Manzanita Lake Campground

The number in this post is incorrect number. You should call 530-595-6121 for Lassen Parks. The attendants are very helpful.

How, my dear Lassen, do you do it?

You are a quintessential park. Like Glacier or Yosemite or Teton, you rise majestic the alpine mountains, ever snow capped, with the forested beauty of high conifers speckling your altitude, lakes of wrinkled cellophane clear reflection filling your crevices. The jays, the ravens, an osprey swooshing through your skies, always blue.

The sounds of a busy campground—children run amuck, skateboards and bicycles, the occasional generator, laughter, smoking campfires crackle—give way as easily as a two minute drive or ten minute hike. And then, unlike your contemporaries, you promise silence and solitude. The roadside vistas have tourists. The interior trails do not.

You, my good man, have proven a rare gem among the park system, and for that I will tattoo you in my arm soon enough.

This campground is right above Lake Manzanita so we walked to the lake several times including a sunset and the trail around the lake. Next time, we will bring a kayak.

The campground was nice. The sites were shaded and not too close to each other, although closer than we have been at some other national and state parks. Since there are no hookups, we had to tolerate the sound of generators, although the hours are limited to 2 hours three times a day. The campground was busy but that didn't make it less enjoyable.

The restrooms were basic but adequate: flush toilets and cold water. Showers were available at the camp store, but we used our trailer. Although there were no hookups, there was a hose bibb next to our site so we refilled our water tank when it ran out, saving us a trip to the dump station or one of the hose outlets around the campground.

Half the sites are reservable and all seemed used. The other half are first come first served and they seemed mostly occupied. We were there just prior to the start of the season when ranger programs were available, so they might have filled up although I saw no full sign.

We got no cell phone coverage at the campground. It was great from the parking lot at Bumpass Hell, but spotty other places. But we were there to enjoy the park, so that was not a problem.

There are lots of trails and scenery as you would expect at a National Park, and we enjoyed ourselves.

....unless you like a wonderful National Park Campground with room for larger rigs, tents, no hookups, remote camping, and some of the most scenic views anywhere. The $12/night was using our senior pass which allowed free entry into the park (normally $20) and half price camping.

We had a reservation for 4 nights in the A loop starting June 11, but arrived a day early to avoid being on the road during a storm. Since our site was occupied that night we stayed in the B loop which is all walkup sites. We found a nice pull through site and planned to move to our reserved site the next day. Three inches of snow fell over night and the next day and it was beautiful with the snow, even though it was June. The road (Hwy 89) through the main park was still closed due to record snowfall, but was open to the devastated area.

The camp hosts were super friendly and accommodating. We asked if we could stay in our existing site in the B loop and no problem at all. The sites varied in size and privacy and we loved our site as it was very private except for the road to the C and D loop which was about 100 yards away. Very little traffic though.

The bathrooms have flush toilets and are clean. There is a small store, laundry and showers onsite, but it is expensive. No cell service or WiFi which was fine with us. Plenty of trash and recycling receptacles, and fresh water faucets. There is also a nice easy access dump station available.

Manzanita Lake is spectacular with incredible views of Mt. Lassen. Take your kayak out and check it out or do a hike around the lake for the best views. You can fish the lake but it is barbless hooks, artificial lures, and catch and release. Plenty of hiking, biking, boating, and bird watching to be had.

We camped here in mid June and as it was early in the week we decided to take a chance and drive through loop B, the first come, first serve loop. We had no problem finding that perfect site...level, shaded areas, good distance from neighbors and next to restrooms, water and trash/recycle.

There are a total of 4 loops at Manzanita Lake Campground. Loops A & C are reservable, D is tents only (which is the most quiet of all loops) and B which is first come, first serve. The normal rate is $26.00 per night, but with our Senior Pass, half price.

There is so much to explore in Lassen and with Manzanita Lake being the only campground open at this time, it proved to be a good base. You can use your own kayak or rent one to paddle around the beautiful lake. Not only is there the Manzanita Loop Trail around the lake, but other trails nearby of varied distance and difficulty. Fishing on the lake is catch and release, barbless hooks and you need waders, a float tube or pontoon. Shore fishing is extremely limited due to shallow shoreline and vegetation. We noticed kids going bonkers with there bikes, so there must be mile of pavement for them to cycle around.

