Lake Henshaw Resort

This place is outstanding! We had planned on tent camping but realized it was far too cold and then found this gem. We chose a studio cabin and it was perfect. Very clean, cozy, all the amenities — the bed was super comfortable with plenty of pillows. It was so awesome we extended our stay. Additionally, the lake is across the street and provides a stunning view. There is also a restaurant and a very well stocked store. De De was a delight, very kind, and helpful too. We will definitely be back and if you are in this area you should not hesitate to stay here! It is awesome!

I can see how at one time this was a beautiful place to visit, but the grounds have been severely neglected. We camped for two nights and if we weren’t there with a large group, we would have left the next morning. Here’s our review…
Campgrounds…
The sites aren’t raked at all after each use. We picked up about 50 beer bottle caps and found a lot of broken glass all over the site and in the fire pits. The ground is very hard and full of fire ants, making it difficult to find a good spot for tents. The roads have been washed out so its all dirt and very rocky. Quiet hours are not enforced, so both nights there were people partying, signing karaōke, walking through the campsites, etc. until about 1am.
Bathrooms…
I don’t think the toilets, sinks and shower stalls ever get cleaned. They were all dirty (think the nastiest gas station you’ve ever been to) cob webs all over in the corners and bugs everywhere. We didn’t see any attendants come the entire weekend to clean them. By Sunday morning all of the bathrooms were out of toilet paper. There were also portapotties available, which actually were cleaner than the actual bathrooms.
Pool…
There is no restroom or showers at the pool so you can only imagine what the small pool and jacuzzi looked like after 30+ campers used it in 90 degree weather. The water was cloudy and dirty. There were bugs, dirt, sand, Styrofoam, hair, and who knows what else floating all over in both the pool and jacuzzi. The jacuzzi was barely warm and FULL of sand. No lounge chairs, just two picnic tables that were piled with everyone’s things. The pool area clearly hasn’t been swept in a long, long time as there was trash and leaves all over the pool area accumulated along the fence and picnic tables. The gate to enter the pool was broken and hanging by one hinge.
Lake…
You cannot and will not want to swim in it. The water is very, very dirty. Not a lot of cleared shoreline to fish on. Lots of weeds to get lines caught up on. It is cheap if you want somewhere for a quick day trip to fish.
Store…
I will say that the people at the store were very, very friendly and nice. They had a good selection of gifts and supplies.
Overall just seems like lack of care and good workers to upkeep the grounds properly. Maybe lack of funding? Sadly, We will not be coming back.

I have stayed at the Lake Henshaw Resort several times. I was surprised to see the complaint about bed bugs. I have NEVER EVER EVER seen bed bugs there and neither have many of my friends who have stayed there. All I have seen at the resort is a gradual improvement of amenities, new laminate floors, new paint, new beds and new furniture gradually upgrading the cabins. There is New Management there for the past good many years and they have put a lot of money back into the resort to give it a face lift. No question this is not the Marriott. These are quaint country cabins in the wild among trees near a great fishing lake and trails. If you want peace, the outdoors, fresh air, a great restaurant with great burgers and specials, great courteous customer service, a cute country store, and clean cosy eclectic country charm cabins this is the place for you. A great deal at a great price.

Absolutely loved it here! BEAUTIFUL place and great people! De De from the store is just awesome and Mike from the campground was a huge help and is a very nice man. We will be back for sure! :)

