Bob

This dispersed camping area runs for about a three-quarters of a mile on the south side of the road from near the Avalanche Trailhead turnoff and on toward the west. Most spots in the eastern section are buried in pine trees and you're limited on size by turn radius or distance between trees. Not for the faint of heart, and the missing bark on the trees bears testimony to that. I just barely fit because my trailer is only 20 feet long and 7 feet wide. An 8-foot wide trailer wouldn't fit. There are more open areas as you move further to the west toward the "Hughes Meadow Campground".

The spot I had across from the Avalanche Trailhead turnoff was beautiful...right on the creek. Had one measly bar of 4G good for about 3 Mbps down.

LOTS of small equipment and tent camping options. Almost all of the land, however, is significantly sloped down away from the road.

This entire national forest area after leaving Hwy 129 is "camping controlled". Places where you're NOT allowed to camp are clearly signed. There are no signs here. The area is sloped down to the road, so leveling will be necessary almost everywhere. The spot could accommodate 2 to 3 pieces of equipment if you all know each other. Judging by the gigantic 3-axle toy hauler that was there, I'd say any equipment could fit here. A stone fire ring exists on the far end where the great views are. I had 2-3 bars of good Verizon cell coverage at the fire ring.

The area sees a fair amount of traffic in early August. There were probably a dozen cars on this road in an 18-hour period.

It's a nice, modern rest area.

-12 hour stay acceptable.
- Right off the freeway, so it's noisy.
- Lots of semis
- The lot with long slots is noticeably sloped.
- Free dump station onsite.
- A substantial city park with trails across the street.

It's a fine place if you can stand the noise.

I confirmed in April 2024 that this Walmart permits overnight parking with the following stipulations:

1. You must park by the garden center.
2. You must check in with the night manager, who arrives around 9pm.
3. You must leave before the store opens at 6am.

It's a new one-holer with nearby rinse water. No potable water that I could see at the location. There might be potable water available elsewhere at the truck stop. $12 dump fee is too steep for my little trailer.

Campendium GPS coords were accurate for me.

This is a wonderful gift co-located with the city park. A 2-holer with available freshwater, nearby ice vending machines, and bathrooms. No rinse water. The freshwater spigot is, oddly, right next to the sewer holes, so some unscrupulous folks might be using it for rinse water as well. You might want to sanitize the nozzle before using it for freshwater. Easy in, easy out for any size equipment.

One can also boondock one night in the co-located park.

Spend some money in town to say thank you.

This is a trailhead parking lot for the South Fork Trail. It is huge, flat, and in nice condition. Other than washboard road, I don't see any issues getting equipment of any size to this point. People bring their huge horse trailers to this spot.

Just like all of the other trailhead parking lots I saw further east up the road network, there aren't any "no camping" or "no overnight parking" signs here. This entire area has "controlled camping", so there are signs wherever you're NOT allowed to camp.

The views are pretty good from here. People drive pretty fast on the dirt road so dust might be an issue.

This one-holer is to the northeast of the museum. There is no rinse water available.

The manager asks RVers to park on the southeast side of the store or in the northeast parking lot (behind Tractor Supply) in order to leave the main lot for customers. While traffic noise from Hwy 30 was pretty standard, the two RV parking areas were rather sparse and were quieter than usual. Woods, a clean retention pond, and grass next to the southeast area make for more pleasant scenery. The southeast side of the store is near the loading docks, so semis might make noise. Move up toward Tractor Supply if that's an issue.

There's a water hydrant on the island in front of the garden center. Ask to use. The Tractor Supply let us use their spigot as well. We offered to patronize the store as a thank you. We picked up some trash that previous folks left behind.

Most of the sites in this campground are tent sites; however, there are one or two sites that would fit RVs. I stayed in one of the pull-in sites that could comfortably hold equipment up to 45-50 feet long.

If you're heavy or have ground clearance concerns, you'll need to approach the complex from the south rather than from Hwy 34: There's a weight-limited bridge with a sharp, steep approach just off of Hwy 34. The spur road to Mine Pond Campground is passable by anything. There's a loop at the end for turning around. It might not be big enough for the longest Class A's. I didn't have any problem with my truck and trailer (overall length about 42 feet).

Water isn't available at this campground, but there are hydrants at the other two campgrounds in this complex. They were still turned on in February 2024. Those other two campgrounds also have many more traditional sites for RVs.

Trains run nearby and I could hear some noise from Hwy 34, but mostly it's just the quiet sounds of nature.