McConnell State Recreation Area

The campground was nice. The spaces weren't too close to each other, and there were spaces for RVs as well as a few tent only sites. The park is located right next to the Merced River. We went in April and there were a lot of mosquitoes, so make sure you take bug spray.

The reason for the two-star rating was because the bathrooms were very dirty, and there was no camp host. The second point is important because this park is near the city of Modesto, California. As such, as other reviewers have said, there is a certain attitude by some of the guests who come to the campground to party. When we arrived at 7 p.m. there was a large group of about 15 people taking up the two campsites next to us who were blasting music very loudly, loud enough to be heard throughout the campground. The campground rules state that no loud music is allowed, and 10 p.m. is the quiet hour. Still, the music blasted until 3:30 a.m. With nobody to make them stop. They also ran a generator all night to power the stereo and bright lights. We were there on a Friday night, and I suspect that the proximity to the city might make this a weekly event. We were lucky that this was only a few hours from home, because we elected to abandon our second night and go home to get some sleep.

For this reason, I cannot recommend this campground.

This place was empty except for one other campsite and it was lovely! The bathrooms were clean but rugged at my end of camp. On the day use end they were much nicer. The showers were down there too but I didn’t use them. Cell service was good enough to work on zoom all day when I was here. Mornings were a little ripe with fertilizer from surrounding farms but it burned off with the fog and was actually fine. The coyote yips close by at night kept me close to the van cuz I’m chicken. I saw a ranger drive through once but otherwise nothing else. I would definitely stay here again.

We stayed here in September, 2020 - had to totally rearrange our plans due to fires, so this was a random un-planned stop. The ranger assigned our spot and that ended up being nice as we did not have to un-hook (lazy and for one night, why un-hook if we don't have to). Our site was a pull-thru, which was more of a wide spot in the road. Nice trees and a really nice day use area with river access! It was hot, so being able to get in the river (nice swimming hole) was a plus. Dogs are not permitted on the beach, so our Lab pup was sad (but what she doesn't know won't hurt her). Rangers were really nice - there was a homeless woman in her car with loads of stuff that they had to deal with as well as we had to deal with mosquitos... other than that nice! Easy access as we travel the 99 often.

Beside hwy 99, easy to reach, paved road, only cash, no cards, sites are not too bog but as we were the only rv we fit into no 17 very well, in fact we occupied no 15 and 17 with our 25 ft rig with view on an open trash container (what for the bear foodstorage?)
Shower ( cannot lock the door) needs token (75 c for 3 min), not clean and a bit rotten, only 1 coathook, no bench drinking water yes but no dump

This park is only a short distance off of busy Hwy 99, but is a world apart. Located on the banks of the Merced River the park has an abundance of large oak and sycamore trees. We stayed here on 2/13/2015, and only one other camper showed up. No rangers or host were on site. The grass needed to be mowed, the campsites raked, and the bathrooms and showers repaired. But, we loved the quiet setting and the abundance of wildlife, birds, squirrels, fish and coyotes. We would definitely return. Twenty camping sites, no hook-ups, & no dump station.