roadtripper7649241

N’kwala is a user-maintained free site in the BC Recreation Sites and Trails system. It’s a great location in an arid forest next to a river. Great sites are available next to the river, but if you get there on a holiday weekend, it will be pretty full. We arrived on arguable the busiest holiday weekend of the year - Canada Day. Even though we arrived late in the day on a Saturday, we still snagged the last remaining site. There are some unofficial sites to the left of the developed area. I’m not sure what the legality of camping in those is. There are some pit toilets available. Most sites have a fire ring and picnic table. Overall, a pretty nice quiet boondocking spot in a convenient location on the way to or from Banff.

We spent a night here on the way from Lone Pine to Mammoth. It's a beautiful spot with views overlooking Bishop. We were relatively close to the road so we noticed there was a fair amount of traffic. Not a bad place if you want to be near Bishop!

When we first arrived, I would have given this spot 4 stars. It's a bit crowded, the road is very rough, but it's pretty and the location is relatively close to Phoenix. However, a large factory chicken farm called Hickman's has opened up about 5 miles away. They have essentially turned Tonopah into a fly infested stinking wasteland. (https://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/news/smell-chicken-eggs-hickmans-tonopah-clint-maricopa-county-arizona-11356054) In fact, the Saddle Mountain RV Park is going to close this Spring due to the flies and smell that Hickman has brought.

Thankfully, at most times, you cannot smell the chicken farm from this spot. However, every day from ~12-6, the flies are everywhere. Even with all doors and windows closed, they make their way in via our fridge vent. We're probably killing 15-30 flies per day inside our trailer.

First the pros:
1. Beautiful, decently spaced sites with some available alongside the water.
2. Not crowded!
3. Great internet (if you need to work)

Cons:
1. Super pricey! Maybe we’re used to the US, but $48 CAD for a rustic site seems crazy.
2. While the site we were in had power, the plug was in between another site and ours, meaning it was ~75 feet away. We had to use an extension cord, which meant we could only get 15 amp. Pretty disappointing after paying up for the site. It appears most sites in the loop are like this.
3. The road coming in is rough. Very rough. Like you wonder if it would have been better if they left it dirt, rough.
4. We went into the loop meant for RVs, but it was still pretty tight for our 30’ trailer. Larger rigs may have difficultly maneuvering.
5. At least when we were there, the mosquitos were thick. Almost biblical. We kept everything closed up and still had 30-50 mosquitos in our trailer by morning. I think they came in via the fridge vent. I didn't take off any stars for that, because it's probably seasonal.

No frills, nice views, and a convenient location. The lake nearby is nice but not visible from most sites. Sites 1-4 seems to be the nicest, with 4 getting our vote for best site. Some of the other sites are awkward and just a pull out on the main loop. Site 5 looked particularly bad. Free firewood and a pit toilet.

The main camping area is a small loop that's not very level. However, we used the combination of a rut in the road and our anderson leveling blocks to get perfectly level. The scenery is fantastic, tons of pine trees and some hoodoos around. AT&T was fast and reliable. Verizon was fast as well, but sometimes dropped. Overall, a great site. Close to Bryce Canyon, not too far off the paved road but private.

I second Van-Tramp's review! My only caveat is that it gets very slick out here in the rain. It rained on us and getting in/out was pretty difficult. Great spot!

We scouted this spot in our truck while we were in the area. The spot itself is large enough for a trailer. However, the road up is only a single car width and it's a two way road. We met 4-5 oncoming vehicles on the short drive up and 7 mountain bikers. We're pretty adventurous trailer drivers, but I wouldn't attempt with ours, unless I was sure there were no other vehicles coming down the mountain.

Vans and truck campers should be fine, but there are a lot of low branches on the drive in. I think anything over 8'-9' might scrape a bit.

Also, be aware that the pullout that you would camp in is a popular parking area/turnaround for trucks carrying mountain bikers, so be considerate when choosing your parking spot.

This is perhaps the most laid back RV Park I've ever encountered. There aren't rules posted everywhere and you may have to chase down the owner to pay. The people that are there every winter have probably been visiting since the 70s. It's rustic/old but well maintained. The hot spring baths are excellent (just drain and rinse the pool after use). The spots are smashed together but it's never been full when I've been there.

Overall, a great and inexpensive hot spring stop. Has a bit of an old Hippie vibe vs the OHV crowd at Glamis North.

We ended up here after a reservation got messed up elsewhere. It's a self service RV park. You fill out a form in their office (which is just a small travel trailer next to the clubhouse) that lists the site number, how long you'll be there, and your method of payment. You drop it in the lock box in the office and you're checked in. As for amenities all sites are full hook up, there is decent Wi-Fi, laundry, and nice bathrooms/showers. AT&T and Verizon are very fast here (30mbps down, 10 up).

The best thing about this park is its proximity to Marfa. It's less than a mile to downtown, which we frequently biked or walked.

The only downside to this park is the trains. They can be kind of loud. Sleeping with ear plugs or white noise is probably a must unless you're a very heavy sleeper. Our air conditioner or white noise usually did the trick, but I still woke up occasionally.

Other reviewers mentioned stickers/burrs. I think they've cleaned all these up. Our dogs had no issues during the week we were there.