Campground – Page 3 – Trailer Travels

West Mountain Campground, Idaho

On July 14th, 2019 we departed from Pine Flats Campground and headed north towards White Byrd, Idaho. However, the combination of leaving late, being injured, and feeling exhausted, limited us to 88 miles of progress. We made it as far as Lake Cascade State Park before giving up and staying a couple of nights in the West Mountain Campground on the western shore of Lake Cascade. This campground wasn’t our dream location, but it served us well. I began recovering from my ankle injury, and my wife and son enjoyed kayaking and fishing on the lake.

While at West Mountain Campground, we stayed in site 147. The site was covered in grass, had several large shade trees, a moveable picnic table, a fire pit, nearby water, and a beautiful view of the lake.

While there, my wife and son went fishing on their kayaks on Lake Cascade. When they returned, I asked how the fishing went. I was so hopeful that our son would have a good experience that I was primed for a fish story. My son sensed my gullible nature and laid it on thick. He told me a fine tale of him catching a 20″ largemouth bass and I gulped the story down hook, line, and sinker. He left me thus inspired for a few minutes and then fessed up. I couldn’t believe I was so had, but I must admit he played me well.

Later that evening, my wife and I stayed up until 2:30 am planning the remainder of our trip and making a few reservations where we thought they were necessary. Having a little more organization set us at ease and made the rest of the journey much more enjoyable.

Before retiring to bed, I prayed that I might be guided to seek appropriate care for my ankle injury. I felt impressed to see how it felt in the morning and as needed stop in McCall, Idaho to seek medical assistance. When I awoke in the morning, I recalled how much it hurts to stand and resisted having to get out of bed. I struggled to my feet and slid into the shower. After showering, we bandaged my wound, and miraculously, it felt much much better. I was able to walk almost normally and prepared the trailer for travel. We stopped in McCall for groceries but chose not to seek medical attention. While I was waiting for my wife to complete the shopping, I enjoyed a bright sundog that filled my soul with joy and truly began my restful vacation.

After acquiring groceries, we stopped at New Meadows, Idaho, for lunch. After lunch, we headed up Highway 12 towards O’Hara Bar Campground. We arrived at 5 pm, found three vacant non-reservable sites, and occupied one of them.

Nights	Total Nights	Miles	Total Miles
2	119	88	12949

Riverside Campground, Idaho

On June 12, 2019 we returned, yet again, to the Riverside Campground in Island Park, Idaho. For this visit we reserved site A-21. We have thought for sometime that this is the best site in the campground, and we were excited to test our hypothesis. We stayed four nights. Due to vacation and work, we already have two more reservations this year for this campground. However, we were unable to secure site A-21; it is well sought after.

On the 13th I had business in Rexburg, Idaho. My wife drove me to work, enjoyed Rexburg for the morning, purchased our groceries, and then we returned to the campground around 3pm. When we arrived at the campground, we met our friends and spent the weekend together. On Saturday we drove to Big Springs and enjoyed the crystal clear water and gazing at the giant trout. We enjoyed the rest of the weekend relaxing, talking to our friends, and returned home on Sunday.

Site A-21 was amazing! Our trailer fit easily, we had peace and quiet, and the view was splendid. the view to the east was of the mighty Henry’s Fork River and the view to the west was a beautiful dense forrest.

In August and September, we will be staying in site A-2. We think this site is second best to site A-21 and we’ll soon see.

Nights	Total Nights	Miles	Total Miles
4	114	634	12412

Cedar Mountain Recreation Area, Utah

On March 29, 2019, we departed from a winter wonderland for a little camping in the Cedar Mountain Recreation Area in central Utah. We uncovered the trailer and prepared it for another spring, summer, and fall full of camping, relaxation, and fun.

Our initial stop was on BLM land just south and east of Cleveland, Utah. The precise location is at 39.270189, -110.743703. We arrived at this location in the early evening of the 29th and stayed until about noon on the 31st. While in this location we had one vehicle pass by on the nearby road; the solitude was delightful.

The sky was quite dark in this location, but lights from Huntington and Cleveland were visible on the horizon to the west. The location would be good for stargazing, observing, and astrophotography. We experienced some scattered clouds in the evenings we were there, so we didn’t use telescopes or other equipment to enjoy the stars. However, we took a few moments each evening to enjoy the creation.

On Saturday we drove north to and then through the Nine Mile Canyon. It was a couple of hour drive away, but we’ve wanted to see Nine Mile Canyon for some time. It doesn’t seem to be on the way to anywhere, so now was as good as a time as any.

One of the more famous petroglyphs is the hunting scene illustrated here. There were many others worth seeing. Also, there are a few ancient ruins, a balanced rock, some old cabins, and some beautiful scenery. Well worth the drive.

