95% (1.5K)
Top-rated campgrounds
95% (1.5K)
Top-rated campgrounds
Public campgrounds near Big Bend
Stories from the community
R
Rebecca
September 2025
Weekend Trip to Camp Stoney Meadows
Beautiful valley. Disconnect from cell phone. Gracious hosts. Adorable and friendly ranch dogs. One of the best off the grid places. $15 per person to visit the hot spring next door for a day pass. Book that thru Kish Creek hip camp. A gem! Thanks Scott
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J
Jenifer
September 2025
Tent
Super sweet spot with a lovely outdoor kitchen, flushing toilet, and shower. The creek is astounding and the hosts are the best!
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lorien
September 2025
Tent
Scott was so welcoming!
I loved talking with him about the history of the area surrounding The Lofton Ranch.
The garden was blooming with many types of delicious grapes, grilling corn & the most delicious plums I’ve ever eaten.
Camp Stony Meadows is absolutely lovely & it is a perfect place for me & my pup to put up tent for a couple of nights under the stars.
We WILL be back:)
I chose camp 5 by the waterfall & I’d like to try campsites 7 & 6 on my next trip up to the area. All the camp spots were equally situated by the river, only real difference is maybe the privacy offered. Some spots are closer to cabins for rest-room use or the closer to the awesome outdoor kitchen that is set up with pic-nic tables and everything you could need for a family gathering.
Scott can help you figure out any plans in the area for things to do….
a river dip?
a hot tub perhaps?!!
Swimming’ holes abound around the area & Scott can tell you the way!
I will certainly be back!
Me & my dog Shade loved every minute of our time here at Camp Stony Meadows.
My favorite part of Scott’s ranch might be the way the mosquito population that can sometimes plague one in other nearby areas
is gently and perfectly managed by an army of dragonflies come evening time💙💜💚
~And the mosquitos that the dragonflies miss get swooped up by swifts & swallows!
I usually leave Big Bend covered in bites after camping in the area, but not at Scott’s Ranch! Everything comes together perfectly, naturally here.
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Garrett
September 2025
Tent
What an absolute incredible place to stay!! We wish we could have stayed longer but will be sure to come back. From the farm where you can pick your own corn, tomatillos, grapes and other great fruits and veggies, to the wide open farm, and amazing shallow river to be able to cool off in, this place is an all time favorite place to stay. Scott was very nice and helpful, checking in to make sure everything was going well. The kitchen had everything needed along with working toilet that flushed. Again, I can’t express what an amazing and magical place this is. Huge thanks to Scott for letting us stay here. We will be back!!
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P
Patrick
September 2025
21 ft Class B
With pets
Scott was very welcoming. Camp is very well set up with kitchen, restrooms & shower. All very rustic & charming. Beautiful area. The drive in is long & bumpy but well worth it.
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DC
September 2025
20 ft pop-up camper
Very peaceful with the convenience of a communal kitchen, showers and a flush toilet. The creek is beautiful and due to its remote location there was only one other couple so we were able to spread out between two other sites. We were awestruck by the stars and were lulled to sleep by the night sounds of crickets and the creek. The raspberries growing both wild and in the garden and were delicious. We also enjoyed plums and grapes. Our host Scott was our hero when we had trouble with our hitch and he brought out tools and grease until we succeeded in hooking it up for our departure. We greatly enjoyed iron canyon reservoir which is stuffed with trout and again there were no other people. We had a lovely time kayaking there. We highly recommend!
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Elise
September 2025
Tent
This was our 6th visit to Stoney meadows after the past 3 summers of visiting and as usual, it was absolutely perfect. The hospitality, helpfulness (thank you again for the tire assistance Alex!) the magical and peaceful setting, new friends made, the usual Saturday pizza night, and of course the dogs and the best swimming holes…it’s just our favorite place to continue returning to year after year. See you all next summer!
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Sarah
September 2025
Tent
With pets
Absolutely loved our time at Scotts campsite. He was very welcoming and the property was so unique and had was perfect for a family camp trip. He had water jugs throughout the campsite, the bathroom was super clean, and well maintained, and the kitchen had all the utensils and the items you need for a basic cooking. We had the pleasure to joined him on his pizza night and had pizza from his home made pizza oven with other campers and was a great time! We enjoyed the swimming role, which is 5-10 min walk from the campsite and eating grapes from his garden. It was a perfect weekend and we would love to come back sometime soon.
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bogdan
September 2025
5 nights at Camp Stoney Meadows
We were second time at Stoney Meadows. We love the place. Cottages are very nice, kitchen well equipment, shower and bathroom very clean. For us like private retreat. Hosts and staff are very nice and helpful. Valley and creek are very pictures. It's are best place for vacation.
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Oliver
September 2025
With pets
Me and my wife stayed in one of the creekside bunkhouses and it was amazing! Super nice and quiet area with beautiful views and everyone here is so kind! 10/10 would recommend!
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C
Christal
September 2025
With pets
Scott and Nora have created a magical landscape to explore like you’re a child again. Every part of it consists of beauty and thoughtful intention so you can fully enjoy nature. The Bunkhouse had AC, windows for ventilation and comfy cots! They give you keys to lock your rooms. A mini fridge and microwave are available to you as well. It truly felt like magic being there. We enjoyed the stream directly in front of our bunkhouse. A walk and a few steps down a hill away, is a DARLING swimming hole that we enjoyed - complete with inner tubes and a chair provided by the host. It was absolutely stunning. The shared bathroom, shower and outdoor kitchen was so clean and well kept. This was my first experience using this app and I think I got extremely lucky with finding this place.
