joydowe

The road in to this camp is narrow and winding. It is a very quiet area which is a plus for us. The price was the best in the area. If it had not been so close to where we needed to be we would not have stayed. The entire area is littered with broken down 5th wheels and travel trailers. The gravel road in the campground itself is narrow and steep with some deep ruts, we almost got our rig stuck trying to navigate to a site. Sites are close together and mostly narrow with some tucked into trees, the first few were in n an open area and fairly level. All in all a rather unsavory looking place. That being said the gal who managed the place was very pleasant

So it is the end of a long day, the next closest park is almost 2 hours away, but there is a Walmart nearby and several free spots. Our advise, drive the 2 hours or boondock because nothing could be this bad. That of course is hindsight. We were told that there was an event scheduled for the evening and that during said event they would be allowing only foot traffic. The event would start at 7pm and would stop promptly at 10pm. For our inconvenience we were offered free admission to said event which we declined. We saw the Halloween decorations and thought how nice they are doing something for the community! The noise was so loud that the glasses and windows in our RV vibrated. We were so grateful when 9:59 rolled around, but at 10:07 my husband went outside to find out why the”music” and fright night noise was continuing, finding no one from the park in sight he unplugged the loud speaker. Another camper thanked him as he was returning to our rig. We have no idea where they were but we do know that there had not been a single person partaking of the entertainment for over an hour as we heard them announce “new meat” with each new entry. Seriously! An event, how about telling folks that it was going to be incredibly noisy for 3 solid hours, or offering reduced rate for the night! We would have opted to leave rather than be subjected to the noise. Extremely poor management. As for the site, length not an issue and it was level however my husband had to move several decorations so that he could navigate to the site and one must position very carefully if your rig has slides on both sides, the sites are a bit narrow.

We picked this area to get away from the winter weather in the White Mountains for a few days. There are spots for all types of camping from tents to larger rigs. A few cautions though - if it is or has been raining recently you can anticipate deep, slick muck which may be difficult to navigate. We drive a 4WD truck and did not venture too far in on the first night due to the depth of the mud. The site we moved to the following day is secluded and quite (second right off Cemetery road, beyond the AZ State Trust Land sign) and from this site it looked and felt like we were alone in the wilderness. Most sites do have lovely views toward the mountains on one side, however with houses, a mining site visible from the other. Nights here are super quiet. Daylight hours ... not so much. There is a train that can be heard at least once a day and if the fighter pilots are practicing - they will rattle the windows in your rig. That being said, we had a lovely time climbing and hiking with our dogs and would likely stay here again but probably only for an overnight stop.

OK so as has been mentioned previously the campground is clean, some of the sites are crowded together (5 thru 8), and site 11 has the best exposure for solar panels. The water, available by hand pump near the front of the park, is absolutely delicious, cold mountain well water. We enjoyed hiking through the forest with our two dogs. That, folks, is the best of this review. So...at the end of a 10 mile hike we had just sat down to remove our boots, remove the harnesses from the dogs (45# and 7#) in preparation for going inside the trailer to get a bite to eat. Our little dog heard something and ran to the front of the trailer, I followed and scooped him up apologizing to the walker (woman with a small dog) at the same time. Of course the big dog also heard the commotion by that time and joined in. She was quickly called back by my husband. Please understand that NEITHER dog got anywhere near the woman who was walking. She, without first identifying herself, started snarling at my husband who told her the dogs were under control and suggested she continue her walk. At this point she decided to announce "I am the camp host." We proceeded to return to what we had been doing, unlocked the trailer and went inside. After our lunch my husband went outside to move our solar panel when she walked up to the site and stood staring at him. When he asked what she wanted she stated "You need to follow the rules." OK so we removed the leashes before we opened the door, our bad. But to come back almost an hour later to start an argument over the issue when neither of the dogs were even outside??? Seriously!
Let me give you some further background as to why we gave a 3 star to this lovely place and will not return. On our first full day we happened to be walking our dogs when we encountered a woman with a small dog, yup the camp host although we did not know it at the time. We exchanged pleasantries and walked behind her for a distance as we returned to our site. To our surprise, when her little dog decided to poop on the road, she simply pushed the little pile over and covered it with pine needles. (things that make you stop and wonder, I guess host means you do whatever you want). The group campground had been occupied for 3 days while we were there - there were 4 dogs running off leash the entire time (rules against this are clearly posted), the site next to the camp host had their generator running during quiet hours (rules against this are clearly posted), the site across from the vault toilets (which were by the way very clean) had 4 vehicles parked in the site (rules clearly state only 2 vehicles allowed), and by far the absolute worst that happened - there were robberies committed on 2 consecutive nights and we had to learn of it from another camper (facts confirmed by the presence of law enforcement after the second occurrence) - sorry folks you can tell me I am wrong but I believe that it was the responsibility of the camp host to notify campers that there had been a theft on the property.
In fairness, the spouse of the vile woman was delightful.
So bitchy or not here is our bottom line - yes rules are there for a reason, but they should be enforced for everyone, not just when it suits the host to do so. And yes this has been reported to the Forestry Service.