On March 31st we moved to Goose Island Campground near Arches National Park. We met a couple of our sons and their families there and occupied the group site at the north end of the campground. The campground is in between the Colorado River and the highway. Also, there is a well-used bike path that goes right past the group site. Finally, each evening, just before sunset, a tour boat cruises up the Colorado River with a guide pointing out things of interest. After dark, the boat returns down the river with an associated truck on the highway outfitted with a huge spotlight and generator. The spotlight shines through the campground, across the river, and onto the cliffs. The guide in the boat points out things of interest illuminatef by the light, and they slowly move on. The light is amazingly bright and shines through tents, RVs, etc. During our stay, this occurred at about 9 pm, but in the summer months, this might happen as late as 10 pm. Good luck sleeping through this artificial 10-minute long sunrise. These conditions make this campground a bit busy and noisy. However, camping is always restful and relaxing and our six nights were wonderful.

We played games, sat around a campfire, played with grandchildren, read books, and rejuvenated. On one of the days, we drove to Canyonlands National Park. We walked to the top of Whale Rock and had lunch and enjoyed several of the scenic views. It was also fun watching my sons deal with their children in the gift shop. I watched, remembered the good old days, and thought how much better they are at fathering than I was.

We entered Arches National Park twice and enjoyed various hikes and views. I’ve wanted to hike the Fiery Furnace for years, and my son acquired a permit for six of us. It was a fun hike involving some simple climbing, squeezing through short narrow canyons, and experiencing several dead ends. The scenery was spectacular. I would like to return and hike the Fiery Furnace again and take many more of the small side trips.

We also drove to Dead Horse Point State Park. Fortunately, we have an annual state park pass that allowed us to enter for free. We drove to the overlook, took a look, took a picture, and left. We noticed that camping at the state park is $40 per night, but that likely includes hookups for RV’s and is a reasonable alternative for summer camping in the heat.

We thoroughly enjoyed our week of camping. It was relaxing, fun being with family, hiking, and enjoying the breathtaking scenery of southern Utah. In closing, I include the following panoramic view from Canyonlands National Park which captures the essence of our trip.

Nights	Total Nights	Miles	Total Miles
8	110	448	11778

Valley of Fire State Park, Nevada

As is our family tradition, we took off on Wednesday November 21, 2018 for a Thanksgiving holiday camping trip with numerous members of our family. We all returned home on Sunday November 25. This year we went to Valley of Fire State Park near Overton, Nevada. We stayed in group site 3. There were approximately 45 of us with numerous RVs and tents. This is definitely not low impact camping, but we did our best to leave the site better than we found it.

Various adults were assigned to cook breakfasts and dinners for the entire group. Each family was on their own for lunches. On Thanksgiving we had a huge traditional meal with turkey, a turducken, potatoes, stuffing, vegetables, and numerous pies! While camping for Thanksgiving is awesome, one of the best parts is scraping the waste into the fire pit and you’re done. Not quite this simple, but easier than at home.

The day time temperatures were in the mid 60’s and the lows were in the low to mid 40’s. During the days we played games, talked, worked on our RVs, and went on hikes. During the evenings we played board games and enjoyed the huge fires we built.

The geology and scenery are amazing in this part of Nevada. The slick rock is easy to hike on with great traction. It is simply a joy to hike to the top of peaks and ridges and enjoy the colorful views. It’s fun to watch the family grow over the years and watch grandchildren grow and out pace the aging grandparents, us!

I am thankful for a large and wonderful family that likes to be together. I am grateful for employment that gives me the opportunity to provide for this tribe of mine and enjoy time with them. Most of all, I am thankful for a great wife and mother who keeps us organized, gets us together, and sees to all of our emotional and physical needs, Thanks Beautiful!

Nights	Total Nights	Miles	Total Miles
4	102	736	11330

Riverside Campground, Idaho

On September 6, 2018 we returned to the Riverside Campground in Island Park, Idaho. For this visit we had reserved site B-9, but when we arrived, about dusk, other campers had completely set up their camp and we weren’t willing to uproot them. After talking with the camp host, we quickly settled on site B-14, changed the reservation sign, and moved in. We stayed three nights.

On the 7th I had business in Rexburg, Idaho. My wife and son drove me to work, enjoyed Rexburg for the morning, and then we all returned to the campground around 3pm. On Saturday we drove a few dirt roads looking for boondocking sites for future visits. We found quite a few nice spots in an area marked by Google as Free Use Canyon Number 1. We enjoyed the rest of the weekend relaxing and returned home on Sunday.

Site B-14 was great. We enjoyed the tree cover on both sides of the trailer. There was a nice bunch of trees between the trailer and the campground road which made the site quite private. Our son’s tent spot was close to the trailer, but still felt nicely tucked away in the woods.

Nights	Total Nights	Miles	Total Miles
3	94	636	10110

Riverside Campground, Idaho

On July 21, 2018 we returned to the Riverside Campground in Island Park, Idaho. This is the campground we visited just last month. For this visit my wife and I were alone and chose to stay in site A-5, but had to stay in B-11 for the first evening. Both are pull-through sites, but A-5 is right next to the Henry’s Fork River; it’s a beautiful site. We stayed here for eight nights and returned home July 29, 2018.

This trip was pure vacation with lots of fishing. In fact, we fished every day except Sundays when we attended Church. We fished the Henry’s Fork below the campground, just above the campground, and in Box Canyon.We also enjoyed a day on the Eagle Ridge Ranch fishing their small lake. We’ve had great luck on the lake in October, but the fishing in July was rather slow.

