Hat Creek Campground

Old Station, California

This is our last full hook-up campground before we move back into our house in San Jose. Elaine looked at the sign and said “Hand Scooped Ice Cream? What other kind is there?” Well, I guess the novelty kind that is individually wrapped.

There is a small post office that is located next to the campground office.

The horses have large 20 x12 pipe corrals, but no chains to secure them, so we are using the horse’s halters and leads to keep the gates secure.

The campground is a little bit tight to navigate around due to the trees, but we managed to squeeze into our campsite. Large rigs would be challenged. Elaine dropped her RV at her site and parked her horse box near the corrals.

You can access the Pacific Crest Trail directly from the campsite. The trails are sandy and mostly easy, but there are some narrow sections and areas with lava rock.

We visited Subway Cave, a large lava tube.

You can hike through without a guide, but bring a flashlight and sturdy shoes. The floor is very rough and uneven. The cave is located about five minutes from the campground.

It rained a couple of days during our stay. So, on one of the rainy days we drove into Lassen Volcanic Park (free with our senior pass/$30 without). It was raining at our campground, but snowing at the summit. The park entrance is about fifteen minutes from the campground.

I had wanted to see the Sulphur Works, but the road into that area of the park was closed and they were doing repair work on the boardwalk.

So, we visited Bumpass Hell instead.

Visiting Bumpass Hell while it was snowing felt a little surreal. Normally, we have visited this park during the summer.

Ari and Elaine rode together on our last day here while I did some work in our camp. Moving on to Red Bluff tomorrow as we slowly make our way south. Elaine is having a great time seeing some of the beauty of Northern California.