Sites are large, level, and well manicured. Overall the RV Park is very clean. Managers are friendly and very accommodating. Bathrooms are spotless. Not only are the laundry facilities free but they too are immaculate. There are trails, petroglyphs and a near by ghost town to explore. And the icing on the cake, it is minutes from some of the most stunning scenery in the state. There are trains that go through several times a day but we did not find that troublesome. Interstate 70 is visible from the campground but we could not hear any road noise. From one who generally prefers boondocking, this is high praise indeed.

This is an older forest service campground, sites are not exactly well defined but most have burn rings. There is a lovely stream that runs through the campground and vault toilets which appear to be clean and looked after (no odor). The area seems to be mostly used as an overnight spot. We had such a good time exploring the forest and service roads that we stayed a bit longer! Our dogs loved being able to explore off leash. We saw mallard ducks in the stream, a flock of wild turkey came by one morning, and we were visited by elk twice at dusk and the third time they were actually within 10-15 feet of the camper grazing in the early morning sun. It must be said that US 180 is quite close so we did hear the occasional vehicle but unless it was a large truck (heard only one) the sound was minimal. The closest store/gas is in Alpine, AZ which is about a 17 minute drive west of the campground.

So the site is a short drive off hwy 91, was a bit confused at the beginning because the entry to Stockton road looks like you are driving into someones front yard! There is no clear marker for the site - there is a flat(ish) place on the left side of the road with a burn pit and another site on the right with a burn pit and lovely shade trees next to a creek. That is the site we chose since it was a 90 degree afternoon. Sounds lovely yes! Well it is in the middle of an aggricultural area so the creek is a bit grey and frothy. The site was quiet until dusk an then became a speedway of sorts - mostly pick up trucks, ATV's, and a few campers. Once the traffic stopped, the sound of the creek was relaxing, we were treated to visits from a young buck and a muskrat, and the temperature was lovely overnight. This is not the place to be in high summer and not a site that we will look to return to but we were thankful for a place to rest for the night, and on a positive note there was very little trash in the area.

As has been previously stated, there are actually only 3 sites that appear to be available to travelers, 2 full hook up sites are back-in sites facing Main St and another that they call a pull thru site which is more like a parallel park site facing the tiny little park on a side street (this is the site we were in). We stayed here in our 36 ft Seneca, so close to the fence that we could not open the living room slide and our bedroom slide was just barely off the street. There is no view to speak of, unless you count the neighboring trailer park which was colorful in a worn out, rundown sort of way. All that being said we were delighted. We arrived late in the day, tired and hungry and were greeted by the camp host immediately. She was a most delightful and accommodating woman. The actual park itself contains two historic buildings, s small fort and a jail, and a small museum containing stagecoach and fire wagon. There is a winery across the street and another within walking distance both were closed when we arrived/ left. The tiny little town is rich with history and it is obvious that efforts are being made to restore and beautify this quaint little gem. Would stay again and would highly recommend this park to anyone with an open mind and an interest in quaint little towns.

This was our second stay at this campground. The first time was in May of this year at the beginning of our 6 month journey and it seemed fitting to visit again on our return home. The park is older and a bit worn but well cared for. As with our first visit the park rangers were very helpful and friendly. As has been mentioned previously it is an out of the way location but that is one of the things that we enjoy. We did not make use of the trails this time as it was very wet and rainy but we did enjoy the trails when we were here in May. Verizon Service was adequate for texting and phone but that was fine with us as well. Excellent little campground for getting away from the noise for a while.

Beautiful older but very well maintained state park. Highly recommend this campground.