“Perfect RV Overnight for Visiting Lassen Volcanic National Park!”
Lassen National Park Camping
Looking back at places we have stayed this trip, I had forgotten about this beautiful dry camping spot at Lassen Volcanic National Park in Northern California. I couldn’t let it slip by us without sharing with you.
We visited Lassen Volcanic in early May and most of the access roads and campgrounds were closed limiting us to the Kohm Yah-mah-nee Visitor Center at the park’s south entrance.
We knew our visit would be a short overnight but didn’t have much luck finding camping accommodations close to the park, mainly due to the remaining snow. Then I noticed a small note on the NP website stating that we could overnight in the Visitor’s Center parking lot in our RV for a fee. This turned out to be the perfect solution for us.
The southwest campground is located on the east side of the Kohm Yah-mah-nee Visitor Center parking area.
A short walk along a paved walkway provides easy access to each site. The Mill Creek trail begins from the north side of the campground. Additional areas nearby include the Brokeoff Mountain trailhead, Ridge Lakes trailhead and Sulphur Works hydrothermal area. ~NP Website
These are “tent only” sites open year-round with snow camping in the winter. RVs are allowed to park in the parking lot overnight for $10. It wasn’t clear if RVs are limited to just one night in the lot; campground limit is 14 days. There are vault toilets at the campground and water through mid-Oct. Fire rings and metal food storage boxes are located at each campsite. Water, restrooms, free WiFi and a small restaurant located in the Visitor’s Center.
We were one of about a half a dozen other campers, all but us were tent campers, so it was very quiet. Its super dark there at night so star gazing is a must.
I can’t speak to how busy the parking lot might be in the summer but there are only 10 parking spaces long enough to pull through with an RV for the night. The parking lot is not all that flat, slopes away from the visitor’s center, but will do for one night. Tip: Follow the GPS coordinates to Google Maps and zoom in with “Satellite View”. There is a very clear image of the parking lot, etc.
The Visitor’s Center was very nice, did I mention free WiFi, and we were able to get a ton of additional information about the park. Unfortunately, we were about 1 week early for the road opening so we will definitely return; we heard the drive through the park is amazing.
Would We Stay Again?
We look forward to a future visit to Lassen Volcanic National Park so we can get out and explore the park.
Nightly Cost: $10
Days Stayed: 1
Hookups: Dry Camping (no hookups)
Pets: Allowed on leash
No cell service in the National Park. Free WiFi in the Visitors Center.
*This is our review/opinions of our stay at Lassen National Park RV Overnight Camping.*
You can find all of our Campground Reviews here on our 2018 Campground Reviews page along with a map of the places we have stayed.
Lassen National Park – GPS:40.4368, -121.5332