quiet, road nearby but it's not busy, in a young redwood forest, at the edge of the National Forest. First good place to stop east of Red Bluff.
Lovely spot at 7,000'-ish on the south side of a little alpine lake. On the north side is Summit Lake North Campground which costs $2/night more. It has flush toilets and sinks with running water. It has the shambling, kinda charming disorganization I associate with National Park campgrounds. Sites are not very level, but there's a lake to swim in and you're in an awesome place!
My friend Jeff lives and works in Reno until Memorial Day, then he commutes to Chester every weekend to run his fruit stand / pie shop / ice creamery / burrito place. It's really fun to hang out here.
Never actually done the hike, but I hear it's awesome.
The BLM campground is closed for the season, so I pressed on to the free camping along the shore. Pretty cool! I'll bet it would be really buggy in the summer. The lake level is very low and the last 50 yards or so of shoreline is quite boggy and churned up by the cows, so there really isn't a "beach" per se to get to, but it is a very pretty, quiet stop for tonight in any event.
A real find! About a mile off Route 123, at the deserted top end of Eagle Lake. Its a beautiful scrub and pine forest looking out over the lake and the wide valley. Pretty close to Susanville.
Camping is just the edge of the forest behind the lodge. Next to a very pretty cow pasture at the edge of the huge Sierra Valley. Nice lodge to hang out in, wifi and kitchen, free to campers. The Hot Springs has also taken over the hotel in town. There is also a breakfast place and aMexican restaurant in town, both pricy but good!
huge-ass campground on ever-diminishing Eagle Lake. Full of giant RVs with hookups and run by a concessionaire, so it is much more bureaucratic and rule-bound that most. Site 159 is pretty sweet, unobstructed lake view (150 yds away), open, but the tall pine behind (south of) me give it pretty good afternoon shade.
Small but very handy campground 50 mile north of Susanville. Very near the road, but the road is not heavily traveled. The stream is very small but pretty
A mile or so north of Cave Campground is a gravel road (called Wander Lane on the Google map) and a bridge over Hat Creek. If you follow that road you will see a couple of good campsites.
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!
A must stop for me if I am in the area. There is a nice auto tour around a little lake. My impression is that the Sand Cranes are the star attraction here.
A simple loop campground on an east-facing hillside above Frenchman's Lake. I like the inside of the upper loop with my living room facing the lake. It's quiet and pretty and the sun is on the other side of the van. Eight very scenic miles north of Chillcoot. For much of the drive the beautiful Sierra Valley spreads out to your left. Then you enter the canyon of Last Chance Creek, the outflow of the lake. Hundred foot lava cliffs, dramatic formations. Then boom! you're at the dam. The other two lakeside campgrounds have flush toilets. Maybe they are more deluxe?
on the South Fork of the Yuba River. very crowded in August. There is an excellent, deep pool in the river right here. The river is shallow and kinda boring at the next campground west - Indian Valley. Sites 6,7,8 are the best, right on the bluff overlooking the river. Best sites: 7 and 8 are on the river, 6 is best site and most private yet convenient to the bridge.
busy but pretty quiet, very scenic. nature trail. a short hike past the swimming pond to a great sunset over non-swimming Sardine Lake, shining off the Sierra Buttes to the left.
Nice little resort motel in the Reno getaway party town of Graeagle.
Three miles north of Old Station. There is a perfectly idyllic picnic area on the east side of the road and a campground on the west. The campground has no water so it's a little cheaper than Cave and Hat Creek. Even better, the big RVs don't come here, so it's more mellow - a win-win for me!
Nice little spot, 1/2 mile off of 70, on the North Fork of the Feather River, near where it joins the main river. It is not well marked that the campground is at this turnoff so it's easy to drive right past. Once you make the turnoff it's well signed. $25 seems like quite a high price, but the concessionaire needs to make a profit I guess. $12.50 ain't so bad!
Really nice place, quiet and well maintained and a beautiful situation, on the side of a high hill overlooking a huge, arid valley. Wildlife refuges right down the hill.