Best Glamping near Somes Bar, CA

We are traveling in a truck bed camper and got one of the last "Mesa" spots up on the hill. This was a nice area where the bigger RVs park, but because of that, there are no bathrooms, so it was a long walk to the new, very clean, bathrooms by the office. It was a VERY long walk to the one shower building, which is in reasonable shape.

There are a lot of campgrounds here, but this seems to be the furthest from the 101. Another CG had a nice view of the river but I would stay here again.

Ps, bring your own firewood... It is crazy expensive, wet, and had thick bark. I joked that it was a "smoke generator", not a fire pit.

As spontaneous travelers, we tend not to reserve spots in advance and seek first come campgrounds which county parks tend to be. We don't need nor desire all the cozy amenities of "resort" campgrounds so county parks are some of our favorite places to stop if we aren't boondocking. Florence Keller ranks on the low end of the county parks we've stayed in but was good enough for an overnight stay. 

• Easy access from main highway (road noise could be heard from certain sites)
• Sites are best suited for small rigs (our 170 wheelbase class B van barely fit in the site) and they aren't incredibly level 
• Little to no privacy between sites 
• Nice small walking trails amongst old growth within campground 
• Dog-friendly (leashed) 
• 2 camp hosts on site but never saw them (that may be different during peak season) and the campsites were dirty. We had to pick up trash in the fire pit and around the site that was left behind by the previous occupants.
• Sites near the playground can be overcome by joyful screaming of the kids during peak season. We were there off-season and it was tolerable. 
• Very quiet at night-- road noise even tamped down (peak season may differ)
• Pricey for what it is

This campground is well-loved and it shows. Be sure to go through all the loops. We almost missed the one we ended up in (by the playground) and it wasn't crowded and was quieter (at night when the playground wasn't being used) since it was away from the highway noise.

Cash or check only, $35/night. On-site host sells firewood for $10/bundle. Coin operated hot showers for $0.50 to start the shower for 2 min, $0.25 to add minutes up to a 12 min max.

Each campsite had a fire ring, a picnic table, and a bearbox. There were several running water bathroom buildings around the campgrounds.

The spots near the river were filled by the time we got there but there was a small path to get down there and it was gorgeous. The forest growth was beautiful and it was nice and quiet at night. Over 100 campsites to choose from and it was nicely maintained. Would love to stay here again!

 I was so excited to be camping here. I wanted a campsite in Trinidad which would be central to all I wanted to do in the Redwoods. This campground seemed to check all my boxes, plus: CAMPING BY REDWOOD TREES!!! This was the clincher for me. There are a lot of redwood trees in the campground& in the sites.

 My husband wanted to give one star. I'm giving three. It wasn't completely awful. First, divide the campground in two. The Hwy 101 side& the Patrick Point Road side. You don't want the Hwy 101 side. It's noisy. VERY noisy. PPR side is the better bet. There's traffic noise, but not as bad. There's a rustic charm about the campground. It's obviously an established place, but I couldn't find out how old it was. Lots of annoying signs posted all over the place about quiet hours, check out time, speed limit, ect. They sell propane& there's a dump station. They have a camp store/gift shop at the office. The beach is very close, but there's no view of the ocean at this campground. This is one of the few places we camped at that we were allowed to have a campfire. 

The worst thing about the campsites on both sides is how close they are- VERY VERY close& narrow. Sites 2-11 are very tight. We had campsite 9. It would have been acceptable if we weren't camped next to site 10, which is the trashiest campsite I've parked next to. Ever. There were a couple of sheds, wooden pallets for a privacy fence& junk everywhere. Obviously a permanent site. The trailer has been there a LOOONG time. We were there for four nights. It sucked. Best site in the campground is site 20, which is a pull through. Don't get site 9 or 11. Sites 14-17 are right on top of the bathrooms& there's foot traffic there all the time. Also not very attractive& right on top of each other. If you rent a cabin, ask not to get Q. Right on top of the bathrooms. Lots of foot traffic. 

If I had a tent site I'd be in heaven. The tent sites are in a redwood setting. Very rustic& nice. Also spacious. There's cabins also that looked nice. 

