Redding Campground

Great small campground with showers provided and easy access to the Mulberry river.

This place is an amazing bargain. For just $15 a night, you get nice, big, secluded campsites, a large bathroom with running water, flushing toilets, and showers, and an awesome swimming hole. Drinking water is available at spigots near the swimming hole.

There is a downside here, though, and it's a big one: horseflies. They attacked me as soon as I got in the water, and they were relentless. They may be the reason I was the only person camping here the night I visited. Their saving grace is that they are big, dumb, and slow. Once I had killed all the flies near my campsite, I was left more or less alone.

To balance out the bad insects, there are lots and lots of fireflies here at dusk. There are no fireflies where I come from, so these were a treat to see.

One other downside: the place was quiet until about midnight, when some teenagers on the other side of the river decided to have a loud, alcohol-fueled karaoke party. No idea if this is a regular occurrence, but it was a pretty bizarre sound to wake up to. I was tempted to put in my earplugs, but I was camping alone and they would have reduced my situational awareness too much.

Stayed here for two nights over New Year's Eve. Campground had only 3 spaces occupied the first night, and we had it all to ourselves the actual night of NYE. To be fair, it was raining and cold weather was projected to move in.  However, several campsites did not appear to have been occupied at all since fall, judging by leaf cover, so in spite of the flush toilets/showers, this may not be an overly popular campground.  We have a small teardrop, and our fellow campers were using a tent and car camping; Site 16 appears to be the only site here suitable for 5th wheels, and its appeared to be a tight squeeze to back in. No hookups at any site.

None of the sites have views of the Mulberry River, but there is a lovely put-in spot for canoes/kayaks that right on the loop with the rest of the sites.  All sites can also easily access the comfort station - which is located across from the day-use parking area.  We saw two water spigots - 1 across from the day-use, and one at site 16 - available for fresh drinking water.  We brought water in with us, so didn't taste test.

All sites have tent pads, fire pits and picnic tables, although several of the picnic tables are not in the best shape. Best draining sites appear to be in the 20s, on the north side of the loop, with 15, 19 and 23 appearing to have good vehicle access and good drainage.

We stayed at site 13, which appears to be reasonably popular, as there was little trash, and less leaves.  Its a short walk and mild bushwhack through a ravine to reach a small cliff overlooking the river, and you can hear the rapids from the tent pad - very soothing! However, after 24 hours of straight rain, this site also turned into a muddy lake, making packing up an interesting endeavor.

No camp host, and I think the rangers checked on us daily, but we never had a conversation.  There were several deadfall trees located in close range of all campsites, so you can cut your own firewood easily -  PLEASE don't be that person who destroys a live tree just because you don't want to walk (we saw a few trees suffering from hatchet wounds at our site).

Hubby mentioned the men's restroom was quite dirty, but I thought the women's side was clean enough. No hand soap provided.  Bear-proof trash receptacles located throughout loop, with most of them at the restroom.

Overall - loved that every site was located amongst the trees. Virtually no wind - in spite of a cold front moving in - and every site was mostly free of trash and debris left by previous campers. Would recommend to anyone looking for luxury among the Ozark USFS accommodations in the winter, if you're not looking for a spot for your 5th wheel or travel trailer.