Looking for a spot relatively close to the 5 for a night on retreat back to LA from an OR trip in May. Anything convenient in the Shasta region?

castle crag SP is a perfect example. might just stay there. anything an hour or so south of there?

Drive up from Mt. Shasta City and camp out in the tree farms along Everett Memorial Highway on the way up to Bunny Flat.

jibmaster wrote:Drive up from Mt. Shasta City and camp out in the tree farms along Everett Memorial Highway on the way up to Bunny Flat.

This is a good call, though it is dry camping. If you are willing to drive a few easy miles off of the freeway, there are a number of fantastic places to camp on South Fork Road. Most are right next to the Sacramento River and many have awesome views of Mount Shasta and a few have great swimming holes too. Here is the view from my favorite spot:


I would stay away from the Castle Crags State Park campground. It is expensive, has no views and is really, really close to I-5. If you feel compelled to camp down in the Castella area, there are a couple of really nice walk-in campgrounds right on the Sacramento River just a quick jaunt off of the freeway.

For what it is worth, I have a nice guesthouse that is available if anyone wants a place to crash. A couple of folks from Summitpost have used it and I am always happy for more people to take advantage of it!

Also, if you are interested in knowing where all the campgrounds in the Mount Shasta area are located, I put together a map of them on my site. Not all of these will be open in May but most should be.

Hey Bubba, great site and thanks so much for the offer to crash. We booked a site on Whiskeytown Lake to get a little more driving out of the way. See how it goes.

South Fork Road options look awesome.

Thanks to both.

Tedryan10, if getting closer (in minutes) to home remains your major goal, keep in mind that you will spend more than 20 minutes each way getting to the campground at Whiskeytown from I-5 and then back. Add at least 45 minutes to your driving time and fuel usage estimates with that option. Whiskeytown (Oak Bottom?) ought to be pleasant in May as long as it is not Memorial Day weekend and as long as you don't find yourself in the midst of an early major heat wave. Oak Bottom can be a dirty zoo during summer with crowds, partiers, and boats, but you can swim there.

You seem to be seeking a campground with reservations, drinking water, and maybe a way to easily find a shower. You'll pay for those amenities with park/area entrance fees (about $5-10) and high campground fees ($20-25) at Whiskeytown or Castle Crags. You would pay both of those two fees and probably an additional reservation fee. There will be some noise at either one, but road and train noise will be more at Castle Crags. I've seen the price at CC listed as high as $35, but it seems to be $25 now. My dad loves it there (it is clean, quiet, and pleasant besides the freeway and train noise), but I agree with Bubba and personally avoid the place.

Noted on Bubba's map, Sims Flat campground (south of Castella) has drinking water, river access, and is about $15. It would put you almost the same drive time home as Whiskeytown and would save time the first day, but is not reservable. Lakeshore East at Lake Shasta would put you even closer, is reservable, has water, and has showers nearby, but would probably have the worst ambiance of all options discussed thus far.

If you do have time for a quick hike, Whiskeytown and Castle Crags have nice waterfalls that don't take long to drive and hike to for those in decent shape.