NEWHALEM CAMPGROUND A.K.A. NEWHALEM CREEK CAMPGROUND, NORTH CASCADES NATIONAL PARK

Colonial Peak and Pyramid Peak above Diablo Lake from the Diablo Lake roadside overlook

Newhalem Campground (A.K.A. Newhalem Creek Campground) is situated in North Cascades National Park and is located near the tiny town of Newhalem WA. The North Cascades are rugged and beautiful. Their lush green is due in large measure to the abundant rainfall the area receives. Lakes and rivers have a green or turquoise color from glacial runoff. There is a rich history of human occupation in the area dating back thousands of years.

Newhalem campground is heavily wooded and next to Newhalem Creek which can be heard from some of the campsites. It is very green with ferns, mosses, and tall trees. Campsites are well shaded. We felt as if we were in the middle of the forest, which in fact we were, and loved looking out of the windows of our 5th wheel.

We were there during the week in mid-June and Loop C was virtually empty. That said, signs placed on the campsite posts at each site indicated the place was booked solid for the upcoming weekend. Another interesting sign indicated that unreserved sites were free. I don’t recall ever seeing that before.

We enjoyed a number of short hikes up to 4 or 5 miles in length, some quite a bit shorter in the neighborhood of a few tenths of a mile, sometimes on boardwalks. There is hiking for all levels. We also took in the Diablo Lake Overlook which is found at roadside and provided for views shown in the photos below.

More details about Newhalem Campground are included in my Campground Report. [READ MORE…]

CAMPGROUND REPORT: RED BLUFF RV PARK, RED BLUFF, CA

Substantial tree coverage should mitigate the hot sun in summer months at Red Bluff RV Park.

Red Bluff RV Park was a one night stopover for us and it fit the bill nicely. It was far enough from I-5 that noise from that freeway wasn’t a problem but close enough that access to the campground wasn’t problematic. There was some local road noise but we weren’t disturbed by it inside the RV at night.

The campground was mostly full when we were there November 23, 2020. I don’t know how much of that had to do with the Thanksgiving holiday. It was a COVID-19 year. I got the feeling there were quite a few long-term campers there and I can understand why. It’s a relatively pleasant place as far as commercial RV parks go. I noticed some barbecues and other things that people tend to leave around outside when they are long-term residents but there was no sense of trashiness to the place. [READ MORE…]

PROSSER FAMILY CAMPGROUND, TRUCKEE, CA

In order to fit into campsite 23 completely it was necessary to park the pickup at an angle in front of the fifth wheel.

With 29 campsites Prosser Family Campground, A.K.A. Prosser Campground, not to be confused with Prosser Ranch Group Campground next door, is a small, Forest Service campground in Truckee, CA which is in the Sierra Nevada mountains at an elevation of nearly 6,000′. It is set amidst tall pine trees which create quite a bit of shade for most campsites, yet some sites get enough sun to allow solar equipped RVs such as ours to generate enough power so as to be able to avoid running generators (except to run air-conditioners). Typical, summer, Sierra mountain weather with temps in the 70s and 80s and low humidity would make that seem a less likely scenario. We experienced a heat wave the last time we were in Truckee with temps up to 90º or so and while it was quite warm in the RV we got by with running our Fan-Tastic fans without running the dreaded generators. (These roof-vent fans have multiple speeds, thermostats, rain sensors that close the lids automatically, remote controls, and airflow can be reversed at the push of a button so with one blowing in and one blowing out you can establish a circulation pattern through the RV.) [READ MORE…]

CAMPGROUND REPORT: FRENCH CAMP RV PARK, MANTECA, CA

Squeezed into site 117 at French Camp

We stayed at French Camp for one night as it seemed the best option for us as we were passing through from the Sequoia-Kings Canyon area on our way to Truckee, CA. Others may have made that drive in one day but we don’t like to travel for as long as that would require. Knowing that we would be coming from a week of boondocking and passing through California’s San Joaquin Valley which is often quite hot in the summer knew we wanted full hookups in order to have air-conditioning; empty our black and gray tanks, fill up on fresh water as we were headed to a campground without hookups, and to enjoy some nice long showers. [READ MORE…]

TRAVEL REPORT/PHOTO POST: IDAHO, WYOMING, COLORADO, UTAH

We were fortunate to be in Aspen early October when the fall colors were peaking. This shot is of the mountains known as Maroon Bells. They were named due to their color which is somewhat reddish and their shape which is reminiscent of bells.

My, how time flies. My last post was apparently made way back on August 7, 2019. Thats a few days more than 2 months ago but it seems like a million years! In that post I wrote about our travels to the Lake Tahoe area, Grand Canyon and Bryce National Parks (NP). Since then, where have we been? I mean where have we been… who can remember??? I’ll try… [READ MORE…]

Alpine Meadows (at Martis Creek Lake) Truckee, CA

This view of Emerald Bay and Lake Tahoe was taken a few steps from the roadway a little North of Inspiration Point where there are some roadside Turnouts.

