Taking the turn opposite the trailhead, you get only about 100 yards until large rocks block the way. Likely possible in a Jeep, but we wouldn’t risk it in a truck.

Why we booked: Came to see Lassen NP. Manzanita Lake Campground canceled on us, and we needed a spot with plenty of FCFS availability.

Campground: Basic USFS campground. Heavily wooded with pine and sequoias, sites relatively spacious, vault toilets and threaded water spigots throughout. We were able to fill our tank by connecting a couple of hoses. Some spots for okay solar—we were getting 200W of a possible 400 after picking a sunny campsite in the summer. Being on a 55mph road, you do get road noise that dies down at night. Probably makes this a better campground for RVs than tent camping. Combining Verizon and T-Mobile with our router and booster let my wife and I work on video calls with few problems.

Quirks: Huge stacks of free firewood due to work done since a huge fire swept through the area a couple of years ago.

Site: Ours was one of a handful that can fit bigger rigs. Most folks should be able to get in here just fine—but if you're bigger, be good at backing.

Nearby: The southwest Lassen NP entrance is about 20 minutes away. The town of Chester is 20 minutes the other way, with propane and diesel and some decent food.

Value: Perfect!

Why we booked: Seemed like the most solid spot for a quick stay close to Key West, which we were visiting mostly for Dry Tortugas NP.

Campground: Parking lot vibes. All the things you'd expect from a private campground in a super popular RV area: tight spots, gravel, well-run but unspectacular.

Quirks: Huge-ass iguana in the tree when we checked in. Adorable frog on our box when we left.

Site: Just barely squeezed a 27-ft trailer and heavy-duty truck in there. It's Tetris.

Nearby: Despite a Key West address, the campground is on Stock Island. A late night bike ride felt a little sketchy, and one night, a local friend we made at the bar insisted on driving us home because it wasn't a super safe place to wander around. FWIW, we had some great meals close to the campground.

Value: Yeah…probably fair. Not a lot of land to go around down there. Doesn't feel great for what you get, but that's the game.

Why we booked: It was either this or a private campground that's closer to the city but an RV parking lot that costs 4x.

Campground: Run down at best. Place needs some serious love, especially the asphalt. 

Quirks: It's a good little drive into the campground. It's also CRAZY dark at night, so your choices are blasting lights and blinding campers or running over a possom.

Site: Meh. 

Nearby: Riding bikes around the park was pretty sweet. Saw lots of birds and a few gators. The stroll around the campground was pretty okay, as well. But as soon as you leave the park, you're fighting traffic that's fighting veteran potholes.

Value: Probably fair.

Why we booked: We wanted to check out Austin and prefer park campgrounds to RV resorts in general. Having hookups meant we could take our time and stay awhile, especially at the price.

Campground: A well-maintained campground with a mix of nomads, retirees, and families. Just about what you'd expect from a solid state park campground. 

Quirks: Late check-in can be a bit tricky. Solar might not always be easy. I've heard the park gets mobbed by day-use in the summer.

Site: 20 in the Big Oak loop was just right for us. Lots of Carolina Wrens! Easy in and out with our 27' travel trailer and F250.

Nearby: Hiking trails, the Lower Falls, and the Onion River are all nearby. It's not super feasible to bike, as you're out a ways from most amenities, but car access to pretty much anything you need.

Value: Unbeatable.

Six stars if we could. Not to be confused with the nearby private campground, which has full hookups and is much less interesting IMO.

We stayed on the southern edge of the campground and used Starlink with a pole for the internet we needed to keep our jobs. This would be possible at most sites, but some others in this outside ring had tall enough mesquite that you might have a bad time. Site was a little bit tight for our 27' trailer and full-size truck—we were definitely pushing the limits of what that part of the campground could accommodate.

It's the largest campground in the park, with a wonderful nature trail nearby. In a few minutes, you can walk from your campsite, through reeds, into the desert, and out to the Rio Grande. Birds abound. You'll see coyote and, if you're up late, javelina. 

We'll be coming back for sure, but also want to check out Cottonwood next time.

We passed through with out 27' camper and full-size truck for a couple of nights in the winter. Exploring this under-the-radar park was our main goal, and we were impressed by what we saw. The campground was, well, a parking lot.

A couple of trailheads leave from here, and backpacking is really what it's all about here. Biking wouldn't be much fun, as the only road into this area is SUPER steep and gets fast traffic. Proximity to the visitor's center is probably the biggest plus of this location. There's some decent birding here, if that's something you're into.

Otherwise, it's a cold, windy experience in the winter. Make sure you're ready for higher elevation and the temps that come with it.

We spent three days in December here as a basecamp for White Sands. Everything was what we expected, and the cost per night is just about right. It's a solid option, but we'll probably look for something a bit wilder the next time we're in town. I'd recommend this to anyone who needs full hookups, needs to stay close to town, or gets KOA discounts.

Gorgeous campground, from the saguaros all the way down to the bathroom signage. We stayed for a couple of nights in the A loop, which gave us 30amp service (needed for heat) and plenty of solar. Getting our 27' trailer and full-size truck into the spot wasn't super easy: the campground road is narrow, and we really wanted to avoid damaging cacti. 

Once in the spot, though, we loved it. Our butt faced open desert, and we got a beautiful show each night as the golden mountains went red and faded to black. You're right in amongst the cacti here, which helps you feel like you're IN the desert, even when you have neighbors 30 feet away.

Great access to Saguaro NP's West Side, though this isn't a great campground for biking and only so-so for hiking. Unbeatable at this price or even twice it (but don't tell them that!).

