roadtripper6507852

Heading west along US-20 and then south onto Hwy 395 from South Eastern OR into Northern CA, we pre-planned staying 1-2 nights at this CG. There are some sections of expansion-compaction bump issues on the roads to get to this CG (all are asphalt), but MAN is it worth it! We arrived on a Thursday @ around 5:00pm, and it was about 85% full already! We were still able to get a great spot (Site 47) although all the sites closest to the lake were already occupied. We actually really liked our site, since even though the sites closer to the lake are incredible, they are also right next to the road where people drive in and out, so it’s really a matter of taste. Next time we come here we will try to arrive earlier and get a site next to the lake, and see which we end up preferring. Even the lakeside sites are elevated though, so it’s not like you have beachy areas/flat land to relax on.

Surprisingly, our rig was telling us the temp here - mid July 2020 - was around 95 degrees at an over 6,000 ft elevation - at 5 pm!!! So it does get HOT here - even in this high elevation! We were really surprised. No hook-ups here, so you’ll have to endure the heat in the summer, but after the 1st day it did cool down some. Expect some bugs - but we didn’t experience mosquitoes - thank goodness! Google Maps, as per usual, doesn’t really give you accurate timing on how far out from the closest town this CG is. This CG is about 15 miles out, and took us longer simply b/c we went slow due to the bumpy asphalt road. But the drive from Alturas to the CG is simply stunning. Lots of farmland, meadows, and rocky outcrops. There are lots of BLM opportunities along the road, too - but we knew we wanted lakeside camping and were willing to pay for it.

You will definitely need to level your rig here, but it isn’t too bad. Compared to some BLM land we’re used to - it was easy. There are picnic tables & fire rings at each site, plus public bathrooms and spigots for water placed sporadically. There is a host on-site (Hi, Lonny!), and there is a self-pay station (CASH OR CHECK ONLY, BE WARNED!) - it was $12 per night at our time of visit. The sites are very large and spaced nicely - a real bonus. Within 15 minutes of arrival and sitting down, we saw two Osprey and heard tons of birds! So if you are a birder, this CG is for you! The CG also seemed to be popular with fishermen/women - but we didn’t inquire how successful any of them were. We would absolutely stay here again - it is in such a stunning setting!

We absolutely LOVED this park! Beautiful sites. We stayed in Site 4 and think it was one of the BEST. Also, sites 26 and up have peek-a-boo Chetco River views! The park is EXTREMELY quiet!!! You can paddle board, kayak, etc , up the Chetco River! There was a rental place on the road in (Loeb Park is 7-8 miles from Brookings). The hosts were kind, wood is $5/bundle, and most sites are good sizes. Some are a bit narrow and small, though. Definitely A sized rig could fit in most sites. The only negative to this park is MOSQUITOES. There are two trails right out of the park: Riverview Trail - which at the end features the northernmost Redwood grove! So cool! That hike is about a mile, the other trail was just over 2 miles. So, good for most! But did I mention mosquitoes??? My gawd there were A LOT of them!!!!! So definitely be prepared with mosquito spray. We didn't have any so couldn't really enjoy our beautiful site! :(

We stopped by this spot on our way towards Teton and Yellowstone NP. Was a perfect spot for just an overnight. On 7/6/20, we were the ONLY ones in the lower campground besides a teardrop! Incredible for us Californians! Here are some facts:

1) Access of the road is INCREDIBLY easy! Good for all sized rigs! Larger rigs would do better in the upper campground area, though. Sites are asphalt and pretty level. We did need to do some leveling, but that's mostly just because I have a perfectionist husband. ;)

2) There is a self-service pay station: select the campsite you want, note it's number, obtain envelope at pay station, fill it out, tear off stub and place in envelope with money and place in deposit box @ self service pay station, display recept on rig/car dash **There is a 14 day limit for camping**

3) If you are a member of the Golden Age or Golden Access Passport, you will be charged half price

4) This area is INCREDIBLY windy - I imagine ALL times of year! So be prepared for this! Although there are very cool looking arched metal picnic table covers, even in early July they didn't totally protect us from wind when attempting to use our portable bbq -- although we WERE thankful for such covers!

5) The view of the Fontanelle Reservoir is lovely! We enjoyed sightings of pelicans, seagulls of some kind (?), lots of White-Tailed Prairie Dogs ("Chiselers"), and ducks during our evening overlooking the reservoir. For a one nighter with a water view, this is amazing! We predict this campground is empty most of the year with the wind-factor, but we would totally stay here again for simply a lovely spot to hang out for a one-nighter!

6) Since the place was so empty, we didn't even note our site #! But we stayed in the lower campground area closer to the reservoir. The higher up you go, the more highway noise you will hear. But honestly it is so windy you might not even notice!

7) There IS a dump and trash located closer to the waterfront and boat landing. We found this to be incredibly handy!

