Beehive offers shoreline camping without designated sites along Shasta Lake's Sacramento River Arm. It's bare-bones dispersed camping with seasonal restrooms and trash service, best suited for boaters and water sports enthusiasts who want direct lake access without the structure of formal campgrounds.
Campground Details
- ⛺Type
- Primitive
- 💵Fee per Night
- Free
- 📍GPS
- 40.84880, -122.40305
- 🐾Pets Allowed
- No
- 🗺️Address
- CA
The Camp
This is shoreline dispersed camping in its simplest form — no designated sites, just open space along the Sacramento River Arm where you can set up anywhere that works. The area sits at 1,067 feet elevation on Lake Shasta's 365 miles of shoreline, surrounded by steep mountains covered in manzanita and evergreens. Mount Shasta's snow-capped peak is visible in the distance.
During the managed season (roughly mid-May through mid-September), you'll find portable toilets and trash service. Outside those months, it's true pack-in, pack-out camping with no facilities and no fees.
What to Know
This runs first-come, first-served only — no reservations, and you must be physically present to claim and pay for your spot the day you arrive. The recreation.gov app offers scan-and-pay convenience, or use the on-site iron ranger for cash and checks.
Water levels dictate much of the experience here. When Lake Shasta is full, informal mooring works well for boats. The public boat ramp at Sugarloaf sits about a mile away, though its usability depends on current water levels.
On the Water
The location draws water skiers and jet skiers, along with anglers targeting the lake's diverse fishery: trout, catfish, Chinook salmon, crappie, bluegill, white sturgeon, brown bullhead, and bass. The informal mooring setup makes this particularly appealing for multi-day fishing or watersports trips where you want your camp right at the water's edge.
The setting within Shasta-Trinity National Forest — California's largest — puts you in reach of five wilderness areas, hundreds of mountain lakes, and over 6,000 miles of streams and rivers, though the immediate focus here is clearly the lake itself.