Laura C.

Ridgeway, SC

Joined March 2018

Tent Camping with a toddler

A nice surprise!

When we first got here we weren’t sure but it turned out to be quite nice! It’s small and the sites are semi close together but most people were there to fish and were gone early in the morning for the day. Big trees provided nice shade. Picnic tables and fire pits. Super clean FLUSH toilets yay! We walked down to the river and hung out, brought our chairs and some wine. The river was nice and our toddler liked playing in the small amount of sand there was. We had our dog too. $10 per night.

Anyone’s dream campsite!

26! You want site #26! You get an entire point/peninsula to yourself with a perfect view of the mountains! Put your paddle board/kayak or whatever’s in right there. A few great hammock trees. This place is amazing and the best campsite we’ve ever had. The camp hosts were great, the place was pristine!

Free, Private, beautiful drive/setting!

This campsite is free! The drive is so gorgeous right below snow covered mountains. Deer frequent the campground. Has everything you need from a picnic table and fire pit to tent space or you can car camp as you have your own parking spot. There are a few double parking spots as well. Pit toilets. Nice and small/quiet.

Wildlife galore! FREE

We loved loved loved this campground! It is just an open circle and you can pitch a tent anywhere or car camp around it. You don’t usually find FREE camping in the middle of a National Park so this was awesome. Bison walked right through the campground, prairie dogs surrounded it and coyotes howled in the (not so) distance. There are covered picnic tables which are nice in the heat of the summer.

Free and dispersed!

Well it’s free and in an AWESOME location. Lots of hiking around. Only a few actual tent pads but you can set up anywhere. No fires! Pets are OK.

A parents dream!

Our stay here was perfect! We don’t usually stay at campgrounds Bc we prefer dispersed camping but this was great. We requested a specific site and they were very accommodating. So friendly. Impressed with the camp store. Everything clean and well maintained. We got a spot right in front of the playground which was perfect for our toddler. The trees provided nice shade. They even let us drive our car up. There’s also a brewery in walking distance.

Beautiful!

Where else can you find FREE camping in a National Park? This place is beyond beautiful. It can be very windy in a wide open meadow and hot but there are covered picnic tables at least. The views ans wildlife are just unbeatable. Trails all around, very clean pit toilets, a lot of space and just plain gorgeous and peaceful.

Not my crowd

So we camped at CatfIsh Bay which Is walk up only/no reservatIons and ended up in probably the worst spot (#1.) Don’t get me wrong there are some pretty spots here on the water but I could just tell by the crowd it was probably going to be trouble. We were woken up at 4am by a man screaming at his teenage kids and 2 drunk girls on the other side of us yelling. Don’t get me wrong i like to have a good time but these were the kind of people where I couldn’t speak up Bc I didn’t want to get in a fight and/or murdered. Soooooo I just wouldn’t come here. We only did because were passing through on a longer road trip. The plus was it was only $6.

Great Park, Camping OK

The hocking hills park itself is awesome. Great trails, beautiful waterfalls, wonderous caves. They are all pretty short hikes and easy access. We enjoyed it with our large breed dog and toddler. The camping however left a lot to be desired. The sites were extremely close together and a racoon harassed us for a good part of the night. It was clean and pretty but just a little cramped.

Easy & Secluded Walk In - great for toddler

Love the privacy of this spot (#8) which is the closest walk in spot from the Parking area. We were able to hike in a ton of gear (coolers, dog bed, etc (with a little work and a few trips) and it was worth it for the seclusiveness. Having both toddler and dog we knew we couldn’t go far but this still felt like we were in the middle of nowhere.

Spot is right on the river and a great place to catch some sun on the rocks or rock hop. There are several hike options right from your site including a nice little waterfall. You will find more camp spots as you hike throughout.

This was a beautiful area with a lot to do and we will definitely be returning.