This is a nice campground with lots of space for people and good facilities. Before you reserve I think it is important to be aware that people will be coming and going in the campground even though the gate is locked and closed and it says access is by reservation only. 

When I arrived for my reservation there were people parked at the gate fishing in the campground. But, they were nice, helped me set up a canopy, and offered me a fish they had caught and then left. About an hour later a group of teenagers came and parked outside the gate, walked past the gate and proceeded to sit at a bench at the upper camping area and drink and party. They were loud and yelling, but to their credit, didn’t harass me at all and were gone within an hour. The next day we had another car stop, read the signs that say “Reservation Only” and then proceed to enter the campground ask us if the campground was open. If we hadn’t been there to receive them, we most likely would have had move visitors. 

From what I can tell this used to be a free, open campsite and has since changed. This understandably seems to be a point of contention for locals. I would ask people to take that up with their local Forest Service office, rather than on the people who reserve the space. I can understand why people might be mad or frustrated to lose access to such a great spot, but we certainly weren’t aware of this when we made our reservation…

This is a beautiful spot and we really enjoyed the location, but would not stay here again due to the activity around the place and uncertainty surrounding random visitors. I believe the forest service office owes the locals some outreach and alternatives, since they did take and lock up a beautiful space.