Six Rivers National Forest · California
Overview Mad River Campground is located on banks of its namesake river, about two miles south of Ruth Lake in the thickly forested mountains of northern California. Recreation Fishing is a popular activity and anglers can expect to catch a variety of trout in the Mad River. Nearby Ruth Lake is open for boating, swimming and other water-related activities.
Sites at Mad River Campground are reserved through Recreation.gov. Sites here can be reserved in advance through the official system, and they are claimed fast — cancellations then trickle back all season, unannounced, at any hour of the day or night.
| Total sites | 35 |
|---|---|
| Site types | Standard |
| Location | Bridgeville, CA |
| Book through | Recreation.gov |
| Official listing | Recreation.gov |
Because sites are booked months ahead, a steady share of reservations get cancelled as trips fall through. Each cancellation instantly returns that site and those nights to the official calendar — first-come, first-served, no waitlist, no announcement. Refreshing the booking page yourself, every few minutes for weeks, works in theory. In practice, the people who get these sites are the ones who hear about the opening first.
itOpened scans the Recreation.gov calendar for Mad River Campground around the clock. When a site matching your dates and your vehicle opens, you get a text with a direct link to it. You book it yourself, in your own account, at the normal price. We never book, hold, or resell — your fee pays for monitoring, and openings are first-come, so speed is the whole game.
| Panther Flat Campground | Cancellation alerts available |
|---|---|
| Dillon Creek Campground | Cancellation alerts available |
| Oak Bottom Campground | Cancellation alerts available |
| Fish Lake Campground | Cancellation alerts available |
| Grassy Flat Campground | Cancellation alerts available |
| Boise Creek | Cancellation alerts available |
| Fir Cove Campground | Cancellation alerts available |
| Patrick Creek Campground | Cancellation alerts available |
| Pearch Creek Campground | Cancellation alerts available |
| Nordheimer Group Sites | Cancellation alerts available |
| Bear Basin Lookout And Cabin | Cancellation alerts available |
| East Fork Campground – Six Rivers NF (CA) | Cancellation alerts available |
Page data refreshed 2026-10-29. Site facts come from the official directory listing for Mad River Campground; cancellation statistics come from our own scanning logs.