South Fork Campground — Sequoia National Park

The road: you really need something with a bit of clearance and All Wheel or 4WD to get out here. Do not attempt a 2WD sedan.

The site: some of the sites can be right on to of each other, and peek season or summer it works probably feel very crowded. Mid week in March though and we had the place to ourselves for 3 days save for a few day hikers coming out for the trails.

There's plenty of day hiking to be found, the Ladybug Trail is easy enough for even casual hikers (the a few bits of elevation) and has a great location about 3 miles on for lunch and nap on the rocks. We stayed at site 4 and there are a couple great spots for hammocks though the fire pit is awkwardly placed around rocks.

Great place though, and for 6 bucks a night, a steal.

There were no other people at this camp ground. Maybe it was the somewhat treacherous drive in (6 miles of steep winding one lane gravel/dirt road) don't look down if you have a fear heights! Maybe it was the cooler December temperatures. If you go your reward is solitude and a clean out house. Site 5 was large and grassy. There were spaces for two trucks to park and two tents could also be set up. There were plenty of cow poop piles on the camp site, must be a grazing area? The South Fork River could be heard from every campsite here. Due to the way it is nestled in the hills the campsite looses direct sunlight in early afternoon.

My fiancé and I stumbled on the campsite because Sequoia NP is temporarily closed due to the fires.

The pictures shown don’t portray the site. There aren’t Sequoias at the actual site.

This campsite is accessible from South Fork Rd, which you do not have to enter the park to get into but the site is actually considered to be part of Sequoia NP.

We decided not to stay at the site but definitely have plans to in the future. It’s right by the river but not accessible from the campsite. This site is also super secluded but does have fire rings and Bear lockers.

There were also signs that said it was an active Bear area but not too sure how active the bears are there. There were also tons of mosquitoes, since it is right by the river. We also actually crossed paths with two tarantulas, one on the way to the site and one on the way out (different parts of the road).

Something to note is that the road to the campsite starts off paved then turns into a dirt road. The road is narrow and once you get closer to the site the road gets rocky and bumpy. I would highly recommend a car with 4WD and some clearance. I would also advise that if you’re not experienced with off roading, this road isn’t for you. I thankfully had my Jeep and fiancé who is seasoned in off roading.

I hope this review was helpful!