Visiting Loafer Creek

Reser­va­tions are high­ly rec­om­mend­ed from late spring through Labor Day and can be booked up to six months in advance through Reserve­Cal­i­for­nia.

Dur­ing the off-peak fall and win­ter months, the camp­ground remains open year-round with ample first-come, first-served walk-in availability.

• Coy­ote Camp­ground: 137 sites nes­tled in a blue oak wood­land at the south end of the lake. Each site accom­mo­dates up to eight guests and can han­dle trail­ers up to 31 feet or RVs up to 40 feet long (no hookups). Potable water, restrooms, and coin-oper­at­ed show­ers are avail­able through­out the loops.
• Group Camp­grounds: Six ded­i­cat­ed group sites that can accom­mo­date up to 25 campers and eight vehi­cles each. These sites fea­ture five large tent pads, mul­ti­ple tables, and run­ning water.
• Loafer Creek Horse Camp: A pre­mi­um eques­tri­an facil­i­ty fea­tur­ing 15 camp­sites (each accom­mo­dat­ing up to eight peo­ple, two vehi­cles, and two hors­es). Ameni­ties include a horse wash­ing sta­tion and a warm-up area with direct access to the lake’s exten­sive mul­ti-use trail system.
• San­i­ta­tion Sta­tion: A shared RV dump sta­tion is locat­ed along the main road between the camp­grounds and the park entrance station.

Acces­si­ble Camping

The Loafer Creek area has sev­er­al acces­si­ble camp­ing options:

• Coy­ote Camp­ground: Fea­tures sev­en acces­si­ble camp­sites (#3, #42, #43, #45, #47, #48, #51) with smooth path­ways lead­ing to near­by acces­si­ble restrooms and showers.
• Horse Camp: Offers acces­si­ble camp­sites and an ADA com­pli­ant com­bi­na­tion restroom/​shower facility.
• Camp­fire Cen­ter: Fea­tures acces­si­ble seat­ing, lev­el paths of trav­el, and assis­tive lis­ten­ing devices.

Find more infor­ma­tion about acces­si­bil­i­ty fea­tures at the Lake Oroville SRA here.

The Loafer Creek area is built for easy water access, fea­tur­ing expan­sive day-use lawns, pic­nic sites, shore­line fish­ing, and a sea­son­al swim­ming beach.

• Day-Use Fees: A stan­dard vehi­cle day-use or boat-launch­ing fee is required to access the ramps and pic­nic areas.
• The Boat Launch­es: The area fea­tures two mul­ti-stage launch­ing facil­i­ties depend­ing on the reser­voir’s water levels:
  • Loafer Point Stage 1 (Old & New): Acces­si­ble when the lake is high. The ​“Old” lanes run from 900 to 780 feet in ele­va­tion, while the ​“New” Stage 1 lanes run from 900 down to 804 feet.
  • Loafer Point Stage 2 (New): Built to han­dle low-water con­di­tions, these extend­ed lanes keep launch­ing acces­si­ble from 804 feet all the way down to 680 feet.

The recre­ation area is set with­in a vibrant foothill ecosys­tem of blue oaks, foothill pines, man­zani­ta, and grassy slopes.

While explor­ing, keep an eye out for local wildlife like ground squir­rels, acorn wood­peck­ers, mule deer, and black-tailed hares.

Loafer Creek Day Use Trail

An easy, relax­ing nature walk that snakes through the trees to con­nect the main camp­grounds, the day-use area, and the entrance kiosk.

Loafer Creek Loop Trail

Acces­si­ble from all three loops with­in the main camp­ground, this rolling trail is per­fect for both hik­ers and horse­back riders.

To extend your hike, you can fol­low this route across Sad­dle Dam to con­nect seam­less­ly with Lake Oroville’s broad­er mul­ti-use trail network.

With the trail over­lap­ping oth­ers in the area, you’ll want to make sure to study the inter­ac­tive map before your trip.

Roy Rogers-Loafer Creek Loop

The Roy Rogers Trail is a two-mile path that con­nects direct­ly to the north­ern part of the Loafer Creek Loop.

Hik­ers and eques­tri­ans often com­bine the two paths to form a five-mile loop fea­tur­ing scenic lake views and a fun, rolling stretch of fre­quent ups and downs. Start from the day use areas or the camp­grounds in the Loafer Creek Recre­ation Area.

Dri­ving Directions

From the North (Chico):

• Take High­way 99 south and fol­low signs to High­way 149, con­nect­ing onto High­way 70 south toward Oroville.
• Take Exit 46 for High­way 162 (Oro-Dam Boule­vard East).
• Fol­low High­way 162 as it tran­si­tions into Olive High­way, and then into Oro-Quin­cy Highway.
• After pass­ing the turn-off for Forbestown Road, make the next left onto Loafer Creek Road.

From the South (Sacramento/​Marysville):

• Trav­el north on High­way 70 into Oroville.
• Take Exit 46 for High­way 162 East and fol­low the iden­ti­cal route above along Olive High­way to Loafer Creek Road.

Check out the Lake Oroville State Recre­ation Area’s brochure for a map of the area and addi­tion­al information.