philbrook reservoir

If you like having the campground to yourself, this is the place for you. There were no facilities, except a water pipe. Since we had the place to ourselves, why weren't we closer to that pipe?

Don't waste your time and the excessive wear on your vehicle to check out Philbrook. As a teen, we used to visit here for camping, hiking, fishing and other outdoor activity. Coming back as an adult, I found that this once pristine edge-of-the-wilderness attraction has fallen on very hard times and has been generally ruined by an aggressive and inconsiderate brand of tourist or visitor that seems to have taken over here.I witnessed the activities of hard-core off-roaders who wear camo clothing, have huge knobby-tired, jacked up four-wheel drives that have rutted and ruined even the main gravel roads that access Philbrook and the high country beyond it. I found piles of beer bottles, general rubbish probably left by off-roaders and other indicators of neglect and abuse. The road from Stirling City to Philbrook has deteriorated greatly and I do not recommend taking it. Butte County has fallen on hard times and the County Road dept can barely keep up with the main roads, much less de-rut and grade the more remote ones like to Philbrook. As other roads have further declined, Philbrook now virtually lies trapped in a 'pocket' with no thru traffic except for 4WDs. Hence, there is little incentive for road improvement and the residual pocket has been an easy target for irresponsible nuisance visitors. Part of the problem is with Federal agencies and public utilities. Once a clean and maintained Forest Service camp, Philbrook is now 'operated' by a partnership between Pacific Gas & Electric Co. and some contractor who seems to have abandoned regular maintenance and enforcement of campground and road regulations. A few intrepid seniors were found to be camping in the nice woods adjacent to Philbrook but most of the camp spaces were heavily occupied by the off-roaders. Websites about Philbrook and the nearby high lakes suggest that the authorities are barely able to fend off the aggressive 4WD'ers and that they are on the verge of ruining a group of still-pristine fishing lakes up in the wilderness at the 8,000 ft level that we hiked into as kids. Bottom line: Philbrook's fallen off the radar and is not worth taking the long drive from Chico or Paradise for a visit. There are no service facilities of any kind in Stirling City or past Paradise. I warn you: The road is terrible and the reservoir area a disappointment. I recommend that you stay away until this once decent recreation area is someday restored.