Scott Wilson

Worst experience yet. Website says $35 so we pulled in at midnight for a quick overnight stop. A knock on the door at 7:00 am informed us that we owed them $50. The entrance signage said $35 and I pulled up the website on my phone and showed him that it said $35. He said that it had changed the previous Monday because of the state fair and they charge more during the two weeks it is here. I pointed out that there were 4 campers in the whole place and that the fair wasn't until next week and asked why the signs haven't been updated and why the website still says 35. He told me that it had gone up this past week to 50 because of the state fair. We did this two more times until I realized he had no clue about any of this and was just doing his job so I asked him to call his boss which he did. His boss gave me the exact same story when I told her that didn't sound right to me she asked if I was going to pay or if she needed to call the state police. I guess thats how they roll in Columbus. I paid up and then went back packed up and headed to our next stop. Needless to say I wont stop here again. Be sure to call ahead and verify the rates before you stop.

Typical private campground at a fishing/canoeing area. And I don’t really mean that as a criticism, just as an observation. We stayed here because we were not sure we could fit in the Blanchard Springs/Ozark National Forest campground. Bath house is pretty rough. Even so, this campground was better than the 5 or 6 others we drove by. If your trailer is less than 25 feet, go for the National Forest campground. Facilities are better and the creek is prettier there. However, if you need full hook ups, this place is probably your best option.

We absolutely loved this campground. You pass through the Peaceful Valley campground to get to Camp Dick. The road is narrow but there are several pull outs so you can pass others. It is not for the wimpy RV'er but it is not the tightest road I've ever traveled with my camper by far (looking at you, Cataloochee in GSMNP). This is no-frills camping which is what we look for. There is no electric but we had no problem putting out our solar panel and keeping the batteries in good shape. Only had to run the generator once due to a couple of cloudy days in a row. there is one water spigot working by one of the bathhouses. The other two were temporarily out of service. Not a problem for us since we filled our tanks before coming in to the campground. The camp hosts were amazing as well. Very friendly and helpful throughout the week. And as another reviewer somewhere posted, these are the cleanest bathrooms, much less vault toilets, that I have ever had the pleasure of using. Sounds weird, but there it is.

There is beautiful scenery, lots of wildlife, and trout in the Middle St. Vrain running through camp. A bear visited the camp along with lots of deer and there was elk sign all over the place. We caught and released several cutthroat right in the campground.

One caveat, this campground has a 4-wheel drive trail at the end of it so there is quite a bit of off road vehicle traffic coming through, especially on the weekends. This did not bother us but I understand that it might be obnoxious to others. There are also no generator restrictions outside of the established quiet hours at night but the people around us were pretty conservative with their generator usage. Again, we are pretty easy going so it didn't bother us. Don't count on any cell service with any provider without a pretty strong booster. We couldn't sniff out any signal at all on Verizon or AT&T during the week but the camp host said he had a good Verizon signal with his signal booster and 20 foot boom directional antenna.

We will definitely camp here again. I even hesitated to put this review in because I don't want the secret to get out ;)

Visiting as many National Parks as possible is part of our camping bucket list so we had to give it a try. All sites are first-come, first-first served so you need to be flexible when visiting. On the 2nd leg of our Spring Break 2018 trip, we came in around 10am and grabbed one of two open spots. The park is small and looks like it stays full most of the time. Typical NPS dry camping and restrooms. Cold water and flush toilets only and bring your own soap! Even though this is a tiny park and right by the highway, it was still a nice campground. Our site backed up to the creek and was level. The sites are relatively close together but being right by the creek was nice. It was a little too chilly to splash around when we were there but I can see where setting up a lawn chair in the creek could make a warm summer day very comfortable. I'm not sure we would camp here again for the camping itself, but it is a great place to stay while exploring Hot Springs and it being a National Park is a bonus.