BEWARE THEY HAVE BED BUGS!!!
Me & my family attempted to stay here for Memorial Day weekend but only stayed for about 5 hours. Just as we thought we had settled in and were putting the kids down one of them jumped up and said something was crawling on my face this was about midnight. Since she was on in the bed I immediately thought BED BUGS because from the looks of the place (ran down, old wood paneling on walls, dirty floor, old sofas, 2 roll away beds in living room, no curtains on either kitchen window.) To my surprise I saw what appeared to be a bed bug. I ran and got a napkin killed it and sure enough BLOOD.
I went into full on panic mode and started throwing all of our belongings on to the porch and made everyone get outside. It took us another 2 and half hours to check our belongings and try and make sure there were none on our stuff. We left the grounds at about 2:30 am and arrived home 2 hours later. After reading on the internet it is nearly impossible to see some of the nymphs since they are transparent and very small. I have been paranoid all weekend and losing sleep thinking that we may have brought one or some home or in the cars. I would like to warn anyone who may stay here. I would have given them 0 stars if I could but the staff was really friendly and issued me a refund with no problem. I am totally convinced they knew about the bed bugs before my arrival. The mattresses were all covered with bed bug covers and the front office had a stack of about 20 exterminator request. If these bugs become a problem in my home this wont be the last this lake hears of me. They should change the name to Lake Henshaw Repulsive Resort. I will never stay here again. It was a huge waste of time and money. We bought tons of wood and other things for this trip we wouldn’t have needed if we stayed home.
Anyone who thinks that these cabins are great must be used to living in ran down places. Nothing about this place was nice. Very swanky and poorly kept property. They also have mice although I didn’t physically see any I did sweep up mouse droppings along with a heaping pile of dirt off the floor.

BEWARE! There is NO cell network or wifi! I was unaware of this so was unprepared… there went our movie night.
The cabins were nice, clean, and comfortable. The people were friendly and sociable and the diner has Amazing burgers.
Also, I was able to bring my dogs with, and there was even a friendly free roaming shepherd mix that came to visit with and play with my dogs…

Just spent the Valentine’s/President’s Day weekend with friends and family at the Lake Henshaw cabins. It was my first time there. We had a one bedroom cabin with lots of space. The cabins were clean and had all the bare necessities. We primarily spent time relaxing in our cabins, grilling, and conversating around the fire pit for which we brought plenty of wood. The kids really had a great time making smores. The drive into Lake Henshaw was peaceful and serene. The trees almost connect making what appears to be a tunnel. At night, you can see the moon and the stars with such clarity. So beautiful. Makes you want to reach up to try to touch them. Oh. and on my way home this morning, I saw a shooting star. How lucky am I to have seen that! I would definetely come here again.

PLUSES
–Not too far (1.5 hr)
–Safe
–Lots of space
–Clean
–Bait Shop/​store walking distance
–Everyone was nice (No prejudices)
–Good weather
–Lots of fish… jumping Bass, Catfish, Carp…(Oct is low season for Crappie, Blue Gill Etc)
–Good place if you have patience
–Near Harrahs Casino
–Good for groups
MINUSES
-$ 20 per night to camp
-$ 7.50 per day use permit per person (Not including permit)
–They do not enforce fishing license but you need one
–Lake closed at 10pm,
–Lake is about a 10minute walk from camp site
–Highway is between camp and lake so at night you hear cars
Overall we had fun. I would do a day trip or camp with a bunch of young people.
There are some other cool lakes we have been too like Pudding-​stone or Lake Isabella in the Kern Valley.

We decided to go camping last minute on 4^th of July weekend, so, we had to find a place with no reservations needed, as all our regular camping locations were taken. I was somewhat influenced by the negative reviews, and was a little bummed that we couldn’t find a spot at a more popular site, but things worked out just fine.
Upon arrival of the camp grounds, we checked in, then drove thru the small mobile home park, which you drive through in order to get to the camp grounds, and the campground looked small. This was a little different, and my husband summed up our initial thoughts when he said «well, we’ll just have to make the best of it». We drove to the upper camp sites (there are signs that say lower and upper with arrows to guide you) based on the previous reviews on Unilocal it sounded like these were best. Once up there, it looked like any other campsite, nothing lacking, nothing to complain about. The upper camp sites had limited spaces, not quite sure how many, but it’s not too crowded up there. We had a great time, nothing to complain about and there are some perks in this campsite not shared with the larger sites we’re used to going to. The bathrooms are clean! For the size of the campground, they had plenty of bathrooms with showers. Now, they are nothing fancy, they are your typical camp site bathrooms. I’ve been to sites where there is trash, and disgusting paper everywhere, but not here, thank goodness. They have both regular bathrooms and porta potties (didn’t use the porta potties so I can’t comment on those). We had our own water faucent and I think most sites have their own. No too much hiking that I could see, and we were warned by a neighbor of lots of poison ivy. We headed to the lake, prices were great to rent a boat (but we didn’t head down to rent it early although we were up, by the time we tried to rent one, 8am, it was too late, they were all rented out, this is typical of all the other campsite boat rentals we’ve been too though, so we knew).
All in all, not a bad place to camp. Pros: campsites are clean, bathrooms are clean, staff is super friendly and they check on you, offer trash bags, clear out your trash, work hard to keep the place in good shape. Fishing is convenient and they open their lake, and light the pier until 10pm.
Cons: smaller than what we’re used too. Not too much hiking I think (but then again we didn’t look for them), pool was small for the # of kids there.

