Steel Bridge Campground
- Right now
- Taking bookingsSites offered on 15 of the next 15 nights read 15:41 UTC
- A night
- $15From, per site
- Sites
- 1312 on recreation.gov
The place
the agency’s own description · what’s there · 8 notices
In the agency’s own words
Camp on the edge of the Trinity River in one of 13 tent/trailer campsites (max length 20 feet). Popular for fishing and pleasure boating alike, this clear, cold section of the river is world famous for its fly fishing. Paddlers enjoy the narrow valley with Ponderosa Pine, Douglas fir, Oaks, and Madrone trees coating the walls of the canyons. If you would like more adrenaline rush, the waters below Pigeon Point rage at class III-V for white water enthusiasts. Those interested in a more relaxing experience can enjoy the abundant camping options in the area or head for the trail with your friends, horses, or dog. Keep reading
If you would like to stay at the river's edge, you can always swim, fish or do a little gold panning. The river can be accessed from many locations along this stretch of the Trinity River. For information on campground details, fees, opening/closing dates, and making reservations, please visit: Steel Bridge Campground, Trinity - Recreation.gov Recreation Swimming, fishing, and paddling are all popular activites along the Trinity River immediately adjacent to the campground. A rustic hiking trail can be explored to find additional river access points and connect you to other recreation sites along Steiner Flat Road. Wildlife is abundat along the river, so birding and other wildlife viewing activities are popular!
Facilities
Camp on the edge of the Trinity River in one of 13 tent/trailer campsites. No electric, water, or sewer hookups are available. Campsites have picnic tables, fire rings, and bear boxes. A small beach is found near the campground. A campground host is generally on site.
Natural Features
Steel Bridge Campground is nestled in a narrow valley with ponderosa pine, douglas fir, oak, and madrone trees coating the hillsides. The campground is immeidately adjacent to the Wild and Scenic Trinity River, known for its cold, clear water and abudant paddling, swimming, and fishing opprotunities.
Nearby Attractions
Trinity River (Lewiston Lake to Pigeon Point): Class I and II segment popular for fishing, swimming, and paddling. Access map can be found on the BLM website . Trinity River (below Pigeon Point): Class III and IV segment popular for white water rafting. Guided trips availalbe from local vendors. Lewiston and Trinty Lakes: Fishing, boating, and swimming. Weaver Basin trail system: Non-motorized trails near Weaverville, CA that offer great hiking and mountain biking opportunities. Find out more on the Trinity Trail Alliance website . Trinity Alps Wilderness: Access the wilderness area through many nearby trailheads for overnight or day hiking. More information on the Forest Service website . Weaverville, CA: Small town with dining and shopping options.
What the agency tells you
Please check in with the campground host when you arrive.
Dogs must be kept on leash in the campground.
Campfires are allowed in the established fire rings, when in conformance with BLM Fire Restrictions (click on the Redding Field Office tab). Please get a free CALFire Campfire Permit before arriving by visiting Ready for Wildfire webpage .
Everything else this campground posts · 5
We have lots of wildlife in the campground - please keep you campsite clean and use the bear boxes found in each site to store your food.
The river is cold and fast - life jackets save lives!
If you are making a same day reservation - please bring a copy (screen shot is ok!) of your reservation confirmation to show the camp host.
Quiet hours are from 10:00 PM through 6:00 AM. Please be mindful of others camping around you.
Gas generator usage is prohibited during quiet hours regardless of situation. If you have a medical device that requires power, please consider an electric power bank or battery generator.
Tents and rigs
- Sites
- 13
- Hookups
- None
- Paved pads
- 4 of 13
- Accessible sites
- 1
- Pets
- Allowed
- Campfires
- Allowed, barring fire bans
- Shade
- Every site
Facilities
- Bear boxes
- Yes
- Camp host
- On site
- recreation.gov lists “Host”
- Stay limit
- 14 nights
- recreation.gov facility rule maxStay
Around the campground
- On the water
- Lake, River, Beach
8 of 12 site-nights open this Friday and Saturdayread 15:41 UTC
recreation.gov lists 12 of the 13 campsites the agency files here. The rest aren’t on its booking system, so a reservation won’t get you one.
OpenBooked
Watch for a cancellation
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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.
We make nothing when you book. The link goes straight to the government.
Every line of the receipt · 12
What you actually pay
Derived by CAMPANAC: the agency’s published rate for this season, $15 a night, plus one $8 recreation.gov reservation fee for the booking. A weekend here means Friday and Saturday night, booked once. Optional charges (an extra vehicle, a second tent, a dump-station fee) are listed separately and aren’t in this total.
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 15:41 UTC · rules read Sep 9, 2026 · rates Sep 10, 2026 · How we know all this
The sites
13 sites
All 13 sites
The price is derived by CAMPANAC, not published per site: the per-night rate this campground publishes for each site’s own site type. 12 of the 13 sites listed carry one, and a site whose type has no published rate sits out of the price rather than being called free.
| Steel Bridge | Site 1 | type not stated | ||
| Steel Bridge | Site 10 | standard nonelectric | $15 | |
| Steel Bridge | Site 11 | standard nonelectric | $15 | |
| Steel Bridge | Site 12 | standard nonelectric | $15 | |
| Steel Bridge | Site 13 | standard nonelectric | $15 | |
| Steel Bridge | Site 2 | standard nonelectric | $15 | |
| Steel Bridge | Site 3 | standard nonelectric | $15 | |
| Steel Bridge | Site 4 | standard nonelectric | $15 | |
| Steel Bridge | Site 5 | standard nonelectric | $15 | |
| Steel Bridge | Site 6 | standard nonelectric | yes | $15 |
| Steel Bridge | Site 7 | standard nonelectric | $15 | |
| Steel Bridge | Site 8 | standard nonelectric | $15 | |
| Steel Bridge | Site 9 | standard nonelectric | $15 |