rin1

I knew I would be passing through Ohio, so I booked a site ahead of time for this spot not far outside of Columbus. I arrived about an hour before sundown and left the next morning, so I didn’t get to experience everything this place has to offer. It’s a pretty place to stay, and the host is friendly and hospitable. I really appreciated her level of communication prior to my trip and on the day of arrival.

The campground: Upon arrival, I stopped before the spilt in the driveway as instructed. The host came out to greet me; she gave a general description of the farm and campsites. It was mid-September and there was only one other camper that night. So, she told me to choose whichever site I wanted. Most of the campsites are in an open grassy area, and many of the sites are divided by a narrow line of knee-high grasses. Most of the sites are bordered by tall grasses, pollinator-friendly plants, and/or trees. My campsite faced the prairie grass pathways and was backed up to some tall grasses and a grove of small trees (the pollinator maze, I think). Some of the campsites in the back offer more shade provided by the bordering woods. My site had a fire pit; some other sites also had a picnic table. There was a porta-potty nearby (it smelt terrible and was the only major downside to my experience). I was able to park right on my site and pitched my tent next to the car. I really enjoyed how pretty this place is, especially in the early morning. (Even though there was so much dew on my tent that it was drenched.)

The area: About 40 minutes north of Columbus, the farm is located less than 10 minutes off I-71. It’s in the country, so there’s no commercial businesses in the immediate area. Right when you get off the highway there’s a truck stop and a few other businesses nearby.

Booking: I booked my spot at the farm ahead of time via a camping platform’s website. I received excellent communication upon booking, and on the day of arrival.

Cell Service: I had Verizon and had no issues.

(One cool moment was getting to see the Starlink Satellite pass over.)

I decided to stay here, because it was the right location for my road trip, it was free, and I thought the view of the city would be excellent. It's a large rest area with plenty of parking located on the first exit after crossing the Golden Gate Bridge. I stayed the night in my SUV, and parked on the far side of the rest area where I saw several campers & RVs.

I had an excellent view of the city and the bridge both at night and in the morning. There were a lot of people, including a bunch of teenagers, hanging out at the rest area. Plus, quite a few people stopping just to take a quick photograph. It's a very busy rest area, and very noisy. In addition to the car noise, the large group of teenagers were pretty rowdy. (Bring earplugs!) There was also almost always a police car patrolling the rest area, even in the morning. I believe there's a rule that you're not supposed to park more than 8 hours at a rest area in California, but I'm not sure if that's enforced here.

The rest area itself had multiple bathrooms, which were pretty dirty, but still usable. The trashcan nearest to my car was overflowing, and in the middle of the night I woke to a weird sound, which turned out to be a couple of racoons digging through it.

Overall, it was not a restful night, but it was still a pretty cool place to stay.

A gorgeous and vast dispersed campground just a short drive from Santa Fe. There was enough space and trees/shrubs to offer privacy, and as a solo traveler I felt completely safe sleeping in my crossover. I parked just off the main dirt road between a couple of junipers and still felt like I had the privacy I preferred, but you can drive further to get a more secluded space. The only downside: it was very windy and the entire interior of my vehicle was covered in reddish dust. But this place was so beautiful and spaced out that being covered in dust seemed like a small price to pay for a great experience.

The Campground: The main dirt road wasn't in great condition, so the short journey after you turn off of Country Road 62 was very bumpy, but it didn't appear that anyone was having issues navigating it (that might change if there's heavy rainfall). When you first enter the area there's a vault toilet and picnic pavilion near the front; this area is also a trailhead. The whole place feels very open and has a nice view of the mountains.

The area: Very close to Santa Fe.

Booking: No booking or fee. This is dispersed camping and there are no official "sites" here. When looking for a place to set up, make sure you chose a place that's well-traveled. Seemed like there were enough areas to camp that I don't imagine this place ever gets too full.

Cell Service: I have Verizon, and my service was good.

Holy moly, this place was magnificent! I arrived in the evening and was greeted with an incredible view: a vast lake backed by snowcapped mountains glowing in the light from the setting sun; the lights from Provo, the city across the lake, twinkle throughout the night; and it is definitely worth waking up early to catch the sun rising over the mountains. I slept in my SUV here, and I would recommend this place to anyone sleeping inside a vehicle.

Just a heads up, this review is from mid-November 2021; things may have changed a little. The weather was cold, so I had no issues with bugs (some of the other reviews had mentioned bugs). I do imagine that staying here in the summer might not be as great.

The campground: Getting here is fairly easy. If you're heading south on 68, you'll see a Public Lands sign on your right and the turn will be on your left near mile marker 19. The road becomes a dirt gravel mixture, and things do get a bit bumpy the further you go. There's different levels to this area, and while I kept to the road that stayed low, I did see some RVs up in the middle section. When I was there in the winter, with no foliage, it was pretty clear where other people had stayed. There were about four other vehicles camping, but we were all able to be so spread out that I never saw any of the other people. It was a peaceful and quiet stay. As a solo camper I was very comfortable here.

