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Submission
Deadlun Campground is located at Iron Canyon Reservoir, a beautiful 500 acre lake located in a mountainous area of the Shasta-Trinity National Forest at an elevation of 2,665 feet. With 15 miles of forested shoreline and surrounding natural environment, the reservoir is a pleasant destination for anglers, campers, hunters and 4 wheel drive enthusiasts. There are two developed campgrounds (Deadlun and the PG&E; managed Hawkins Landing), many undeveloped camping spots, a boat ramp for small boats and a network of primitive roads and trails surrounding the reservoir. Nearby is the Pacific Crest Trail and the Pit River Canyon. Solitude is not uncommon, despite the lake's popularity. This campground is a wonderful hideaway. From here, forest routes and OHV trails can be taken toward Lake McCloud or down towards Shasta Lake. This is a wonderful campground to base your OHV adventures from!
From Round Mountain, CA, take State Rt. 299 east 5.2 miles to Big Bend Rd. Turn left onto Big Bend Rd. and go 17.6 miles to a "T" intersection and Iron Canyon Reservoir sign. Turn left onto Forest Rt. 11 and go 4.7 miles to a "Y" intersection. Bear left and go 0.7 miles to campground sign. Turn left at sign into campground.
Fair warning to fellow winter adventurers! The website says open year round, but the campground is virtually inaccessible during snow season. We had 4WD and chains, but nothing short of proper treads could have made it past all the ice and downed trees this January. We didn't let that stop us from having a good time, though! We brought our own Solo Stove fire pit and ended up pitching our tent just out by the side of the road at the last intersection about a mile and a half before the campground location. Despite the lack of toilets and picnic tables we still enjoyed the peaceful isolation for one night, as well as the gorgeous scenery on a leisurely hike down to the half-frozen reservoir the next morning. Not an experience for the faint of heart, but as long as you come prepared I give it a solid 4 stars. :)
