Yellowcake

I stayed here on June 1st. For convenience, cleanliness and location, I rated 4 stars. A big open parking lot with a vault toilet and trash bin. You used to be able to take the shuttle bus from the parking lot connected to this lot, but they have turned that area into a boat inspection station. If you want to take a shuttle to downtown Lake Louise and don't want to haul your trailer (there is very limited parking downtown), you have to go further south down the highway to the Ski Resort. They have parking for maybe 20 RV's along one side road (only for the day, no overnight). The shuttle is $8 to downtown (and if the driver allows, you may take small dogs inside a carrier (I have a shoulder bag for my 15 lb Cavalier King Charles). It worked out well for me, I did the day parking, took the dog with me to walk around Lake Louise and eat lunch. Then drove back down the road a few miles and spent the night in the overflow lot. I was the only one there until about 10pm when another camper pulled in and a couple car campers showed up. Quiet - even though close to the highway. All dollars paid were CA$.

I stayed here June 16-17th where only 10 of 63 sites were above water. The campground no longer accepts Good Sam Discount and although I paid for water and electric - I opted not to use either due to the extreme flooding. The restaurant was open and the food was great! Gas station was very busy. The town was working very hard to get the sand bags in place to prevent the loss of the museum and the restaurant. I also chose not to use the laundry or the showers as the water had stained the shower basins a bright orange. Also did not fill my fresh tank with their water. WiFi is available in the restaurant, bar and porch outside (if the mosquitos are not biting). I rated them low on noise, because they allowed an 18 wheeler to park 10 feet away from my site (technically in the gas station parking lot) and he ran his engine until 4am. I had asked if he would be parked there all night and they told me no (hmm....so 4 am is apparently not all night).

Hopefully, the water will recede and they will recover. Wonderful people working hard to save their business.

This was the very first place I brought my brand new airstream and was thrilled at the wide open layout and ease of backing in the sites. A lot of thought was put in to the design of the campground. Not much shade since it is new, but staff is very friendly and the bathrooms are exceptionally clean. No showers which is surprising given the price! Also, water is quite far from site - make sure you have 50-75 feet of hose. I am staying in 12-14 day increments as I wrap up work and head out to full time RV life. Cell service is slow (1 bar of AT&T). Short hiking trail from campground to lake. You can bike the trail also. Water park is nearby - look for Groupon discounts (I found 2 for 1 deal). Sites are gravel and level with a picnic table and fire pit.

Great Campground, close to visitor center with wonderful museum and nearby Portage Glacier Tour - a quick one hour $45 tour. Close to the tunnel to Whittier ($13 for cars roundtrip). Close to Girdwood for gas and CELL SERVICE. The sites are heavily wooded and each has a picnic table and a fire ring. Vault toilets and water faucets (not threaded) spaced around the campground. Lots of hiking nearby and options for fishing, glacier sightseeing, kayaking and jet skiing in Whittier (which by the way has amazing cell service - as soon as you exit the tunnel!). Unfortunately, the location of this campground (in the Portage Valley) subjects it to tons of rain, low clouds and subsequently limited views. Each time I drove to Girdwood - it was not raining. You leave the valley and the entire weather system changes. I hiked Portage Pass Trail, ate dinner in Whittier and then the whole town shut down around 6pm. I hear its a cruise ship port - maybe they time the shop hours to coincide with the ships. Tried twice to see the Bore Tides (best viewing is between Girdwood and Bird Point after a full moon) - but they did not appear as expected. Girdwood has laundry and showers and a great little mercantile (basically a mini Safeway) and reasonable prices. I hear there are lots of little shops and restaurants, I only saw a coffee shop and one restaurant. There are several hikes, but given the wet weather, they were muddy and slippery. Also you can hike to the top of Mount Alyeska, eat in the restaurant and take the tram back down for free. There were no views - so I didn't bother. I hiked the Blue Ice Trail and Byron Glacier Trail (both easy), and even with rain gear - was soaked. Trying to make the best of it and still get out and sightsee, but the dreary gray skies and bone chilling wet rain, permeated everything making the 56 degrees feel like 36 degrees. Had to run the generator twice a day just to keep the batteries topped off. A huge improvement would be to add cell service (Verizon) or Wi-Fi at the visitor center or the Lodge. It is difficult to plan and make reservations when you have to drive 15 miles to Girdwood for cell service. I had planned to stay 7 days, but left after 5 to camp at Quartz Creek Campground, about an hour west (where it was overcast, but NO rain). The $9 rate reflects the senior pass. The campground is only about 20% full, many sites had reservations - but were no shows - which didn't impact anyone trying to find a site as they have many FCFS to chose from. If not for the extreme weather and lack of cell service/wifi, this is a great place to stay!

I had reserved site 85, however since guests were already parked on sites 84 and 86 (either side of me) and we shared the same parallel cutout - there was no way to get my airstream in the space. Had no one been there, it would have fit and I would have had to park my truck elsewhere. Be very careful about location of neighbors. I researched carefully, but did not see that we shared the same driveway.

