Bushay Recreation Area

- Easy to access, right off the 101 - Free firewood all around the campgrounds - Free showers (no need for quarters) - Super clean and well lit bathrooms - Ranger patrolling often (we are 2 young women, this helped us feel a little safer) - Standard campsite setup (bench + fire ring) but also included a pole with a hook - perfect for hanging lights, a tarp, drying dishware, etc. - Heads up! Advanced reservation is required Since my friend and I decided to plan a last minute camping trip, reservations were hard to find anywhere. I'm from Santa Cruz and hardly ever make it north of San Francisco so Bushay Campground sounded like a nice getaway. However I was a little hesitant since there were so many open sites here and mixed reviews but it really was just too perfect. We stayed Sat-Mon and it was pretty much empty by Sun (workweek + predicted rain). Everyone else staying the weekend was very friendly and helpful. The rain only made the campsite so much more lush and beautiful and luckily we were prepared for the rain. The sound of frogs and turkeys added a nice touch and we also saw tons of fascinating birds (including a bald eagle!!). I'm used to camping on hard dirt so the cushion of the grassy campsites was really nice, plus the dead grass served as decent tinder. Also, I accidentally left my camping chairs behind :( and an employee reached out to me to let me know! I wish it wasn't a 3+ hour drive for me because I would love to already head back lol.

We stayed for 4 nights, although the lake is still really low, we still had a great time! The grounds were clean, but would have been nice to have had a string trimmer. 😁 Restrooms are well kept. They Army Corp have been quite busy, and many trees have been removed due to disease. It was very nice!

Nice spot near the lake one thing tho there's absolutely no where to fish they advertise it but you can't get to the shore from anywhere.

Warm and sunny. Took the kayaks out for 4 hours. The road to the camp ground was still flooded so it was interesting to be floating where wed normally be driving.

Nice campground with convenient showers (free) and toilets. Very friendly camp manager. Firewood to be found all around the campsite. We were there during 3 weekdays and were almost the only ones there. Very peaceful and quiet. Very hot too, so make sure to pick a spot at the lakeside to get a bit of a breeze. And consider doing something off site (in your airconditioned car) during the hottest hours of the day.

Why is Boucher Campground closed? This is an amazing spot. Bring the lake level down so I can go to my campground, please