8) Favorite thing about this campground is EASY ACCESS from highway!

9) Least favorite thing about this campground is VERY WINDY!

10) PERFECT for just one nighter with ZERO issues getting a spot! Even in summer!

Overall: what a GEM!!! We ended up changing our route home last minute, and I managed to find the LAST site available at this lovely regional park in Santa Rosa. Definitely not that far off the 101 (maybe about 15 minutes) and like you are in another WORLD!!! It is SUPER quiet (of course lots of kiddos playing and what not - but you can hear the crickets no problem) - simply nothing negative to say. EXCEPT: we arrived around 7pm, and left early the next morning. We know it gets HOT HOT HOT here, so we imagine the mosquito situation would NOT be enjoyable nor would the hot temps had we been here mid afternoon. So take note! The sunsets were AHMAZING!!! And, can I mantion the incredibly cool industrial-style cabins they have??? They also include a long countertop outside with plenty of prep space and BBQ! SO cool! Pictures attached! Arrival was simple with an incredibly friendly camp host right as you pull in to the campground. The Spring Lake is a peek-a-boo from quite a few sites, including our Site 17. I mean, BARELY visible - but I'll take it! Just knowing the lake was there was great! ESP in DRY CA!!! Surprisingly, they were allowing fires here. We're not so sure we are okay with that, but I won't lie that the fires glistening amongst the vibrant sunset WAS beautiful. We would DEFINITELY stay here again! Probably wouldn't stay in the heat of summer -- I imagine renting out one of those super incredible cabins in late Fall would be AHMAZE.Definitel coming back!

This is our 2nd time staying here. We first stayed here back in 2019 and we were more impressed with it back in '19. This time, we paid more for a luxury site, but right next door to us was what appeared to be a long-term resident who smoked constantly and it went over right into our site. There seem to be a lot more long-term residents here this year than a few years back, which is a shame. We also noticed that there seemed to be a bunch of aisles where rigs were parked right next to each other, which seems really odd -- why wouldn't you space folks out more? Unless they are rallies desiring to be smack up against each other, this just doesn't make sense! The biggest disappointment was the "store." The website still advertises that there is one, and let me tell you: there's NOT. Back in '19, there was, and it was a great place to pick up anything you could have forgotten. Now there is literally some soda, ice cream sandwiches, and a mini BBQ or two. That's IT. This was incredibly disappointing to us as we had forgotten our pasta pots and thought, "It's okay, we'll just buy one at the CatSpa store." MAJOR downgrade -- this resort OUGHT to have a really nice store! Here's the other thing: the whole "new pavilion" announcement on their website is a total SHAM: we noticed how nice it was, but that literally NOBODY was using it!? We noticed that the beautiful fire pits said "No Propane" and the beautiful gas grills were literally locked up with heavy chains. REAL nice look for what is supposed to be a luxury RV resort....we inquired and learned that previous guests had totally taken advantage of this and had the firepits lit up WAY too high/dangerously. While we understand that is a major liability, you should NOT be advertising the pavilion on your website if it is literally NOT USABLE. So, here's this gorgeous pavilion with gas grills, tables, fire pits with concrete seating areas -- ALL UTTERLY UNUSABLE. The owner REALLY needs to get business savvy and figure out a way to make the pavilion that they are USING to attract folks to stay here ACTUALLY ACCESSIBLE and USABLE. We also noticed that the three times we used the upper clubhouse hot tub it was NOT CLEAN. We kept hoping it was the "day before" and that someone would have cleaned it. NOPE. The hot tub in the lower clubhouse (which actually usually gets more use!) worked the 1st evening we stayed here, but then was out of commission the whole rest of the stay! For us, this was kind of the last straw. We realize these things happen, but the hot tub is a REALLY big reason a lot of people choose to stay at a "luxury" RV resort! This hot tub, which again, we used the 1st night, was clean. So, another disappointment that forced us to use the upper clubhouse hot tub which didn't look clean. There was what appeared to be disgusting bloody mucus floating in it. NOT okay when we're spending over $100/night!!! The last time we stayed here, the mini golf set-up was cute. Now, it is broken down, dirty, and a disgrace. Such a shame. The shuffleboard area needs repainting and the wood benches were literally falling apart. The only area that seemed to be well-maintained was the pickle-ball courts. Those looked great. Even the dog park seemed sad and not looked after or cared about. We noticed that they were putting together some bright blue and green tables for certain sites, so that - we are hoping - will be something they offer for every site. Spending over $100/night and NOT even getting a table is pretty bad. Think about it: you get more luxury, site-wise, at a state campground! Add to that the fact that we would have to pay extra for wifi. Well, all this might make us choose a different RV resort next time. Which, frankly, is REALLY SAD. We truly loved our experience here previously and had hoped to make it an annual visit....