Chewalla Lake Recreation Area

Arrived at the park a little after 11pm and the gate was locked with a sign saying “Closed 10pm-6am.” On the website it said “first come first serve.” Very disappointing, ended up driving another 30 min and booking a hotel.

This seems a very typical NFS campground. Lots of spots some with electric and water and a number which are primitive. It is rustic. The electric service has an open ground situation so my camper wouldn't take it which was fine but a lot of the year could be an issue. There are bathrooms and private showers. I did not need or use the facilities but they were clean and seemed functional. I am literally the only camper here which frankly I think is wonderful. Tons of places to walk and a lot of nice views of the lake. I will definitely be back and use it for an overnight on my way out or back to my winter location.

Quiet, peaceful and cheap. No shower or bathroom facilities. Water has plenty of pressure, and runs clear after a few seconds. Surprisingly nice weather and no mosquitoes or gnats. Free firewood, and portajons on-site

Due to vandalism, the park is closed until further notice. However, it does seem rather run down and doesn’t look like it’s been used in the last couple of years that much. Too bad.

We used this campground as an overnight on our way to Arkansas, was going to stay on the way back but cancelled due to our experience the first night.  Roads inside the campground were atrocious, required dodging tree limbs and holes. The entire campground seemed run down, camp host site looked like a seasonal site.  Site was fairly level with 30amp electric and water.  There is a dump station, but I refused to use it as it was flooded.  Bath house was adequate but very dated and not well maintained.  The main thing I disliked was the feeling of insecurity, the site behind us had some unsavory folks as did some other sites.  I'll not bother with this campground again.

Stopped here for one night on my way East. Average campground peaceful and quiet. Bathroom could use updating.

This is a great small park. It's older, not many hook up sites. Ranger was friendly Uses an iron ranger. The park is used and for the most part the patrons do their due diligence. Has several trails

Campground Review: We live about an hour away from here, so we decided to finally check this place out! I am so glad we finally gave it a chance! The park/recreation area is rustic and not overcrowded. There is a boat ramp and fishing pier for the fishermen/water lovers. At the end of the road, you can find another parking area with day use bathroom. There is a paved trail that passes by a picnic pavilion and playground. The path leads you to a partially covered bridge that crosses over to an island with a picnic table. Lots of people were out fishing and picnicking with their families for the day. The campground seems to be slowly going through some upgrades! That’s always great news! The first couple of sites on your right have fresh gravel, while other sites are still in great shape, but are a little more rustic. Some sites have electric and water hook ups. Each site is clearly marked electric/non electric on the reservation website. We really liked it here and look forward to coming back.

Product Review: Ice Mule Cooler– The Jaunt: This is a great day use cooler! I chose the smaller“Jaunt” style because it has backpack straps, so I can tote it along hands free! While we didn’t use it for our food at the campground due to it’s smaller size, it was perfect to pack up a few drinks to carry over to the lake to go fishing. There is a front zipper pocket that is perfect for my ID and cellphone. I loaded 3 canned drinks and 3 bottled waters plus a small snack and filled it with enough ice to keep the drinks cold. I was able to wear it like a backpack and still carry my fishing bucket and fishing poles without feeling like I was overloaded. The size is also perfect to strap it onto a kayak or stand up paddle board so that you have access to cold drinks/food while out on the water! I love the ice mule and can’t wait to order one of the larger styles!

First, it was impossible to find it. Took about two hours. My gps had me get off highway at wrong exit and then I didn’t know which intersection of 7 and 4 the campground was at. There are two. The area is really pretty, but I didn’t stay the night and just gave up my reservation. There was a sign out front saying that payment was required in the folder at the front but I payed online. That already confused me. No gate, no person at the front. Didn’t seem like the safest area to me either. I was driving trying to find my campsite and then I started itching. A mosquito had gotten in in that 30 seconds I had the window down. Campsite was basically dirt with gullies on the side so it was hard to back out. Trash all near table and fire pit. Swarms of bugs were already attacking my car before I could even stop. I didn’t even walk in the bathrooms to see what they were like. Might be good for day use because the trails looked nice from the road.

Campground was great and had hot showers free to both primitive site($7) and hookup site ($20) campers. The lake was gorgeous with a winding, unpaved bike trail that was really fun on mountain bikes! We didn’t try, but I bet fishing would be great here.

The only problem we had was the trash leftover by the previous campers. The fire pit was full of half-burnt garbage. Pick up after yourselves people!

Overall very quiet, peaceful Thursday night.

This is a beautiful area in the woods next to a lake. Has electric and water, no sewer. Bathrooms are not kept up, dirty and no lights in the showers. Pretty isolated, very few campers here. This could be a wonderful camping area, bathrooms need improvement!!

Chewalla Campground has a lake for fishing and a beach area. Very quiet and roomy during the week. Didn't spend any time during weekend. Looking forward to spending going back and spending several days.

This is a great little camp within the national forest.

Yay: trails are all simple and pretty and include woods, waterfront, boardwalks, etc. The campground is simple but nice and a step above absolutely basic. Nice cheap fees. One of the loops is on a little hill and has better privacy but I don’t recommend it for RVs due to the hill. There is a swimming beach.

Nay: no complaints. FYI there is no attendant but rangers do come through periodically.

Surprise: adorable little bridge to an island!