machado1751

We spent 4 nights here in April 2020. This is a completely dry and free camping area. There are several dirt roads with camps spread out. The roads can be muddy and are a little rocky. 2WD vehicles will make it but the roads get a little rougher in the southern area. We saw motorhomes and a few trailers in the northern area. The cell coverage ranges from none to full coverage with AT&T and Verizon. Cell coverage was much better in the northern area. Snow-covered mountains in the distance were beautiful.

We were about a mile away from Hwy 395 and could hear traffic from Hwy 395 all night. Coyotes were very active at night and we did see mountain lion tracks in several places. Overall we were very happy camping here and would go back.

We came here as a second choice after reading Grouse Mountain Dispersed was closed. It was a great second choice! The dirt road is level and maintained. Any size rig can access the camping areas. There are many places to camp. There were a lot of rigs already in the area. If you go to the end of the road you will find a forest service campground for $17.75 a night. We stuck with the free sights and pulled in to a spot right off the road. Very green. Lots of rock outcroppings and many brushes and trees. We saw deer and small rodents.

A little crowded - campsites were very close together, and there were giant holes in the median greenery, allowing one to look directly into other campsites. The parking spaces were paved and level. Water spigots and electrical hook ups were available in the campsite. 5- 6 toilets and 6 showers available in each loop of the campground. Generator noise hours was strictly enforced. We woke up in the middle of the night and the campground was silent, except the calls of the seals in the ocean. Very clean, but a little too busy for us.

This is a reservation only campground, and we lucked out to come across a family who was leaving early and vacating their spot, so we took over their reservation. Flush toilets are very clean - we saw someone clean them daily. There is a large table, fire pit with grill and large pad for parking at our site. I noticed some sites did not have a pad, and cars parked on the street. There were many water spigots through the campground. Our site was right next to the bathroom, which was not an issue for us, but might bother others. No lights (including bathrooms) or electricity in the campground, which made stargazing wonderful! This campground is located in the most southern part of the park - 90% of the activities and exhibits were in the northern part. Keep in mind it’s about a 40 minute drive to these locations, which worked out nice, because that meant there were fewer people in our area.

We arrived in the late afternoon - the ranger check in station was closed, but new arrivals were listed in the window with assigned campsite numbers. The campground was very green, filled with ferns and moss, what you would expect in a redwood forest. The campsites were a little small. There was a restriction on trailers longer than 24 feet. There was adequate greenery between the campsites. We felt that there was a a lot of privacy and we could not see into the neighboring campsites. There were hiking trails available, averaging 1-2 miles each, difficulty of moderate to difficult. The bathrooms were basic - a couple of toilets, and 2 pay showers (50 cents for 2 minutes, 25 cents each additional minute). We did notice that the roads were neglected. A new coat of asphalt would have been nice. The campground is about 2 miles off the main road.

We arrived after the ranger booth was closed for the night, but found our campsite assignment written in the window. We were at 17. 18 and 19 were stacked right next to it, lending very little privacy, but they both had signs that read “Reserved or Closed”, which meant we were all by ourselves in the small little area. The showers were $1 for 5 minutes and were a short walk from the site, we could see the shower building from our camp. Campsite numbers 23 and up were a little more spread out and afforded more privacy, but there were no showers on that side of the campground. We never had the chance to check out the beach - 11 am check out crept up on us and we packed to leave. No cell service until you get back up the hill to the entrance of the park. Raccoon boxes are available, and we did see some eyes on our evening walk, but they did not cause trouble. We were told that a bear had been spotted about a month before.

We stayed 2 nights in April. We arrived on a Friday and were one of three sites taken. More sites filled up Saturday. The campground is at the top of a hill and there are views of the valley. Fog rolled in the valley and we were looking above the fog. The road to the campground is narrow and windy. Trailers are not recommended. The sites at the camp are smaller but nice. Only very small trailers will fit in most sites. There are hiking trails but watch out for ticks.

We arrived after sunset during a very gusty windy night! The sites were easy to navigate to from I-10. We noticed that just after the “campgrounds full” sign there was a turn off on the left side of Cottonwood Road. We turned in and had no problem with our 4WD, but the road is graded and would not be a problem for non 4WD vehicles. There was many rvs there and we continued down the road until we found a spot. It was very windy! The gusts shook our small trailer all night long. The other campers that we saw the next morning kept to their campsites, but all were friendly and waved. We were not there long enough to encounter too much. We ended up packing the next morning and finding a campsite inside the park. We will return here again. Hopefully, it will not be so windy.

This is a first come, first serve campground, however, we had the pick of the place - we were the only ones there the first night! The bathroom is heated and has flushing toilets. There are two bathroom buildings, but one was locked for the season. We stayed in #47 because of its close proximity to the bathroom building and the ability to pull our trailer up close to the campsite. The campground has over 80 campsites, many that have a shared parking location and then walk (20-30 feet) to the actual campsite. The sites are stacked very closely together, which is why, although I said we would camp here again, we would only come back in the winter.