Mud Lake Trailhead
Lassen National Forest
Write a Review Pacific Crest Trail Hat Creek, CA 96040 530-257-2151 Official WebsiteGPS: 40.7035, -121.4023
Overview of Mud Lake Trailhead
Accessibility is not guaranteed, always scout ahead before driving down dirt roads.
Learn more: Boondocking 101
Last Price Paid: $0
Reported by DebbieM on 7/28/2023
Longest RV Reported: 40 feet (Fifth Wheel)
Reported by DebbieM on 7/28/2023
Pad Type dirt
Open Seasonally Yes
Elevation 4,855 ft / 1,479 m
Tent Camping Yes
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To ask questions of the owner or manager please contact the campground directly. (530) 257-2151
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Reviews of Mud Lake Trailhead 10 people have reviewed this location.
Cell Phone Coverage
Confirmed by 5 Users
Last reported 7/28/2023
Confirmed by 2 Users
Last reported 8/6/2021
Confirmed by 1 User
Last reported 4/24/2021
“Peaceful, Easy Feelin’”
Reviewed 7/28/2023
| Nightly rate: | FREE! |
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| RV Length: | 40' (Fifth Wheel) |
Overall Rating
Easy in off 44. We drove our cab-over camper a little further down the nice dirt road and found a great, fairly level spot. Road is narrow and I wouldn’t take a trailer but great for campers, tent and vans. We are on the other side of the cattle guard so there are some cows now and then. PCT and great views are about 100’ away. Gas, su... more
Easy in off 44. We drove our cab-over camper a little further down the nice dirt road and found a great, fairly level spot. Road is narrow and I wouldn’t take a trailer but great for campers, tent and vans. We are on the other side of the cattle guard so there are some cows now and then. PCT and great views are about 100’ away. Gas, supplies and dump in nearby Old Station. Not far from Lassen Nat Park. 2 bars of unboosted Verizon.
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Verizon 4G
This review is the opinion of a Campendium member and not of Campendium.com
“Nice Site, Widely Spaced Sites”
Reviewed 6/27/2023
| Nightly rate: | FREE! |
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| RV Length: | 30' (Travel Trailer) |
Overall Rating
Used this as an overnight on our way to Medford OR,. Only 1 other RV, a couple of tents set up buy hikers of the PCT (Pacific Coast Trail)
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Verizon 4G
Jay would stay here again
This review is the opinion of a Campendium member and not of Campendium.com
“Incredible Views ”
Reviewed 8/24/2022
| Nightly rate: | FREE! |
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Overall Rating
Incredible views and relatively quiet. There’s a huge area here with lots of room for everyone. The views are amazing, I watched the sun set right over the mountain. Right off the road, but road noise was surprisingly quiet!
camper-701268 would stay here again
This review is the opinion of a Campendium member and not of Campendium.com
“Good Location, Good Price”
Reviewed 8/6/2021
| Nightly rate: | FREE! |
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| Days stayed: | 4 |
| Site Number: | NA |
Overall Rating
I stayed here on a trip from LA to Oregon. Wanted to stay near Lassen NP & visit, but for the 3 nights I wanted to stay in Mid July 2021, most of the developed campgrounds in the area were already booked. I tried making my reservations mid April 2021. This is a first come first served campground, no reservations. Every night I was eith... more
I stayed here on a trip from LA to Oregon. Wanted to stay near Lassen NP & visit, but for the 3 nights I wanted to stay in Mid July 2021, most of the developed campgrounds in the area were already booked. I tried making my reservations mid April 2021. This is a first come first served campground, no reservations. Every night I was either the only person there or it was myself and another camper. Most sites are tent sites. There are only about 2 that would fit a small trailer or small RV. If you have a large rig, it’s not recommended because of the small size of the sites. I found two sites with grills and one of those had a fire ring and picnic table, which was luckily open when I got there around 8pm on a weekday night. The directions are a little tricky if you are headed westbound on the 44. If you hit Old Station, headed west, you have gone too far. If you are headed east, it’s around 3 miles east of Old Station on the 44. You will go up a longish hill and be looking for a sign for the Hat Creek Rim Overlook and turn left off the 44. Make an immediate right onto a dirt forest road, then take the 2nd left. You know you are there when you see the small wooden outhouse. The overlook is super close too and worth a look while you are staying there. The campground is all dry camping, so no water, electric or sewer hookups. There is trash and a vault toilet. Every morning I was there, a ranger would stop by, clean the toilet, refresh the TP and empty the trash. My campsite was shady in the morning, but full sun and pretty hot in the afternoon. If you have solar panels, they would work great late morning and the rest of the day. Hikers come by because it’s right on the PCT and also occasionally camp there. Closest small town is Old Station. You can get basic supplies there like gasoline, ice, firewood, etc. at there little general store. It’s about 3 miles west of the campground on the 44; turn left / south towards Lassen NP and it’s right there. Cell service was real spotty. If you go to the Hat Rim Overlook nearby, you’ll get a better signal.
