Best Equestrian Camping near Mendocino Lake

Great free campground! We've stayed here many times. It's open, grassy level and quiet. Next to a stream and surrounded by hills. The only tough part is getting across the stream to some of the hikes. It's a hot spot for horses which of course have no stream problems, so the only negative is fly's sometimes. But just keep your screen door closed (& fly swatter handy). We always manage to level out in our 23" Winnebago View. There is lots of open space so no crowding. There is a rural road near by but traffic noise isn't a problem. Perhaps I should say it's awful so fewer people come and it's not discovered.

I’ve been camping cross country for the last month with my husband. We’re from New York, and like to think we’re not easily rattled or intimidated. This was the first time on our trip that we were both scared.

The forest service website says this campground is not open for camping, just dirt bike and horse riding, so I had found a campground further into the National Forest to camp at. When we drove by Middle Creek, we could see the sites from the road and a few of them had tents and we could see some folks, the campground was pretty clearly operating to some extent. We just wanted somewhere to stay overnight on our way into SF so we doubled back and found a site, paid the $8 and had a snack. We explored our corner of the campground a little- pretty clean, a fine campground. No visible host.

Lots of wasps and flies, like standing right next to a dumpster. There was a woman who seemed to be experiencing homelessness and/or mental illness occupying multiple sites. She pretty clearly was stealing from sites people weren’t present at, right in front of us. She also had a dog that didn’t seem to be hers.

The man at the campsite next to us didn’t have a tent or anything, just paid then sat in his truck screaming and cackling and breaking stuff loudly and pounding beers.

We left without spending the night. The police need to go take a look out there.

This campground is very beautiful, located just north of Fort Bragg on the California coast. I witnessed the best sunset that I have ever seen in my life at this beach. However, I was unfortunate to get one campground with no trees or privacy. Additionally, this campground is more expensive than some other state parks and has limited things to explore. Also, the showers require more money to start, so if you run out of time during your shower you will need at least a dollar just to start it back up to finish rinsing off not like other State park showers. If you want to explore the area there are tons of other things too see... Including Fort Bragg, glass beach, the skunk train, Russian gulch, the town of Mendocino, Mendocino headlands, and a pigmy Forest

We stayed one night here in early October, after exploring the Mendocino area on a campervan road trip. Campsite was quiet and secluded, lots of trees so was pretty quiet and private. Clean bathrooms, drinking water was right next to our site. There were hiking trails right nearby, but sadly we arrived fairly late and were leaving the next morning so we didn't get to do much exploring. Area was pretty damp so a little chilly because of that. there were giant yellow banana slugs all over, which was pretty neat to see. Site had a picnic table and fire ring. Lots of open sites when we arrived (mid week in early Fall), no reservation needed. Convenient to explore Mendocino/Fort Bragg area, we took a walk around Mendocino and visited the glass beach. I would like to go back and explore the hiking there!

http://adventuresneaker.com/2017/03/23/california-road-trip-days-7-8-9-bodie-historic-ghost-town-lake-tahoe-russian-gulch-state-park/

General: Two campgrounds at this state park: Pinewood (closer to Route 1 and I did not explore) and Surfwood (closer to the ocean). No hookups (at least in Surfwood, I did not check in Pinewood). You can see beautiful sunsets from the road leading to the Surfwood campground. 

Site Quality: A few had concrete pads, but most had sand driveways. Most sites were very spacious; sites 122-124 are located on a roundabout and were very large and more private than some of the others. Most sites had a utility box, and all had a picnic table and a fire ring. Some had trees separating them from other sites. 

Bathhouse: An upgrade from other California state parks we've stayed in with hot water and tile floors. No dryer or towels so make sure you bring your own. Pay showers (beginning with$1.00 for five minutes; accepts up to 15 quarters). I did not use the shower so cannot comment on how well it worked. 

Activities: Horseback riding, hiking, and biking. There is a multi-use trail that leads south from the campground. The reason I chose this campground is I wanted to see Glass Beach, however, it was fenced off with “no trespassing” signs which was disappointing.