Thanks to a SUPER accommodating NPS fella, we got site 111 for a couple of nights during the Dark Sky Festival. It's dry camping, which suited us for the short stay. We were stoked to be next to a little road that led to a nice birding spot and the little airport. Super charming…

Until the generators kicked on! I was bewildered, because I hadn't realized that there's a private campground right across that little road. If you're after a little peace and quiet, book on the opposite side of the campground. 

Proximity to the main visitor center is a huge plus, as are the two nearby dump stations. It's not in a particularly beautiful part of the park, which is huge. You'll need a car to explore. We biked to a couple of trailheads, but the park's scale really does force you into car mode.

Organ Pipe Cactus NM is a treasure, and for a couple of working full-timers, this campground was perfect. 

We spent a long weekend here in site 24, which had a beautiful, unobstructed view of the sunset each night. Solar was ripping, even in February, and would be in any of the campsites. Nice picnic table and paved, level driveway made this feel a notch or two above most NPS sites. The dump station we only used once, but was looking brand new and worked perfectly. 

Quirk: packrats are pretty rampant here, so folks keep their hoods open and anyone who spends more than a night or two lights their undercarriage to scare the little guys away.

The campground is ringed by trailheads. A couple of roads give plenty of space for cyclers. It's a beautiful, beautiful spot. You're pretty far from groceries, so you'll wanna stock up before you come in.

We stayed in 134, right on the sand. Our 27' trailer (with butt over sand, incredibly) and full-size truck fit comfortably in our spot, and several folks with fifth wheels also looked to have plenty of room. With 50 amp electric and a daily pump truck for $20 (they literally suck your tanks into theirs), you basically have full hookups. For the price, I can't imagine it gets any better.

The campground itself is, if you look in one direction, a parking lot. Look the other way and you're on the same beach Navy SEALs train on. Mostly families out here having a good time.

Location is great for biking, with a separated trail that runs the strand all the way down to Imperial Beach and to ritzy Coronado. Driving into San Diego proper isn't too bad, as long as you don't mind Southern California driving in general.

One thing to watch out for: Thanks to rain, several beachside sites were getting taken over by sand. One family spent about two hours digging themselves enough room for backing into.

We're working full-timers with a 27' trailer and full-size truck who stayed here for a week in March. We had a front-row spot to the ocean with full hookups. Our spot was very, very tight for us, and to back in, we had to ask our neighbor to move his Jeep. We were just able to park our truck alongside the camper—the alternative was parking just 50 yards away, but with our nose jutting into the narrow campground road by a couple of feet. It's very much the full LA experience in this way.

The campground, thanks to rain, was mostly an unusable mud pit. Sunshine would've given us a few short trails good for walking dogs but not much else. We had friends stop by to see the rig and got charged a $10 parking fee…which I get, but yeah. You're pretty isolated: walking isn't a great option, and given cars blasting on the PCH, neither is biking.

I'd recommend this to folks who HAVE to be on the Malibu coast with full hookups. Otherwise, I'd choose state parks down the road (still Malibu) or, if you're looking for a base camp to explore LA, look elsewhere.

We're working full-timers with a truck and trailer. We stayed here for five days, most of which were at 185 with no hookups and one of which was site 1 with electric and water. There's a nice variety of sites here, with everything a little bit different. If equipment were no object, or we were staying shorter, we'd choose 125 or one of its neighbors. These are in a eucalyptus grove with the golf course behind, and so a little bit secluded and quieter.

The campground itself could use a facelift, with fading signs and some potholes in the road. Let's hope the most recent improvement—a $10 pay-by-card dump station—helps fund some of those upgrades. Can't speak to the token showers or other amenities. We saw a few eucalyptus that had fallen recently, and another that fell the day before we left. Consider camping toward the middle of the lower loop if that sort of thing worries you.

Highlights for us were the nearby boardwalk (an excellent half-mile loop for birding and strolling), the view from the nearby hotel's restaurant, and everything about the little café adjacent to the campground. If we golfed, I'm sure that the course would have impressed, too.

Easy five stars, even with the rain we got.

Stayed in site 185 for five days in April. As working full-timers, this site suited our biggest need: clear sky for Starlink and solar. We got consistently good speeds with Dishy on a flagpole, and with 400w on the roof, we almost made it five days without a generator at all. (Lots of furnace use overnight is what got us!) Like all sites, this one was tight for a 27' trailer and full-size truck, but it wasn't awful. A few of the nearby sites are much, much harder to get into, as they're diagonal in the wrong direction w/r/t the one-way road. I'd recommend checking your spot on Google Maps satellite view before booking.

The campground itself was gorgeous. Big old redwoods everywhere, the Big Sur River running fast, and a nice little nature center that's open a few hours each week. I read there that the current Main Campground is being phased out—these might be your last years to camp in the redwood trees here.

EDIT: During the last days of our stay, our Southwire surge protector threw an "open ground" error. This is a super dangerous issue than can lead to hot skin on the camper. Maintenance assured me that it was just my new equipment not liking their old wiring…but didn't have an answer when I told him that my surge protector worked at other podiums around the campsite. MAKE SURE YOU'RE USING SURGE PROTECTION WHEN YOU STAY HERE. And have a backup spot in case you can't use their power. We went without heat for big parts of three nights.

We spent almost two weeks in site 112 with 30 amp, a water spigot about 80’ from our inlet, plenty of solar, and a large open space on our left side. Spot was level and plenty room for our 27’ rig and truck. A favorite roosting tree for a couple dozen buzzards was right behind the site. Nice show from them each night.

Two quirks here: first, dump station is free, but requires you grab a key from the camp store during business hours. Budget some extra time waiting in line—the store stays busy. Second, site numbering isn’t clear. You might want to stop by and ask about your site before you roll up. It’s mostly families and retirees here, as you’d expect at any reasonably developed campground.

Plenty of good birding to be had around the campground and adjacent hiking trails, which are flat and easily accessed.