Pickett CCC Memorial State Park Campground

We were there the last weekend In July, 2022. Chose the destination for hiking and paddling. The plan was to meet family who have recently purchased Origami Paddlers. I paddle an inflatable paddle board. We pull a Vintage Serro Scotty Travel Trailer - 50 Years Old. A-8 had a steep drop-off from the entrance side of the pull-through. We bottomed out but were able to get through without damage. Electric at the exit side of the pull-through. Site was a gravel wash exacerbated by recent heavy rains. We were able to get plugged in and level enough to sleep. Great hiking (loved Hazard Cave) but Paddling is where the problems began. The road to the boat dock was gated off. I went to the office to inquire about access for my paddleboard and renting a kayak for my husband. I was informed that while personal kayaks and canoes are permitted on the lake, regulations did not expressly state that personal paddle boards are permitted, so while canoes, kayaks, and paddle boards are rentable, personal paddle boards are not permitted. My sister’s paddlers are hybrid paddle boards and kayaks, so permissible IF USED IN the kayak form. Exasperated by the lack of logic, I chose to get on the lake anyway. A Ranger was dispatched to remove me. While he was addressing me on my personal paddleboard, a rental paddleboard passed with no comment. I am 61 years old and generally compliant. We were humiliated and so angry at the unnecessarily literal interpretation of a written reg (it did not say that personal paddle boards were prohibited and the boat dock permitted rental paddle boards) and subsequent dispatching of a Ranger we broke camp a day early and left.

Looking at pictures and other reviews, I thought the campground would offer better shade, but most if not all of the sites will catch sun during the day. The sites on the outside of the loop, next to the forest, offer the best shade. The campground road is one-way and hookups are on the wrong side coming in so you have to swing wide to get into your site, or have extended water & electric lines. We have a 25' Class C, so not a big deal. Leveling equipment or blocks are a good idea as many sites are uneven. Sites in the center of the campground are quite exposed and not much privacy. We stayed in Site A07 which was nice, and with our RV positioned in front we had nice privacy.

A very large black bear wandered through our site around midnight our first night. It snooped in our supply totes (no food stored in them) that we had stored on the back carrier and rocked our RV. We yelled at it and it sauntered off, down the road, towards the other campers. I was grateful not to be in a tent! The Whip-poor-wills sing all night. Very nice to hear.

The trails and forest are beautiful. Check out Pogue Canyon. Kildeer Arch and the sandstone formations are spectacular.

Zero cell phone service through Verizon. The ranger station has good wifi if you need to connect, but it's only available right next to the building. We were able to get 4 TV channels via air antenna.

Lots of ticks in May!

We stayed here in April 2022 at site A7. We loved this spot but wanted to share some things about this site that might impact your stay, plus some observations about other sites. When we stayed near the end of April the trees had not filled in yet. The sun rose on the site side of our camper, which meant our site was in full sun all day. At this site, we could have used solar, but we had our dogs with us, so we hooked up in order to have A/C for them. Even once the trees fill in it might be possible to use solar here. This site was very spacious and quite private, which we loved. I'm adding video and photos to this review. The main road is just below the site, but because its in a remote area there really wasn't a lot of road noise.

The trashcans and bathhouse were far--the trashcans were large dumpsters shut inside a cage. It was inconvenient but appreciated because of the bear warnings at the park office and on the website.

Other sites: The bathouse was located directly next to site A19--had I stayed in that spot I would have felt like people were constantly walking through my site. The dump station was directly across from site A19. While we dumped I could have had a conversation in a normal voice with the people who were staying in that site. Sites A20 and A21 were also very close to the dump station. Site A13 had a trail right next to it (it was marked as Ladder Trail), so I would not have liked staying in that spot either.

Access: The road closest to where we got off of I40 was undergoing a widening project in April 2022, but otherwise, it was easy to get there. The campground is a small loop, and it looked like most of the spots on the right side, like ours, had the electric on the wrong side. It did not pose a problem for us because our electric cord is long. We did not hook up to water.

Location: Beautiful! There was plenty to do, from paddling on the lake to miles and miles of trails with caves, natural bridges, and interesting rock formations. We purposefully booked the trip on the tail end of the Lyrid meteor shower. On our first night, we left our lights off and watched the fireflies dance around the campsite after it got dark. We went to bed pretty early with plans to get up around 2 to check out the stars and try to see meteors. We laid out there for about an hour and didn't see any meteors and agreed that it just wasn't as dark as it was on our one night under the stars near the Badlands. But the stars were plentiful and beautiful, and it WAS darker than anywhere else we have gone (besides South Dakota).

Cell service: I selected No Service because we did have one bar, but only if we were inside near our WeBoost. I did call a family member back home in GA to find out what time it was because one of our phones was showing Central time and one was showing EST and we just wanted to double check. But again, I was standing next to the WeBoost when I made the call. There is wifi at the park office, easily accessed even after hours by taking a picture of a QR code they have posted on the door.

Noise: The campground and people staying there were pretty quiet during our stay.

We loved it here, including the activities. We didn't have time to hike the Hidden Passage Trail since we were only there for one full day, but we hiked all the others that were close by. Check the calendar before your stay because they have Ranger-led activities that looked interesting. We would have done one that took place during our stay but we didn't want to leave the dogs any longer than we already had to hike and paddle.

We arrived shortly after the check in closed but we were returning guests from previous years. This also was an overnight route stop and picked this park because of past experience here at the park. After the thunderstorm passed - the camp hosts came by to check in with us to see if we needed anything and to welcome us to the park. Hosts were very friendly and a pleasure to talk with. This is one park on our list to return to and spend more time in the park. This park also did not have Verizon cell service but we knew that when we booked our reservation.

I have not camped here as I live near. However I often walk the campground. It’s hilly and shady, nice spots. Double check with office if you have a big rig. The park is free for day use and has a cute little lake, swinging bridge, beach and trails. The very large picknick area has tables and restrooms. You are able to put your own kayaks in the water and they do have roll boats for rent. The park does not have cell service or wifi.