Headquarters Campground

My brother had talked-up this camp as his favorite in the area, so we had higher expectations. It also seemed from the reservation system that there were plenty of openings, so we thought we could show up without reservations mid-week in April.

When we arrived, we found only 3 sites without a reserved tag (and good thing we checked with the host because 2 of those sites had their signs blow away and the only remaining site was far too small from a trailer.) Our trailer is 22' (box) and I came within a couple of inches of running her against a boulder in the too-tight turn-around in the smaller loop. There are not many sites that are long enough or level enough for our relatively small trailer, and certainly none that would easily accommodate a trailer AND tow vehicle.

The camp is primitive and definitely in need of a deep sprucing up... especially at $32 a night with no amenities. To be fair, there are several sites that are steps from the river and would be well worth staying in if your RV is small or you're tenting it. There's ONE site that is exceptionally great and has a wonderful view of the river (didn't get the number.) The non-river sites were all just too small, impossible to back into, and too close together for my taste. The outhouses were also very primitive and gross - especially having just come from Tuttle Creek (Lone Pine) where you could have a picnic in their vault toilets.

We had no choice but to move on, but I'm not too broken up about it. I would not go back with an RV, but would consider it with a tent in one of the river sites. The private place just down the road (Mountain and River Adventures Campground) was much more up-to-date and more our speed... but overpriced.

Zero phone service on our Boost (Sprint) or Visible (old Verizon) networks.

Camped 5/4/21-5/6/21 (Tue, Wed, Thur nights). We reserved online and were charged $98 for 3 nights. This was the $30/night plus the $8 processing fee. Our senior pass got us half price (off nightly rate). Sites are back-in and have a fire ring, bear box, and picnic table. Water spigots and vault toilets are interspersed throughout the campground. (Water spigots are not the kind that have threads for a hose.)

We really liked this campground. However, it is not one for larger RVs. The roads in the campground are skinny and lined with rocks. So are the back-in sites. Our 21' popup and pickup truck barely fit, and it was one of the longer pads. There are a lot of short pads that would accommodate a car only. Some sites were full sun or part sun, others were in the shade. Ours was level, but some were a bit sloped. There was a nice paved handicapped site, and paved sidewalk to a vault toilet nearby.

VTs were clean and not smelly. The one in our loop even had a cleaning schedule posted. The camp host was friendly and took care of the campground. NOTE: The water spigots in our loop C put out somewhat brownish water - I wouldn't drink it. Another in the center area was not quite as brownish.

It was great to hear the rushing water, and we enjoyed the variety of birds we saw there, as well as the amazing views. We also swam which was nice since it was hot. We put one of our kayaks in, but didn't go far due to the rocks and rapids.

Our cell phones barely worked (went between 0 and 1 bar). Noise: Someone was running a generator, but not that near to us. The road is fairly well traveled, but traffic lessens at night. As for conveniences, there's a small store just down from the campground; a market and other conveniences are in Kernville.

Weren’t sure about camping here since there was only one review of it on Campendium and we had also never been to the area. We have a 2020 Winnebago Micro Mini pulled by a 2020 Ram Rebel. We fit perfectly in the site, however campers next to us had a larger 25ft trailer and they had a hard time getting around the turnaround. They had to drive over large boulders!! Careful.
Sure was great with good access to to river. Campground was clean. Bathrooms were clean. Plenty of water everywhere. Host was great. There wasn’t a lot of shade at our site. Some of the ones closer to the entrance had great trees coverage. Had a great time. Will go again.