We stayed here in March of 2019. Nice, basic state park. The bath houses are fairly new with individual rooms. They are nice and new but the water pressure was very weak. The sites in Camping area 1 are set up for big rigs and are mostly pull-through but are very close together. Area 2 is also tight and even more difficult to navigate for large rigs with sites that are also fairly small and close together. Not bad for tent camping, though. Area 3 is the best of both worlds with more space between sites and the pads can handle larger RV’s. Area 2 and 3 have water/30amp as does area 1 but I think 1 has some 50amp as well. We enjoyed playing the disc golf course here.

Love the lake and the hiking but the park itself really needs some TLC. This park was a Crown Jewel of the state many years ago and could be again. It looks like they are redoing half the sites so I'm hopeful it will be an improvement. There are a few good sites (see a couple of the other reviews for details) but many are eroded, and very close to one another. The bath houses are in terrible shape. They appear to do their best to keep them clean and maintained but they are very old and worn. We are self-contained so the bath houses don't bother me much and the park's trails are nice enough that we will go back when the sites under construction are reopened and will add another review then.

All sites will accommodate campers up to 30 feet, a few sites go up to 35, and only 4 are sized for 40 feet. Our travel trailer is 28 feet and we fit comfortably in a 35 foot site. Restrooms are a little older but very clean and well maintained. The sites are platforms - tight for big trailers, but worth the views. Some of the smaller sites only have utilities on the left side, so make sure you have extension cords and long hoses. The staff is very friendly. Fly fishing info and supplies at a store at the park entrance. Ask for "Joel." This is a boater's park. Weekends book up, but rangers said it's quiet and easy during the week. Can be busy and noisy on holiday weekends.

Golden Gate Canyon is an amazing Colorado State Park. It has it all, wildlife, views, trails, fishing...everything the Colorado mountains has to offer right here in the park. Electric-only at the site but there is potable water at the dump station and spaced throughout the loops. The sites are well kept, situated so they don't feel too close to your neighbor, and very clean. This really is an awesome park. My only complaint is the $9 day use fee due at check-in on top of what we already paid to reserve the site. And this is an additional $9 for each day you camp. I had the same thing happen a week earlier at another park and finally realized that all CO state parks have the day use fee for both campers and non-campers and it is not included in the camping fee. When I booked the site on the Colorado park website I ended up paying $36/night. When I arrived there was an additional $9/day use fee that had to be paid. Or we could purchase an annual pass for $80. We are not Coloradans and probably won't get back this year so we opted for the daily rate. I get the need to have a day use fee for the parks. Maintaining these areas (which they do really well) is not cheap and I'm happy to pay that fee for day use. However, I choke a little on paying a day use fee on top of an already pretty strong daily camping rate for a state park. There are lots of National Forest options in the area so I'm not sure I would stay here again for $45/night but the park is very nice.

We camped here in early June of 2018. Wonderful National Park camping off the beaten path on the North Carolina side of GSMNP. Like most National Parks, this is dry camping with no hook ups, no dump station, and no showers/hot water at the restrooms. Not a problem for us because, frankly, that’s part of what we like about National Parks. Excellent trout fishing in the creek running next to the campground and elk all over the place. One important thing to note: the road in is NOT for the faint of heart. The posted max RV length is 31'. Our camper is 28’ long and I consider myself to be a solid driver. Maybe not nerves of steel but pretty close. Even so, I white knuckled it all the way in and out of the campground. It isn’t too bad if there are no other vehicles coming but if you do happen to meet one, you have to slow down, pick your spot, and then hug the side of the road while one of you drives by. You may even need to back up occasionally to get to a spot in the road wide enough for one of you to pass. Fair warning: Do NOT attempt this road with a big rig. I have a Chevy 2500 Silverado and a 28’ camper. I wouldn’t try it with anything bigger or longer than that. With that said, it is some of the best camping we have done and we will probably do it again, white knuckles and all!

We were here for the eclipse so the prices were higher than usual. The normal published price is $22.50/night. There are several asy hiking trails and Byrd Lake is perfect for canoeing and kayaking. Bath houses are old but very clean and well maintained. The staff is also helpful and has an active program schedule. I'm not a golfer, but the holes I saw were beautiful and well maintained. A few people have told me it is a nice course.