This place was such a disappointment. I don't often pay for campsites that aren't inside a National Park, but this place looked so pretty and it was in the location I needed.
I should start by saying that if you book an RV spot (I think they cost around $30) and whatever you're staying in has a toilet, your experience will probably be a lot better than mine. Although very close together, the RV sections seemed fairly nice.
My experience, however, was a little different (if you don't want to read all about my experience & just want the basics, scroll down to the section "the campground"):
I booked my tent site ($20) on their website a few hours before I arrived. I arrived well before sunset, and there was a sign up that said the office closed at sunset. No one was in the office and there was another sign that indicated they would return at 10AM. This wasn't a big deal.
When I booked my site online it told me to select an area (there's three different sections of the park), and then once I arrive I could choose any available campsite. I chose the Walnut Grove area. They have a map on their website showing the areas where there is tent camping. What they fail to mention on their site, is that there isn't any obvious parking for most of these sites in the Walnut Grove area. A couple of the campsites on the map were in what was signed to be a "day use only" area, a couple of the sites on the map looked like walk-in sites, but I had no clue where to park my vehicle, a couple of the sites I just couldn't find, and most of the sites were on the main road that goes through the canyon and had no obvious place to park (I looked for dead or trodden grass near the sites to give me a sign that people were just parking in the grass & didn't see any.) Also, at first it was hard to distinguish between which sites were day use picnic sites and which were campsites, because the website told me the campsite area I chose didn't have fire rings.
I finally decided to just pull onto the grass, but I noticed that multiple campsites had trash at them (most likely from guests using the park during the day). Nearby a dumpster was overflowing with trash, and I eventually saw that every section had one or two dumpsters either filled to the brim or overflowing.
I decided to stop off at the toilets in the Walnut Grove area. To get there you cross a wooden bridge that has wood planks laying over the original structure, which seems a little hazardous for navigating after dark. I could smell the bathrooms (an actual running water bathroom) from the bridge, not a great sign, but it appeared to be coming from the men's. In the women's side were two spiders the size of my palm, one in each stall. (Yes, I am afraid of spiders. In most circumstances I can get over it, but a spider of this size, that didn't seemed particularly frightened by my presence, hanging out close by while I sat on a toilet was a little too much for me in this moment.).
Between the frustration of trying to find a campsite/parking, the overflowing trash, the horrible smelling bathroom, the giant spiders, and the trash at the campsites, I finally decided to check out another area. Despite finding another overflowing dumpster, this area was a little better. The campsites were on a gravel loop, with a cleaner, but still not great bathroom at the front of the loop. At this point, I was hungry, tried, and frustrated, so I just stayed there. The office was still closed when I left in the morning.
I'm not a particularly fussy camper. I don't mind picking up a little bit of trash at a campsite. I frequently camp in areas that don't have toilets or any amenities. But when I pay $20 to camp in a tent, I do expect to have the campsites, the toilets, and the overall campground maintained and cleaned to some acceptable degree.
The campground: You drive down a short, but steep and curvy hill to get into the canyon. The red rocks of the canyon wall give off a pretty glow, especially when the sun is lower in the sky. The park is labeled into three different sections; if you are tent camping I would advise going for the first campground called Canyon Campground. Also, unless you're concerned about it filling up, I would go down and look at the areas before booking one. There are three bathrooms with running water throughout the canyon; the toilets themselves look clean, but the bathrooms as a whole don't; also lots of bugs and a couple large spiders inside. There was trash at many of the campgrounds and most of the dumpsters were overflowing with trash.
The area: If you are coming from highway 40 you'll pass through a small town that has a Sonic and a local restaurant or two. Watch your speed here, there was a police officer every time I drove by. Otherwise there's not much nearby.
Booking: You can book online, but they did have envelopes & a drop box by the front office.
Cell service: I could call out, but couldn't text or use internet.
