U.S. Forest Service · Klamath National Forest · CA

Carter Meadows Horse Group

ReservableBookable through October 18; December 15 opens June 15.
Book on recreation.govWe make nothing when you book
Right now
Taking bookingsSites offered on 1 of the next 2 nights; a database flag says not open read 16:27 UTC
Sites
1All of them booked ahead
5,860 ftElevation
275 ftWater · an unnamed stream
29 miN of Weaverville, CA
52%Tree cover
Bortle 2Night sky · 54th darkest of 1,201 in CA

The place

the agency’s own description · what’s there · 9 notices

In the agency’s own words

The Carter Meadows Horse Group Campground lies at the southern edge of the Klamath National Forest on the South Fork of the Salmon River. Designed for large groups with horses, the camp's proximity to the Trinity Alps Wilderness and the Pacific Crest Trail makes the site popular with riders and hikers. Keep reading

Recreation

The Carter Meadows Horse Group Site is adjacent to the Trinity Alps Wilderness and the Pacific Crest Trail. From this site, groups can ride to three trailheads that access several wilderness lakes and many miles of trails. Fishing is available in nearby streams and wilderness lakes.

Facilities

The Carter Meadows Horse Group Site is designed for up to 25 people and 25 horses. It includes an area for dispersed tent or trailer camping and three sections of corrals of varying sizes: seven one-horse corrals, three 2-horse corrals and three 3-4 horse corrals. The site also includes a gravel parking area, a gated entrance, a hitch rack and a mounting ramp.

Natural Features

The Klamath National Forest encompasses nearly 2 million acres of land straddling the California and Oregon border. The Klamath is a vast array of mountains, streams and lakes and, at elevations ranging from 450 to 8,900 feet, is home to diverse plant life and nearly 400 animal species. The partially shaded campground sits at an altitude of 5,800 feet.

Nearby Attractions

A short drive away, the Carter Meadows Summit is accessible for day hikes along the Pacific Crest Trail to Hidden and South Fork Lakes.

What the agency tells you

Rule

This horse camp will not accept walk-in reservations

Rule

Campers must bring certified weed-free feed for horses

Rule

Hikers and horsemen heading south into Trinity Alps Wilderness for overnight trips will require a Wilderness Permit in advance

Everything else this campground posts · 6
Rule

Contact the Salmon-Scott River Ranger District, 530-468-5351, to confirm camp, road and trail conditions prior to arrival

Rule

Groups should bring their own hoses and watering buckets

Rule

Grazing is not permitted within or adjacent to the site

Rule

Stock must be held in the corrals or parking area

Rule

Groups are expected to clean the corrals before they leave

Rule

Don't Move Firewood: Protect California's forests from tree-killing pests by buying your firewood locally and burning it on-site. For more information visit firewood.ca.gov.

Read them on the agency’s own page →

Tents and rigs

Sites
1 · 1 group, 1 equestrian
Hookups
None
Accessible sites
None listed
Pets
Allowed
Campfires
Allowed, barring fire bans
Shade
Every site
Source: Recreation.gov campsite records · Aug 23, 2026

Around the campground

On the water
Lake, River, Creek, Meadow
Fishing
Hiking
Horseback riding
Source: Recreation.gov activity records · Aug 23, 2026

Something open on 1 of the next 1 bookable nightsread 16:27 UTC

Every site here is reservable, and the record lists none held back for anyone who drives up.

OpenBookedNot reservable

Booking windowThrough October 18Bookable now through October 18, 2026, the end of the reservable season. On December 15, 2026 at 10 AM ET, availability opens through June 15, 2027.recreation.govAdd to calendar (.ics)
Max stay14 nightsthe facility record
Sites, a night, from$50From the rate schedule matched to 1 of its 1 sites. U.S. Forest Service publishes no campground-level rate we can read.derived by CAMPANAC
If plans change$10 to cancel$10 to change a reservationrecreation.gov’s schedule
Runs itU.S. Forest ServiceBooked through recreation.govthe agency’s record
Watch for a cancellation

Full? Watch it.

One email when a night opens, plus More Than Just Parks dispatches. Unsubscribe any time.

We read recreation.gov once an hour, at 40 minutes past, and write the first time a site in your window is free for the nights you asked for.

Scanners that check every few minutes exist, and most of them charge. This one is free, it reads the same calendar, and it won’t always be first.

Free forever, no booking kickbacks.
Tell me when the season opens

Watch for the season to open

One email when the season goes on sale, plus More Than Just Parks dispatches. Unsubscribe any time.

We check once an hour, at 40 minutes past, and write the first time the agency has that season on sale.

