Lake Oroville, CA

[Baja_Man]

Considering visiting this lake/reservoir in early July and was hoping someone could comment on this State Recreation area. Water levels are close to full so I would imagine this place will be busy this summer, especially considering its hasn't been full for many years.

I have looked at the CA state website for info, but was wanting more first hand experience

Of interest to me....

Amenities for boating i.e., launch ramp, marina with slips, condition of such

RV spaces and sizes (wide, level, room for a car, cleanliness, etc

Restrooms/showers....enough, where located, regularly cleaned, etc

Best FULL hook up RV spaces near Marina

And anything else you can share.

Thanks!

[Baja_Man]

Getting prepare for my stay at Bidwell Canyon RV park at Lake Oroville. Can anyone comment on this RV park? I also reserved a boat slip.

What are the pros/cons at Bidwell?
What are the pros/cons of marina and slips?
Restaurants and things to do, things to see nearby for a family?

Thanks!

[Baja_Man]

According to the folks at Lake Oroville, the lake is at 98% full capacity.

Memorial weekend may be difficult to secure a spot, but seeing as it's only one RV, you may lick out. Give Reserve America a call (they handle ALL State Park reservations in CA.) Sometimes the online info is not 100% accurate.

[dartmouth01]

I'm going to piggy back on this thread because it is somewhat relevant to my own search (found this thread when looking for "Lake Shasta"). I'm looking for camping space over Memorial Day weekend for about 20-30 people in the Shasta area. My 30' toyhauler would be the only rig, everyone else would car/tent camp. Not many group campsites available that I can find, but I stumbled upon Gregory Shoreline camping, which looks to be dispersed. Is the water level high enough that it will be tough to find a spot due to the lack of shoreline? Any other places I should consider in the area? Thanks in advance!

[YC_1]

I have not stayed there but have been there many times to launch. It is very nice.

[Baja_Man]

changed my dates to prior to the 4th and secured a spot at Bidwell Canyon section of Lake Oroville. Marina, slips, launch ramp, full hook-ups, general store.... Just what I was looking for!

Anyone ever stayed at Bidwell?

[timmac]

YC 1 wrote:

timmac wrote:
I stayed at a rv park at the casino on south side of town, cant remember the name but it was a nice rv park and they brew their own beer at the casino.

That is where I will stay if ever in that area again..

Thunder Hill? Probably not Gold Coast. I don't remember them having anything flat to park on.

Found it, its called Feather Falls Casino KOA in Oroville, nice RV park and nice casino, large fence in area for dogs to run without a lease and they have their own brewery..

[Lakejumper]

I agree with all that was said about Lake Shasta. We boated, fished and camped there for many years. It could be very hot in July so get full hookups. You can camp at Antlers resort on the Sacramento River arm if you want to be closer to the lake but you can't fish from your campsite. We have stayed at Mt. Gate and Premier RV parks numerous times and they are only 15 minutes from Bridge Bay Resort which is where we have moored our boat when we had one. Another nice lake, if you are willing to travel further, is Lake Siskiyou. It is a great small trout fishing lake and has a 5mph speed limit. Trinity Lake is also nice and there is a KOA there that used to have a marina but I don't know if it is still there as it was many years ago that we camped there. Whiskeytown lake is another possibility but the RV camping is far from the lake and truly is just a parking lot without hookups. There are several other lakes to consider which now have some water and will have more with the snow melt. New Hogan, Pardee (has full hookup sites and the lake level is almost full), Don Pedro, Comanche, New Melones to name a few but check the water levels. New Hogan, Comanche and Pardee have sites close to the water. I also like Kaweah River and Lake Kaweah by Sequoia. Sequoia RV Ranch has full hookups...Good luck!

[KMLsquared]

At Shasta we camp across from antlers at Gregory beach/creek camp area. But there are no hook ups or other amenities. We camp right on the beach near the water. Its lots of fun. Most Shasta regulars will complain that Antlers is quite a ways off the main body of the lake.

[Baja_Man]

thanks for the responses...

Doesn't have to be Oroville, just wanted to try something different.

Shasta is also one we are considering....YES most places are full by this time.

Anyone ever heard of Antlers RV park on Shasta? They have RV park and slips. This is about the only place that has 1-2 spaces left as of today.

[YC_1]

timmac wrote:
I stayed at a rv park at the casino on south side of town, cant remember the name but it was a nice rv park and they brew their own beer at the casino.

That is where I will stay if ever in that area again..

Thunder Hill? Probably not Gold Coast. I don't remember them having anything flat to park on.

[timmac]

I stayed at a rv park at the casino on south side of town, cant remember the name but it was a nice rv park and they brew their own beer at the casino.

That is where I will stay if ever in that area again..

[aerbus32]

Here's a suggestion. If there isn't a specific reason you're thinking Oroville, consider Lake Shasta. My wife's parents live in Redding, so we've spent lots of time on Shasta & visited virtually all the major impoundments between there & Temecula. (This was done before the regs involving invasive species.). Shasta is hands down our favorite. Any that allow body contact will be nuts around the Fourth. Shasta is the kind of lake where the ramps on weekends resemble the ramps at Lake Perris or Silverwood midweek summer. We've been in Redding on the Fourth, but I refused to deal with the crowds on the lake. They'd be leaving shortly anyway. There were always daily rental slips available. We used Bridge Bay. (Reserve now.) Redding has a number of excellent RV parks. Mountain Gate is very good & very close to Shasta. Premiere is where we stay because of its proximity to the family. JGW in Anderson is further away, but very nice. Some of the sites there are very close to the Sac River. Make reservations now. While Lake Oroville was very nice, it's proximity to Sac probably will make it very crowded at times. Our visit was midweek. It was deserted. But it was at least 2 decades ago. Admittedly, I am biased to Shasta, but I will throw this last tidbit out. Friends of mine that used tow their boats to the River used to ask why I would drive twice as far to go to Shasta. I used to tell them it was because it was twice as good. Two of them finally gave the lake a try. Both, independently told me I was wrong. It was 10x better. Whichever of the impoundments up there you go to, you will realize how comparatively lousy it is in So Cal. (Check the current regulations on the invasive species & boating in the lake(s) you decide to go to. We sold our last Sea Ray about a decade ago because it was getting too cumbersome to rotate between Big Bear, Silverwood, Perris & Diamond Valley the way I liked. I understand it's even worse now.)

[YC_1]

The 4th may be booked for any rv spaces already. Even the Dam launch site can fill up for launching. There are not a lot of RV parks at or on the lake unfortunately. The lake is beautiful and huge and will be warm and comfortable at that time of year. The fishing can be awesome. Bald Eagles, deer, and lots of other critters can be seen.

The name of the marina slips my mind but the one major one has a beautiful ramp. As far as slips you need to start making calls now.

There are a couple of nice RV parks in Oroville so if you can get a slip for the boat your drive will be very short. About 20 minutes or so.

There are two Indian Casinos and one has a nice RV park. It is fairly new. We stayed there for a weekend trip to get away. We lived just a few miles South of Oroville then. When going to Oroville lake it was a simple day trip for me. Less than an hour from home to launch,.