Orland, California Black Butte Lake

Fighting the traffic and the semi's on I-5 can get rather exhausting. Yet, less than nine miles from the freeway is a pastoral scence that will slow you down naturally. This is the scene from Black Butte Lake managed by the US Army Corps of Engineers Sacramento District. This is the view looking north away from the lake.

The lake is your typical California reservoir which this time of year appears brown rather than clear. The lake provides good fishing year round for warm water species. There are some trails to hike. But the attraction is the solitude. When we stayed here, two years ago there were just three campsites taken on the weekend.

The lake is also a short "cross valley" trip to the town of Chico. Chico is an interesting college town to visit complete with a Wal-Mart. Lots of good places to stop for lunch or ice cream. Well, worth the short trip from Black Butte Lake.



This is the view of Orland Buttes Campground. It is currently closed for the season. It will reopen in April. As you can see the sites are a little tight, but plenty of sites that will take that large rig.

Similar to Orland Buttes Campground is Buckhorn Campground. This winter Buckhorn is open. Buckhorn ofers a boat launch, fish cleaning station, hiking trail, playground, RV dump station, showers and flush toilets. All of this for the winter rate of $12/night. With the Golden discount passes the rate drops to $6.

Black Butte Lake when you just get tired of fighting the traffic on I-5 and are looking for a quiet spot without crowds. A great winter stop.

Their website: www.spk.usace.army.mil/blackbutte.htm.