OAK BOTTOM, Whiskeytown NRA, CA

OAK BOTTOM CG, Whiskeytown, CA

RUN BY: Nat'l Rec Area (NPS)

LOCATION: Whiskeytown, CA

UTILITIES: None

COST: $15

DISCOUNTS: Accept Senior and Interagency passes for 50% discount. Discounts, etc., change according to season, so check.

OUR RATING (1-5):  II - 4.0

NOTES: Whiskeytown Nat'l Rec Area has two campgrounds (CG). The other CG is a traditional type of camping area with individual sites in a heavily wooded setting. It is lovely but the sites are a bit short. Also the other CG is 5 miles into the park which adds significant miles if you want to go anywhere. Since we were the only ones there most of the time, the parking-lot Oak Bottom was perfect. We stayed four nights because it was a pleasant place, with a nice view, to ride out a major storm. We would go back. During season I'm sure that this place is packed and would not be as pleasant. Even if you're not headed west, you need to do drive west on CA-299 to see the spectacular scenery.

Apologies for the quality but this pic of us pulling
in at sunset was the only one of a campsite. 

Environment: A large parking area adjacent to the parking area for boats.

Amenities: Very small camp store.

Dump: YES

Public Water: YES

Toilets: YES

Showers: NO

Laundry: NO

Phone Service: Verizon fairly good

Location: 15 miles west of Redding, CA on CA-299

Proximity to shopping: There is a small camp store and a small convenience store in Shasta (5-6 miles) but you will want to go to Redding for any significant supplies.

Camping Population: Don't know. We were the only ones there. Suspect mostly people there to boat and fish.

Safety: Law Enforcement (LE) Rangers pass through the area frequently.

Sites: Adequate sized lines on an asphalt pavement. Plenty of room to park Sinni with truck parked across the end.

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RATING KEY: category - score

Categories: I - established campgrounds where one might spend a vacation or several days

II - boondocking, dry camping where there are no designated sites and no amenities but

one might choose to stay for more than a night.

III - over-night areas

You must remember that we are scoring 1 thru 5 according to things which are important to us: the environment, cost, amenities, location, safety, camping population, site, phone service