This is a very very busy campground. Lots of people driving through on a narrow road. Just happy I didn’t meet anyone on my way out.

I headed over to Belle campground and was able to get a FCFS site that easily fit my 28’ trailer with room to park my truck on the same site.

Loved all the rocks and the proximity to several trails (but this also makes the traffic much heavier as everyone, whether staying in the campground or not, is looking for a place to park and hike the trails).

No services, no cell service.

Loved being surrounded by boulders. They helped block the wind. Some sites are more private than others. I was able to back my 28’ airstream in with no issues (although most sites are very small and uneven). There were other sites that would also work. No services. Twenty Nine Palms is a 15 minute drive. Close to many of the trails inside the park.

Only 14 sites, several are doubles and most are small. My 28’ fit, but it was a tight squeeE. Definitely worth it for the views if you manage one of the Cliffside sites. You are up on a bluff overlooking the beach below. There are stairs to the beach and you can walk in either direction. A wonderful little coffee shop at the entrance. Large easy to maneuver horseshoe shaped dump station $(10) and potable water is available. Gas stations and a couple places to eat within walking distance (10 minutes). Although you are right off the highway, the trees provide lots of protection. I never heard anything all night. The vault toilets are immaculate. The sites are gravel and most are level.

East access just north of town of Tusayan and about a mile from entrance to Grand Canyon. Many sites available - but several of the larger ones taken by tents. Some of the turnoffs from the main toad have a pretty steep drop off and some sites are a bit bumpy. High clearance rigs didn’t seem to have any issues. I have very low clearance on my 28’ airstream but was able to find a spot. It is a drive through site with good sun until about 2pm (solar panels fully charge) then the shade of the pine trees for the rest of the hot afternoon. Evenings were cold: 28-40 degrees, so I ran the generator for a couple hours each evening to make sure my furnace would run through the night. All sites are next to a well travelled dirt road so dust is unavoidable. A bit windy at times - only used the awning on calm days (maybe 2-3 times). Proximity to town is great! Could be walking distance, but I drove. Paved Bike trail to GC runs right through the camping area. Plenty of options for meals in town. Laundry and showers are closed in GC, but was able to buy tokens to use shower at GC Camping Resort in Tusayan and use their laundry facility. Free Dump station and fresh water available at GC campground. Lots of dumpsters around town to dispose of trash. Pretty quiet at night - the occasional car driving down the dirt road.

Although it is a beautiful campground, cell service was so bad, I was struggling to even open the weather ap. Only 1 bar of Verizon and no clear view of sky for Starlink to work (there are a few sites that might have worked, but the park was sold out, so not able to change sites - look carefully if WiFi is important). They do have WiFi at the office and I was able to use it from the front porch bench (no picnic table on the porch). The Fort is worth the extra price to walk through it. Laundry room is great. Showers are nice, each a personal unit with toilet, sink and handicap shower, but water flow is restricted, leaving just a stream to wash off soap and shampoo. The hiking paths are good and the deer, raccoons and armadillos - as well as hundreds of squirrels are fun to watch. The constant pinging of berries falling on my roof, not so great. Its a good area to sightsee in Savannah, but probably would not stay again. OTA TV is totally available, but I'm not a TV person and would much rather be able to search the web for sightseeing and hiking trails and to check opening hours, tours and prices. Recommendations by the office for lunch were great - but everything recommended didn't open until 4pm on a Monday. Publix is close by, so that was helpful. I'm full time, so having some cell service or WiFi is important - timing was off for me. Perhaps another time when I have no need for either, this would be magical.

The beach is wonderful - shallow, gorgeous cobalt blue and nice clean, white, sand. Lots of ATVs, Jet Ski's and boats (so a bit noisy, especially if you are sunbathing - you hear the constant beep, beep, beep of jet ski's reminding owners their key is still engaged - very annoying). - and since the water level is very low - it is a LONG walk from the campsite to the beach. Most people drive on the beach - although some trucks did get stuck in the soft sand. The rules say no dogs on the beach - but pretty much everyone had very well behaved dogs (on leashes) at the beach (not an issue for me).

The campground sites are nicely built in stair step fashion up the hill, so pretty much everyone has a lake view. Shopping, gas, restaurants are within 20-25 minutes. The vault toilets are dirty, smelly and have lots of flies (fortunately I had my own and didn't have to use them, but just walking past could gag you). There are no showers, but many folks had rigged up outdoor showers to rinse off.

My rating is low, due to the very high prices for sites with electric only (water is available from faucets next to the road that are quite a distance from most sites). Idaho State has recently increased the DAILY motor vehicle charge (as though you are coming and going each and every day from the campground) to $14/DAY. There is also a $10 fee to reserve online (which is the ONLY way to reserve a site).

While the beach is nice, it is NOT worth paying nearly $50/DAY.