I've car camped a few other places since my first time camping here last year. Nothing compares. Sites on the cliff side are hard to get but I came up here on June 1 and many sites were open. I guess everyone who came up for Memorial Day weekend had already left. I was lucky enough to get site 35. It's a huge site off the road with a lot of space of between other sites. A friend of my was in the area and stopped by to see the site. He said he saw a wolf cross the road on the way out. I also believe I heard my camp neighbors tell the camp host that were was a rattle snake on their site. So be careful out there. I am going to try to snag a site here again soon.
We tried a couple of other dispersed camp sites before this one but they were all full. A AWD would be best for this area because of the deep sand. I did make it back aways with my Prius, to my surprise. I did get stuck once but got out pretty easily. But if had rained while I was here that might be a different story. We tucked ourselves into a cove. It felt pretty private until I was using my bathroom bucket while there were people hiking the ridge above me. Haha. I brought my pop-up bathroom tent but the wind was so strong it would not stand upright. If I had a AWD or an ATV this could be a run area to explore. But I'm not sure I'll come back. One and done.
I camped here with my two dogs at the end September. I wanted to get a spot on the rim but it was full. Actually everything was really full. I'm glad I came up on a Friday afternoon otherwise I'm not sure where I wouldn't have gotten a site. The sites are large and fairly wooded. But super dusty. I planned on staying 3 nights but on Sunday afternoon almost everyone was gone. I couldn't see another camper from my site. Then a bit before dusk some guy stopped by to ask me for an air pump. Being a single woman (but with two dogs) it made me uncomfortable. Better safe than sorry. Packed it up and went home to take a much needed shower. It's a great location for visit the local lakes. I went to both Bear and Knoll lake in my Prius. (-:
I drove up on a Sunday afternoon in the hopes some weekenders were leaving. I had my heart set on getting a rim camping site. They were all taken. But I stopped and talked to a couple that I thought was leaving…they had just gotten there minutes before me and offered to let me stay on their site. Super thoughtful! The sites are large with a good amount of space between each camp site. A friend got me a pop-up outhouse kind-of as a joke but I sure am glad I had it. There are no public vault toilets near by.
I can't wait to go again. These are tough spots to get. I'd say it would be next to impossible to get a one on a Friday or Saturday.