Michael C.

Bay Area, CA

Joined May 2019

New RVers with a 19' Coachmen Apex Nano 191RBS, We're looking for great spots along the west coast and gold country. Let's go panning!

Great views, well-kept facilities, a little pricey

We stayed at C3 in McClure Point for 3 nights at $40/night. The website was very helpful in choosing a site that had the view we wanted, and to help plan where we'd place the trailer. One interesting thing about the camp is that most of the spots you'd want to place your trailer in are on the "other" side of the electric/water connections (for us, a gazebo was on the "right" side). This was fine, but make sure your hoses/cords are long enough to get around to the other side of your rig.

Most the sites (at least in the C loop) have good shade and views. We were able to park right under a tree to help keep the inside cool. One thing we found was that some of the branches would drag across the roof during the day due to wind, making a slight sound.

The site we were at (and most of them) have a gazebo with a picnic table and a grill, which is great. Some appear to have a fire pit, but burning wood was off-limits at this time of the year.

Most of the activities were at the other site, Lake MacSwain, which is 8 miles down the road near the entrance (yes, it's an 8-mile drive from the gate to McClure Point). There is one dump station and it's there at MacSwain. A bonus here is that there are 2 actual dumping points at the dump station, side-by-side.

There is a small general store at MacSwain where you can buy food and camping items. When we were here, there was a model plane "convention" flying off the lake, which was pretty fun to watch. You can rent small watercraft and paddle/pedal around the lake.

As far as animal friends go, we did see a couple tarantulas (one across the road and one on the way down from the entrance). They're harmless and kinda fun to watch. We also saw a couple deer and select of birds: turkey vultures, bluebirds, acorn woodpeckers, finches, Canadian geese and various ducks.

Quiet and spacious, relaxing views of trees and sound of waves crashing

We decided on this park based on the reviews and pictures. It was out first attempt at boondocking, and we noticed water and dump was available on the premises, so we figured we were set. Unfortunately, when we arrived all of the water faucets were placarded with E. Coli warnings! I only brought up about 1/3 of a tank of water along with 6 gallons of drinking water. Given this, we immediately went into conservation mode! We ended up picking up 4gal of drinking water and pouring it into the fresh water tank for dishes and flushes.

We chose Site #7, which was one of the few "shared" pads. Even so, it was a left site so our door faced out towards trees. You can definitely hear the waves crashing from the site, which was awesome. Just loud enough to hear, but not overwhelming. Highway 1 is about 200m from the campground, so you will hear the occasional car drive by. Walking around I'd say Site #10 is the best…very isolated and a great view of trees all around.

I can confirm there is no cell service nor wifi at the campground. We had to drive about a mile north to pick up a signal. There are a couple restaurants close that do have wifi.

I recommend taking the canyon loop trail, and also take the short trail down to the actual Stillwater cove. The trailhead is in the day use area. I'd also recommend visiting Fort Ross and Shell Beach, which has great tidepooling at low tide (the camp host posts the tides at the campsite).

We saw the camp host was on site, but we didn't actually see them at all. We just placed our receipt on the dash in case they came by when we were out.

Pleasant evening on the lake

We stopped here on the way to Utah and scored a “lakefront” spot. These are closest to the lake, but when we visited, lake mead was very low, so the shoreline was about 1/4 mile away. Sites had decent spacing. There are mobile homes across the street from the lakeside sites which was…different. It did get a bit windy at night.

Great spot close to Zion national park

Clean and quiet campsite about 20 minutes from Zion park. Decent size sites with gravel or concrete pads. Some with grass. Trees dot the camp giving some nice shade. Views of some nice cliffs from inside. We stayed on the river, and although there is a berm between the campers and river, there is a path to get there. You get about 30’ between campers. Service pedestals are at the head of the site, so you’ll probably need 20’ of hose. Nice store, pool and spa, plus gold panning slough. Campfire ring with adjustable grates. All in all, a great stay!

Large campground, great amenities, lots of trees

Fairly big campground, with some spots having a good amount of privacy in a forest. Our site (#162) was large enough, although not very level. The sewer connection was almost level with our dump pipe, so it made dumping a challenge. The "Downtown" area, which is the center of the campground, has spots for members only, but they're very close together. Maybe good for group get-togethers where you are 10' from your neighbor. Amenities include a pool, day room with tons of things to do, a separate day room for kids, a large fire pit, showers, store at the office, horseshoe and 2 shuffleboard courts. While we were there, they played movies at sunset next to the pool. Close to Yosemite, the Sugarpine railroad and a decent-sized town. Temps were in the 80's. Overall a very nicely maintained place to stay. Staff seemed a bit aloof, but maybe they were all just busy. It's a large place. We actually loved the interaction with the staff at 49er RV Park, which was a lot smaller.

First to Review
Friendly and quiet campground near many activities.

Great first trip for us! 49er was quiet and well-maintained. The staff was very friendly! They met us at the office when we pulled up and helped us get to the site (#45), and back in. Several nice amenities on the site: gravel pads, full hookups, including sewer, cable, water and 30/50A service. Small picnic table. Since we have a smaller trailer, our site was pretty compact. Quiet hours 10p-8a.

The campground has a well-stocked market, a campfire circle (s’mores and stories every evening!), an activities/dining hall, and full bathroom/shower. Free gold-panning lessons on the site. The office has a good-sized bookshelf with plenty of good books and magazines. Pet walking area (lit at night). Cool ‘49 theme throughout the camp site.

Nearby attractions include Columbia state park, which is a preserved miners town, Moaning Caves SHP, Railtown, New Melones lake. We took a trip up to Twain Harte for a craft fair, then stopped at Sonora for shopping.