Facilities were very clean...we did notice park staff came by daily, hosts are extremely friendly and helpful and the store offers hot food if you are in need. Showers are adjacent to store. The dump station is nearby and very accessible.

We were quite surprise how quiet it was at the park. There are set generator hours and it seemed during our stay that everyone honored those times. Yes, there were the sounds of conversations, wood chopping, the glee of children and loud laughter, but it was nourishing to hear. These were the sounds of the next generation, the champions and stewards who will protect our beloved parks.

As for the views...take a walk around the lake, bring a chair...and just spend an afternoon gazing at Mt. Lassen and the spectacular landscape surrounding the peak. With the glistening lake in the foreground, the views are priceless.

We had checked information before going to this campground and saw that it indicated sites that were 45' - we figured we'd find something for our 43' motorhome. While there are pull through sites that may be as long as 45' (maybe even longer), they are tightly curved crescent shapes which are not amenable to large motorhomes with long wheelbases. We found one that was available on a night-to-night basis (it is supposed to be a group site, I guess) and backed into half of it, with our tires all on the asphalt but hanging over on the side and back. Since we couldn't know for sure that we would be able to stay more than one night, we did all the things we had planned to do on the one day we were there. As it turned out, we could have stayed another night, but we didn't know until late evening and by then we were ready to head out the next day anyway.

Nice campground close to the lake. Had a little trouble gettin level with our 31 foot MH. General store nearby with necessities, showers, laundry. Kayak rentals at the lake at concessionaire pricing. No cell phone service in the campground even with a booster but go back out to the ranger station and take a right, drive 1 mile to marker 14 (Chaos Crags) and there is some Cell/data service. Excellent WiFi at JJs cafe about 15 minutes up the road.

To begin, Lassen Volcanic National Park is definitely under appreciated. This park is stunning, with lakes, interesting geothermal activity, and trails galore. I initially reserved a site on rec.gov to camp at Manzanita Lake for 3 nights. I didn't stay at the Summit Lake campground, as it wasn't open in mid-June. There are also walk-up sites for tent campers on the D loop.

The campground is clean and the sites adequately large and level. The bathrooms have running water/flush toilets and there are potable water stations in close proximity. The camp hosts were very attentive and friendly (and had a very sweet dog!). As a tent camper, I found it pretty quiet at night and slept well.

The camp store and laundry/shower facility are located just before entering the campground. There's a trailhead along the road leading to the campground for the Chaos Crags trail. It's a lovely hike, well worth adding to your list of activities. Of course, there's also the lake..how could I forget?

The only drawback I can list is that Manzanita is located near the northwest entrance to the park and you'll spend time driving to Lassen Peak, Sulphur Works, Bumpass and Kings Creek. Cell service was intermittent in the park, but who cares?

At the end of my two week trip to California and Oregon, I had one last night to enjoy the area. Because I loved the area, I returned to Lassen Volcanic National Park and Manzanita Campground. It didn't disappoint!

Stayed here in October 2017. Rate reflects Golden Access Passport discount.

Ditto one previous reviewer who cautions big rigs from staying here. No back-in sites appropriate for our 42' 5th wheel. Hubby managed to maneuver our rig into a 106' inside pull-through, but provided nearby campers with free entertainment for the half-hour it took to pull it off. Had to pull into the site against traffic flow to get our door on the right side of the campsite, thankfully we were there at the end of the season so limited traffic. There was only ONE site in the entire campground, an outer pull-through across from ours that we thought MIGHT work for a rig the size of ours, but we probably won't return. BEAUTIFUL and quiet campground, though, and perfect for exploring Lassen NP and surrounding areas.

We arrived following the July 4th weekend and had a great stay in a quiet site with about 25% of the loop full. Some neighbors who relied on the store were disappointed as the holiday weekend left them out of stock on many items including firewood. The laundry was convenient and the lake, museum, hikes, and ranger activites were nice. Mosquitoes were present near the water but not too bad. Dump station was a reasonable $8.