A 3-Day Shasta Lake RV Itinerary (With Boat Days)

The plan in one line

Day 1, camp on the Sacramento Arm near Lakehead. Day 2, spend the day on the water on the McCloud Arm and take the Lake Shasta Caverns tour. Day 3, stop at Shasta Dam and Redding's Sundial Bridge on the way home.

Before you leave home

• Pick a campground that fits your rig. Under about 35 feet, the Forest Service campgrounds on the Sacramento and McCloud arms work well. Longer than that, or want hookups, book a private park. Our big rig guide has the site-by-site limits.
• Check the lake level. It decides which ramp you use. See today's conditions and our boat ramp guide.
• Fill up first. Forest Service campgrounds have no hookups and no dump station, so arrive with full water and empty tanks.

Day 1: settle in on the Sacramento Arm

Lakehead is right off I-5, about 25 miles north of Redding, which makes it an easy first night. Reservable Forest Service options are Antlers and Lakeshore East. With hookups, try Antlers RV Park or Shasta Lake RV Resort.

If the lake is above 992 feet, launch at the Antlers ramp. Below that, Antlers is out and you'll use the Sugarloaf low-water ramp about two miles south, which works down to 907 feet.

Day 2: the McCloud Arm and Lake Shasta Caverns

The McCloud Arm is the pretty one, with limestone walls and steep forested shores. Launch at Hirz Bay, which works down to 972 feet. Bailey Cove is the other McCloud Arm ramp, but Bailey Cove Road and the Bailey Cove campground road are closed by Forest Order 14-25-11 from Sept 4 through Dec 31, 2026.

Lake Shasta Caverns, near O'Brien, is the classic side trip. The tour includes a boat ride across the lake and a ride up the mountain to the cave entrance. Tour times change by season, so check before you go.

If you'd rather stay on the water, the Greens Creek boat-in campground on the McCloud Arm has a trail that climbs to limestone formations on the ridge. It's a good spring or fall hike and a hot one in summer.

Day 3: Shasta Dam and Redding

Head south to the Shasta Dam overlook and visitor area. Check with the Bureau of Reclamation on whether dam tours are running, and note that the road across the dam closes overnight, 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. Then drive into Redding and walk the Sundial Bridge over the Sacramento River before you get back on I-5.

Going in the fall?

• Antlers campground only has Loop 1 open in October, and it closes after October 31. Lakeshore East is open all year.
• Hirz Bay campground goes first come, first served from mid-September to mid-May.
• Below 972 feet, Hirz Bay's ramp is out. Launch at Packers Bay, Sugarloaf, Jones Valley or Centimudi instead, and plan on a longer run if you want to reach the McCloud Arm. Jones Valley and Centimudi both work down to 857 feet.

Make it longer

Add a night at a small first-come campground from our hidden gems guide, or a free boat-in night at Ski Island or Greens Creek.