Balanced Rock Park

Beautiful drive down a dairy farmers dream on both sides but the last quarter mile is straight down a windy road into a valley with 0 cell service. Sharp turn down a steep embankment into the “balanced rock park” and there were already rigs in all the spots but one. Rutted, buggy and nightmares all night that we would have rocks fall on us.

Our saving grace was at the far end there was a car camper in the way of me making a 75pt turn with our 34’ TT and he luckily hadn’t setup yet and graciously moved so I could turn around otherwise I was SOOL!

Recommended for car campers, truck campers and vans. If you are towing know your capabilities and scout it out before driving down because you may get stuck! Lots of loud 18/Wheel traffic that echos loudly off the canyon as they are mining on this road.

Balanced rock was down the road, we drove to it but it is a scramble straight up so we skipped the hike with our 3yo.

I arrived on a Saturday night and most of the spots were taken but I managed to get a spot on the side of the little river. I did not get to stay too long but it was a great spot to stay at for the evening. However when I was getting my car set up to sleep, I did get a lot of gnats in my car from having the lights on and didn't realize until it was too late. Otherwise I really enjoyed this spot! It was like staying in a canyon slot because of the towering cliffs on each side. There was grass, trashcans, water spigots, picnic tables and some spots had overhangs to sit under. I would highly recommend!

This is a beautiful park with a handful of sites right on the water. There’s a pit toilet (that we didn’t use), trash cans, and water spigots. Not sure if the water is potable, but we used it for bathing with our solar shower. Seemed fine for that. The river was full of algae while we were there, but still really pretty. So many birds and crickets that it felt like we were in a jungle! Heard owls, doves, and eagles! Watched the bats in the evening. It was lovely. HOWEVER, the flies were absolutely awful. Probably because of the algae in the river. They were relentless. Would not leave us alone and got into the camper. Made it hard to sit outside for very long. If you’re walking or moving, they don’t bother you. Sitting still they will cover you. We walked about a mile down the road to Balanced Rock and did the short hike. It was pretty neat!
We would stay there again. Hopefully less buggy in other times of the year.

This is a nice place for an overnight if you are passing through. If you are a kayaker, it’s perfect!
There was one, possibly two, sites big enough for our rig. Ram 2500 long bed and 32’ trailer. Very nice spot right on the stream, rock walls on both sides. Noise echoes down here, could hear everyone’s conversation
Make sure if you’re in a tent, do not set up on the grass, they run sprinklers very early. Our neighbors found this out the hard way!
Fire rings, tables, trash cans and vault toilets. I didn’t use the toilets, not sure of conditions
Muskrats playing in the stream. Swallows flying among the rocks. Heard coyotes, didn’t see them. Would stay again if I’m in the area. Balanced Rock was a nice early morning hike!

Great overnight spot. Lot of kayakers come and go for access to the stream. It was surprisingly cool temperatures considering you’re kind of in a canyon. Lots of garbage cans It is OK for a big rig, would fit in there as we have a 34 footer but wouldn’t recommend anything bigger than that. Tents galore. Spectacular views. Long winding roads to get in to the park. No designated spots just random areas to park No cell service at all

Several fire pits, super friendly locals enjoying the park for the day and overnight. Some teens came in and goofed around on the playground equipment until dark, but left after sunset and didn’t bother anyone. Gorgeous rock formations to be seen by day. Black as pitch at night. Lots of fish jumping in the little river. Note: loooooong walk to the pit toilets from the back camping sites. Choose wisely.

Mostly no defined sites, just pick a spot along the posts parallel to the creek. Way more beautiful than expected- the little canyon is lush and cool. However, the black flies were HORRID around the tables, grills and trash cans. Trash was left around, despite there being numerous trash cans. Vault toilets were surprisingly clean and didn’t smell terrible. Planned to stay 2 nights but left after 1 when we were able to see everything we planned and weren’t super inclined to stay. All of our neighbors only stayed one night as well. Not terrible, but not super great either.