Blue Oak Campground

Blue Oak Campground is in the Indian Valley Reservoir Recreational area. It is a Free BLM campground located just west of Williams and east of Clear Lake.
See my video at: https://youtu.be/BbaKypHoNac

I stayed Wed, March 8 through Friday, March 10. I loved the campground but the disappointing thing was that it was full of trash at every campsite. I picked the cleanest one and still had to pick up trash around the site. The fire pits were full of garbage that shouldn't be burned. The next time I come I going to bring several big black trash bags to pick up some of the stuff. It's a beautiful campground with a running stream next to the sites. You better like frogs because they sing for you at night and they can get a little loud. They do settle down and become quieter later in the evening. The pit toilet didn't smell which was nice but all the toilet paper was gone on all 4 rolls. So, best to bring your own. *smiles*

Only saw a few vehicles and I was the only camper at the campground. I enjoyed the solitude with my puppies. During the day I did hear lots and lots of gun fire on Wednesday and Thursday so, this area maybe popular for people to go practice shooting their guns.

I have Google's Project Fi and had no service...

It's less than a 2 hour drive from UC Davis but feels like it's a million miles away. We love Blue Oak for its seclusion, walking trails, and the fact that it's free, which isn't easy to find in this area of California. It's also a 1-2 mile walk from Indian Valley Reservoir, which is great for fishing/kayaking and has a boat ramp. If you're willing to climb the foothills, there are also stunning views of the valleys below.

The campground itself has 6 or so campsites, each with a fire pit and picnic table. There's one vault toilet. It's tucked in a valley and there is absolutely zero cell phone reception, both AT&T and Verizon tested, but if you climb up foothills, you can catch enough reception to get a text message or email out. We have not tested out our cell booster here yet.

It's true that there's a lot of littering here, and it can get loud with the dirtbikers and the shooters. We have come here before to find every site taken by a bunch of dirtbikers revving their engines repetitively, so we kept driving and made our own spot further down the dirt road and were unbothered.

Can get unbearingly hot in the summer and very muddy/difficult to access in the winter, so time your visit accordingly.

The semi-remote campground has a couple things going for it: the price (free!) and the lack of lights (which makes it perfect for seeing stars).

I went off season (February) and it was cold (naturally) but surprisingly windy and LOUD! Windy enough that I didn't dare do a campfire (lest it get away) and loud enough that I should have worn earplugs.

I will go back (free!) but frankly, there are better campgrounds out there.

Tried to stay here on a Sunday/Monday night. Was still busy Sunday afternoon so I continued on to a disperses campsite which was nice. I did not like to look of the people staying there (this is kind of a sketchy area anyway). By Sunday night they were all gone. But I was already set up. So good midweek.

This camp was fine. About 6 sites, all nice and a pit toilet. No cell service unless you hiked up the hills. A lot of people come and go through the night and there were some sketchy trashy things around (like an abandoned car and a human wig hanging on a tree ???). It's also quite far from any significant amenities (food shopping, for example), eventually we decided just to leave because the commute to get supplies was nearing 2 hours.

Beautiful hikes around though. There is a lot of off road vehicle activity, but it wasn't terribly disruptive, though we were there in the winter months. (Feb. 2020).

The drive in is steep and bumpy for quite a long time. The camp beyond this one is closed due to fire and the signs at the main road say that, but this one is open.

10 mile drive in and you can’t safely go more than 10 mph. Takes an hour. But it was nice and quiet, super quiet. No cell. No water. No showers. Pit toilet.