Best Equestrian Camping near Smith River, CA

Equestrian Camping Reviews near Smith River, CA

44 Reviews of 5 Smith River Campgrounds

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  Sharon B.

  Guide

  Apr. 17, 2021

  Elam Backcountry Camp — Redwood National Park

  Heavily trafficked way point into the park

  I camped here in late March 2021 during a 2 night, 3 day hike of the Redwood National & State Park. This campground is the first one you come upon while hiking in from the Orick Horse Trail Trailhead. There are picnic tables and two bear lockers, (there's another by the horse coral). I stopped for lunch at this site on my first day. I think this is the primary campground used by most hikers, (and the gravel bar near by).

  If I were to plan another trip I would only use this campsite as a way point on the way to more secluded sites. This is a main thoroughfare, so people will pass by your site. It's also the only horse camp. There was a sign that directed hikers to camp on the gravel bar instead of Elam. I think this is more likely in summer because of traffic as I only saw one horse rider on day hike.

  This is wilderness, so appropriate caution must be taken, Bear canister is required is you do not have access to a site with a bear locker.

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• 

  Teresa F.

  Scout

  Aug. 9, 2018

  Sam Brown Campground

  Peaceful, beautiful, close to home.

  Pack it-pack it out. There is no trash service. The trails are amazing. Briggs creek runs all year. The horse camp is getting a little run down, but still nice. We go every year with our horses. Its primitive camping. No drinking water, showers, or cell service. There is a spot about 3 miles up the road where most can get service.

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  Hillary R.

  Scout

  Apr. 11, 2021

  Elk Country RV Resort & Campground

  Enjoyable Stay

  This campground is conveniently located right on the 101 Hwy, close by to the ocean and right down the road from tons of Redwood Nat’l Park trails. Because of its proximity to the Hwy, this means you will hear vehicles but it’s not obnoxious and didn’t bother us. The closest amenities (groceries, gas, and one or two small restaurants) are about a 15 min ride south in Trinidad. Orick, the closest town to the north, is very run down, but I think it has a gas station and small market. The grounds are very lush and green. You do have to watch where you walk because there is Elk dung everywhere, but that is a small price to pay for being able to see an herd of Elk almost every day. The ladies at the front desk were very friendly to us. They did warn us about keeping distance from the Elk and doing things like, looking out your RV’s window before walking outside in case the Elk were right there. When they say that the Elk come right into the campground, they are not joking! We stayed in a site in “the meadow”. They are quite close to each other but we got lucky with and end spot and no one on the other side of us during our 2 night stay. Our site had full hook ups, a picnic table, and fire pit. They had a clean laundry room, which we didn’t have to use during our stay so I cannot attest anything other than it’s cleanliness. The bathrooms were also very clean, but sadly the showers required quarters. We didn’t have any but we’re able to exchange cash for some at the front desk. It was $1.50 for 6 minutes of shower time. Overall, we liked this campground a lot and would stay here again.

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• 

  Jason M.

  Guide

  Apr. 13, 2024

  Elk Country RV Resort & Campground

  No Elk, But Great Stay

  We used this as a checkpoint in 2021 when traveling from Oregon to Southern California via HWY-101. The park is clean, and we had a great time walking around and resting between the legs of our trip. We arrived after hours and our stay information was available in an envelope at the main building. Here's a view from the back-in site 510. We would stay here again.

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  Nicole B.

  Guide

  Jul. 1, 2019

  Elk Country RV Resort & Campground

  The Name Says It All

  Rosevelt Elk roam through the campground. They were obviously used to people. We stayed on the “meadow” side where the elk roam through your campsite. The “forest” side is quite dark as you are camping in the redwoods. We had full hook ups on the meadow side. I am not sure if the forest side had full hook ups. They have a small pond with a ton of polliwogs in it (end of June). No fish in the pond as a couple of otters came in and ate the all the fish. Close proximity to the southern end of Redwoods National Park and many California State Parks. All in all this was a once in a lifetime experience!

• 

  Erin S.

  Legend

  Nov. 29, 2021

  Elk Country RV Resort & Campground

  Close encounters of the elk kind

  Stayed three nights over Thanksgiving weekend in a 29 foot travel trailer.  Due to the holiday the office was closed when we arrived so we picked up our paperwork at the front door.  To my dismay, our site was different than the one we reserved and it was the closest to the highway.  This is one of a couple black marks against this campground - I was moved and received no heads up and no avenue for recourse since I arrived on a holiday.  All in all, the site wasn't too bad.  It was large enough for our trailer and truck and decently spaced from our neighbors.  The road noise was there but not too bad.  The second black mark was the wifi.  Not sure if it was our site location, but the signal was poor - very rarely were we able to connect (also we had Verizon with barely any signal).  All the utilities were in decent shape and worked fine.  Bathroom was clean and there were plenty of toilet and shower stalls.  I never used the laundry but there were three washers and three dryers that looked fairly new.  The store had some basic grocery and supplies (a bit overpriced, but that's because there isn't much local competition).  There was an old one room schoolhouse on location that still had a lot of displays in it from when it was a museum (just ask at the office to be let in).  And the ELK!  

  Let me tell you about the elk. Our first morning the herd came in the far side of the campground.  We kept an appropriate distance and watched as they grazed and roamed the meadow.  Then we didn't see them for a few days.  The morning we planned to leave, we got up before dawn to make an early get away.  That plan was foiled when we opened the door and realized we were surrounded by the herd - over 40 elk surrounded the trailer, some as close as 10 feet away.  We watched, and waited, and eventually they moved away, allowing us to go outside to break down.  

  Overall, a nice campground.  It's very close to the local parks.  I would stay here again.

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• 

  Nicole O.

  Traveler

  Jul. 10, 2020

  Lake Selmac Resort

  Private

  Some sites here are very private feeling because you park the car up top and walk down (not far at all) to the tent that sits close to the lake.

  Toilets but no showers.

• 

  Naomi H.

  Traveler

  Jul. 23, 2019

  Elk Country RV Resort & Campground

  Beautiful

  The campground was clean and had a lot to explore. We enjoyed seeing elk as we pulled in. We went on some nice walks around the pond and watched the otter swim in the water. Conveniently located near several nice beaches as well. Showers were basic but clean. The sites weren’t very private but overall we had a great time here. This was our second stay and we have liked it both times.

• 

  Erin A.

  Ranger

  Apr. 26, 2021

  Elk Country RV Resort & Campground

  Wildlife at your door

  The greatest think about this campground is the Rosevelt Elk herd that grazes throughout. They are simply beautiful. We stayed in the Meadow campground which is all open and no shade but we loved it. We pretty much had the park to ourselves so lots of room.

  It’s a 2 min drive (or mile walk) to a beautiful and secluded beach. Also a short and beautiful 20minute drive to the Lady Bird Trail in Redwood National Park (a great 1.5 mile loop through a redwood grove)