We arrived at 9:30 AM and headed for the North Day Use parking lot. We were the second or third car there. We did not plan to see the shut-ins but instead put our chairs in the river via the access trails by the North Day Use side. We were able to choose any picnic table and setup our future lunch spot. I don't think but one other table was used the rest of the day, because most people that parked here walked to the shut-ins. The early afternoon was very peaceful and we were the only people in that section of the river. By mid afternoon the parking lot was full and there were then several small groups of families in the section by us, all very polite and friendly. Don't know, but imagine the shut-ins were busy with people due to seeing all the cars drive in that direction. We left by 3:30 and the parking lot was starting to empty out. Decent vault toilet in this section, if you don't look in it, and flush toilets by the Black River Center.

There were so many sites and very few campers. This was our first time there and will go back again. The sites are separated by trees and very well shaded. We were in site 43 and our 28' trailer fit great and only needed minor level adjustments. Three issues during our stay: no water at all, limbs along the road are overgrown, and the campsite needs some updating. When I called the ranger station about the lack of water they advised to use Silver Springs and one other campground to fill up. We went to a nearby convenience store to get water. Site 43's buried terracing railroad ties are rotted and should be replaced before someone gets hurt. Other than stupid people leaving trash in the fire pit the site was nice and had a great level spot for our table and chairs. Putting my hammock under the trees with a fan next to me was great. You can walk to the lake from the site, but knowing there are people fishing and probably unrecovered hooks we drove a few minutes to swim at the beach.

I'm guessing the heat and lack of water kept a lot of people away this past weekend. We brought and used our generator a lot to run the A/C and cool off the trailer.

I dumped at Washington State park and they have a water tower where the elbow nozzle can unscrew for my hose. I would probably fill up with potable water from there before going to Council Bluff next time.

I saved raccoons from being trapped in the trash cans twice. They are able to open them and fall in but can't get out. I put a large limb in for them to climb out. The trash cans need to be animal proof.

Super easy to get my 28' trailer backed into site 52. Getting it level was manageable. The site is not paved and parked on grass. It rained everyday and the tires may have sunk in a little bit. There were several fresh water hydrants in the campground and two about 60 yards on either side of site 52. I used Echo State Park to dump when leaving. The non-potable water tower's elbow nozzle was removable to fit my own hose and flush the black tank.

We went during the week and the campground was less than a quarter full. We left on a Thursday and knew it was going to be full for the weekend. Only a couple of the 20 FF sites were being used by Thursday and something to remember for future trips.

The store sold firewood, can't remember how much for a bundle. The store also had wifi, but it was very slow. We used the picnic table on a slope to sort of sit and check emails and the weather or sat on the rock wall across the road at the bathrooms. Anywhere else did not get a connection. No TMobile service.

There is a very nice trail with the trailhead near the group sites. It goes through different terrains, including along the river bank. When looking back at the pictures we took during that section it looks so nice, but we hurried through it due to the mosquitoes. The trail section that went on higher ground didn't have mosquitoes, but used a stick to knock down webs. Lots of different flowers to view along the trail. There's a small section along the river that wasn't maintained well and I had to re-find the trail. Not a big deal, but hopefully the trail maintenance crew can fix it. The rest of the trail was very well maintained and easy to follow.

I used the very clean bathrooms towards the group sites, which I think I was the only person to use. The bathrooms near the entrance were clean too. I didn't use the showers, but they have them.

The river access behind site 52 is pretty cool with a short sandy trail to the bank. There were moments of no rain and I was able to setup a hammock on the bank. If it wasn't raining I would have gone every day.

I was able to get my 28' trailer in site 37 and managed to level it. There's a sign to keep car tires on pavement, but I wasn't able to and parked the Jeep on the grass next to the trailer. Unlike other sites at this campground, this site did not need stairs to get to the fire pit or picnic table; they were right outside the door. The fire pit was clean and I used the grill box everyday to cook all the meals. The weather was too hot to use the entire fire pit for a large fire.

Unfortunately, my view from the fire pit was of the shower building and watching people go in and out at the end of the day.

I have solar panels mounted on top and the large shading tree kept them from charging the batteries, but shaded the site very well. This made me look for portable panels after I got home. The lower branches should be trimmed to avoid damage to taller trailers. The branches barely cleared mine.

The ground is rocky and bent my flimsy tarp stakes. This made me look for better stakes when I got home. Haha.