The downside of this area was the trash; there wasn't anything large, but the ground had plenty of bottle caps, nails, and a little bit of glass. This is why I recommend sleeping in your vehicle instead of a tent. Ultimately, for me, the beauty and quiet of this place far outweighed the trash issue.

The area: This land is located right off of Utah Lake. It's about twenty minutes from the town of Saratoga Springs, and less than an hour from Salt Lake City, which means there are plenty of places to get food and supplies.

Cell service: It was pretty good with Verizon. I was able to watch a live hockey game on my phone.

I ended up here after the place I had originally intended to stay didn't work out, and I am so glad I did. Yes, as others have stated, the front of this camping area, right off the highway, has a ton of trash. But it doesn't take much driving to get past it, and once you do you end up with a beautiful view of mountains and horizon. The highlight was watching the sun set behind the mountains.

The campground: The road leading back is dirt and gravel, and it does have some ruts and a few big dips. It was a jarring ride, but ultimately my crossover did fine. Some of the sites do have markers with numbers; I was back near maker #6 where I found a clean, flat gravel space to park for the night. There were only two other campers, both closer to the front, and we were all able to be very spaced out. The noise from the highway was very minimal, just an occasional low rumble. I felt pretty comfortable traveling on my own there, but there is very little privacy because everything is so wide open. I think if someone had parked closer to me, I would have felt like everything I was doing was on display and would have been less comfortable.

The area: This place is right off of highway 95, and your closest gas/food is about 20 miles away (Needles, CA). Needles tends to have pretty pricey gas, so I recommend you have as close to a full tank before you head down or up 95.

Booking: Primitive camping on public land: no booking, no fee, no assigned spots.

Cell service: I have Verizon and this is maybe the best cell service I have ever had.

This place was such a disappointment. I don't often pay for campsites that aren't inside a National Park, but this place looked so pretty and it was in the location I needed.

I should start by saying that if you book an RV spot (I think they cost around $30) and whatever you're staying in has a toilet, your experience will probably be a lot better than mine. Although very close together, the RV sections seemed fairy nice.

My experience, however, was a little different (if you don't want to read all about my experience & just want the basics, scroll down to the section "the campground"):

I booked my tent site ($20) on their website a few hours before I arrived. I arrived well before sunset, and there was a sign up that said the office closed at sunset. No one was in the office and there was another sign that indicated they would return at 10AM. This wasn't a big deal.

When I booked my site online it told me to select an area (there's three different sections of the park), and then once I arrive I could choose any available campsite. I chose the Walnut Grove area. They have a map on their website showing the areas where there is tent camping. What they fail to mention on their site, is that there isn't any obvious parking for most of these sites in the Walnut Grove area. A couple of the campsites on the map were in what was signed to be a "day use only" area, a couple of the sites on the map looked like walk-in sites, but I had no clue where to park my vehicle, a couple of the sites I just couldn't find, and most of the sites were on the main road that goes through the canyon and had no obvious place to park (I looked for dead or trodden grass near the sites to give me a sign that people were just parking in the grass & didn't see any.) Also, at first it was hard to distinguish between which sites were day use picnic sites and which were campsites, because the website told me the campsite area I chose didn't have fire rings.

I finally decided to just pull onto the grass, but I noticed that multiple campsites had trash at them (most likely from guests using the park during the day). Nearby a dumpster was overflowing with trash, and I eventually saw that every section had one or two dumpsters either filled to the brim or overflowing.

I decided to stop off at the toilets in the Walnut Grove area. To get there you cross a wooden bridge that has wood planks laying over the original structure, which seems a little hazardous for navigating after dark. I could smell the bathrooms (an actual running water bathroom) from the bridge, not a great sign, but it appeared to be coming from the men's. In the women's side were two spiders the size of my palm, one in each stall. (Yes, I am afraid of spiders. In most circumstances I can get over it, but a spider of this size, that didn't seemed particularly frightened by my presence, hanging out close by while I sat on a toilet was a little too much for me in this moment.).

Between the frustration of trying to find a campsite/parking, the overflowing trash, the horrible smelling bathroom, the giant spiders, and the trash at the campsites, I finally decided to check out another area. Despite finding another overflowing dumpster, this area was a little better. The campsites were on a gravel loop, with a cleaner, but still not great bathroom at the front of the loop. At this point, I was hungry, tried, and frustrated, so I just stayed there. The office was still closed when I left in the morning.

I'm not a particularly fussy camper. I don't mind picking up a little bit of trash at a campsite. I frequently camp in areas that don't have toilets or any amenities. But when I pay $20 to camp in a tent, I do expect to have the campsites, the toilets, and the overall campground maintained and cleaned to some acceptable degree.

The campground: You drive down a short, but steep and curvy hill to get into the canyon. The red rocks of the canyon wall give off a pretty glow, especially when the sun is lower in the sky. The park is labeled into three different sections; if you are tent camping I would advise going for the first campground called Canyon Campground. Also, unless you're concerned about it filling up, I would go down and look at the areas before booking one. There are three running water bathrooms throughout the canyon; the toilets themselves look clean, but the bathrooms as a whole don't; also lots of bugs and a couple large spiders inside. There was trash at many of the campgrounds and most of the dumpsters were overflowing with trash.

