We stayed 3 nights mid-week for a short spring break. Campground was mostly empty on Wednesday and maybe 75-80% full by Saturday morning. There is a boat launch adjacent to the campground so most campers also had boats. Some sites were very overgrown which didn’t look very appealing for us as tent campers. Sites by the water had zero separation or privacy. We opted for a site on the outer road, we didn’t have neighbors until Friday night but still a view of the water and a short walk. Bathrooms are pit toilets. Pretty smelly but clean and well-stocked. This campground definitely exists for boaters.

We chose Dixie because it was a little closer to civilization than Yellow Pine, Wetmore & Oregon campgrounds further east on Hwy 26. There is no host, it’s at a higher elevation and it is a little off the highway. The loop is kind of on two levels so some spaces are well spaced out. Vault toilets distributed around the loop. The one we used was clean and supplied. There were only 2-3 other sites occupied and no one near us when we stayed. No reservations. We chose a site that sat a bit downhill from where our car was parked but was a really lovely spot. We didn’t mind hauling our stuff down. The wind picked up the first afternoon we were there and we actually saw a tree fall in the distance which was a little disconcerting. Just be aware of where you place your tent and the trees around you. Absolutely beautiful area with wild strawberries and blueberries and salmon berries, currants and more. Loved the peace and tranquillity of this campground but close enough to Prairie City which is where we got firewood (from Mountain View mini mart, no wood at Huffman’s Market & no wood at Austin House market at the top of the pass). We visited the little Sumpter Railroad interpretive site and Bates State Park both great for walking around with kids. Would definitely come back and do more hiking in the Blue Mountains.

We were road tripping through with no reservations. The whole South Fork area has many campgrounds. Magpie is the first and one of the smaller of the campgrounds as you drive up the canyon. We drove through all the campgrounds and didn’t find any hosts to talk with to find out if we could occupy a spot. We thought it would be ok but weren’t sure if we could stay in a spot that had a weekend reservation posted. Plus there was simultaneously not very much shade and lots of overgrown vegetation that made tent camping not very feasible. All the sites with actual river frontage were occupied and most folks had campers. This was especially true at South Fork, Lower Meadows, Upper Meadows & Perception Park campgrounds. We finally found a host at Willows campground who explained the process but we didn’t see any sites we liked there. Magpie actually had some shaded sites so we headed back down there. We grabbed a spot that had no obvious river access but good shade right next to the host site. It was pretty overgrown but had enough of a flat spot to set up our tent and a big concrete pad for the picnic table and huge fire ring. Midweek it was only half full. Campground is literally mere feet from the road. Lots of road noise. Bathrooms were good enough. The host when he finally came around was very nice. The adjacent site was vacant (a double site that cost more $$) and we were able to get to the river there. We stayed two nights mid week and it never filled up but all the sites had weekend reservations. There isn’t a lot of hiking but if you like river recreation or we saw lots of paddle boarders headed up to the reservoir. We drove up Monte Cristo which was still closed for the season but probably would have been more our style. Birding was good around the campground probably due to the river. Again, road noise was annoying but expected. Also note that the forest service’s website was out of date as far as all the campgrounds in this area being open.

Stayed 2 nights as part of a larger road trip, passing through the area. Campground is conveniently located to do lots of activities around Kaibab NF or North Rim GC. We even drove down to Vermillion Cliffs. Hosts were very nice. We reserved and we just checked in with host who jotted down our license plate. Our reservation was already posted at the site. Our campsite was on the inside of the loop but on the side of the loop closest to Hwy 89A. The road noise is constant even into the night. All the RVs and large trucks are very loud on the road. Definitely not a peaceful escape. We were in a tent but I’d say 90% of sites had trailers or RVs. There are nice trees around but there really isn’t much separation or privacy with the sites. The bathrooms (vault toilets) were super clean. Cleaning log posted shows them being cleaned or checked 4x/day. Hand sanitizer available as well as water spigot. Trash cans and dumpster also within our loop. There is also a short trail leaving from the campsite. We didn’t get a chance to hike it but it looked nice. Gas station right across the street. Definitely recommend as a good stop over or basecamp for exploring the area but because of the road noise it’s not really a relaxing spot and we didn’t get a good night sleep in our tent. Maybe in a trailer the sound wouldn’t be so bad.