“Fish on the mighty Sacremento”
This area offers visitors campsites, picnic sites, and a launch ramp for small boats. Riverbank cottonwoods and willows shelter one of the finest fishing stretches in California, with king salmon, steelhead, rainbow trout and striped bass some of the catches. The river is on a major migratory route for birds of the Pacific flyway and provides home to an amazing number of species. The River Patwin Indian tribe once lived nearby the area and in 1872 John Muir camped near what is now the park. Fishing for king salmon, steelhead, rainbow trout and striped bass is excellent in this stretch of the Sacramento River, California's largest river. Anglers also take consistent catches of catfish, shad, carp and sturgeon. The fall run of salmon comes in September and October. You can also catch them from November through January, though the fishing during high water isn't as satisfying. The spring run is April through June. The steelhead run is from late August to end of October; striped bass from April through June; and shad from mid-May to mid-June. Bank fishing is easiest from the river's northwest bank, outside the park, or you can take the trail to the parks gravel bar-beach area. You'll be most successful if you fish by boat, searching out the deep holes in the river bed.
Reviews of Colusa-Sacramento River State Rec Area
7 people have reviewed this location
Ratings Summary
Cell Coverage
Verizon 4G
Confirmed by 3 users | Last reported on March 10, 2022AT&T 4G
Confirmed by 3 users | Last reported on September 04, 2019Looking for a place to stay driving up the I-5, and not wanting to stop at the run-of-the mill RV parks, I looked for something a bit more off the beaten path. I was so happy to find this gem. It was over 100 degrees on the hot summer day I stopped here, so the old, large shade trees were a paradise of shade.
There is also nearby access to the Sacramento river, which seemed to be a good spot for the locals out fishing. There is a levee you can ride a bike on for miles. Also within walking distance is the town of Colusa with many parks, playgrounds, shops, and a few restaurants. I enjoyed my time exploring this quant old town, also riding a couple miles further into town for groceries and supplies.
While here, they were putting in electrical and water hookups, which would make this a 5-star spot in my book. As it is, it's my favorite 'dry' campground to date. Reviews on other sides have complained of a creepy, unfriendly park host. That person was not around while I was there, instead the park host at the time was a very friendly lady.
Don't worry about the 27-foot limit listed here. You could easily get a 40-footer into sites 10-14. Also there is 'enroute' camping for $14, versus the $28 I paid for a spot. That gets you a spot in the large empty parking lot, but doesn't get you the shade. Again, a 40-footer could park in the lot easily.
Nightly Rate: $28.00
Days Stayed: 1
Site Number: 14
Cell Coverage Rating
AT&T 4G
There's a county fair, pretty river, Casino and a cute little town. Nearest Starbucks is 30 minutes away, but there's a little diner nearby that looked well cared for. It was closing when we pulled into town at 10pm.The full hookup RV park next door looked mostly full of full-timers. There's a dump station at the state park and sites have water/electric. We arrived late so we just parked in one of the boondocking sites. We didn't use the restrooms so I can't speak for them, but on a Sunday night there was only about 4-5 other RVs there. There's a a park host on site. This is a very pretty location. It's almost fully shaded by the beautiful, mature trees. Sites are all paved, wide but a little shallow. We could've fit our 30 foot trailer if we unhooked. The boondock sites are longer, parallel parking sites, which allowed us to pull in without unhooking from our tow vehicle. They had a little built-in grill, a picnic table, grass and a tree. There's a large parking lot which was totally empty. The cell coverage was adequate that I could watch the livestream from my local tv station on Facebook.
Nightly Rate: $28.00
Days Stayed: 1
Site Number: -
We stayed in a site with no hook ups. The hook up sites were $26 at the time we were there. There are showers and a dump available. Sites are level and treed however close together affording little privacy.
The town is worth exploring. It’s very quiet town with lots to check out. A nice path runs along the river and go s through China Town. We enjoyed looking around on foot however we were there on Easter and everything was closed.
Nightly Rate: $15.00
Days Stayed: 2
Site Number: 14
Cell Coverage Rating
AT&T 4G
This is a nice little campground, close to town, and lots of shade. There are several sites that have 30 amp electrical but no water. There is a dump station with potable water. Now for the "but". . . the showers and restrooms had not been cleaned for who knows how long. Dirty floors, litter scattered around, and disgusting toilets. The ladies shower room smelled so bad that my wife refused to go in. All of this and there is an on-site camp host.
This is the first California State campground we have stayed in for many years and I hope the condition of this campground is not representative of the entire system. Maybe I am expecting too much, but I am from Oregon and am accustomed to a superlative State Park system.
Nightly Rate: $30.00
Days Stayed: 1
Site Number: 8
Cell Coverage Rating
AT&T 4G
I've stayed here twice, both times as I was on my way elsewhere. Colusa is a nice little town, quiet, and not so far off of interstate 5. The campground is a bit old and well-used but ok, clean enough, and has a dump station. Very little privacy between sites (and potentially none in the back RV lot), but the sites are paved and level. My most recent stay was the day after it re-opened from its COVID-19 hiatus so understandably not a lot of maintenance had been done. The campground was not full either time that I stayed, and the camp host kindly let me stay in one of their empty "premium" sites nearer to the bathroom even though I only paid the "back lot" price. There have been a lot of flying insects each time I've stayed (March and June), and it's been warm, so bug screens are a must!
The campground gets 4 stars not for aesthetics or location, but because of its convenience, level sites, relative emptiness (in my experience, though a weekend in fishing season might be different), flexibility and helpfulness of the camp host, and cleanliness (and I am fussy about that, particularly in these times of plague...). It's good for a stopover, not for an outdoors experience.
Nightly Rate: $13.00
Days Stayed: 1
Site Number: "Back Lot"
Cell Coverage Rating
Verizon 4G
About 8 miles off the interstate. Sites were too small for our 36’ rig so park host allowed us to park in the day use area with no hookups for $15. Bonus was casino 2 miles down the road with cheap gas!
Nightly Rate: $45.00
Days Stayed: 1
Site Number: -
Cell Coverage Rating
Verizon 4G
This does not seem like the same State Park property we stayed at many times a few years ago. It must be run by a contractor or some other arrangement...The oldest, most beat up bath/shower house I have ever seen. Infrastructure crumbling...The only nice thing about this campground is the friendly people staying here on their way north or south.
Nightly Rate: -
Days Stayed: 1
Site Number: -
Cell Coverage Rating
Verizon 4G
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Colusa-Sacramento River State Rec Area
Hours
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Parking
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Pets Allowed
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Restrooms
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Wifi
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Wheelchair Accessible
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Credit Cards Accepted
- Max Stay
- 14
- Max Length
- 27 ft
- Affiliation
- State park or forest
- Sites Count
- 14
- Last Nightly Rate
- 45.0
- Lowest Nightly Rate
- 13.0
- Back In RV Sites Count
- 18
- Longest Vehicle Length Reported
- 28.0
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Sites
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Laundry
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Propane
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Showers
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Big Rigs
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Boondock
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Firewood
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Fifty Amp
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Tent Sites
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Cabin Sites
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Full Hookup
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Paved Sites
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Dump Station
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Mobile Homes
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Public Water
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Pull Through
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Reservations
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Sewer Hookup
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Water Hookup
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Potable Water
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Age Restricted
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Rec Facilities
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Dispersed Sites
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Open Seasonally
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Permit Required
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Back In RV Sites
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Group Tent Sites
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Fulltime Residents
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Standard Tent Sites
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Pull Through RV Sites
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Vehicle Wash Permitted
Campground, Restrooms
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