This is a great mostly unknown little campground. Fun fact: This is the least used campsite maintained by the Lower Granite Natural Resources Management team.
Let’s get to the bad/good, depending on how you look at it.
1. There is NO running water available, unless you want to get some from the river(NOT suggested)
2. Absolutely no electricity here, not even for park lights. This makes for AMAZING star gazing.
3. ZERO cell service at the campsite. You can get service if you absolutely need it at the top of Hammer Grade road, it’s steep.
4. Limited sites have shade all day. Get there early to get one of these prime spots.
5.Summer time is HOT here but, you have the river right there to cool off.
6. There is a boat launch here though it is not maintained, use at your own discretion.
7. There are fire/BBQ pits at each site as well as a picnic table. Wood fires are NOT allowed from June 10th through October 10th. It gets very dry out here.
8. Bring bug spray! Day time the bugs aren’t bad but, when the sun starts going down, the mosquitoes are coming out. Also, spring into early summer, there are ticks. Summer through the rest of the year you should be tick free.
9. This campsite is open year round and it’s FREE!
10. There are no trash cans or dumpsters. So keep that in mind and take out EVERYTHING you bring in.
11. No dumpsites nearby. Closest I found is right off highway 395 at the rest area.
12. You can cross the dam Monday-Thursday excluding holidays and only during daytime hours.
13. Your trailer, tow vehicle and anything in the bed is going to get dusty getting here and leaving. It’s a decent trek down a gravel road. Speed limit is 45MPH. Good luck to you if you try to go that fast.
14. Come prepared for the whole trip. Washtucna is the closest town and they have limited supplies. No alcohol is available at the “Store” there.
15. If hunting season is coming up, get there as early as possible.
We stayed here in the most shaded part of the campground with our Travel Trailer with a 50 gallon fresh water tank. It lasted the 4 of us the 5 day weekend. It was a hot weekend and we did end up having to run the generator for a few hours during the day to keep the newborn cool.
I followed my GPS which took me off of Highway 26 and onto Old Highway 26. DON’T do this. Take Hay rd. Old HWY 26 will take you onto Hammer Grade Rd. This is NOT a fun road with a trailer. It has some very steep grades and you’ll be HAMMERING the brakes or exhaust brake.
All in all, this was a GREAT trip at a great, hidden and secluded area. We will definitely be revisiting this site.
