American River Resort

This review is for tent camping, not RVs.

1)  Nearly all of the tent sites are tiny and crowded very closely together with no privacy breaks at all between them.  To make it even more claustrophobic, many of the near-river sites are terraced into the hillside so you stand at the bottom and look up into a wall of tents stacked 3 high on top of each other.  We arrived on a Saturday afternoon and most of the sites were full so the effect was like looking up into a packed stadium from the bottom row of bleacher seats.  That first night was like a giant tailgate frat party.  Multiple groups were blasting music &amp; even though that’s against the rules nobody seemed to make them stop.  Thank goodness we were able to move a few sites away, and then everybody cleared out the next day.  The best site is #31.  If you’re going on a weekend or any time during the summer, don’t make any reservation at all if you can’t get #31.  I’m not putting that in my google review btw, that’s only for folks on Dyrt. 

2)  The facilities have a lot of maintenance issues that just aren’t being taken care of.  For example: there are two bathroom buildings, an old one built out of rail cars (?) near the river and a newer-construction one uphill by the RV sites.  Both bathrooms have multiple sinks and toilets that are out of order.  In the downhill ladies room there was a toilet that ran water constantly and another that wouldn’t flush at all.  I actually took that 2nd one apart and fixed it myself. That same ladies’ room had a sink removed completely from the wall leaving hanging pipes sticking out, a 2nd sink that wouldn’t turn on, a 3rd sink with wobbly handles, and a 4th sink that was fully functional.  Next to that restroom on one side was what was supposed to be a shower facility but it was completely out of order and locked. On the other side of the restroom there was what was supposed to be a dishwashing station but it was disconnected with pipes dangling and dirt &amp; leaves filling the sink.  Why install nice things and then let them fall apart? I don’t understand.

3) They *do* seem to keep the toilets stocked with soap and TP and paper towels, and there are lots of garbage cans that *do* get emptied when needed.  However, sometimes campers are naughty and leave behind trash outside the bins.  This ranges from micro-trash (bottle caps, wrapper ends) to big pieces (foil pans, beer bottles).  We stayed there for 2 days after the giant party moved on, but we never saw camp staff coming around to deal with the loose litter.  We were pulling wads of fishing line out of the rocks and throwing away other people’s bottles. Blech.

4) There is an on-site rafting company.  We took a full-day rafting trip that launched right from the campground &amp; we had a great time.

5) There is a little general store that sells ice, firewood, souvenirs, Tshirts, etc.

6) It is a gated facility so hopefully secure?

Gorgeous setting, but...

We had a great time at this resort. We stayed in spot 33 with a large group and didn’t feel crowded. One concern was the road along the river view spots. It is one way and people were constantly going opposite directions. Plus others were trying to unload or pack up and would block the road with no room to go around. Otherwise we had a great time and will definitely stay here again. Also, bring firewood. They sell small bundles for $10 each. 