We went on a family camping trip to Burney Falls / Hat Creek KOA in Hat Creek, CA. We stayed at site 34.
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The Campsite
Campsite 34 is a pull-through site and fitting our 20 foot trailer was no problem. We actually decided to back-in instead which meant we weren’t next to the hook-ups but that allowed our door to face site 35 which was also part of our group. Since we normally dry camp anyways that seemed well worth it to be able to make the area better suited for our group.
These sites are extremely small. You barely have any space outside of the parking pad. This type of camping is what we refer to as camping in a parking lot. It’s fine if you are with a group of people but it is far from our favorite. We much prefer to have space and a little bit of privacy.
The other problem with the area of the campground where we were (sites 34 & 35) is it’s right next to the main highway. The road is very close and people are going fast. It’s loud enough that there are times when you’re outside talking and you have to stop what you’re saying and wait for the car to pass because it’s too loud to talk over. The first night here I got no sleep at all because the road noise was so loud. It’s hard to sleep when you hear cars driving fast and you know if they crash through the fence the first thing they’d hit is the bunks with your sleeping kids.
This campground is in a beautiful area and the location is very convenient to explore the surrounding areas. There are many other campgrounds nearby that just seem like it would be more of the camping experience we try to get. This campground is fine if you’re in a group and there are others that require full hook-up, but otherwise we would love to try some of the nearby dry campgrounds.
This campground has full hook-ups. We did not have any cell signal through Verizon. There was free WiFi available but it only had a signal at and around the front office.
The Best Campsites
- Site 18
- This seemed to be the very best site for a trailer at this campground. This was the only campsite that actually had a small amount of space next to it. You can still see your neighbors but at least there is some space for the kids to play.
- Sites 19 & 20
- These two sites seemed like they would work well together and provide some shared space in the back. Cabin 4 is also right across the road from these sites and could work out well if you have campers wanting to rent a cabin.
The Activities
At the Campground
There are actually a few things to do to stay busy right at camp. The campground has a playground that my kids really enjoyed playing at. There is also a basketball hoop. And the campground itself is a great place for the kids to ride bikes around.
The campground also has a petting zoo. When we were there they had a few goats and a few sheep. The kids really enjoyed getting to see them walking around.
There is also a pond right at camp. The pond looked a little dirty but I suppose that is pretty typical for a pond. You can fish at the pond but they don’t allow you to use bait. We didn’t fish in it at all but I did see several people who had campsites along the pond fishing there.
Hat Creek Fishing
My husband’s family has been fishing on Hat Creek for decades. Sharing this experience with our kids was important and exciting for everyone. Hat Creek is a very popular fishing destination. They stock it with trout. We had no luck, we caught one giant stick and that was about it. There were several other people we saw who were successful but they said you had to hike down the creek a bit. That didn’t seem like a great idea with young kids so we just stayed closer to the road and let them practice casting.
Subway Cave
The Subway Cave is just a short drive down the road and was a really fun experience. It’s great to do on a hot day because inside the cave it is nice and cool. The kids loved taking some flashlights and getting to explore the cave.
Dogs aren’t allowed inside the cave but there is a trail up top that you can take from the entrance to the exit of the cave that dogs can go on.
The Dog-Friendly Hiking
We didn’t get a chance to go on a hike on this visit because we ran out of time. We did take the dog on walks around the campground many times.
The hike we were looking at doing was the Spattercone Nature Trail. This is supposed to be an easy hike and good for dogs and kids. The one downside is it looked like it would be pretty hot, it didn’t seem like there would be much shade on the trail.
The Beer
There really aren’t any breweries nearby but whenever we’re in this general area we always like to drink beer from Fall River Brewing. Fall River makes some delicious beers and they were originally brewed in Fall River Mills which is only about a half hour from the campground. Now that they have grown they are out of Redding, but still that’s pretty local.
The Recap
This campground is in a great location to explore the area. Because of the small campsites this wouldn’t be our first choice but it can be fun when you’re with a group.
Campground Details:
Burney Falls / Hat Creek KOA Holiday
15565 Black Angus Ln, Hat Creek, CA 96040
Can reserve online at koa.com. Reservations open 1 year ahead.