The area: If you are coming from highway 40 you'll pass through a small town that has a Sonic and a local restaurant or two. Watch your speed here, there was a police officer every time I drove by. Otherwise there's not much nearby.

Booking: You can book online, but they did have envelopes & a drop box by the front office.

Cell service: I could call out, but couldn't text or use internet.

I didn't spend a lot of time here; I arrived late in the evening, set up my crossover to sleep in, and left fairly early in the morning. So I don't have much to say, but it was totally adequate for what I needed: a safe place to sleep. I will say there was nothing particularly interesting to me about this campground. Everything was good, but I don't feel a strong desire to return unless I'm just passing through.

The campground: It's about a fifteen minute drive off highway 40. Once inside the campground the road is gravel and fairly easy to navigate. There's about 10 sites; each site has a pavilion with a picnic table, a grill, and a fire pit with a grill on top. Plus there are two vault toilets; one in the upper area and one in the lower area. I arrived just before sundown and there was only one site left, so getting a spot might be an issue during busier times. Everything was clean, including the toilets. It was very quiet; everyone seemed to turn in not long after I arrived.

The area: It's in El Malpais area, and I've been told there's a lot to explore around there; unfortunately I didn't have the time. There's a Phillips 66 located where you get off 40 to head to the campground.

Booking: No booking or fee, but minimal sites. I didn't see any good spots to camp inside the campground that weren't official sites. There's some "restoration" areas that might have been spots for camping, but are currently blocked off.

Cell service: Spotty with Verizon. I could make calls, but couldn't text or use the internet. My spot was near a ridge, so maybe other spots had better service.

Staying at this little campground feels like you're on top of the world, which must be why this area of Canyonlands is called Island in the Sky. It made exploring this area of Canyonlands easy, and led to a very peaceful night.

The campground: With only twelve campsites, this campground has a slower and more intimate vibe. While it's not the highest elevation I have camped at, there's a feeling of being really high up, and because the trees in the campground are low shrub-y things, it also feels very wide open. (But still enough privacy to not see the campers on the other side of the loop.) Unless you stay here around a full moon, the stars are incredible.

My campsite had a parking spot I could pull in; the spot for the tent was dirt. It also included a small pavilion that provided a little shade for the picnic table below, and a fire ring with a grate. There was a vault toilet across the road from my site. There's no drinking water at this campground.

The area: There are multiple districts in Canyonlands National Park, and you have to go different ways to get to each of them. This area is called Island in the Sky; it has several hikes to scenic overlooks of the canyons. It's a bit of a drive to get to Island in the Sky if you're coming from Arches National Park, and I would recommend having all your supplies ahead of time; especially water.

Booking: First-come; first-served. I stayed here in November, arrived in the afternoon, and there were only three campsites open.

Cell service: None. Don't expect to have cell service in any part of this district of Canyonlands. I had some at the Visitor's Center right at the entrance to the Park.

The best part of this campground was its proximity to everything in Monterey. While I had no real attraction to the campground, I also had no complaints.

The campground: Located uphill from the rest of Monterey, the campground has lots of trees and deer. The bathrooms and showers were clean. Fires were prohibited when I visited. The staff were friendly.

The area: There are multiple roads you can use to access the campground; if you have a large RV I'd recommend looking at them ahead of time, because one was curvy and narrow. I had no difficulty navigating it in an SUV. It's a quick trip into downtown Monterey from this campground, and not much longer to the ocean. I really enjoyed driving down to the coast and sitting on a rock watching the sea otters float over the waves. Monterey is a lovely town with plenty of things to do.

Booking: In November, I showed up here pretty late in the evening and had no trouble getting a spot. Just stop at the front and pay once you know where you're staying for the night. It's a little pricier than I'd like for car camping, but I couldn't find anywhere else nearby.

I stayed the night here in late April, and it was absolutely gorgeous. The campground is in the middle of a forest with a large creek running around it. It was springtime and everything was so green, there were wildflowers popping up all over the place. The sound of the creek running right behind my camp site felt so soothing. I wish I could have stayed a few more nights; the place was a little bit of magic.

The campground: The road that loops through the campground is paved, and for most (if not all) campsites you park right at your site. My campsite included a large firepit with a grate that you could grill on, a picnic table, and a paved parking space to pull-in. Even though the place was over half full, it felt very quiet. I stayed towards the back of the loop, and the creek ran just below my site. There were clean pit toilets and a trash receptacle across the road from my site. The only downside: there are places where the creek runs over the road a little, so that might cause issues if there's heavy rain in the forecast.

The area: About a thirty minute drive from Rolla, where there are plenty of places to get food or supplies. I didn't have a lot of time to explore Lane Springs Recreation Area, but it looked nice.

Booking: I drove up to the sign at the front of the campground and put my payment in an envelope. I'm not sure if there are other options to book ahead of time.

Cell Service: Verizon worked fine.