roadtripper2662282

The 2020 limited opening of Eldorado NF after all CA-NF’s closed because of fire danger only allowed this “Dispersed Camping” area to open. Feeling the need for a mountain fix, we landed here.
There is the rubble from the ski area that closed down in 1993. (see pictures. Lots of flat areas with amazing views. There are the tourists who walk and climb what is left of the infrastructure. Woke up Saturday morning to a few deer hunting crews. Besides that this time of year is peaceful, cool, and a great place to hangout and explore lakes and the NF.

lots of areas to find some shade in normal times. A rough road leads down slope where a small trailer went.

There are 3 escape routes off the mountain of there was to be the need. We confirmed all other boondocking areas are closed at the moment.

if you have a Verizon MIFI, you can snatch a 4G signal to stream etc.

The road is well maintained. Views of the mountain and Winnemucca are great.
Not so good: lots of locals speeding by kicking up road dust. This seems to be a hangout for the kids at night.

We experienced a rare thunderstorm with extreme winds. The nature show was awesome. We will stay here again.

This time of year there are fire restrictions in the NF. We decided to see if there was a site available (first come first serve. It was a great back in site up the hill away from the HWY noise. You hear the cars and trucks heading up the hill during the day. Traffic is reduced immensely at night. There are pull-throughs and back-in sites.

Also a brand new water fill station and dump site for campers. You can also dump for $6.00 if not staying at the campground. It takes roughly 15 minutes to the Bryce Canyon entrance.

This time a year they have the back section closed down. We were in a tight spot that was a typical RV campground. We walked the back section and if it was open, it is nice with open sites.

As you enter the landing area splits. road to the right heads down to the lake. that’s the good news. the bad news is it becomes soft sand/gravel. I buried my truck as i attempted to back into a flat space.
The road to the left past the Vault toilet is an old campground with what is left of a paved road down to the lake also. lots of flat spots to boondock.

The highway is close enough where you hear the traffic go by. however at night it is not noticeable.

Sites are flat, paved, and lots of trees around. We had a herd of deer visit. There were lots of open sites. It looked like a lot with electric and water. Cell coverage was great. This made my other half extremely happy after 3 days with nothing at the last state park. They had what looked like 3 camp host couples who maintained the grounds well. The Dumpsite was easy and when busy they have two.

we chose site number 1 which gave us a view and sound of the river right next to us. Pulled in during a full day of snow/rain coming through Yellowstone/Teton on 08/31.
Still close enough to Jackson hole to head back in the morning and play tourists in Jackson Hole.
Very small and quiet campground.

Nice State Park to use as a base for exploring up to Coos Bay. Extremely well maintained. Nice trail to the beach. We had a water and electric site. There were better sites located closer to the beach access. All were worth staying in. The dump station was also well maintained.
Not so good:
No Verison service. You have to drive toward Port Orford to pick it up.
There was road noise. If you are in a tent, you will hear trucks all day and night.