First off, the name is actually WOLF CREEK GROUP CAMPGROUND, and that should be your first clue that this is one of those big campgrounds with a lot of sites all packed in together.  (Technically, there are several Wolf Creek Group Campgrounds along the road--this review is for the first one you come to after Yellowjacket.)  Anyway, this is my own personal bias but I’m really over big campgrounds with lots of people and their music, screaming kids, and campfire smoke. Although the site is absolutely beautiful—right on the reservoir—the campground is big and noisy. The reservoir is warm and fun to swim in but the rocks are sharp in places (bring water shoes). Boat traffic is pretty steady on the weekend, less so during the week. Another camper told me the weekdays are the best time to come: the campground and lake are much quieter. We did FCFS but ended up with an excellent campsite. Now, the particulars: They seem to be having a problem with marauding bears lately.  One cub literally walked right up to us while we were playing cards and stood there, watching.  Our German shepherd, truck alarm, and a little yelling was enough to scare it off, but that was not good behavior for a bear who wants to live a long life.  Ditto for the other adult bears who scoured the campground all night long, looking (and sadly, finding) things to eat.  There wasn't much sleeping going on and you could hear dogs barking and people yelling pretty much through the night.  USE THE BEAR BOXES AND DON'T LEAVE ANYTHING OUT (including fish you catch in ice chests).  These bears will pay with their lives if they keep scavenging like this.  Finally, bathrooms were clean on Friday but by Saturday (again, a lot of people) they were disgusting.  I felt sorry for the camp hosts, trying to keep them clean.  Water and dumpsters are available.

Paul Dimmick is a nice little campground in the redwoods. Although Hwy 128 runs parallel to it (and not far away), there isn’t much traffic going by so road noise isn’t a bother. The campground doesn’t have a lot of sites, which I prefer, and is first come, first served so get there early if you’re going for the weekend (mid-week is wide open). Sites near the river are best. We stayed in #21 and had plenty of privacy. There’s a path down to the river near the Day Use area; the river was pretty tame, which is surprising for a campground that routinely floods in the wintertime. One strange thing about this campground: it appears to be mostly devoid of wildlife. We saw one Scrub jay and one ground squirrel while we were there and no bees, butterflies, or insects. And there was absolutely no birdsong. Very odd. (Pro tip: Don’t leave your food out overnight on the picnic table or that ground squirrel will spirit it away.) Only mark against the campground is for really stinky/gross pit toilets. No cell service with Verizon, you’ll have to drive into Mendocino for that.

Fiddle Creek Campground is clean and well maintained, which is always great to find.  But its close proximity to Hwy 49 (maybe 75 feet away) makes for more headlights and traffic noise than I'm used to when camping (especially since the majority of traffic is from loud trucks that zoom by at 50-60 mph).  Another negative is the abundance of mosquitoes, which I guess you have to expect when you're near a river but still not pleasant.  Also, the sites are close together with little or no privacy.  We were one of only two campers there but still could easily see and hear the other camp, and those open sight lines made for frequent territorial barking between the dogs in both camps.  Finally (and this is admittedly a nitpick), you can't see the river from the campground, which is too bad because you're camped so close to it.  (You'll have to go to Carlton Campground a few miles down the road if you want a river view.)  I'd reserved Campground 15 (at the very end of line) but after my husband complained about how far away it was from the toilets, we moved to Campground 6 (as I said, pretty empty campground during the week, although the ranger said it's usually full on weekends).  Site 6 was fine, but Site 15 would've been quieter as it's farther away from the road and the river and it has more space around it than others.

We came to Sly Park for my sister's birthday in mid-July and had a fantastic time.  The water level in Jenkinson Lake is low, as to be expected, but there's still enough for swimming, kayaking, boating, and fishing.  