This campground is situated about half way between Truckee and Lake Tahoe in the Sierra Nevada mountains in California. This would make for great mountain weather in the summer and winter sports in the winter but the campground is only open from May 15 to Oct. 15, so you’ll have to settle for the great weather 🙂 The area has beautiful scenery, an abundance of hiking and mountain biking, and a great deal of history. At $10 a night for people with interagency passes ($20 otherwise)  it’s an easy place to stay the 14 day limit [READ MORE…]

Campground Report: Potters Creek Campground, Canyon Lake, TX

Potters Creek Park Campground, site 74. Note the portion of the site where the truck is parked and how it slopes down to the campground road. Many if not most of the sites on the uphill (northern) sides of the campground roads are like this. Sites also include a separate area to the side for tow vehicle parking. that area is unused in this photo. You can see the concrete pier at the rear of it.

Potters Creek Park Campground, it is located at Canyon Lake, a reservoir created by the COE in Canyon Lake (a “census designated place”), TX, a part of Texas known as Hill Country, roughly halfway between San Antonio and Austin in what might be termed the south central part of Texas.

Like many COE campgrounds RV campsites here have water and electricity, paved campsites with decent spacing between them, and the campground is on the edge of a lake created by a COE dam. COE campgrounds are also known to be reasonably priced. Here they are $30 a day or if you have an interagency pass such as the Lifetime Senior Pass the rate is half that. We stayed at Potters Creek for 5 nights for $65, a sum less than many much less pleasant independent campgrounds charge for one night. [READ MORE…]

Yucaipa Regional Park Campground, Yucaipa, CA

We stopped at a little stone bench somebody made along the trail to Zanja Peak in order to enjoy the view and snack on some trail mix. (Click or tap to enlarge.)

We stopped here for the second time in January of 2019 for a few days on our way from the Anza-Borrego Desert State Park area to the San Francisco Bay Area. We had been here once before and liked it enough we thought it was worth at least an extra day or two instead of being just a one night stopover. The park has quite a bit of bird activity this time of year. Although we didn’t see the osprey or a bald eagle reportedly seen recently, we did see red-tailed hawks, black phoebe, say’s phoebe, American coots, mallards, western bluebirds, yellow-rumped warblers, American robins and northern flickers and some LBBs (unidentifiable little brown birds).

The campground is adjacent to some hills. While there we enjoyed a hike to Zanja Peak that involved an elevation gain of 1,000 feet or so over roughly 2 miles one way, 4 miles out and back. Views were nice especially since nearby mountains had a dusting of snow. [READ MORE…]

Campground Report: Cajun Haven RV Park

I didn’t look closely at this campsite, but it was colorful and seemed the owner of the RV was exercising some inventiveness in decorating. To me this site was something of a ray of sunshine in an otherwise dreary environment.

We stayed at Cajun Haven RV Park as a one night stopover between New Orleans and our next one night stopover in Texas on our way toward Potters Creek Campground in Canyon Lake, TX. Reviews I found of Cajun Haven prior to camping there were a little bit mixed as they often are. In my own experience, management was very friendly, access to I-10 very convenient, and our campsite was pretty level as were the others because the campground is on a flat open field. There is a small lake or large pond at the campground. Apart from that written above and the rate of $20 for full hookups with 50 amp service, oh, and the free entertainment provided by ducks waddling around the campground there is little I can find to say about Cajun Haven on the positive side. [READ MORE…]

Campground Report: Claystone Park, Lake Tobesofkee, Macon, GA

View of Lake Tobesofkee from the campground at Claystone Park.

CAMPGROUND NAME: Claystone Park, Lake Tobesofkee Recreation Area
LOCATION: 6600 Mosley Dixon Rd., Macon, GA 31220
KIND: County
SEASONAL: No
RATES: We paid $25 for full hookups with 50 amps in November; rates may vary
STAY LIMIT: 7 days
CLUBS: None
RESERVATIONS ACCEPTED: Yes
FIRST-COME-FIRST-SERVED: Check with office
CAMPGROUND WEB SITE
CAMPGROUND MAP: see below
HOSTED: I don’t think so.
PHONE: 478-474-8770, 478-474-8771
EMAIL: None of which I am aware.
GPS: 32.83132, -83.77728
GOOGLE MAPS

Campsite map of Claystone Park Campground at Lake Tobesofkee, Macon GA. We stayed in #42. Campsites in the 40s have concrete slabs covering part of the sites (see map). Our site was easily long enough for our truck and fifth wheel. There would have been room for another vehicle as well.

ACCESS: Via paved surface streets
SITES: 43 or so
SURFACING: Asphalt for some, concrete and gravel combination for others
PULL THRU: Yes
BACK-IN: Yes
MAXIMUM RIG SIZE: Some sites such as the one we were in (42) could accommodate the largest of rigs. Many others were of good size.
TENTS: Yes
LEVELNESS: The sites in the 40s seemed more level to me. These are the pull-thru sites with concrete pads and full hookups.
SHADE: Not in the sites in the 40s, but elsewhere yes, quite a bit
SPACING: There is a grass median of maybe 20′ – 25′ between sites in the 40’s. In general, sites here are not stacked one on top of the other… there is some breathing room.
TENT PADS: While there are tent sites–with electrical hookups at that–I did not see tent pads.
FIRE GRILLS: Yes, for campfires and separate waist high BBQ grills, at least at some sites.
PICNIC TABLES: Yes
PETS: On leash

Click HERE for the full campground report.