There's one bath house in the 101 side. Men& women. The women's side had 3 sinks, 1 out of order. 3 toilets all working. 3 showers, 1 out of order. There's a group of three unisex bathroom/shower combos by the PPD side. All working. It looked clean, but my husband accidently dropped his towel on the floor& I had to wash it. Very dirty.

 Laundry had all machines working.

 It looked like most reviewers liked this place a lot. I think it had some charm, but didn't like how close the RV sites were. 

If you're there for a night or two it would probably be ok.

We stayed here on a Saturday night in mid August and had no problem getting a spot. We paid $28.50 (incl tax) with Passport America for full hookups, so expect to pay double that without the discount. They also offer Good Sam, AAA, and veteran discounts.

Showers were decent. Clean enough, water pressure and temperature were fine. There are only 2 washers and 2 dryers (at $1.50 for wash and $1 for dry) that worked well. The park offers wifi but signal is very weak/ unusable unless you use the wifi offered in the office/community room. There are a few basic (very basic) snack and food items for sale in the office. There is also a pool table available for use. 

Park has dumpsters but no recycle bins. 

Park is right on the Klamath River and is very peaceful and fairly quiet, other that hearing your neighbor’s TV in their RV because the sites are packed so tightly together. We were told by another long time resident that the place isn’t usually this packed and should quiet down at the end of summer. There are tent sites and a group camping area. We were told by the office staff that RVs are welcome to dry camp in the tent area, though we aren’t sure how that would work with fitting an RV in the tent area as the gate was tight. We asked if the RV would be able to dump and fill water and the staff person wasn’t sure and would have to check with owner. 

There is a fire pit set up on a little cozy deck on the water. Office staff was very friendly but park owners seemed not to be. It’s possible that they don’t take kindly to Passport America guests. While walking our dogs out on the main road, two dogs from two properties over came charging out at us, teeth bared, ready to fight. By some miracle our yells and screams were enough to get them to back off. The owner stood there, watching the commotion, and didn’t say a word to us when we were walking past her on our way back to our RV. Just seemed odd. We were also told by another long time resident that this park double booked sites for the July 4th weekend and had to turn people away when they showed up for their reservations. Just something to keep in mind for this place. 

Propane for sale here at $2.80/gal.  

Good cell reception with ATT and Verizon and weak TMobile.

Nice little campground right next to a pretty river.  When I stayed I was the only one at the campground.  The sites are near the road but it seemed to have light usage and I never heard cars in the night.  

No running water (unless you filter from the river) and no trash services, just a pit toilet.

This campground is a great place to stay before heading into the Trinity Alps.  A 20 minute drive on a dirt road leads to the China Gultch Trailhead, a popular trail leading to Grizzly Lake.

I would definitely recommend this site to anyone headed into the Alps.

This campsite did the trick in a pinch , but it was truly one of my least favorite experiences. We had a full hook up, but we’re unable to choose our site and we’re put directly next to the highway. We were also right next to the gas station which resulted in a ton of noise. There was also a sewage smell that no one could pin down where it was coming from that was unavoidable when outside.

The most concerning part of our state was that over the four nights, the bathrooms were not cleaned once. This was evident as the same shit explosion that remained on the toilet seat the entire time we stay there. As well as the hair in the sink that lingered for the entire four days and no refill on the paper towels or soap dispenser that were out.

The showers were coin operated which was disappointing, but the water was hot. They’re also codes for the bathroom and laundry room. We were placed next to lifers and the sites themselves were quite small. Sadly, we were the only site without a fire ring that had a grill top. For some reason this one was only cinderblocks that we’re not large enough to contain our firewood. No Verizon and ATT went in and out.

For the pros: there was reliable and usable Wi-Fi. It was incredibly close to Jedediah state park. Lastly, the staff sent out a great email listing out a ton of options in the area for hiking eating etc.

Having walked around Jedediahs campsite, it is far far far superior to this RV stay. I would highly recommend checking out a Campsite there if possible. This campsite is incredibly close to Jedediah and honestly that’s its only benefit.