversation with as well. The owners were very nice and run a tight ship. The rv spots are full hook up with nice green grass, no cable but ok Verizon signal and we got a few local channels on the tv antenna. They have a nice little store and a fish cleaning stand. We fished Lewiston lake less than 10 min. away and Whiskeytown Lake about 20-25 min. away with great luck. The little town of Lewiston is pretty cool and a 5 min walk from the campground as well is the trinity river. We will definitely be back.

Campground Review: No matter where you find yourself on Shasta Lake you will be surrounded in houseboats and the beauty of the lake. On the way in (heading south on I-5 you will see Mt. Shasta in all of its glory standing in a blanket of hills and trees. There are plenty of cool places to drive for a better view if you can stomach some hilly land and loose sand, and the spider webbed lake won’t disappoint any way you approach it. When you’re camping in a roof top tent (Kukeman 3 by Tepui) any place with semi flat ground is a good place to camp! Though the drive from Seattle is quite long, it’s worth it once you get a load of the view of the lake and the bridge you’ll soon forget the hours you spent in the car. I highly recommend coming here and tent camping, car camping, cabin camping, or houseboat camping.

Product Review: As a Ranger for The Dyrt I get to review some great and often very practical products. This trip I was lucky enough to review RŌM Pack, a blanket, poncho, and tent in one.

This little combo is heavy duty and ready to take a beating. It may start out as a backpack, but as soon as you need a place to sit the soft inside and waterproof outside is ready for the job. I went straight to the RŌM Pack when I spilled water on the mattress of my Roof Top Tent and it kept us dry all night. The poncho feature is very warm, and it was very warm at Shasta Lake (about 80 degrees) so I didn’t get to test out that feature too much, but the pack is very comfortable on your back, as a blanket. And as a way to keep you warm once it cools off. There are plenty of places to stash things (like a snack or a drink)! I’d recommend this to anyone who wants a tough blanket for outdoor activities, but also a durable bag and poncho. It’s very nice looking, stylish, and durable.

We were hiking the Pacific Crest Trail and came off the trail to get food/resupply in the town of Etna. At the grocery store, we were told we could camp at the City Park. It's a rather small park. Tent camping is ok. There is no room for RVs. The camping area is to the left back corner of the park, around a loop. But people were setting up tents in any green space on the right side too. There's a large shelter with picnic tables and electric plug-ins to charge your phone. Another plug set was on a post near other entrance of the park, opposite the bulletin board The bulletin board had city park rules, and numbers of locals that will help hikers out. Also there were envelopes requesting a donation of $5 per person to stay at the park. It works on an honor system, as there is no one there to monitor the park. There's a playground and restrooms. The restrooms were ok, looked like they get cleaned enough. But the dumpsters on the side of the building were near full and unfortunately left a terrible stench if you were upwind. There's a shower room behind the restrooms. You need to get tokens at the grocery store. The shower room is clean. I was the first to use it that particular day and the water was cold, until the very end. Every hiker after that had hot water. So I would make sure you aren't the first to shower. There are lockers on the side of the restroom you need tokens for at the grocery store. The grocery store, in fact the whole town, is all within walking distance. The town is small. Enjoyed the restaurants and coffee shop. Good food. Good coffee. We didn't use it but heard there is a community pool for free public use. Town is very friendly towards hikers.

Alpine View Campground on Trinity Lake, CA is centrally located to the small towns nearby (Coffee Creek, Trinity Center, Weaverville) as well as located a short drive to Bowerman Boat Ramp for boat launching. Though the website says year round availability, it was closed during our planned trip. Recreation.gov and the Trinity Alps Wilderness Forest Service website both contain information, however it is best to call the ranger station in Weaverville for the most up to date information.

Campground Review:

Given that Alpine View was closed when we arrived, to our dismay, I still spent time wandering around the campground, adjacent boat launch area, and the lake access area from the campground itself. There are three loops, each with access to potable water and flush toilets, as well as lake access. Some sites are located very close to the water, most have water views through the trees, and some are more private than others. The maps available when reserving your site give a good idea of privacy and lake access. All sites have picnic tables and fire rings/grills. Although it says that bear lockers are provided at all sites, that wasn't the case when I visited. This could have been due to the campground being closed however. There are also ADA sites. The campground is set among a pine forest along the banks of the lake, and no two sites are alike. Lots of character in the individual campsites that may not show up when reserving. Cost is $20-$35 depending on the time of year, with the high season between May-Sept. I can't wait to get back and spend some time here, it seems to have something for everyone. Easy access to the lake, easy boat ramp access, convenient to the multitude of hikes in the Trinity Alps, swimming, fishing, etc. Pets welcome.

Product Review:

As a Ranger for The Dyrt, I get to test products. At Alpine View Campground, and a nearby hike to Mt. Eddy and the Deadfall Lakes, I tested the Boost Oxygen 22 oz Supplemental Oxygen - Original product - https://www.boostoxygen.com/product/natural/. Both the campground and the supplemental oxygen get 4 stars.

The elevation at the campground was ~2500 feet, and after exploring the campground and surrounding area, chasing after two crazy labradors, I didn't notice much of a difference when using it. The canister is extremely light, I would have no problem adding it in to my pack for a backpacking trip, and simple to use. Put the mouthpiece over your nose and mouth, squeeze the trigger and inhale 95% pure oxygen. At this elevation, in clean, crisp mountain air, there wasn't much to be noticed. In hot air, humidity, or smog I could see it being useful. Where the product really shined, however, was on our hike up to the Deadfall Lakes. The trailhead began at 6200 feet or so, our destination of Middle Deadfall Lake was at about 7200-7300 feet of elevation, depending on which map you are looking at. After gaining ~1000 feet in elevation in a little over a mile, while hiking through meadows, stream crossings, and ultimately snow, in 35* weather, a couple pulls off of the oxygen canister was welcome relief. There is no lightheaded feeling, you just notice you are no longer panting or breathing all that heavy. The size, weight, and usefulness of this product make it a no brainer for hiking, skiing, climbing, etc at altitude. My only negative is that it wasn't useful at lower elevations for me. Perhaps it would be useful after long runs, or strenuous weight lifting at lower elevations. But it did work more than as advertised after hiking at higher elevations. I would recommend it, and will be using it again in the future for any outdoor activity at higher elevations, especially because of it's small size and the fact it weighs next to nothing. You won't even notice it is in your pack.

Please don't mind the two crazy labs that kept photobombing.