Scanners that check every few minutes exist, and most of them charge. This one is free, it reads the same calendar, and it won’t always be first.

We’ll write once, when the season that starts Tue, Jun 15 2027 is open for booking.

Free forever, no booking kickbacks.
Book on recreation.gov

We make nothing when you book. The link goes straight to the government.

Every line of the receipt · 12

What you actually pay

The sign priceU.S. Forest Service
Sites, a night, from$50
Derived by CAMPANAC from the rate schedule matched to 1 of its 1 sites. U.S. Forest Service publishes no campground-level rate for this campground that we can read, only per-site rate templates its own record matches to each site’s own type.
Group area, a night$50
Rates for the season the campground is in now, Jun 15, 2026 to Oct 18, 2026.
The booking feerecreation.gov
Reservation fee, booked online$8
One fee per reservation, however many nights you book, and it’s non-refundable. $9 if you book by phone, $3 in person.
Pass discounts only apply to the recreation (or use) fee for the facility. Other charges such as electricity or water hookups, reservation or other fees are not eligible for a discount.
What a stay costs
The agency publishes no nightly rate for this campground, so there’s nothing to add the $8 booking fee to. We won’t total a receipt with a number missing from it.
If your plans changerecreation.gov
Change fee, moving to dates outside your booking$10
Cancellation fee$10
Cancelling the day before, or the day of$10 + your first night
No-show$20 + your first night

Who keeps the booking fee

The agency’s own policy text says the reservation fee and the cancellation processing fee are “retained by the reservation service contractor”, and that a campground concessionaire will decline to refund them because “they did not receive these fees”. Recreation.gov is run under contract by Booz Allen Hamilton. What share of your booking fee the contractor keeps isn’t published in any federal dataset we can read, so we print no number for it. Our reporting on the contract →

How we know this receipt · 5

recreation.gov availability, read 16:27 UTC · rules read Sep 9, 2026 · rates Sep 10, 2026 · How we know all this

Seen something wrong here? Tell us.

The sites

1 sites · the site map

All 1 sites

1 of 1 sites located
Group1
Aerial · Esri World Imagery
SleepsUp to

The price is derived by CAMPANAC, not published per site: the per-night rate this campground publishes for each site’s own site type. 1 of the 1 sites listed carry one, and a site whose type has no published rate sits out of the price rather than being called free.

AREA CARTER MEADOWS HORSE GROUP001group equestrian353 ftEast Fork South Fork Salmon River$50

OpenStreetMap has no toilet mapped within 1 km of this campground, so no site here carries a toilet distance. That’s a gap in the map, not a finding about the campground.

Getting there

the map and the coordinate · the agency’s directions · the phone number
Coordinate41.22200, -122.91100
The phone530-468-5351
The agency’s pageOfficial page ↗

Where it is

Getting there

From Interstate 5 near Yreka, California, take the south Yreka exit onto Highway 3 south and continue for 23 miles. Turn right on Highway 93 toward Cecilville and continue 12 miles to Carter Meadows Summit. Approximately 1/2 mile beyond the summit, turn left on Road 39N08. The Group Site is another 1/4 mile on the right.

The weather

the next four days

Next four days, and the thirty-year normal

Forecast

Tonight46°Mostly Clear
Saturday68°Sunny
Saturday Night42°Mostly Clear
Sunday64°Sunny

NWS forecast for Coffee Creek, CA

The land, and who answers for it

what threatens it · who answers for it

Roadless country, and what’s coming for it

Roadless
Russian21,771 acres · 7 mi · inventoried roadless area
Roadless
Orleans Mtn.49,090 acres · 9 mi · inventoried roadless area

You’re camping on ground somebody wants. We track the threats and the comment deadlines.

Who answers for this land

Carter Meadows Horse Group is in California’s 1st congressional district. Whoever holds it votes on the laws that decide what happens to this land. See how its representative votes on public lands →

Our roster still carries Doug LaMalfa for this district and the current federal record doesn’t list them as sitting, so we’re not naming a representative here until the two agree.

Seen something wrong here? Tell us.

How we know

every fact on this page, and where it came from
Right now: recreation.gov is offering sites on 1 of the next 2 nights, which isn’t something a closed campground does. The U.S. Forest Service’s own database, though, flags it not open with no reason or date; the flag is named under How we know all this.
Cell signal: the Forest Service’s own campground description, read as text by CAMPANAC. None of this is a measurement. It’s what the land manager published about the place, and phones, carriers and weather all disagree with each other; treat it as a warning, not a promise.
Nearest place of any size: Coffee Creek, CA, 11.8 mi NW (a census designated place). Straight line.