NFS Campground Review – Sycamore Grove, Red Bluff, CA

Hanging at our shaded campsite in Sycamore Grove

A very relaxing forest service campground just a few miles off the I-5 in Red Bluff, CA (north-central CA)

Link to campground here: Sycamore Grove, Red Bluff, CA
Link to map location here: Sycamore Grove, Red Bluff, CA

1. Site Quality = 3/5
   Pretty nice sites here, esp. for forest service. The campground is a large grassy loop with ample shade trees near the entrance and middle, and more open sites along outer back so there is a nice mix of fully shaded to fully sunny. No real views from the sites, but good separation between campers and nice, green surroundings all around. All sites are paved with spacious “sitting area” containing concrete patio, picnic table, fire-pit and grill. Total 31 campsites, all reservable, of which 10 have 50 amp electric/water. Mix of back-in & pull-throughs. The only ding is that some sites are rather unlevel and on inner sites (inside the loop) the “sitting area” is on the wrong side of the rig. Also although all sites are “rated” at 44-feet many were too small for us (either size-wise or trees in the way) so I wouldn’t recommend anything bigger than our size (40-feet). Biggest sites were #1,27,28,30,31.
2. Facilities = 3.5/5
   Very nice facilities. Large (spacious) flush toilets and pay-showers, all kept spotlessly clean. Drinking water spigots all around the campground loop. NO dump station however.
3. Location = 3.5/5
   Red Bluff is not exactly a “destination” location, but as a stop-over this is just perfect. The park is ~4 miles from I-5 so it nicely away from the road traffic and right next to the Sacramento river offering water recreation (fishing, boating) plus miles of nice hiking in the surrounding meadows. Only real ding is that you are right next to the Red Bluff Dam and so you do get some noise from the operation there (didn’t bother us).
4. Pet Friendliness = 5/5
   Wonderful pooch park. Lots of space and shade to hang out in camp plus lots of lovely hiking trails in the surrounding area. No swimming tho’ (Sacramento River is simply too fast-moving).

Overall Rating = 3.75
BONUS ALERT = Camp in peaceful shade & grass just a few miles off the I-5!

Summary: We were looking for somewhere green & peaceful to stop off the I-5 in north-central CA and this campground came in to save the day. It’s a small, but pretty forest service campground set right by the Sacramento River & Red Bluff Dam and only a few miles off the Interstate. Sites are in huge grassy loop with large shade trees, good separation and very nice “sitting areas”. There is a mix of back-in & pull-through with selection from fully shaded (near entrance) to fully sunny (near back) and even a few 50 amp electric (10 sites total). The majority of the sites were a bit small or too unlevel for us, but we did find a good fit near the front (without reservations too). Surrounding area has river access and lots of hiking. The camphost was lovely too! Overall a really peaceful stop-over and one we would use again.

Extra Info: Average 3G on Verizon (2 bars). Total 31 sites (10 sites have 50 amp/water with rest non hook-up), all reservable on recreation.gov. Drinking water spigots on-site, but NO dump station (nearest dump in Red Bluff at the fairgrounds). Sites cost $16 for non-hookup, $25 for electric/water. Senior Pass gives 50% off.

View of one of the larger pull-throughs (#31)

View of large back-in #30

View of shaded site near entrance (#4). Hard to see on the pic, but trees are in the way here.

View down the end of the campground. Site #27 on right and we’re in #28 on left. Both are non-hookup

View down sunny side (back-side) of the loop. Site #21 shown/

View of sunny back-side pull-throughs. RV in front in site #14. Site #15 behind.

View of “sitting area” at each site with picnic table, fire-pit and grill

View of facilities

Walking with Polly on the lovely trails

Our 400 Mile Odyssey OR/ Don’t Believe Everything You Write On The Internet

A stiff drink after a long, long day

I really hadn’t expected to walk into an empty RV park and be told there were no spaces available.

“Really???” I questioned, scanning over the 150 or so sites I could see that were quite obviously free

“Yes, we have a fair starting this week-end so I have 50 rigs coming in today and 150 rigs coming in tomorrow” stated the woman matter-of-factly

“Well, if that’s the case you must have at least one space free for us tonight” I said, running the numbers in my head

“Oh no, we have absolutely no spaces free at all” responded the woman, barely glancing at the reservations list “especially not for something your size” she added, in a rather derogatory fashion I thought

“Really???” I managed to repeat myself, staring in bewilderment at the huge lot with spots that ALL seemed to fit our size.

We were at the Cal Expo Fairgrounds and clearly this woman didn’t like the way we looked or she was just being plain difficult. Either way it didn’t seem worth it to spend the night with such ungracious hosts. I went out to Paul to break the news, we looked at each other and simultaneously broke out “We need to get the *!@@ out of Sacramento!”.

A good end to a forgettable day

Thus began the longest drive in the RV we have ever done. This was rather ironic too, having just answered a bunch of comments on the blog only 2 days ago about how far we usually drive (typically no more than 150 miles) and the fact that we’ve never, ever exceeded 350 miles in one day. Just goes to show you can’t believe everything you write on the internet, no mater who it’s from.

We weaved out of the freeway nightmare maze that is Sacramento, pointed the rig north and aimed for oblivion. My goal was somewhere peaceful and green where we could just hang out and forget this day. I consulted my trusty uscampgrounds.info app, found a forest service site that seemed to fit our size and plugged in the destination. A mind-boggling 400 miles later (that would be end-to-end) we arrived exhausted and crabby to the campground.

Yes we fit, oh yes we do

Oh thank goodness! A site that fit our size (just barely mind you, but “fit” is a relative term with “the beast”), lots of green and trees, tweeting birds, calming breeze and a stiff rum & coke. We kicked back into the green, raised our glasses to the sky and thanked the travel gods for getting us here. All was right again with the world.

THIS is the place we were looking for. Hiking and green near Red Bluff, CA

We’re spending a coupla days hanging out at our new, lovely destination before we head on up to Shasta. It’s a far cry (in a very good way) from what would have been 2 crowded days in the big city. Call it fate or dumb luck, despite breaking all our travel rules we ended up in a much better place. And now I can say with all honesty, firm conviction and absolute certainty that we never, ever drive more than 400 miles in a day. Remember, I wrote it down on the internet so it must be true.