Pharaoh Campground

We arrived at 3pm on a Friday during May and half the sites were already taken. We settled into site #2 which is fairly secluded with one campsite next door but separated by vegetation and 2 sites across the road but separated by a decent distance. A developed canopy of tall pines provided plenty of shade. Site #12 would have been our first choice for seclusion but we were pleasantly surprised by the seclusion at #2. Vault toilets were very clean and a crank style water pump was available, however it did take a long time to pump a substantial amount just for doing dishes. The large gravel driveway provided a fairly flat surface to park our popup. No electric hookups. Garden of the gods observation trail is in walking distance. We walked this trail during the day on Friday and ran into a couple other parties. It was jam packed on Saturday though. We heard plenty of motorcycles on Saturday also, but other than that the site is fairly quiet. We picked up about half a Walmart sack of trash on trails but very little in the campground itself. Nearest gas/food/firewood is maybe a half hour away.

We arrived and all the campsites were full but in the same location, garden of the gods, is a backpackers parking lot. You can park here and carry your gear a slight ways down the Indian point loop. There are lots of slightly cleared areas along the trail big enough to set up a tent or hang hammocks.

We arrived on a Monday early afternoon in Oct. We did not stay because it was crowded. All the sites on the rim with the view were taken. Other sites that were available did not suit our fancy and so, since there was plenty of daylight left, we moved on. Since there are plenty of other reviews, just wanted to add that there is great Verizon signal here also.

I arrived on a Thursday (10/1/2020) at 3:30 pm and was lucky enough to still get a spot; trying to get a site on weekends is pretty much hopeless. The camp is quiet and clean and staff comes through frequently to check up on everything. There is no fresh water but there are vault toilets which are clean. The campsite is in the woods and the sites are a good size but would be difficult to enter with a larger RV due to the trees but I have seen a couple of RVs. I camped there wity my minivan camper and had no problems. The Garden of the Gods is within easy walking distance and I was able to be there by myself on a Thursday evening. The Garden of Gods is literally overun with people on weekends and it is close to impossible to find parking. The Garden of the Gods is spectacular and a perfect sunset can be viewed from an observation deck. The campground sites are lined along each side of the street coming through the camp and vehicles come through to look for campsites. I would recommend to come during the week and set up early. Dogs are allowed and can also be brought to the Garden of Gods trail. I had great reception wity t-mobile at the campground but not at the surrounding forest areas. I don't know how many bars I had but I had no trouble calling people and was even able to use my phone as a hotspot albeit it was slow. This campground is on top of a mountain and there are some steep roads to get up there. Each site has a picnic table and a fire ring.

Great inexpensive camping site. Basic. Vaulted toilets. Quiet. Beautiful! Sites are not level. Main issue is very limited number of sites. There are only 12. It is first come, first serve. We were lucky to get a spot on a Saturday.

Stayed one night at the end of April 2022. Campground was full. Hiking was great scenic area.

20 roomy, picturesque, well-spaced campgrounds. Both nights about half-full. Large fire ring, picnic table, toilets, but no water. Close to hiking trails, etc.
Gorgeous area. Shawnee National Forest.

Nice well maintained campground. Arrived early afternoon on a Sat in early May. There were a couple sites left. Be sure to check the reservation card on the posts, some people left them on so it looked like they were taken but the date they were leaving was for that day. There isn’t much privacy as the sites across from me could see right into mine. It was quiet though. Garden of the Gods is a short walk away and a really cool easy hike. Somewhat crowded but very worth it.

This site was extremely rustic but that is what we signed up for. But know that there are only vault toilets and the water is a hand crank pump system next to the registration point. This was a small (12 sites) campground. We came in around noon on a Wednesday and took the last site available which was a good one. Plenty of room for us and didn't feel close to our neighbors at all. Our camper is optimized for boondocking/dry camping so this was the kind of campground we were looking for, small and rustic without a ton of huge RV's. If you can, make sure you have filled your water tank before coming in. There is no way to attach a hose to the hand-crank pump and even if you could rig something up, it would take you forever to fill a tank that way. The vault toilet in the campground itself was moderately clean but could use some attention. The one at the bottom of the hill was very clean. The Forest Service Ranger was a delight and set our son up with frisbees, stickers, patches and all kinds of information on the things to do and see in the wilderness area. Hiking around the campground was fun and a nice challenge but not too strenuous by our standards. We would definitely camp here again.