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From San Francisco, travel north on Highway 101, 5 miles past Ukiah. Then take Highway 20 east, then left, just after crossing the Russian River bridge. Continue 1 mile to the top of the hill where the campground entrance station is located.
Nice campground with convenient showers (free) and toilets. Very friendly camp manager. Firewood to be found all around the campsite. We were there during 3 weekdays and were almost the only ones there. Very peaceful and quiet. Very hot too, so make sure to pick a spot at the lakeside to get a bit of a breeze. And consider doing something off site (in your airconditioned car) during the hottest hours of the day.
Stayed here for a night over Labor Day long weekend with 2 other families. We had sites 80, 82, 84 and 86 which were right by the lake side (though the lake is not easily accessible as the sites were on a bluff and it’s quite a hike down). We saw some people swimming and the water didn’t look clear or inviting. And the water level was clearly pretty low.
There was a heat wave over the weekend but it was not as bad when we arrived around 2 pm. There was a gentle breeze which picked up and though the temp was around 90 it wasn’t unbearable in the shade. The campground was well kept and the bathroom had free hot and cold water. Apparently the campground had been closed for the longest time and just recently reopened. There were many people around and some were playing loud music till quiet time at 10 pm. We didn’t do any hiking due to the weather but had fun with the other tamiles and board game.
Nice spot near the lake one thing tho there's absolutely no where to fish they advertise it but you can't get to the shore from anywhere.
We stayed for 4 nights, although the lake is still really low, we still had a great time! The grounds were clean, but would have been nice to have had a string trimmer. 😁
Restrooms are well kept. They Army Corp have been quite busy, and many trees have been removed due to disease. It was very nice!
- Easy to access, right off the 101
- Free firewood all around the campgrounds
- Free showers (no need for quarters)
- Super clean and well lit bathrooms
- Ranger patrolling often (we are 2 young women, this helped us feel a little safer)
- Standard campsite setup (bench + fire ring) but also included a pole with a hook - perfect for hanging lights, a tarp, drying dishware, etc.
- Heads up! Advanced reservation is required
Since my friend and I decided to plan a last minute camping trip, reservations were hard to find anywhere. I'm from Santa Cruz and hardly ever make it north of San Francisco so Bushay Campground sounded like a nice getaway. However I was a little hesitant since there were so many open sites here and mixed reviews but it really was just too perfect.
We stayed Sat-Mon and it was pretty much empty by Sun (workweek + predicted rain). Everyone else staying the weekend was very friendly and helpful. The rain only made the campsite so much more lush and beautiful and luckily we were prepared for the rain. The sound of frogs and turkeys added a nice touch and we also saw tons of fascinating birds (including a bald eagle!!). I'm used to camping on hard dirt so the cushion of the grassy campsites was really nice, plus the dead grass served as decent tinder.
Also, I accidentally left my camping chairs behind :( and an employee reached out to me to let me know! I wish it wasn't a 3+ hour drive for me because I would love to already head back lol.