There were children running around unplugged from technology, playing in the stream, riding ATV’s and they were just as welcoming as the hosts themselves! This may be a no brainer as well, but seeing the sky at night in their open field was probably my favorite part of the stay. I had never seen so many stars in my life. I hope that when I have kids, this little place is still running so I can bring them here to experience the magic I did.
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N
Neal
September 2025
Tent
With kids
Beautiful and peaceful. Campsite #7 was very spacious and private and they added an extra toilet and spout right by the site which was very handy.
Would recommend. Had no problem using Google Maps to find the location.
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Virginia
August 2025
20 ft campervan
Nora and Scott are incredibly friendly.
Camp spots are fairly close together, so keep that in mind. The facilities, including a bathroom, shower, and covered outdoor kitchen were a very nice perk. They also have a nice swimming hole on the river attached to their property.
We happened to be there on pizza night and Scott and Nore make the dough and sauce from scratch, so good!
They have a number of dogs that roam the ranch to protect their animals, so make sure you're dogs are friendly if you plan to travel with one. Also, not advised if you have a vehicle that's low as the roads are a bit bumpy.
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Elizabeth
August 2025
Tent
This was such a wonderful place to camp! The property had amazing trails and refreshing watering holes. We tent camped and it was so nice to wake up and fall asleep to the sound of the rushing water. Nora and Scott are also incredibly generous with the garden they have on site. Our breakfast was complimented by the fresh fruit we picked to snack on! We are already planning a longer trip back!
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t
taeleen
August 2025
Tent
Group trip
This place is amazing! We stayed in campsite 7 and it was a nice secluded spot next to the water. Other than one other couple we basically had the place to ourselves. Scott was amazing! Gave us a good lay out of what was available to us day one but did check in to make sure we had everything and enjoying his beautiful property on the following days. If you are debating campsites to stay at I would highly recommend this place! If you are debating what campsites to stay at here our top sites would be 1,5,and 7. We have only stayed at site 7 however site 5 has a mini waterfall next to it and site 1 is right next to a nice little swimming spot. Definitely returning, maybe our new yearly tradition!
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Eva
August 2025
Tent
With pets
Wonderful welcoming host, welcomed us immediately and was very informative about their property, a joy to speak to, it's a beautiful property with mountain views. Local animals are friendly dogs, pony, cows, bulls, calves & donkey and some canadian goose on the swimming pond. Host Scott showed us around the property which was an extra bonus and explained the hydro electric power supply used from the river to power everything which makes this camp green energy that sells back to the grid! The veggie garden was open for the seasonal veg and fruit picking and was a treat to walk through and look for good grilling corn. Liked the semi remote location, full amenities, peaceful and relaxing to be at the end of the road next to the national forrest and river. We didnt see deer, bear or cougars but did see bear poop on the trail leading to the larger water hole at the backend of the property leading into tthe national forrest. Beautiful stars at night as well! Very clean campsite with again all the amenities! Thank you so much Nora and Scott!!!
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Yehoon
August 2025
Tent
This was an excellent place to camp! We loved the creek right next to the site — it was wider than I expected and so peaceful. The swimming hole was absolutely amazing, and the bathrooms were very clean. The shared kitchen with a microwave and fridge was a huge plus, and pizza night was a lot of fun — a great chance to meet and chat with other campers.
The little pond with the pedal boat was a big hit with the kids, and all the campsites were nicely shaded, which made our stay even more comfortable. The picnic tables looked newer and were very convenient, and the wild blackberries around the sites were delicious!
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Yehoon
August 2025
Tent
With kids
This was an excellent place to camp! We loved the creek right next to the site — it was wider than I expected and so peaceful. The swimming hole was absolutely amazing, and the bathrooms were very clean. The shared kitchen with a microwave and fridge was a huge plus, and pizza night was a lot of fun — a great chance to meet and chat with other campers.
The little pond with the pedal boat was a big hit with the kids, and all the campsites were nicely shaded, which made our stay even more comfortable. The picnic tables looked newer and were very convenient, and the wild blackberries around the sites were delicious!
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Robert
August 2025
16 ft car
Great place to camp, well worth the roadtrip down the mountains and into the valley
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Amanda
August 2025
Tent
Had an amazing time! Scott greeted me and showed me around. He even brought me an over a fresh peach from their tree. The property is beautiful and I will definitely be back. Thank you!!! 👏
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The best waterside camping near Big Bend guide
Where to go
Natural hot springs
Big Bend is quite literally a hotbed for natural hot springs, with several st along the Pit River. While there’s no guarantee if or when any particular hot spring will be open, the adventurous can certainly find a spot of their own.
National and state parks
If you’re already in the Big Bend area of Shasta County, Lassen National Volcanic Park, Castle Crags State Park, and Burney Falls are all within a two-hour drive and worth the trek for an incredible camping trip. Hike above 10,000 feet on Mt. Brokeoff or Mt. Lassen in Lassen National Park, make your way up the rough-but-beautiful rock “crags” at Castle Crags, or unwind next to the picturesque natural waterfalls in Burney, enjoying the scenic drives along the way.
Iron Canyon Reservoir
Beyond the Pit River, the Iron Canyon Reservoir sits near Big Bend and offers both canoeing and float tubing. In addition to dispersed camping, there are two designated campgrounds as well: Deadlun Campground and Hawkins Landing Campground.
When to go
Big Bend sits at approximately 1,700 feet above sea level, so while it gets cold in winter, it’s unlikely you’ll be snowed in. Its nearby destinations like Lassen and Mount Shasta, however, put visitors above treeline with the potential to be in need of tire chains fast. In mountain ranges such as the Cascades and Sierra Nevada, trekking is typically safest between Memorial Day and Labor Day for favorable weather and clear roads. Campgrounds in this area’s popular locations are most difficult to obtain in the summertime and over holiday weekends, so it’s best to book in advance online.