Manzanita Lake Campground

We had a 3 night reservation in mid-October. We decided to cancel our reservation a few days before the free cancellation date due to the government shut down. We didn’t know whether the campground will be open and there was no update on the website. We also found out that they turn off the water in the campground starting mid-October. We stayed in another private RV campground that was 15 minutes away. We visited the campground when we were there, and it would have been nice to stay inside the park since it is a long drive to get to the trails. Manzanita Lake is beautiful.

My wife and I stayed there, October 16th and 17th During the government shut down. When we got to the gate, there was no way to pay so we proceeded to the campground. Went through loop B and found a site and set up and didn’t go over to see the camp host because we didn’t know she was there. I had planned on going and Finding a way to pay after being set up by means of the iron ranger or other means. About an hour after getting there and set up the Camp host knocked on our door and I came out to greet her. She immediately was nasty and calling me a thief and a squatter and that she was going to call the Ranger. I tried to explain our situation and she didn’t want to hear my explanation at all. The rudest camp host I have ever dealt with. I actually said “ you could be nice” and she said n

What a horrible experience. We stayed at this campground about 10 years ago but have had problems using the Government website since the weekends always show that they are full. We decided to try our luck and came up and it was 75% empty. We went to the host to ask if they had any cancellations for the evening and she immediately came unglued. Almost like she wanted to start a fight. This was on 8/16/25. She is NO WAY should be in public service. We instead drove down to the Rocky Point Campground in Lake Almanor. They rolled out the red carpet for us, and even brought us wood. It was a beautiful lakefront campsite. I can't recommend Rocky Point Campground enough...and they are first come, first serve. Manzanita Lake has NOT been taken care of and looks like a complete dump.

Large and well-kept campground, good base for exploring Lassen Park. Just heads up that some sites are quite close to one another with no privacy, so try to book early to get a more private spot. Also recommend walking the trail around the lake for some unreal views!

Simple but beautiful campground. Use Recreation.gov to reserve a site. If you dont have reservation you still need to log into. The site to claim a spot. Fortunately there is wifi at the visitor center (not at the park store). Keep in mind that there is no water available. Need to bring your own. Also, no cell service but campground is sparsely tree covered. We were able to use Starlink just fine at our site. Lots of hiking nearby including a beautiful trail right from camp.