roadtripper7440892

Personnel friendly and they do have a military discount and the wifi is excellent. But still not sure why they said T7 would be a “nicer” site. Site mostly dirt with a little sand thrown in. We’re in a van and any of sites T2-6 would have been nicer though no gravel on any of parking spaces. Shower was warm but fairly disgusting. Water was pooling around my feet so I lifted the rubber mat and found literally gobs of matted hair around the drain. We were coming from I 40 at night and the 3 miles to the campground off I 15 are on a really dark road that is windy and difficult to see. Would only stay here again if absolutely necessary.

We'd stayed in Patrick Point State Park before and weren't fans, so decided to try Emerald Forest. Even getting into the park to the office was a challenge as the steep drive was full of large potholes. It was very muddy, due to recent rains. Gravel gravel could have mitigated that—there was none on the roads or the sites. It's very crowded, with small, closely packed sites. The forest it's jammed into is dense, so it's very dark. There are two bathrooms: one single and one with men's and women's sides, three sinks/toilets/showers each, but one of the women's showers was not working. The bathrooms were clean and the shower good. I'd give "cleaniless" four stars if it weren't so muddy—and I'm sure dusty in the non-rainy season. The park is right next to 101, though the trees muffle some of the noise.

Would have preferred to stay in state park closer to town but it was full snd the lake is pretty. Very windy the night we were there but that’s just a function if weather. Might have put our kayaks in if it weren’t so cold.

We didn’t check Campendium before heading to the Alabama Hills 10/15/21 because we’ve camped there so many times so we didn’t know about the changes. We talked to the BLM manager for the area at their pop up. He informed us there had been wide solicitation of public comment prior to the new rules put it in 2020 with implementation in 2021. We told him neither we nor anyone we know was aware of the request for public comment. While we understand the need for change as there are too many campers, especially on holiday weekends, we told them we would have appreciated the opportunity for comment. On our many stays at the Alabama Hills we have never seen BLM personnel policing the area and wonder why there wasn’t there an effort made to reduce problems before jumping to drastic measures. Unable to find a campsite at the Alabama Hills, we were forced to find another campground, and it was already 4 PM. We discovered Pleasant Valley Campground north of Bishop on Campendium, a wonderful find.

Read the reviews and decided to stay. $5 with our senior pass. Stunning vistas despite 97% of Lava Bed National Monument being burned in 2020 Caldwell Fire and 2021 Antelope Fire. Heated clean restrooms. Cool picnic tables with rocks for supports. Pleasant ranger at Visitor Center.

We’d planned to camp in the Alabama Hills, as we’ve done so many times; however, on our arrival we found BLM had instituted new camping rules with only 50 first come first serve sites available. We drove to Pleasant Valley based on the reviews and were not disappointed. Check-in was confusing as there’s no Verizon service so we could not reserve. We found a list of non-reservable sites on the board and picked one. The campground is on the Owens River, great views, quiet, and peaceful.

As we typically do, we began looking for a place to camp early afternoon. As it was cold and snow threatened, we decided boondocking was out. The one recent review of Days End proved spot on. The owners are so pleasant and clearly proud of their campground. We were warned of the roosters behind our site that would be up early. We enjoyed both theirs and the other animal sounds at the next door farm. The bathrooms were impeccably clean and the showers warm. The shower stalls had much appreciated multiple hooks, shelves, and a seat. In the women’s there was even a basket of small shampoo/conditioners and soaps. We don’t often stay in RV parks. Days End was perfect and reasonably priced at $35, including electricity, water, showers, and laundry.