Adventurous spirit and 2 bumpy miles of gravel pays off! All to myself on this warm Friday night. Beautiful spacious canyon and a fast flowing river. Reminds me very much of the river and canyon outside Yakima WA. Similar climate and similar geology (400' thick basalt lava flows as far as the eye can see). We are on the Deschutes River - a Wild and Scenic River at this point, right across the river from the Warm Springs Indian Reservation.
Finally stayed here, after driving by so many times! So far, I like Cave CG better, but it's quiet and big enough to find an uncrowded spot, and Hat Creek is perhaps even more awesome here!
Due west of Chico, about 12 miles on the west side of I-5 is Black Butte Lake. There are two ACE campgrounds. This one is the main one, with a nature preserve and large recreation area. Open all year, on a point of land jutting into the lake, quite scenic. This campground is closer to the lake.
Saturdays are such a trial to the hardened traveller. Every site is taken, and it has been raining for days, so the overflow lot is a soggy mess. The nice lady said I could park on the reasonably level pad next to the bathroom. The things I do for a shower.
The only other time in my life I came through here, I thought this place looked completely inviting as I pressed on past, so here I am four years later checkin' it out!. As soon as the sun goes behind the hill it's going to be awesome for 40 minutes or so. Nothing happening here. Sedate white people with American flags and dogs. There is apparently a path to the lake since some dudes headed off with their fishing poles and came back in a couple of hours.
Finally I am staying here! I have camped across the road at Reverse Creek Campground a couple of times, Gull Lake has always been full. The lake is beautiful and the campground is right next to it. Half the sites are right on the lake. A few hundred yard walk through the trees brings you to the town of June Lake and the main Gull Lake marina. Snacks, library with wifi, brewery up the hill - awesome! The campground itself is kind of shabby and run-down and gives the impression that the concessionaires are just milking it for revenue ... surprise!
Small roadside campground. 2-3 sites are right on the river and awesome. The rest are just sites. Pretty close to Jackson WY.
On the Pit River, which is a pretty good sized river for Nor Cal in a drought. There are seven campsites and a picnic area next to the river. It's almost exactly 2 steep miles of paved road from 299 to the campground. We are in a HOT spell, 111° in Redding, 100° in the shade right here at my campsite, and I am not digging it. Some of my neighbors give off an aggressive prison vibe, others are creepily too friendly. I guess there are normal neighbors also, but I haven't noticed them.
At the Rainbow Road exit off I-80. On the South Yuba River. Super nice place, even if the freeway is 200 yards away. If you're familiar with the Bay Area to Reno run on I-80, there's a place where it crosses some beautiful rapids. This is about ½ mile downstream from that.
Due west of Chico, about 12 miles on the west side of I-5 is Black Butte Lake. It has two ACE campgrounds, this is the secondary one, it closes in early September. It's a few miles closer to Orland and on a bluff 100 or so feet above the water. Very pleasant.
Nestled between too-busy US 395 and the West Walker River. Everybody is either a fishermen or folks bombing down 395. The first nice federal campground coming south from Reno. This place should be open more days of the year - closes too early in the fall, opens too late in the summer.
A well laid out campground on the Georgia side of Lake Eufaula. All manner of water pursuits, many from the edge of your campsite.
Here three days, for a Labor Day party with friends. Sites 7 and 9 are the PERFECT sites, roomy and shaded, and adjoining the lake. Everybody else has to walk around the edges of us to get to the lake. Pretty excellent place to hang out for the three day weekend. The only drag for me is that $25 is pretty steep for little ole me to hang out in the van. For me and six of my friends, whole different story!
real nice find! Crab Orchard is a pretty big place, with four campgrounds. The other campgrounds have full hookups for the big boys and cost more. But E Loop is the oldest and has become the bastard stepchild in the corner. Electric only inside the loop, no hookups outside. Its bathroom is kinda gross, but hey, $5 for overnight and a shower ain't bad.
The TVA is almost like the Army Corps, a gigantic federal agency that builds dams then tosses in a few campgrounds around for fun. This one is below the dam, right across the road from the water. It is fun to watch the barges.
Looked good on the internet, and probably is good if you're a fisherman with a boat and a huge-ass RV as big as a mobile home.
very pretty, nestled in the bowl of a lovely alpine lake
Elevation 9,800' No wonder I'm a huffin and puffin A real gem of a campground, at the edge of a high mountain meadow. Today there is one a-hole running his totally unshielded generator all afternoon. Other than that, a really, nice, almost perfect campground. A google comment says the Continental Divide Trail runs through the campground. Explains those two "Trail" signs.
Small campground on a little strip of hillside between beautiful Odell Lake and busy Route 58, the through-fare between Eugene and the interior. There's a nice boat launch, fish-cleaning station, some pull-through sites - all the amenities for your grizzled old fisher-dude. Site 15 is a not quite level site facing right on the lake (down a 40' embankment). No sounds but the lapping of the waves and the wind in the trees ... and the semis on Route 58. It faces west. Sunset reflected off the lake and through the trees is spectacular. This would be a perfect place to launch a kayak.
Expensive for the non-resident, but a nice campground in a spectacular location, on the Chesapeake Bay just a few miles north of where it meets the Atlantic. There is a cool little boardwalk access to the beach, where you can walk along the beach to the boat ramp/picnic area/fishing pier a little south. Really fun place.
The third campground after leaving Tioga Pass. It is a few miles and a few thousand feet elevation down, more properly thought of as up from Mono Lake than down from Yosemite. As you're angling down the canyon wall you see a road hundreds of feet down in the valley below. This campground and Big Bend Campground are here. Eventually you get to the turnoff and drive up the road almost two miles and there you are. For some reason the signage is for Bid Bend, but Aspen is the first option you get to. Shady, near the same stream as Ellery Lake, lots of happy trout fishermen, a lovely meadow at the east edge of the campground. Nice enough place, but it ain't no Tioga Lake.