Dusty Campground

Very nice PG&E site right on the east part of Lake Britton, across Hwy 89 from Burney Falls SP. Camp hosts live elsewhere but visited several times a day even in mid-April. Most sites are just across the access road from the lake, with narrow rocky beaches.

The access road is gravel and ends at the campground, even though Google Maps shows it continuing all the way to Hwy 299. The two old rail bridges are unsafe for foot traffic but very scenic, one over the lake and one over Hwy 89.

Nice hiking along the north side of the lake on the old road, which appears to also have been a Diatomite mining railroad grade. Bring headlamps and good filter masks like N-95s for exploring the many mine shafts along the old road. The finely powdered Diatomite is bad for your lungs.

Be prepared for the overwhelming swarms of mosquitoes!!! No matter how much DEET you apply or precautionary measures you take, they are savage and will eat you alive! Everyone in our 8 party group left with at least twenty or more bites and are absolutely miserable! 😫 It’s nothing the camp hosts can control but worth knowing before you go! Another safety issue you should know about are the rattlesnakes! We were not expecting to see them there however did! Two rattle snakes were caught and killed in the high grassy area right near the water, where the small kids and dogs were playing. One was very large and mature, the other just a baby who hadn’t developed its rattler yet. That being said — the camp hosts were great! Very friendly and easy going! Came by often enough but not hovering. They cleaned and stocked the bathrooms twice a day every day. They also took out the trashes so we never had to deal with over flowing trash receptacles. Unfortunately this campground is in-fact very dusty! That very fine dirty dust that gets EVERYWHERE! Think of the Playa dust haha There isn’t any running water, the bathrooms are the hole in the ground kind and no matter how clean, still stink pretty bad, especially in the heat of the day! The campsites are big, spacious, lots of parking and room to pitch your tents! However they only come with fire rings so bring everything else (tables/chairs) you might need! This campsite doesn’t have dumpsters located through out, so you’ll have to leave your trash by the bathroom and the kind camp hosts come by and grab it during their checks. I believe there are only 8 campsites and they fill up quick, leaving a decent amount of traffic all hours of the day/night kicking up dust as they drive by frustrated on their ways out. There is a very large turn around spot at the end making it convenient for big trailers and RV’s to still be able to turn around and leave. Due to the size of the campsites and minimal number over all, you receive decent privacy, often only seeing your neighbors on the way to the bathroom. The lake appears to be high. This was our first time so we don’t have much to go off of. There are small areas of beach near every two campsites that you’ll end up sharing. It’s no biggie though, everyone we encountered was very pleasant to be around. The water was cool. Not too cold yet still cool enough to keep us comfortable during the heat of the day (I think it got to 100). It’s the ideal lake for kayaking/paddle boarding/swimming/ fishing/ etc. The entire time we were there we only barely felt a breeze (we were hoping for one!) leaving the lake like glass! There were a few boats with wake-boarders/ tubers and jet skis but mostly just passing through on their way somewhere else. In the morning there will be decent amount of moss/debris on the water but as the day goes on it goes away and you can wade in to swim. It’s a very dog friendly place, by that I mean the camp host didn’t mind us letting our dogs off leash to play in the water with us. There is absolutely no cell service and in order to pay you’ll need exact change as you’ll need to leave it in an envelope at the beginning of the road/campground. The host isn’t selling wood and there isn’t any around to collect so bring your own! Overall the area is pretty. The campgrounds are easily accessible by sedan cars. The sites are large and the camp hosts were very pleasant! Unfortunately, I don’t think we will be back. We are too traumatized by all of our bites! 😅