Buena Vista Aquatic Recreational Area

First night of a two month road trip from Sacramento to Kentucky. We decided to take 40 instead of 80. We'd thought about a trip into Carrizo Plain so this was the perfect place to stay. It was close to 5, with all pull through sites. The place is huge and sits on a nice lake that is very busy in the summer. It is also pretty clean. I mistakenly booked a non-hookup site. And since we got there just before the office closed, it was too late to change sites, legally. We thought about doing it anyway. If we were going to stay a second night we would've. Anyway, great place to camp this time of year. And the Verizon signal was strong enough for us to watch the Kings beat the Warriors!

I see negative reviews here, but they're from the summertime. We hit it in March, and found it to be very pleasant. The sites along the lakeside are the premium spots. Pretty laid back and not many campers. It's kinda in the middle of nowhere and really seems far away if you're coming from CA Highway 58. But, it's close to I-5 without being so close you can hear it. Bicycling is good here, with a bike path next to the access road. Lots of agriculture nearby, so I imagine it can smell pretty ripe in the summer. Well maintained when we were here.

I don’t often give negative reviews but Buena Vista Aquatic Rec stands out. 1.There are major stockyards in the vicinity and particularly when the wind blows in from the west the stench is BAD (and this was in January)! 2.The bathrooms are cramped, decrepit and poorly maintained. 3. Cancellation fee is $38 - even if canceling months in advance! (be sure to read ALL the fine print as there are other onerous stipulations)! I could go on, but other folks have already mentioned the bad roads, party scene, poor maintenance, etc.

Great for families. Boden allowed and the lake is beautiful. They have a lot of rules and restrictions which is normal for campsites. The cost including $5 add a for each of my two dogs. Daily charge was 33 + 10. It was pretty clean and I did not encounter any flies but I don't think the flies come out until later in the summer. Very cool and windy but a light sweater was about all that was required. Parking sites are gravel and include picnic table and Fire ring. I stayed in the side with water and Electric but I believe there are sites without the hookups that are cheaper. Tent camping is also allowed. I would come here again if in the area. Bathrooms and trash are included as well bathrooms or nothing fancy but we're clean. No showers. Had four stars with T-Mobile cell and had internet pretty much all of the time.

My first stop using campendium to find a place!
I paid for site 28 which was listed as shaded (its not) and not lake view but its pretty close to Lake view! Its on on non living side across the little road. I have a pretty view out my bedroom window so thats nice.
Site was listed as $24 but there was an $8 reservation fee. Says dogs are $5 per dog per day but they didn't ask us about dogs but did tell us dogs must be leashed.
They were very clear that if we unhook our toad vehicle even for a second we will get charged for it.
Flies are rough but I don't smell anything like other reviews.
Bathrooms are a WRECK tho. Idk how the showers are even supposed to work. So those really lowered my cleanliness score. And fire pit had a bunch of trash in it.

Not bad for a night just passing through and I could see how it could be nice to stay for a few nights if you have the lake view. Other spots kinda look like parking lot spots.

Yes, there are a fair amount of flies here, it was nice to be forewarned!
Mid week during this season there are plenty of open sites.
I took a walk and preferred the view of the lake along campsite numbers 20’s through 40’s. There is also someone running a generator at this end, and since those camp sites at the other end have hookups it’s likely to be quieter. I also noticed a loud buzzing that seems to be coming from either the building near the boat launch or it’s the large light over there.

Driving into the park, we thought "what a beautiful park". And it was. We had a pull through site on the water; roads were paved, there was grass which was a welcome site after so many parks were just dust and dirt. We rode our bikes around the park and down to the boat launch and store. However, the coots are all over....and so is their poop. There was a concrete place to put chairs on but we had to tiptoe around duck poop to get there. And there are flies! Two or three came inside every time the door was opened, and the side of our car would get covered in them. It just wasn't pleasant and I'm glad we didn't stay more than 2 nights. If it weren't so far off I-5, it would be a good place to overnight.

Sorry, but I can't remember what we paid here as we reserved it a week or two ahead of time - just put 30 as it was somewhere in that range. We wanted a last night stop somewhere in this area after a week's trip, so picked this as we like water features. While the campground is laid out nicely - in two big u shape roads and all sites are long pull thrus, it was the lack of camper control and common courtesy that was unacceptable. We were here in September, 2020 during COVID. There had to be 15 or so people in the site across the road from us - well behaved, but there is a 10 person limit. And then there was the birthday party in the site next to them... literally 60+ people (we saw only one mask) with amplified music on two giant speakers. Their friends kept showing up and parking in the empty site next to us. The Sheriffs came 4 times... on the 2nd or 3rd time they should have been asked to leave. The trash and mess in the morning was actually quite funny. Also in a crowded situation I don't like seeing dogs off leash. And we have a dog... Just not our style... and maybe bad luck to be by the campers from hell. But I did do a campground review video as mid-week non-summer might be ok!