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AT&T 4G
Rosi would stay here again
This review is the opinion of a Campendium member and not of Campendium.com
“Close to Lassen NP”
Reviewed 6/22/2021
| Nightly rate: | FREE! |
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| Days stayed: | 2 |
Overall Rating
We stayed two nights here pulling a 22ft trailer. It wasn’t too far off the highway. There was one other longer trailer next to us, and I didn’t see where another trailer/RV could fit, but it looks like 2 other tents could fit. We saw a lot of hikers on the PCT, and you can hike up to a lookout point which offers amazing views of Lasse... more
We stayed two nights here pulling a 22ft trailer. It wasn’t too far off the highway. There was one other longer trailer next to us, and I didn’t see where another trailer/RV could fit, but it looks like 2 other tents could fit. We saw a lot of hikers on the PCT, and you can hike up to a lookout point which offers amazing views of Lassen Peak and Mt Shasta. The spot we had didn’t have much tree shade, and it got quite warm in the late afternoon evening time. We felt safe and would stay again.
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Verizon 4G
hikermom would stay here again
This review is the opinion of a Campendium member and not of Campendium.com
“great boondocking area close to Lassen NP.”
Reviewed 4/24/2021
| Nightly rate: | FREE! |
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| Days stayed: | 2 |
| RV Length: | 30' (Travel Trailer) |
Overall Rating
FIrst the area is great.. when you turn off Hwy at the vista overview the first gravel road is what you want.. go up the hill and look for porta poty house on left. the road is good with some potholes. there is room for at least 3 30 ft RVs. When we arrive there was a guy at the hitching post area. and we backed in by the p... more
FIrst the area is great.. when you turn off Hwy at the vista overview the first gravel road is what you want.. go up the hill and look for porta poty house on left.
the road is good with some potholes.
there is room for at least 3 30 ft RVs. When we arrive there was a guy at the hitching post area. and we backed in by the picnic table and firepit.
you are on the PCT but we did not see any hikers pass by.. it early for them up here and snow was coming to the area the weekend of april24,20201
We had to leave early because of inpending snow etc.. there is a clean vault toulet on site and trashcan..'
did not see ranger or FS person but heard they do stop by to check on stuff.
While the road is close you dont really hear any noise. at night the sky is magical.. unless the moon is out.. LOL.. or cloudy. we had BOTH..
hope to come back again..
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AT&T 4G
T-Mobile 4G
carl2591 would stay here again
This review is the opinion of a Campendium member and not of Campendium.com
“Quiet and easy access ”
Reviewed 9/27/2017
| Nightly rate: | FREE! |
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| Days stayed: | 1 |
Overall Rating
Stayed here for a night but would have stayed longer. When you take the turnoff, head down the dirt road to your right. The spot is 1/2 mile down or so on the left side. I shared the site with just one other van. Sometimes you can hear highway traffic, but overall it's a quiet and clean spot in the woods.
Ashleyandthevan would stay here again
This review is the opinion of a Campendium member and not of Campendium.com
“Small camping area close to Lassen Volcanic National Park”
Reviewed 9/3/2017
| Nightly rate: | FREE! |
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| Days stayed: | 3 |
| Site Number: | 0 |
| RV Length: | 28' (Class C) |
Overall Rating
This was a smaller campground, really just a circle around a small vault toilet on a dirt road. The drive on the 44 and the dirt road in are fairly easy drives. The camp area can hold 4 to 5 vehicels tightly. When we were here there were 2 other people camped here, a van and a small trailer and that left one good spot to pull in our RV... more
This was a smaller campground, really just a circle around a small vault toilet on a dirt road. The drive on the 44 and the dirt road in are fairly easy drives. The camp area can hold 4 to 5 vehicels tightly. When we were here there were 2 other people camped here, a van and a small trailer and that left one good spot to pull in our RV. A really big RV might have a problem fitting if they camp is already full. This was a quiet spot, when the other campers took off we didn't see anybody.
