Which Shasta Lake boat ramps work at low water?

Centimudi near Shasta Dam and Jones Valley on the Pit River Arm have the lowest floors, both usable down to 857 feet. Next come the Sugarloaf low-water ramp (to 907 feet), Packers Bay (952 feet) and Hirz Bay (972 feet).

What is full pool at Shasta Lake?

Full pool at Shasta Lake is 1,067 feet above sea level.

Which Shasta Lake ramps close first when the lake drops?

Bailey Cove on the McCloud Arm closes first, below 1,017 feet. Antlers on the Sacramento Arm follows below 992 feet, which is when the Sugarloaf low-water ramp opens.

Is the Antlers boat ramp open?

Only when the lake is above 992 feet. Below that, use the Sugarloaf low-water ramp a couple of miles south, which works down to 907 feet. On October 3, 2026 the lake was at 980.8 feet, so Antlers was out and Sugarloaf was open.

Where can I check the Shasta Lake water level today?

CampSiteHQ's conditions page shows the lake level from the California Data Exchange Center (station SHA) and which Forest Service ramps are above their usable floor.

Lake & Boating Guides

Shasta Lake Boat Ramps: Which Ones Stay Open at Low Water

The lowest usable lake level for all seven Forest Service boat ramps on Shasta Lake, how many lanes each keeps as the lake drops, and which close first.

CampSiteHQ EditorsChecked against Recreation.gov, USFS and CDEC dataUpdated October 4, 2026 4 min read

The short answer

When Shasta Lake drops, Jones Valley on the Pit River Arm and Centimudi near Shasta Dam stay usable the longest, down to 857 feet, which is 210 feet below full. Bailey Cove is the first ramp to go dry (below 1,017 feet), followed by Antlers (below 992 feet). When Antlers closes, the Sugarloaf low-water ramp opens a couple of miles away.

The photo at the top is the Jones Valley public ramp. It's one of ours.

Where the lake is now

Shasta is a working reservoir. Full pool is 1,067 feet above sea level, and the lake drops through summer and fall as water is released downstream. Each ramp has a lowest usable elevation published by the Forest Service. Above that number the ramp reaches the water; below it, the ramp is out.

October 3, 2026: the lake was at 980.8 feet, about 53.5 percent of capacity. Five of the seven Forest Service ramps were usable: Centimudi, Jones Valley, Sugarloaf, Packers Bay and Hirz Bay. Antlers was above the waterline, and Bailey Cove was closed by Forest Order. Hirz Bay was about 9 feet above its floor.

Today's level and every ramp's status are on our boat ramps page and the conditions page.

All seven ramps, lowest floor first

Ramp	Where	Usable down to	Lanes as the lake drops	Parking
Centimudi	Near Shasta Dam	857 ft	4 lanes to 992 ft (with courtesy dock), 3 to 972 ft, 2 to 857 ft	105 spaces
Jones Valley	Pit River Arm	857 ft	4 lanes to 1,017 ft, 2 to 927 ft, 1 to 857 ft	Not published
Sugarloaf	Sacramento Arm	907 ft	2 lanes; low-water ramp that opens below 992 ft	Not published
Packers Bay	Lower Sacramento Arm	952 ft	4 lanes to 1,017 ft, 2 to 952 ft	188 spaces
Hirz Bay	McCloud Arm	972 ft	3 lanes to 992 ft, 2 to 972 ft	61 spaces
Antlers	Sacramento Arm	992 ft	4 lanes	Not published
Bailey Cove	McCloud Arm	1,017 ft	2 lanes	Not published

Lane counts and floors come from the Forest Service ramp pages. The launch fee is $18 per vehicle per day at all seven; our launch fee guide covers season passes and discounts. Each ramp has its own page with today's status, lanes, parking and directions.

Bailey Cove Road and the Bailey Cove campground road are closed by Forest Order 14-25-11 from Sept 4 through Dec 31, 2026.

Planning by season

Spring and early summer: with the lake near full, every ramp works except Sugarloaf, which only opens once the lake is below 992 feet. Launch closest to camp.
Mid to late summer: below 1,017 feet, Bailey Cove is out and Jones Valley and Packers Bay drop to fewer lanes. Below 992 feet, Antlers closes and Sugarloaf opens.
Fall: below 972 feet, Hirz Bay is out, which leaves Packers Bay (to 952), Sugarloaf (to 907), Jones Valley and Centimudi. Below 907 feet, only Jones Valley and Centimudi are left.

Fewer lanes means longer lines on a Saturday morning. In a low-water fall, get to Jones Valley or Centimudi early.

Campgrounds near the last ramps standing include Lower Jones Valley and the Jones Valley Inlet shoreline on the Pit River Arm.

Before you tow

Ramps get shorter as the lake drops, so read the notices posted at the top of the ramp. California's clean, drain and dry rules for invasive mussels apply at every launch.

This guide covers the public Forest Service ramps only. Marinas run their own launches and set their own fees, so call them directly.

Sources: Shasta-Trinity National Forest ramp pages and orders, and the California Data Exchange Center (station SHA) for lake level, checked October 3, 2026.

Gear for this trip

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Campgrounds mentioned in this guide

Antlers Campground Bailey Cove Campground Hirz Bay Campground Jones Valley Inlet Shoreline Campground Lower Jones Valley Campground