I used to come here as a a kid and it was great! Now the pool is never taken care of. It was greener than the lake. And there was trash all over the upper campground. If it was still $ 10 a night I wouldn’t care. But at $ 20 a night they need to keep their campground clean and functional.
The upside is that restaurant has good food and good service

My new favorite spot, spent 3 nights there with my friend and our kids and had a blast! Cozy cabin, beautiful nature, friendly people. Lake is more like an oversized dirty pond and we didn’t catch any fish. We had couple issues before and during our stay but personnel did their best to accommodate and take care of any problems. Overall recommending to all my friends and definitely will come back again!

We thought we would go and check this place out. They advertise a pool since you can swim in the lake. The pool is absolutely disgusting and looks like it hasn’t been cleaned in awhile. We go to the lower campground and find a reasonable spot that has a lot of shade and look across the way and there is nothing but trash every where. The bathrooms were nasty and the older lady that runs the place is rude. You are better off spending the extra money and going to a clean campground.

The camping upper ground is good. They have a pool and spa that they do not keep up on it. The water in the jacuzzi was black! And the water in the pool was very hazy! Needless to say the kids and I did not go into it. Other than that they have a really small mini mart and restaurant, but I do think $ 20 a night is a little over priced as the conditions of their amenities are not so good.

We stopped by Sunday morning for coffee on our way to Anza Borrego. Nice folks. Especially impressed by the young woman who could wait on us while balancing a baby on her hip.
The coffee? Not so great. I thought we were way past the old dishwater-​weak coffee days?
I’ll update this when we have time to stay for food.

Stayed here this past weekend for one night and enjoyed every moment of it. They generally have plenty of open camp sites and you can find better sites the farther up hill you drive. There are porta potties and even rest rooms and showers. Each site has at least one picnic table, a trash can, and a firepit.
I would definitely recommend driving a truck because the roads are VERY bumpy and uneven the higher up you go. Don’t even try to drive a lowered vehicle up there…
It was 20 $ for one evening. Quite time is at 10pm like most places but you do not have to have your fire necessarily out by then either.
The ‘resort’ does not take reservations, it is first come first serve although we did arrive there at around 2pm on a Saturday and there were still plenty of spots to chose from.

Quiet and peaceful this is NOT! We were looking for a quiet getaway from the city. This seemed like the perfect place. Rustic cabins on a lake. WE were sorely disappointed. The cabins are on the side of a noisy highway. The lake is across the highway. We were unable to sleep due to traffic noise and headlights lighting up our room all night. That and other cabins renters arrived at midnight and 2PM and very loudly made their presence known. If you are simply looking for a place to flop after drinking til you pass out, this may work for you. But otherwise, it was not peaceful, not quiet and not quaint. That said, the little restaurant was a good deal with good food and friendly staff.

Loved it! Only 2 issues one, if u go in the winter bring a space heater because there’s does not work well. Two, they said wild Turkey’s roamed around the cabins & I didn’t see 1! Will definitely go again, staff is friendly, cabins r clean & beautiful scenery!!!

