Hirz Bay

Location

Gilman Road Exit off of Interstate 5
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Policies

Check-in

3:00 PM

Check-out

12:00 PM

Pets

Allowed (per listing)

Booking

First come, first served (pay on site)

About

Perched on a low hill among manzanita and oak, Hirz Bay Campground looks out across the McCloud Arm of Lake Shasta and offers 46 individual campsites each designed to accommodate both tents and RVs. Every site includes a paved parking spur, a picnic table, a bear-proof food locker and a single fire ring; common facilities at the campground include drinking water, flush toilets, a pay phone and an overflow parking area. The setting is characterful rather than manicured: trees provide shade and visual screening, and on clear days you can pick out snow-capped Mount Shasta on the horizon above the lake, which sits at roughly 1,067 feet elevation and offers some 365 miles of shoreline carved into steep, manzanita- and evergreen-covered slopes. A 2-mile Hirz Bay Trail starts at the campground for a straightforward hike, and the Hirz Mountain Lookout sitting near 3,500 feet offers longer panoramic vantage points toward Mount Shasta and Mount Lassen for those willing to drive or climb a little higher. Recreation here centers on the water and quick access to the wider Shasta-Trinity National Forest. The nearest public boat launch is about a mile away at Hirz Bay; nearby resorts and marinas on the lake provide watercraft rentals and fuel, so you can plan for power boating, non-motorized paddling, water skiing and swimming. Lake Shasta supports a wide range of angling targets trout, catfish, Chinook salmon, crappie, bluegill, white sturgeon, brown bullhead and bass while the forest beyond adds opportunities for auto touring, climbing, horseback riding, hunting, picnicking and even winter sports in season. Reservations are handled through Recreation.gov; note that refunds must be requested no later than 14 days before arrival for a full refund (recreation.gov fees are excluded) and an additional non-refundable $10 reservation fee applies to online and call-center bookings. For recreation.gov refunds call 1-877-444-6777; cash or check refunds are issued by check within 30 days and require contacting the local office at 530-275-8113. Emergency-closure refunds will be processed when appropriate, but refunds are not issued for naturally occurring events such as low lake level, smoke or weather; walk-up site refund requests should be handled through the on-site host or by calling 530-275-8113.