AdventurousMagpie

Bellingham, WA

Joined May 2022

Great price, good vibe, loud road, bad showers

Good points: I think this is the cheapest campground with amenities near Ashland, only $27.50/night for a tent site with a water pump. The place didn't feel sketchy at all- although there are clearly some long term residents, it feels well-run and family friendly. Wifi was surprisingly fast and reached all the way over to the tent sites, and there is a place near the bathrooms to wash dishes. All tent sites were shady with large blackberry bushes providing privacy on three sides.

The not-so-good: the tent sites have a road right behind them that's often busy and loud. The showers in the women's restroom have unbelievably poor water pressure, and the water temp fluctuated from boiling to freezing for no reason unless you twitched the dial just right. Also, there's no place to hang a hammock near the tent sites but that's just a quibble.

Beautiful spot, easy access

Gorgeous campsite and well situated for doing PCT trail magic if you're so inclined. Not suitable for large RVs - you need to park head-in, not parallel to the road, so anything bigger than a full size van will simply not fit. All spots require trekking your stuff in at least a short distance, I couldn't see any that allowed you to pull through. Full bars & LTE data on AT&T, and more importantly, fantastic views. Privies were not terrible, but it's a byoTP situation. Bring your own drinking water, too. You do have to be a bit choosy about where to setup a tent, but I found a place that was not unacceptably slanted for my small 3p tent

BLM standard with a view

Your basic BLM campground with picnic tables and privies. $9/night self registration. No water at overlook, but there is water available from spigots at the nearby North Lake Campground (currently day-use only), if you get there before 8pm. The road in is winding and rough gravel but likely possible in a 2WD vehicle if it hasn't rained. Some mesquite for shade and privacy, and each campsite has an open roof over the tables. View of Santa Cruz lake is fantastic. No water, no trash, extremely extremely windy when I was there.