The dump station is at the entrance to the campground and there were two issues with getting fresh water. The fresh water tower had the elbow nozzle and I couldn't get it unscrewed to put my hose on. To fill up using the elbow nozzle and trailer's gravity fill port meant parking the trailer in the exit lane. Not knowing what to do, I proceeded to site 37. There is water near the shower building and thankfully my three hoses spanned the length and was able to fill up while parked in the site. When dumping on the way out, there was no issue with unscrewing the other non-potable water tower's elbow nozzle and putting my own hose on to flush the tank. Maybe I wasn't strong enough to remove the fresh water tower's nozzle.

The host was really nice and so were the park rangers.

No signs about generators; I used mine during the day. I didn't hear anyone else using one though and felt guilty. Heard lots of music and barking dogs so not too guilty.

The river is awesome, cold, and a highlight of the campground. People take their dogs and chairs to the bank and I'm sure they love it, but it's a busy bank with boaters and not a lot of room to separate from others. Instead, we waded to the center of the river, and after several minutes of getting used to the cold water, sat in the rushing water. It was great and the noise of the rushing water around us drowned (haha) out the barking dogs and peoples' conversations on the bank.

The walk on the trail and across the bridge to the country store was nice and took 15 minutes. Worth the walk for wifi and ice cream. The trail to the store is not marked well but figured it out.

I will go back, but choosing a different site.

My daughter and I wanted to try Montauk state park and went in March on a Wednesday and left Friday. When booking the site, I was surprised how full it was going to be. Our site in loop 4 was level, clean, and easy to get the 28' trailer back in to. The water right next to the site was taped up, probably turned off for winter, but we were able to fill our fresh tank at the campground entrance before parking. There was a dump station in loop 4 and another one near the entrance. We used loop 4 dump station and the black tank flush water valve wasn't working. The river is full of fish and people fishing for them. Swimming was probably allowed, but I'm sure the people fishing wouldn't have tolerated it. If it was warmer I'm sure we could have found a spot in the river without people fishing to relax. Instead, we hiked the pine ridge trail which was nice and easy for us. At night, we could hear the owls and frogs, which is a highlight for me. The store was a highlight for my daughter and they really have some great fishing gear and supplies. We didn't eat at the lodge. It looked decent and there were people filling up the tables. For me, my favorite part of camping is cooking and eating at the site. We didn't use the campground's shower or toilet. I took a look and they seemed like a typical state park bathroom, clean until someone ruins it. We're fortunate and grateful to have the trailer's bathroom.

We paid $10 for a bundle of wood at the campground, which was for sale just before dark (check the sign for times). The attendant was nice, but he didn't provide any split wood and it was wet. I'm guessing they collect wood from the local bottom lands and sell it. I don't know, there was split wood in the barn, just not in the pile we could pick from. I have a hatchet and was splitting it myself, but wished it wasn't wet. We did see a place selling wood on VV towards Licking also for $10 a bundle. We passed on it and chose poorly.

Google took us from St. Louis through Salem and then down to YY, which was a dirt road and crossed a shallow creek. I wasn't confident it was the correct path, the road got very narrow, had lots of potholes, and worried we wouldn't be able to turn around. Unexpectedly, I put my new suspension to a test. Fortunately, we ended up at the campground without needing to turn around. We left the campground via VV through Licking on a proper road and was able to get gas too.

Stayed two nights in early March in our RV. I knew the bathrooms would be locked and that the water would be off so had full fresh tank and jerry cans. There's a dump station on site so I didn't have to go home full too. Electric at the site was appreciated so we can run the furnace fan and water heater off it. I was not expecting to see no trashcans so I had to pack out. However, there were recycling bins.

I didn't see anyone selling firewood along the way so I scavenged for wood near the site. Not a big deal to find wood but it was wet and challenging to keep from smoking me out.

There were only a couple other campers and they were nice not to camp next to us. Felt like we were the only ones there. The best part of camping off season.

Walked the trail down to the river and appreciated the crushed rock trail. I didn't visit the nearby town, but will next time I visit.

The only negative was not being able to reserve and pay ahead of arrival, which means I have to bring exact cash. Who carries cash anymore?!

Site 37 is a premium site with 50 amp service for an additional cost. I didn't have enough cash to pay the premium site price and had already setup camp before realizing it. My RV has a 30 amp service and it was off season so I didn't feel too bad about paying the standard electric price.