Castle Crags State Park

“Due to the recent visitation surges at this unit, the park is again temporarily closing vehicular access, meaning that there is no camping, parking facilities, or vehicular use of park roadways beginning July 22, 2020 until further notice. All restrooms are closed. The park will be open for locals who can walk or bike in for trail or day-use.”

From Parks.CA.gov

Wanted a place for one night on our way to Washington and this filled our needs. Being right off I5 made it perfect for stopover but being so close to I5 also made it less than quite. There was also a train running. Stayed in May so everything was still green. Campground was pretty much empty. Our site had a concrete pad, we still had a little leveling to do. Campground had flush toilet, shower and running water. No hookups.
Trail down to the Sacramento River. Hiking trails throughout but one we enjoyed was the Vista trail. Views of the crags and Mount Shasta.

I stayed here only one night, on the way north toward Oregon. The park is located just off Interstate 5, which is convenient but also a major drawback due to noise. I recommend staying on the Upper Loop, which is further from the highway. I arrived late and the only availability was the Lower Loop.

The site was fine for tent camping, but the noise from the interstate was very loud. Also, the mosquitos were horrendous! They swarmed any exposed skin and made it impossible to enjoy sitting outside. The bathrooms had running water, showers and flush toilets; however they were nothing to write home about and could use a cleaning.

I didn't hang around the next day to do any hiking, but the park looks fairly nice.

In the future, I would likely make this a day trip or visit during the cooler months when the bugs are less active.