This last 4th of July weekend, we stayed at Bushytail Campground near Weaverville, California (GPS…read more40.855, -122.81889).
It's a smaller campground in that it only has 12 sites. We chose it for that reason, thinking it would be quiet. Ha! Maybe it was just because it was a holiday weekend, but as soon as we arrived, we were greeted with blaring country music. The funny thing is (not 'ha-ha' funny btw), the campground host drove around and heard the music and did nothing. I suspect he was biased as he's from Texas! If it were reggae playing, I wonder if he would have been all over that like stink on $***. It stayed loud during most of the evening, up until about 8pm. And it was quiet during the day when the campers were out and about.
The campground is right off of Highway 3, but we didn't hear any road noise. The noise all came from fellow campers and their huge diesel trucks.
Thankfully we travel with a travel trailer (TT). The TT's hard sides kept us from hearing that obnoxious music and the modified trucks once we were inside. And while we were outside, UB40 was playing on our boombox, speakers turned right toward us.
Most sites have electric hookup and water hookup, but no sewer. We asked the host about a dump station nearby, and he didn't know (!). Shouldn't a campground host know these things? Anyway, we ended up dumping in Redding, but there are closer dump stations, like at Whiskeytown Rec Area at Oak Bottom Campground. There are showers for $5 for 15 minutes. (I know, pricey, right?) The water hookup was a bit annoying in that it had a pressure relief valve that would spurt water every few minutes. We couldn't hear it from inside the TT, but while we were outside, it took some getting used to.
Speaking of outside, when I first sat outside, I heard these "clicks" like how a high voltage power pole would sound. I looked around for the power pole. Well, it turns out the sounds is from cicadas. They are amazing. I wish I had learned about cicadas before heading there. You can take the girl out of the city, but you can't take the city out of the girl!
The campsites themselves are well spaced. Ours (#9) was one of the best imo. We were far enough away from the group campsites (where the rabblerousers were!) and close to the bathrooms, but not close enough to smell them. Behind our campsite was a nice hill where we let our dog offleash. The campsite is quipped with a firering, a concrete USFS table, and a bear locker. Our site was paved, as were all the ones on the upper end of the campground. I'm not sure about the group sites. Most sites were mostly shaded by pines. It was nice as the days were in the 90s. The nights didn't cool off as much as I'd hoped, but it was tolerable. I wish our A/C had been working though.
The bathrooms were VERY clean and well maintained, at least the girls bathroom. And there are three bathroom for the 12 campsites. Crazy! I never had to wait, and I didn't avoid the public bathrooms either, like I usually do. Flush toilet and sink.
We had some problems with mosquitoes, but nothing horrible. In fact, the eucalyptus oil we used kept them at bay. I saw one yellowjacket and had a biting fly nibble at me. If I were wearing DEET, I wouldn't have had one bug bug me :) (pun intended).
Farther down Minersville Rd (which is the turnoff) is Minersville Campground. Minersville Campground is right on the lake. Unless you have a boat, I wouldn't suggest camping there. It's loud from all of the motorized boats. And the Lake itself isn't particularly pretty either. It's not full, which creates this toilet bowl ring and lots of mud around the rim. Plus there isn't shade along the shoreline. We didn't even attempt to bring our kayaks because of the mud.
Bushytail Campground is central to hiking, swimming and boating. I suggest bringing a guidebook for the Trinty Alps/Weaverville area. There were numerous backpacking trails nearby, and a handful suited for small kids (short distance), and right across the street is a fireroad that leads to the trailhead for Granite Peak. I walked the fireroad two mornings. It's three miles to the trailhead, and the first two miles are uphill. It was a butt-buster! Once you get to the trailhead, it's another 4-5 miles UPHILL to the Peak. I want to do that next time. The views from up there, they say, are amazing. My husband took our 2.5 yr old son to a hiking trail up the road. It was Boulder Lake Trail, and although it was July, there were snowdrifts!
There is a recreation area close to Bushytail down the road. Not the best swimming place, but kids love it. There are huge rocks along the edge, some tables and lots of beach area along the river.
There is no cell phone/satellite service, at least not from AT&T.
All in all, I would go back to Bushytail Campground midweek (when it'd be quiet) and/or bring lots of friends along so we can reserve those group sites.