The camping circle is right on the PCT and we did see one hiker passing thru. Otherwise not a lot to due at this camp, but it makes a great spot to stay and go explore Lassen Volcanic National Park. From this camp its about a 15 minute drive to the park which is pretty cool, definably worth checking out, lots of geothermal activity.
Cell and internet reception were weak here, but did work a bit. There is a store 3 miles away at the intersection of the 44 and 89 where you can get expensive food and gas, but I would advise to fill up before getting out there.
glasgows_onthego would stay here again
This review is the opinion of a Campendium member and not of Campendium.com
“Neat Little Campground, Right on the PCT”
Reviewed 8/15/2017
| Nightly rate: | FREE! |
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| Days stayed: | 2 |
| RV Length: | 32' |
Overall Rating
This is a cool little place. The PCT runs through the campground, there is a small pit toilet, a fe fire rings, one picnic table, and it is only one hundred yards or so from the Hat Creek Overloook. We found a spot to tuck our 32' motorhome into so that it was out of the way, there could have been one other small/medium rig and a cou... more
This is a cool little place. The PCT runs through the campground, there is a small pit toilet, a fe fire rings, one picnic table, and it is only one hundred yards or so from the Hat Creek Overloook.
We found a spot to tuck our 32' motorhome into so that it was out of the way, there could have been one other small/medium rig and a couple of tenters staying here and we all would have fit. Although we only had pass-through traffic, none of the hikers stayed the night. We did get to chatting with a few of them and offered water and supplies - certainly a cool experience and far more of them were doing the whole thing than I expected.
Access is easy, just turn into the road for the overlook and make the immediate right turn onto the dirt road. The road was patrolled regularly by BLM Fire, and a Forest Ranger came through each day to check on the trash cans and bathroom.
Verizon 4G was good here, we had enough sun for good solar, and the road noise is only a problem when trucks coming down hill are using their jake brake.
This was a great spot to post up for a few days of work before heading into Lassen for the weekend.
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Verizon 4G
NomadicNeighbors would stay here again
This review is the opinion of a Campendium member and not of Campendium.com
“Small, clean, spot by Lassen Volcanic”
Reviewed 8/21/2015
| Days stayed: | 6 |
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Overall Rating
I really enjoyed this spot! If I didn't have plans, I probably would have stayed longer than 6 nights! The spot is a small loop around a single vault toilet outhouse. It is designated as dispersed camping by the forest service, but is almost a single (one person or one family) camper campground. There is one table and one fire ring.... more
I really enjoyed this spot! If I didn't have plans, I probably would have stayed longer than 6 nights!
The spot is a small loop around a single vault toilet outhouse. It is designated as dispersed camping by the forest service, but is almost a single (one person or one family) camper campground. There is one table and one fire ring. It advertises room for horse trailers to get in and turn around, with horse ties, however that relates to RVs.
To clarify getting here: you take the turn off of highway 44 for the Hat Creek Overlook. If you keep going straight, you end up at the overlook, where there is RV-specific parking (I don't know about staying overnight there, as I didn't look into it). However, immediately after turning off of 44, there is a dirt road to the right. Taking that, the outhouse can be seen on the left, where the camp is.
Other people do use the campsite, and if you're here in PCT season (the ideal season for this spot), PCT hikers will probably come through. I saw at least one or more almost every day I was there; they didn't stop to camp here, but some may want to. It's an opportunity to be a "Trail Angel", and offer them some cold drinks (water or more conspicuous drinks), food, etc., if you're into that (a lot of them love chocolate and other candy bars!).
That said, it is not the most solitary (semi-developed) dispersed camping, and there is a potential for some noise. I wasn't bothered by the small amount of others at all, and had plenty of quiet and solitud while here.
Verizon signal was solid, 2 bars most of the time. Good speeds and otherwise not notable, in a good way.
The dirt road is easy, so it is very accessible, and the overlook has some stunnig views, which are mostly lost at this spot. The overlook is an extremely short drive or walk away, if you want to spend some time there, though.
Everything was clean for my stay, and I really have no complaints! I would definitely stay again!
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Verizon 4G
SubaruVagabond would stay here again
This review is the opinion of a Campendium member and not of Campendium.com
“Not for RV camping”
noted 6/21/2023
Just wanted to let people know that when I arrived today 6/21/23 the forest service informed me this is not an RV camp site. The area is for PCT hikers only. Just FYI, stay at your own risk.
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Amenities
Hookups
- dry camping
- Dispersed Camping
Recreation
- recreation trail
Site Amenities
- fire ring
- picnic table
Facilities
- restrooms: vault
Pets
- pets
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