Over Labor Day weekend, we packed up the camp gear and joined the family on another camping trip! This time, we decided to drive north to the armpit of CA…Burney! The weekend was filled with lots of waterfalls in the area, which made all the hikes in the hot sun worthy. Here’s yet another review of a campground!
McArthur-Burney Falls Memorial SP – September 2010 
Rating: 3.5 out of 5
Location: Northeast of Redding, six miles north of Highway 299 on Highway 89 near Burney.
Amenities: Flushing toilets, showers (tokens), and a general store (amazing)
Pets: Allowed at no additional charge but you have to sneak them into the cabins. Shhhhh.
Pros: In 2007, 24 cabins were added to the campground. The cabins come equipped with bunk beds, propane heat, and are on sites big enough to hold additional tents! This was the first time we reserved a cabin and probably won’t be the last time! The two-room cabins were very roomy and the insulated walls kept us warm at night without having to use the propane heater. The weather in Burney tends to be on the warm side so the cabin also doubled as a place to escape the heat. There is currently no electricity but it appears there will be in the future. The cabins are separated from the tent campers and are spread fairly far apart from each other. Our favorite site was #71 and apparently, it’s the camp host’s as well! Right next to the site is a parking lot, which made it convenient for our visitors!! The campground’s centerpiece is the 129-foot Burney Falls. You can easily walk to the top of the falls but the walk to the base of the falls was moderate. No dogs are allowed on the trails. 🙁 Teddy Roosevelt once described Burney Falls as the “eighth wonder of the world”. We’re not sure if we would describe it as such, but they definitely were neat to see! The campground also has direct access to Lake Britton. According to signs on the beach, dogs are not allowed; however, we saw a lot of rule-breakers! Access to the lake is a long walk, so we recommend driving to the beach. At Lake Britton, you can rent canoes, paddle boats, etc. The campground is close to McCloud and Dunsmuir, so make sure you check out waterfalls at these locations. Check out our photo album for pics of all the amazing waterfalls we visited!!
Cons: The HEAT! If you can’t stand the heat…get out of the kitchen!! The weather in Burney can get quite warm so make sure you find a cabin/site in the shade! The temperature drops a few degrees in the shade and is quite noticeable! The highway traffic can be quite loud for a few cabins along the outer ring (sites 63 and 65). The bathrooms weren’t as nice as we would have liked (can we pick one water pressure and keep it there), but once the warm water hit the dirty skin…there was nothing better! Meat bees are also in the area so save some extra meat for them!
PS: The camp host, Dave, might recommend checking out the Burney cemetery and hiking to the white “beach”. If you don’t mind walking in the heat to see NADA…be our guest! Otherwise…save yourself an hour in the heat and go to Lake Britton! The white “beach” was non-existent and the lake looked like a swamp! The walk back to camp was not a happy one!!