Tucked along the banks of Willow Creek at mile marker 33.7 on Highway 299, Bigfoot Flat Campground sits on land that once hummed with the activity of a historic lumber mill in the early 1950s. Today, that same seven-acre clearing offers something entirely different: a peaceful, creekside escape surrounded by open sky, towering trees, and the kind of quiet that reminds you why you came to the mountains in the first place.
Owned and operated by Shannon Hughes and Tim Dower, Bigfoot Flat has been welcoming campers for five years. The couple came to Humboldt for school, found their way to Willow Creek through a job at a local garden center, and never left. “This community embraced us and we knew we were home,” they share. That love for the region is woven into everything they do at the campground.
The location is hard to beat. Bigfoot Flat sits just four miles from downtown Willow Creek and the Trinity River, about thirty miles from the Redwood Coast, and right in the heart of Bigfoot Country. It is a natural gateway between the redwoods and the Trinity Alps Wilderness. In any season, the property offers something worth coming back for: the vivid fall colors, the fresh energy of spring, long summer afternoons by the creek, and star-filled skies that guests talk about again and again.
And the guests do talk. Shannon and Tim take enormous pride in the cleanliness and care of the property, and the reviews reflect it. One returning visitor, who has made the trip multiple times across every season, put it this way: “Each time is more magical than the last… I can not say enough about the stars!! It’s like having your own personal area to see shooting stars. The hosts Shannon and Tim are absolutely amazing!! They go above and beyond!”
That personal touch is the point. Shannon and Tim grew up camping with their families, and they built Bigfoot Flat so that others could make those same kinds of lasting memories. For them, working the campground doesn’t feel like work. “Taking in the views, enjoying the changing of the seasons, cooling off by the creek on a hot summer day – we are so lucky to live in such an amazing place and to get to share it with others.”
Their roots in this community run deep. Shannon and Tim arrived in Willow Creek in 2011 to work at a local garden center, where they spent seven years. That time rooted them here in every sense of the word. Both give generously of their time to local organizations, and Shannon serves as a volunteer leader with the Willow Creek Chamber of Commerce and is a dedicated volunteer at the beloved Willow Creek-China Flat Museum. The couple’s guiding philosophy says everything about how they show up here: quality of life comes first.
Bigfoot Flat Campground can be booked through Hipcamp.
Connect with Bigfoot Flat Campground: Highway 299 at Mile Marker 33.7, Willow Creek, CA 95573 (707) 499-3116 bigfootflatwc@gmail.com bigfootflat.com Instagram: @bigfoot_flat Hipcamp: Bigfoot Flat on Willow Creek