   There are different campgrounds, which seem to be designed to meet different needs:  at Pine Cone, for example, you're right on the water (great for families with kids) but the campsites are cheek-by-jowl with everyone else; if it's privacy you're looking for, reserve a site in one of the places farther down the road, such as Hilltop, Kamloop, or Dogwood.  For the most part, these sites don't have water views but they're quiet and private--and the water is just a short walk or drive away.  We stayed in Hilltop, which has a loop and a spur, and we had the entire spur area to ourselves--it was fantastic.  (The park didn't have a lot of campers--maybe the summer heat?)  Our site was in the shade of the conifers (it smelled great!), it was about as quiet as it could be in a campground, and with no light pollution nearby, we could see a million stars overhead at night.  Just perfect!  

   The only reason I gave it 4 stars instead of 5 is because Sly Park only has vault toilets and spigots for drinking water but no other accommodations like sinks or showers.  When you're staying for more than a night or two, a shower or even just a sink would be really nice.  Cell service (we have Verizon and AT&T) was only available by the entrance kiosk.

   Despite the lack of sinks/showers, we loved Sly Park and are already planning a return visit in the Fall when it's not so hot.

We didn't expect much from this campground, being that it was in a County Park, but we were surprised by it.  The scenery was nice (the reservoir is low with lots of dead trees sticking out of it, so I'm not sure how much boating goes on there), and the sites were on the small side, but the campground itself is small and quiet, which is always a plus.  Bathrooms are spotless, with warm water sinks, flush toilets, hot showers, and heaters/fans that comes on automatically on cold mornings and nights.  What's not to love about that?!  We only stayed for a night coming and going on our trip, but after a week in Washington's National Parks and Forests with no showers, we looked forward to the hot showers at Chief Miwaleta.  If there were trails around the reservoir to hike with dogs, we didn't find them.  Just the same, we'd stay a night or two here again, no question.

For sheer beauty alone this campground deserves 5 stars.  We were in site 15, right on Lake Quinault, and really enjoyed everything we saw and did here.  The campground is small and right off the road but traffic noise isn't bothersome, particularly if you snag a site on the lake.  Overall, you can't beat the location.  Our site was quiet and more secluded than some of the others (we had to move to #14 next door when we decided to stay one more night--it was good but not as secluded).  But wow, the temperate rainforest across the road made the whole place worthwhile.  We were able to hike the Lake Quinault Loop Trail with our dogs (about 3.8 miles) and for these rain-starved Californians, it was heaven on Earth:  lush, verdant, and with a thousand different shades of green.  The campground has bathrooms with flush toilets and cold water sinks (no showers), and there are garbage cans for your trash.  Ranger station is about ½ mile away if you need maps or someone official to talk to.  Not a lot of options for takeout food, if that's your thing; the two restaurants up the road aren't exactly culinary treasures.  But the scenery makes up for any shortcomings.  Lake Quinault is a jewel.

We spent 2 nights at Big Creek and it was ok, nothing to write home about. We arrived on opening day and were one of the first campers, so we had our pick of sites. We chose#42, which was nice--spacious enough for a campervan, 2 humans, and 2 big dogs. Also nice were the 3 trails surrounding the campground (1 mostly flat, about 1.8 miles long, that encircled the campground, the other 2 were uphill hikes with views). The campground itself was ok, some sites more private than others. Bathrooms were pit toilets--no sinks, no showers--but clean enough. I think my biggest gripe (and the reason for the 3-star rating) is that Big Creek Campground just didn't deliver on the "exceptional scenery" part of the website's description. It's a second growth forest with mostly small Doug firs and (I think) vine maples, with a few hemlocks thrown in. I'd say "scrubby scenery" is more accurate.

This is a great getaway spot--quiet, not too crowded, and with the Robert Ferguson Observatory just up the road (time it right and you can get in on some of their events, which are very cool).  The campsites on the spur back up into shade, a welcome relief in the summertime.  "Glamping" sites available with reservations.  No cell service but high-speed internet is available for a fee at the Visitor Center.  A great place to camp if you're looking for a laid-back outdoor experience in the wine country.  (And dogs are allowed, always a plus for those of us with K9s.)