One of the cheaper motels in town, and for good reason! The room itself is nice. Motel 6 is (IMO), kind of the Target of motel chains in that it offers quite a bit more style than it's competitors. There's a bar/restaurant on the lot that's very handy. Just pack up in the morning and walk to breakfast.
really cool little spot, right at the intersection of 101 and 199. It's 5 minutes outside Crescent City, but is whole different reason. $15 to camp in the redwoods!
In the redwoods where 101 narrows and winds through the big trees. Next to where Reggae On The River used to happen. The campgrounds are west of the road, the Eel River is to the east. Once you're past the kiosk and in the park, there is an underpass to connect the two. The coolest part of the campground used to be over a little bridge on the Eel River on the east side. It seems to be closed permanently, which is too bad.
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.
very pretty, next campground has wifi, level enough to bike around
Smack on the way from Reno to Eureka, where CA 44 meets CA 89. A geologically interesting valley. A giant, recent lava flow that feels like the recovering disaster area it is. The Lava Cave is a short walk across the highway. The Forest Service keeps one campground open all winter, and it is this one. A deep blanket of pine needles makes it quiet except for the occasional truck on 89.
Stayed here twice. Once for a quaint little folk-rock/garage-rock festival across the road (Hickeyfest!), and once on a sultry August night returning from Eureka to Reno. The South Eel River is 200' below, US 101 is about 100 away, and quite loud if a loud truck or motorcycle goes past.
Pleasant but boring BLM campground a couple of miles west of the tiny town of Junction City. Lots of road noise. A particularly boring stretch of the Feather River is right across the highway.
itty bitty reservoir, campground was unexpectedly full with someone's family reunion, so I drove a mile further on up the road and camped in a meadow. Worked out fine.
On good ole CA 89 a few miles north of Truckee. Drove by here many times, finally staying. Boring but handy! There are two campgrounds here about a mile apart, Lower Little Truckee and Upper Little Truckee. Theis not difference between them.
All through the 90's and 00's this was my favorite getaway - old resort in the hills, a very hot pool, a just-right pool, a cold plunge, a lap pool that rocks on hot summer days, a cozy lodge, breakfast in the morning, expensive espresso drinks all day, world music dance every Tues and Thurs night. That whole vibe got vaporized in the fire. But the wonderful hot water is still coming out of the ground and the tubs (and beautiful ironwork railings) are still here! Last few visits before the cleansing fire I thought they were getting a little too taken with themselves. A Harbin parking ticket?! Give me a break. Then came the fire that consumed all the beautiful old wooden buildings. Everything that wasn't stone or metal was gone. On the way to rebuilding came COVID, now they're back!
Set up as a horse camp, but regular horse-less citizens can camp here also. Plenty of horse shit around, so it appears that horse people do use it!
ring-necked pheasant many, many red tailed hawks, most intimate ever for me a coyote a noble 10-12 point mule deer buck, then later a whole herd of lesser mule deer northern harrier Northern Spoonbill, (I think) buffleheads and redheads Sandhill crane (couldn’t stop to get a good look ):
Pretty big campground as these State Beaches go. There is another smaller campground over near the beach. There is a road straight to the beach that doesn't pass the Ranger kiosk, so you can use the beach w/o paying park fees. A mere 2.5 miles north of Fort Bragg.
On the edge of downtown Eureka. Across the street from the wonderful Humboldt County Library, in sight of the famous Carson Mansion, 200 yards from the Donut Mill (eek!). A rambling, beautiful old house. Wood-paneled dining room, high ceilings, old-school push button light switches. Kinda sketchy neighborhood though. The sidewalks look good in the daytime, but after dark they're owned by Eureka's uniquely aggro and insane-ish street people.
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.
On the road Maps sent me down there were no signs that campgrounds existed, and the first one was closed, which gave me a little fright. The second, Acorn was open, so all is well. Army Corp campgrounds all seem to rely on having a person at a check-in gate. The gate wasn't manned so camping was free.
Lovely spot at 7,000'-ish on the north side of a little alpine lake. On the south side is Summit Lake South Campground. This one is $2 more, but well worth it, a much nicer campground. B Loop is reservable, A Loop is first come first served. There's a lake to swim in or just admire and you're in an awesome place!
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.
In the Lakes District between Graeagle and Bassett. The other campgrounds on this road are $20-24, but this one is $10. It has no water, and is pretty rough around the edges, but it's on the lake and pretty sweet. The boat launch area is in the campground. There are a few select campsites right on the lake, but they are close together and crowded with big rigs, so I elect to go down the road a bit. By rule all sites are on the away from the lake side of the road; but the lake is still very close. I did not check it out, but I think there is a trail all the way to the Gold Lake Highway, and maybe even all the way around the lake.