Paradise CG is up a very bumpy dirt road but you do NOT need 4WD. We drove up in our Ford Transit Van and there were low clearance vehicles at the trailhead. It is however very bumpy and the potholes will eat you up if you do not take it slow in some areas. Apparently the campground is full all the time but we arrived the last weekend of August and it was mostly empty when we arrived early afternoon on a Saturday. We picked a great spot near the trail which wasn’t very private but acceptable to us and our three dogs. While there we hiked the mile trail to the Rainbow lakes. At 10k feet we were winded but you can be a novice hiker and make it up to the top. We didn’t take the other 4 mile hike to the Glacier. Instead we hiked down the road along the river and saw a Mother and baby moose. Later that day while sitting in our campsite we saw a full grown black bear walking the trail above us. It was exhilarating and luckily the bear wanted nothing to do with us. Despite previous reviews, there is NO dispersed camping on the road in anymore. The bathrooms were clean and the host was great. No cell service on ATT Garbage is available but not water. If you can get a spot here it is worth it.
Sites are close together. Porta johns instead of bathrooms. Wood for sale but no host to sell it to you. Felt dirty being there (not the good earth dirt). This campground is NOT free, $14 a night. Close to road so you hear traffic. Close to industrial park.
Getting a site with a view is key to this campground. There are a few great spots but there is no tree cover for these sites and the late morning through early evening can be hot if you do not have a canopy. The lake is not swimmable but you can kayak/canoe etc. Bathrooms are clean. There is drinking water but looked yellowish. The camp host was great (Derek)and kept the place clean. At $22 a night, a close by dispersed campsite might be better choice if you cannot get a site with a view
We visited Shenandoah NP in April when there were not a lot of people. We prefer a more private campground but the sites are nicely spread apart. The trees were just budding and the weather was perfect. The campground has water, clean bathrooms, a store to buy ice, firewood ($7.5), or take a shower ($1.75). There is a beautiful amphitheater there but not being used when we were there. If you are looking for a dispersed site, this is not it. While camping you can see all your neighbors unless you are rent camping or lucky enough to get a spot on the A or E loop.
Sept 29- Oct 3 2020 After realizing that the NF service closed all the campgrounds early (no weather in the forecast) we wound up at this dispersed campground area. We scored a sweet spot overlooking the many peaks and a glimpse of the Twin Lakes. There are no services here and a lot of the higher up sites need a 4x4 but we made it in a Ford Transit and found an easier site to get to. At the end of Sept beginning Oct, it was about 30 degrees at night. Still, with plenty of firewood to be had in this area, we bundled up and had a great stay.
We drove to Lost Man Campground where the NF service decided to close in September which was total BS. We backtracked to Lincoln Dispersed with the same results. So we settled for this campground which only had two sites available on Sept 29. For $25 a night we found this to have very little privacy and loud road (Rt82) right next to it. The bathroom was the worst I’ve seen in the 6 week road trip and the water was already turned off. The views were nice and it you could get a site on the outer ring it might be more enjoyable. There are some easy and beautiful hikes around this area. When we return to this area it won’t be so close to the end of the season and we will try NOT to be at this campground again.
SEPTEMBER 2020 This campsite is in the first few miles of Dinosaur National Monument along the Green River. It has 4 campsites but each campsite has three turnout parking areas that accommodate about 9-10 cars. The sites are $40 each and can be reserved online. I estimated each group site was about a football field of space. Each site has three fire rings and about 6 picnic tables. Each site is separated into 3 different sites. Most people who reserve online do not realize how much space they have even when they are here. There are public bathrooms with indoor plumbing including a sink, urinal, and toilet. There is clean running water available. No shower. There is a second bathroom under construction (we never heard noise from the construction). The two of us were traveling in one van and found the Green River campground (the other campground in DNM) was packed with people, and the sites too close together. So we bit the bullet and paid $40 for a group site here. It was such a large amount of space we wound up letting other travelers stay the night in the other two spaces in our site. Even with others “in our site” we still had about 10 times more space then if we stayed in the Green River Campground. The next three nights this campground was reserved. We asked another camper if we could stay one of their 3 spaces and they were more than happy to share the abundance of space. The night sky was magical. Lots of kids in this campground. Dogs allowed on leash. Walking distance to trails. Walking distance to a boat ramp where lot of rafters take off. A couple of miles from the DNM Quarry. Don’t miss the trails up to Hog Canyon and Box Canyon, trail head is at Josie Miller Cabin. Easy trails for all ages. Box canyon was incredible.
Rainbow Park Campground is 4 sites that are very close together offering almost NO privacy. Luckily we were the only ones there. It was magical. The ride in was about 30 minutes of a dirt road easily navigated by my Ford Transit 350. 1.7 miles before the campground road there is a must see Petroglyphs site offering a couple of loop trails that bring you up the hill. The road past the site brings you to some amazing views of the Green River and varying mountain views.
The campground itself is on the river where there is a raft stop. While we had the campsite to ourselves all night, rafts started landing on the Rainbow boat ramp around 10am. The rafts coming in were fun to watch.
The site was $6 and if you have a larger group and can get all 4 sites, it would be a fun time.
We would like to go back but with 3 dogs it would be hard to be so close to neighbors.
All in all, it is worth checking out the area and campground.
September 17, 2020 stay for 2 nights. Timpooneke Camp Ground and their hosts were wonderful. We had a spot that wasn’t the best, #17, since it wasn’t too private however we enjoyed the wooded area of Aspens, Fur, etc directly behind us. Other sites, if you are lucky, are more private. The trails going up the mountain meet up with the Timpooneke Trail head. The 8 mile hike up to the peak was dusty but about 45 minutes up you reach some springs to cool you off. The time of year allowed us to enjoy the colors of the leaves. The campground has water, vaulted toilets, and a creek towards the bottom near the entrance.
We loved it here. Not too far away from Yellowstone Park. This campground has a rocky creek running along side of it which is crystal clear and has a small waterfall created by a down tree. The sounds of the creek are great. We stayed in site #8 which had room for two vehicles a large area AND another very private area surrounded by trees with a path to get to the creek. The creek has a “beach” area made of rocks and was cold and relaxing. The road getting in here was mostly paved with about 3-4 miles of a well kept dirt road. RVs will make it here easily. Bathrooms, running water, trash/recycling, and bear bins. I highly recommend this place.
There is no sugar coating it, the road to this site is horrendous. It’s so bumpy but doable. Once there we found a site that is in the wide open. We loved the river and the night sky. It is quiet enough so we loved that.
On the drive in I ran over an Allen wrench which gave me a flat. Another camper, a local, helped me out with some equipment that made it easy to fix. The people in this area are great and Doug and his daughter Hope made this stay a lot easier.
We showed up to stay for the night and wound up staying for 5 nights. We pulled in and scored a site next to the lake. The host informed us that it was occupied and the person forgot to leave something in the spot and they never put up the tag stating it was taken. We were bummed and took a spot up top which was just fine. The host, David, let us know the other camper was leaving in the morning and he woke us up so we could grab the site before anyone else could. In our opinion site #14 or #15 are the best spots as they are on the lake. The only downfall is the weekend when kids were everywhere playing on the beach. Also, the road going in is terrible and construction is there during the week, 8-5:30. We were out and about in the Teton area so it didn’t bother us that much. the dogs loved the beach as did we. I would definitely go back to this site.