Merrill Campground

I spent only one night at Merrill Campground, as I was transiting to another location, but I have to say that it's one of the best I've visited!

To begin, it's located in the Eagle Lake Recreation Area of Lassen National Forest. This lake is famous for its Rainbow Trout, so you'll be competing with fishermen (fisher people?) for campsites. The area in general is beautifully forested and peaceful.

The campsites - Oh my! Large, paved, and level with various levels of amenities (water, electric, sewer). I couldn't imagine a nicer site. The bathrooms are super clean. The only thing they lack are showers, but never fear - you can take a less than 10-minute drive to the Gallatin Marina Store & Boat Launch for a wash. The Gallatin Store is well-stocked with everything you need for both camping and fishing, along with food/drinks/ice.

The camp hosts are very friendly and helpful; they've been hosting this campground for a number of years and are a wealth of knowledge for all visitors.

The only drawback this year (2021) - and I don't consider this a negative mark on the campground - are the forest fires which result in smoke and ash.

We stayed in the full hookup section of the Merrill Campground. The sites are spacious, level, and clean. The adjoining sites are at a comfortable distance, so there is a good sense of privacy. The pictures say it all. The only down side to the campground is that the full hook up sites go fast. It can get tricky to get reservation when you want them. The partial hook up sites, with water and electricity, are also very nice and are $5 cheaper. There is a pump out station across the road from the campground that is part of the same facility. The fee is $5. The Forest Service campsite information about the camp sites is very detailed.

The cell service has gone down hill a bit, based on other reviewers, as we were only able to consistently get 1 Verizon bar with a teaser of 2 for a minute or so.

We stayed here in late September, at the end of the season. The campground hostess, Karen, was very accommodating and helpful. We stayed in the full hookup loop (furthest from the lake) for the first few days when a storm blew through, then moved closer to the shore in the loop with no hookups. The spaces are deep and spacious with plenty of room between neighbors. The bathrooms are clean, but there are no showers. There is a 5 mile bicycle loop that is gorgeous. We did some kayaking and birdwatching and had a great getaway. I imagine it is pretty busy during the summer. We used our Senior National Park Pass for a discounted rate.

We stayed here one night on our way from Crater Lake to Yosemite in late Mid September. Camp Host were great. Several price options depending on level of hook ups from Dry to Full. If you have one of several national park passes, you get half off. This is true with many of the National Forest Service Camps. So.. if you are visiting national parks and staying in forest service camps, get the pass! The pass also works for day use areas. Ours has more than paid for itself this year. Back to the park. We stayed out at the lake view slots. Nice flat paved sites. Tables and fire pits provided. Beautiful sunset and moon rise. Sites are HUGE compared to most parks with lots of room between camps. Bathrooms are nice and clean. I spoke to several fisherman who all gave decent reports. Looked like a trolling game for the most part. RV Dump located across street with a $5 honor system. Great stay.

This is a campground with multiple options such as $20/40/50/sites depending if you want nothing to full hookups. We paid $20/night with our national parks pass and had water and electric. The $20/ night sites are closest to the water but the lake is still 100/yards away. The sites closest to the water had little shade but you had your choice with the other sites.
There are paths to the Lake but the entry for kayaks or swimming is muddy and shallow. Some people had boats on buoys a few hundred feet from the shore. I did have my paddle board there and not locked up for 4 days. We launched our kayaks about 3 miles away at the free boat ramp. We kept our kayaks locked up aside the ramp. There is a 10 plus mile hike bike path that goes from multiple CG’s to the launching facility. Many people were fishing for trout but only from boats.
THE BIG NEGATIVE ARE THE BEES. (Yellow jackets, wasps, bees). They are everywhere and previous campers had brought along bee traps that you saw hanging everywhere.
Not many options to swim either.
$5 dump fee

Merrill Campground is right on the lake. The loops farthest from the lake have full 50A hook ups. The trees in and around the campground are tall and beautiful. People in the camp seemed really friendly, and it was very quiet at night. The camp hosts were very good.

We fished all week. The catch was limited compared to years ago. There seems to be quite a bit of conflict over the lake users and the surrounding ranches. See https://eaglelakefishing.net/current-fishing-report/

Normally it can be blistering hot in July, but temps were in the 80Fs and low 90Fs. Not cool, but better than the sometimes 100F+.

For me, it is a bit of a haul to get there. We live near Santa Rosa CA, and despite Google map's 6 hour prediction, it took us 8.5 hours towing. The roads from Red Bluff to the lake are in good shape, single lane, with frequent passing lanes and turnouts.

Chester was recommend by my brother as the last chance for fuel, but we gassed up in Red Bluff and make it back with fuel to spare.

My only thought about the site, and perhaps camping in general, was the presence of dogs. I love dogs. We had dogs as a family growing up, and I've had very loyal and sweet dogs as an adult. What seems to be the norm during this trip was that there were a LOT OF DOGS. If you did not hear the dogs challenging each other with barking, you heard the owners yelling at their pet. Something to think about.

The most silly thing I saw during this trip was the neighboring site's camper using a full sized blower to spruce up his pad during the day. I never expected to see that. Perhaps a broom made sense to me, but not an electric blower.

2021 update: the lake is low. We had to back our tandem axle boat trailer off the end of the ramp to launch.

So pretty out here and well worth even one nights stay. Sites with hookups are a little close to each other, but the scenery is gorgeous, the lake is amazing, and I didn’t even mind the mosquitoes and midges. Stayed in early June on a Thursday night and the campground was mostly empty. Sites are large. We stayed in a 34 ft travel trailer.

Of the 4 campgrounds at Eagle Lake in Lassen NF, Merrill is the biggest and busiest. We were here in mid July, mid-week with no reservations and there were over 20 walk in sites available. It did get more full by Friday. I had a water/elecric site which is one loop away from the loop closest to the water that had no hookups. The only reason I got hookups instead of choosing the uninterrupted lake view sites was that it was 95 degrees and my daughter wanted AC in the heat of the afternoon. From the campground we walked down a short trail and swam in the lake. It was shallow, soft silt bottom, very warm water near the shore but progressively cooler the further out we went. No beach, but people had chairs and canopies set up in the 18inch reeds and mud that line the shore. Lots of boating, floating, and fishing going on. Our favorite activity was riding bikes on the dedicated, paved path that winds through the woods with periodic amazing lake views. It is an easy 5 mile path that goes from the marina(were you can get ice and take showers) by Merrill and ends at Christie campground. We had a few mosquitoes in the morning and evenings but not enough to make me put on repellant or retreat inside. The nights cooled down pleasantly. The only reason I did not give it 5 stars is that I think this campround should have showers for rinsing off after tubing or swimming in the lake. Nice newish flush bathrooms in this loop. I really liked the adjustable bbq grill/platform over the fire pit that could be used for a camp stove or to cok over the campfire. Most sites have partial to full shade from mature pines. Sites closest to the lake had little to no shade. Noise was mostly from lots of vehicles moving boats and shuttling folks to anchored boats and marina.