[Internet. Verizon via iPhone 12: 5 mbps down and 0.16 mbps up with 56 ms ping. T-Mobile via Nighthawk MR-1100 - 3 mbps down and 0.05 up with 106 ms ping. Our booster marginally improved the speeds.]

PROS

→ Campground is adjacent to the beach. You can hear the ocean and sometimes catch peeks of the ocean from the campground.

→ Campsites have bear lockers. → Campground is pretty in the glow of sunlight. → There’s a trail to the beach and Laguna Point isn’t far.

→ The camp hosts are easy to approach in that they have an alert button you can press outside their rig and they will come outside. No wondering how to get their attention! We bought our shower tokens from the camp host.

→ This campground is protected by a buffer of coastal trees. It’s not nearly as windy at the campground as it is on the beach.

CONS

→ Showers require tokens. This seems pretty standard in California State Parks but it’s successful at deterring us from showering every night. One token gives 4 minutes of showering. Each token is $1. It’s not a lot for one-off trips but we are on a 6-week camping trip.

→ The dump station has a mandatory fee of $10. You pay with a credit card. When payment is approved, the cap to the dump hole unlocks. We didn’t use it. Again, it was successful at deterring us from using it. With pay showers we’d normal shower in the van and just run to the dump station daily to empty the tank but we didn’t. We paid for the showers. I know they are cost mitigating but it’s a factor when deciding on this campground especially if you camp a lot like us. (We are on a 6-week camping trip up the coast).

→ The shower water temperature is finicky in the women’s bathroom. When it’s just one person showering, it’s nice and hot. When two showers are going, the water temperature drops a bit. To me the temperature is important because it’s still 50° to 60° right now and I only get 8 minutes with the water. I need those 8 minutes to be comfortable not make me move faster than Speedy Gonzalez. For me this isn’t a huge concern but it is for my partner so that’s why I’m detailing it out.

→ Firewood is $10.

—————————— 4-stars - The campground is clean, enjoyable and has the camping vibe. Docking a star due to the extra fees and the water temperature. For weekend warriors I’d wager this is a 5-star campground!

[Rig. Mercedes Sprinter. 22 feet]

Dump station? - Yes, mandatory $10 Water fill? - Yes, free Clean site? - Yes Clean bathroom? - Yes Flush toilet? - Yes Showers? - Yes, token operated Laundry? - No Dish washing sink? - No

We had a great time when we stayed a night here in October.  The campground is nice and has a lot of availability- even on weekends!

The camp facilities are fine.  The sites are spacious and there are a mix of shady and sunny sites.  The flush bathrooms are fine, and there are free showers.  Our young kids had a great time playing on the playground which was an unexpected bonus. 

We stayed on a Saturday night and there weren't that many other people in the campground.  I'm not sure why it's not busier, as it's just as nice as the state park campgrounds we've stayed in.  The town of Ukiah is pretty close as well, so you can get food or supplies easily.

We had OK cell coverage with Verizon- we could usually browse the internet but streaming videos were difficult (you could download and watch them pretty quickly, but just streaming was hit and miss).

This campground is dry and built primarily for HOV people cuz the Elk mountain area is very much a dirt bike and four-wheel Haven.

It's got dropped toilets and it has potable water. Problem is that the spigots don't have any hose fittings, so you can't hook up, which I think is a good thing to keep people from taking over water for an extended period of time.

There's no other water anywhere else, no showers, no sinks or anything like that so prepare to come fully dry.

If you come with that in mind I would say this place is really really nice. It's very clean. If it's in a beautiful location and if you're into four-wheeling or dirt bikes, you're going to have a blast.

There there's a small town not far, 15 minutes or so, that has gas, a market, pizza places, and a few other stores. So there's plenty of access to food and gas when necessary.

This has nothing to do with the campground. Just keep in mind that Elk mountain road, especially the part leading up to the top of the mountain right as you leave the campground is an absolutely terrible road, it needs a lot of maintenance..