I am the third generation of my family to stay at Lake Henshaw’s fun little cabins. If you are looking for swanky, modern, big cabins full of lame amenities like tv, wifi, and air conditioning. Find other cabins. Henshaw isn’t about that, and hopefully, never will be.
The cabins are quaint, always clean and have changed very, very little over the years. The are is always quiet, which means INCREDIBLY peaceful, and the staff is very sweet and helpful.
If you are looking for somewhere that isn’t too far off the beaten path where you can get some serious relaxing done, this is your place. So close to Julian and Palomar Mountain, so if you get bored of the beautiful views and peaceful nature around you, you can venture away and get back to your happy little cabin (I know, channeling Bob Ross. I can’t help it, Henshaw is that great).
Seriously, Warner Springs isn’t that far away, they have fancy pants cabins that keep you pretty far from nature if you ask me. If your life is filled with fancy pants and stress and stressy pants and fancy. Lake Henshaw Resort is where you need to stay for a couple nights. It’s as simple as that.

I am going to try and make this the most useful review possible on Lake Henshaw. There was information that I would have loved if I had it BEFORE we went.
The lake is across the highway from the actual campground. It is easy to walk over, but you are not camping around the lake. The lake is very pretty but you cannot swim or wade in it. There were lots of people fishing, and catching fish, big fish. We just went for a nice walk around the lake and laid on a blanket in the sun for a while. We really wanted to rent a boat and go for a ride around the lake, but we weren’t sure if dogs were allowed in the boat and didn’t want to spend the money. There is a pretty trail that goes around one side of the lake… we walked as far as we could before we realized that there was poison oak EVERYWHERE. Be careful!
Now, when you drive up to the campground, there is a little store and restaurant. The store is extremely well stocked and not too pricey. The restaurant is kind of cute and seemed very popular. There were bikers and all kinds off people having lunch in there.
There is a little stand to check in for camping. They also have a small video game arcade, which might be good for some people. At first glance, the campground looks like a mobile home park… and makes you want to turn the other way. We actually settled in on our first night in the lower area of the campground. The big downside to this is lack of privacy, lack of trees, and you can hear the highway. That does not make me feel like I am camping at all. The second night we moved (my boyfriend was thrilled about that). We went to the upper part of the campground which was 10 times better. Tons of trees, private camp sites, views of the lake, less bugs, limited noise from the highway. It was SO much better, almost like a different park. If you go to this campground you MUST go to the top.
They do not take reservations which we were worried about but there was plenty of sites available. Most of the sites are fairly well defined and have fire rings and picnic tables. There are water spigots spread out as well. There are large bathrooms and there are porta potties as well. They were very clean and I did not have a problem with it. There is a pool which we had no interest in… it looked less than appealing. The people that worked there were all very nice, and the other campers were nice too. The roads are a NIGHTMARE. They are beaten up, some are dirt, and I was really wishing we had my old Jeep instead of a little BMW, but we made it around ok. Just be careful, and leave your little cars at home.
The little cabins looked pretty cute and they all had a view of the lake.
Down the street there is a bar called the Hideout which we didn’t know about until we were leaving… it seems awesome. It’s kind of a biker bar kind of place but they have live music during the summer. I think you could probably walk there from the campground.
I definitely think that there could be a better use of the area, the lake seems under utilized. I am not sure why they don’t allow swimming, it would be so fun! The campground would be better if they improved the roads. But there is no moving all those mobile homes which is definitely the weirdest part of the whole place.
All in all we had a really nice time but I think you just need to know how to use this place. It really makes all the difference in the world.

Don’t let the resort title fool you. It is not a Hilton by any means. There is a trailer park, a couple of cabins, and a campground. That said, its a pretty nice campground. First come first serve, so you can pitch a tent anywhere on their 9 acres.
Besides an incident of animals stealing our apples, camping here was a blast. You can watch bird life: wood peckers, wild turkeys, blue jays, etc. Or spend a lazy day boating and catching fish in the lake across the street. And amazingly the showers were reliably hot.
All for 18 bucks a day.