As a child, my family used to camp at Burney Falls every summer. Needless to say, the smell of the pine trees, campfire, red dirt, and the beautiful views of the falls and the nearby Lake Britton are all very sentimental to me. We took Ranger on a quick weekend trip to Burney falls, which was the first time I had been there since childhood. Boy did those memories flood back.
In the shadows of Mt. Lassen and Mt. Shasta, Burney Falls State park offers an easy getaway from our base in the Sacramento River, with fun options for day trips nearby, as well as water activities on Lake Britton, and hikes to the the breathtaking Burney Falls from your campground.
We arrived Friday evening around dusk and popped the hatch on our teardrop, unloaded the firewood, Made the bed, set up the stove, and we were ready to go. We love that teardrop camping simplifies our campground setup to a mere couple minutes instead of hours. This means we get right to cooking when we arrive, instead of setting up a tent and the rest of camp in the dark.
I started the fire and tossed the cast iron on the grate to get it heated up. we went with simple and savory burgers , along with corn on the cob over the fire for our first meal.
After some time around the crackling fire, we headed off to bed.
When we’re camping with a teardrop, sleep isn’t something you dread, like you do when sleeping in a tent on an uncomfortable sleeping pad on the hard ground. The 4.5” memory foam mattress in a Buffalo Teardrop is just as comfortable (if not more!) than our bed at home.
Saturday morning, we woke up and made a delicious breakfast, again utilizing our favorite dish, the cast iron. We made up a hearty sausage, egg, cheese, and hash scramble, also enjoying some delicious hand ground and french pressed coffee from our favorite roaster, Valiant Coffee.
After breakfast we set out on a hike to see the famous Burney Falls, which people come from all over to see. President Theodore Roosevelt once called it the “eighth wonder of the world”, and it's easy to see why. Water doesn’t just fall over the top of the falls, as with most waterfalls. The porous volcanic ground allows some of the stream water to filter through it, causing the water to flow out of the rock face below the top of the falls as well, providing for a spectacular display.
From the falls, we hiked the trail all the way down to Lake Britton, where we enjoyed a brief lunch. Here at the lake is a boat launch and a beach, from which you can swim, paddle, or sunbathe. There’s supposed to be great fishing in Lake Britton as well.
After lunch, we hiked back up to the campsite and hooked up the trailer to go for a drive and explore the area. We headed north towards Mt. Shasta, stopping a few different places for photos, and eventually to make a snack. As I’ve mentioned before, one fo my favorite things about traveling with a teardrop is that you get to essentially bring your kitchen and fridge with you! If there’s a cool spot to pull over and make a snack, we often do so we can eat with a view.
We made our way into the quaint old town of McCloud, just south of Mt. Shasta, which towers above and is visible from most places in town. We stopped at an old soda shop/ and found some really cool places to take photos with our beloved little ranger.
McCloud has western charm, evoking feelings and moods of old gold rush and timber harvesting eras gone bye.
Getting hungry for dinner, we started back to our campsite.
For dinner, Sophia made a delicious potato hash, a midwestern favorite called funeral potatoes, on the cast iron while we opened a bottle of wine and enjoyed the crackling fire and sounds and smells of the campground at dinner time.
Heading home on Sunday, we reflected on how easy camping is with our teardrops. It’s camping simplified and much more comfortable than we’ve ever experienced.
