Best Glamping near Williams, CA

Middle creek campground was as close as we could find to free camping in Upper Lake CA. At the time of our visit 90% of the Mendocino National Forest was closed as a result of fires the past year as well as landslides due to rains.this is normally a ohv area but since all trails are closed it is quiet and peaceful.you can hear the creek running along the camp, as well as the wild turkeys . There must be over 15 different species of birds as well. Each campsite has a picnic table , fire pit as well as a bbq grill. They do have vault toilets and running water. It was $8.00 a nite but offered a discount with a America the beautiful pass

I have been camping here for 20 years and have always had a great time. Camp sites are spaced out, so you're not on top of one another like some of the other sites around the lake. Also has a nice beach and direct access to the lake. Campground hosts change from year to year and have been good people. Since Lake Pillsbury is more secluded compared to Lake Mendocino, it tends to get a lot less traffic from campers (except around holidays). People who come are generally experienced campers or families on vacation and not 20-somethings looking to party. Noise normally isn't an issue, even when all the sites are full. Bring your own seat gaskets and toilet paper though. No seat gaskets are provided in the vault toilets, and the toilet paper is sometimes just 1-ply.

The Aurora RV Park & Marina is a work in progress. I can see what they want to make this campground into, but the reality of what it’s currently status is makes it difficult to stay there. I did get to try a couple of the different blends of Nature’s Coffee Kettle while I was there. Unfortunately I did have to cut my trip short as there was a mandatory evacuation order put into place due to wild fires.

Campground Review

First off this park is designed for RV use, but the owners have converted a few spaces for tent camping. During my visit I stayed in a tent. I booked the site through booking.com and paid $22.00 a night.

The Good

Each site has its own water sipget and two electrical outlets that work well. There was plenty of space at the site to setup two 4-person tents. The site is at the North end of Clearlake and you have some pretty spectacular views all day long. There is a beautiful public BBQ sitting area right next to the private beach. You can use the canoes, kayaks, or paddle boat all free of charge and they provide life jackets. There park does provide WiFi at no additional cost and it worked reasonably well. The mangers there are very friendly and approachable. They checked on me multiple times to make sure everything was okay.

The Bad

At the time of my visit the campground was undergoing renovations. The office area where the bathrooms/showers, laundry room, and community lounge were all at some stage of construction. THe bathrooms were clean, but only one shower and toilet worked. There was no mirror in the bathroom during my stay. I could not for the life of me get the shower to spray warm water at all so I had a week of cold showers, which wasn’t too bad given how hot it was. I did report this to the mangers, but the issue never got resolved. For tent camping the site were too close together and no picnic table was provided at the space I was at. If I had booked through AirB&B I would have been in a different area that had a picnic table.

Product Review

As a Ranger for The Dyrt, I get to test products in the field. At The Aurora RV Park & Marina, I tested two different blends of Nature’s Coffee Kettle. I tried the Colombian and Sumatra blend. Overall I would give this product a 4 out a 5 stars.

What I liked about camping with the Nature’s Coffee Kettle:

• Portable and easy to pack. It takes almost no space at all as it is completely flat when empty.
• Easy to make. Boil water and pour into the kettle and wait. That’s it!
• Easy to clean. Once you’ve had your coffee take out the coffee pod and dispose of it. Rinse out the kettle and your done.
• The kettle is reusable! You can re-order new pods and keep using the kettle
• Many different things you can brew. Currently they have variety of coffee blends and tea blends. They also have Hot Chocolate, but that comes in its own kettle.
• Some of the best coffee I have had while camping. The coffee was really good! Way batter than my normal percolated stuff.

THings to be aware of

• You have to be really careful when pouting the boiling water into the kettle. It is easy to still some of that water on yourself (I did this).
• The pouch is not insulated so if you want to drink hot/warm coffee you got to drink quickly.

I've camped here more times than I can count.  I remember camping here during several wine-soaked weekends with large groups of friends, back in my younger days.  We rode our bikes through the Napa valley, stopping at multiple wineries along the way.  Then, after a day of riding and wine tasting, we retired back to our campsites for an evening of grilling and drinking of local wines (of which there are many, many excellent choices). I've only tent camped here; I've not brought my Airstream because I don't think there are spots that are large enough for it.  However, I do recall seeing trailers and RV's here in the past, so it can accomodate rigs of smaller sizes.

There's nothing dramatically beautiful about this park, but if you like California country living - oaks, madrone, rolling hills, and lots of sunshine - than you'll enjoy it here.  It's a short drive from the San Francisco Bay Area, and is quite literally in the Napa valley, on its northern end, near Calistoga.  You'll easily be able to get to all the restaurants and wineries in the valley. You won't be disappointed with a couple of nights camping at Bothe-Napa.

One important note: I have not been here since the fires that have ravaged Napa and Sonoma every year since 2017.  There has been at least one fire that burned very near this park, causing it to close temporarily.  I don't know how bad the impact to the park has been, as I've not seen it first hand.  As I write this in summer 2021, the campground is open, so hopefully the fire and smoke damage was minimal.   As I've mentioned in many of my other posts, the sad reality of the ongoing drought in California is that summer camping is not the experience it used to be.  It's still fun, but I would argue winter or early spring is now the best time to visit places like Bothe-Napa.  The creeks will be flowing, you'll be allowed to have a campfire, and the vegetation will be greener and lusher.

Per my rating system, I give this 4 stars as it's not a place you'd plan a trip to from out of state, but it is a place you should consider visiting as part of a larger trip to Napa/Sonoma.  For locals, this is a top tier spot.