Best Sites

For our best site selection for this campground, see our previous post about Riverside Campground. In short, site 21 is the best and never available.

We keep coming back to this campground because it is spacious, quiet, well maintained, has water, and easy access to the river. It’s a great place. We have driven through every other campground between Riverside and Island Park and are happy returning here.

Nights	Total Nights	Miles	Total Miles
8	90	634	8958

Trial Lake, Utah

From July 13th to July 20th, 2018 we camped at Trail Lake Campground in the Uinta mountains of Utah. After a winter seeing little snowfall, the lake was quite low. I’d guess the water was 20′ lower than normal. With the gentle slope of the shore near the campground that resulted in the lake being an extra 100′ or more from the campsites.

The campground is at 9800 feet of elevation and has forested and open meadow sites. We stayed in site 59 which is a pull-through site near the beginning of the campground. The pull-through site was protected from the campground road by several large pine trees and provided ample shade. There were also trees throughout the site making it beautiful and easy to find shade from the afternoon sun. The site also had a nice view of the lake.

The site did not have many good tent spots. There was a small site near the table suitable for a four man tent. Large tents must be placed closer to the lake in the meadow area, but these sites are a bit sloped.

We were worried about two issues getting into Trial Lake with our truck and trailer. The first was the spillway you must cross to get into the campground. There is no water in the spillway, but it is a significant dip and I was a bit worried about bottoming out. We have a 27 foot trailer with about a 3 foot tongue for a total length of about 30′. We had no difficulty with the spillway and had likely a foot to spare before we would have rubbed the hitch or bumper.

The second obstacle was the tight turn near the end of the campground on the main loop. However, taking the turn wide and slow made it easy. I don’t think I would take a trailer the size of ours in the other two loops of the campground, but the main loop is not a problem.

While at Trail Lake we were joined by our daughter and her family. In addition, we had a friend of our son stay with us for several days. The nine of us were also joined for one day by two other sons and two of one son’s children. It was a bit tricky keeping track of who was there and who was coming and going, but it also made it really fun. One of our grandsons caught a fish which repeatedly “slapped him”. He loved telling everyone that he was slapped by a fish.

One night it was beautifully clear until about 11pm when we put out the fire and prepared for bed. We noticed lightening on the horizon and prepared our camp for a thunderstorm and associated wind and rain. The lightning got closer and closer, then we could hear the wind coming through the trees, and finally the rain began. For a couple of hours we enjoyed watching the storm come, linger, and then pass.

Other evenings began with spectacular sunsets over the lake. The clouds were thin and the sun shined through them just before setting. What a beautiful sight from a float tube while fishing.

With our new batch of guests we again hiked to Ruth Lake. It was fun to watch the little kids have fun in and near the water. Our dog jumped right in and swam out to his owner, our son, and his friend. That’s the first time we’ve seen him simply jump in and swim. He usually plays by the shore and doesn’t mind getting wet and muddy, but never before has he voluntarily swam.

We had so much fun hiking Bald Mountain that we sent our daughter and her husband and two of our older sons to try it. They said they enjoyed it, but I don’t think they liked it as much as we did. I guess we have to be careful not overselling things.

On July 17th our family departed and on the 18th the parents of our son’s friend arrived to take him home. The three of us were left alone for the first time in over a week. I was worried our son might be lost without others, but we had fun playing games, watching movies, and fishing at night until dark. One night he out fished both my wife and I and was very proud of himself. We were proud as well and were very happy that he’s learned to enjoy fishing. We had a great time and worked together well on the 20th to return home.

Two straight weeks in the Uintas was great. We added 48 gallons of fresh water to our initial 80 gallons, but we made it. We’ve been wanting to do two weeks in these mountain for decades; we finally did it!

Best Sites

There are 60 sites in Trial Lake Campground. The campground is spacious and is stretched out down the lake shore. While we were camping there was no running potable water in the campground. To acquire drinking water you had to travel a short distance up the highway to Lost Creek Campground.

While we enjoyed site 59, if we were to return we would select site 57 or 58. Site 57 is a back-in site with no privacy from the campground road, but has beautiful views of the lake and an enormous meadow to the east of the site that makes it a great distance from other sites in that direction.

Site 58 is a pull-through site with little privacy from the campground road, but several pines have been planted and in a few years will provide ample seclusion. Obviously this site is between 57 and 59, but not over crowded.

Site 59 was great, but two different large families used sites 60 and 4 as if they were a single group site. These two together are very close to 59 and can get a bit loud. If a set of sites were wanted for such a gathering you couldn’t go wrong acquiring sites 59, 60 and 4. It would be a lot of fun.

Trial Lake Campground was a nice place to spend a week. The lake was fun to play and fish in. Can’t wait to be there again.

Nights	Total Nights	Miles	Total Miles
7	82	81	8324

Sulphur Campground, Utah

From July 6th to July 13th, 2018 we camped at Sulphur Campground on the banks of the Hayden’s Fork of the Bear River. The campground is at 9100 feet of elevation and has forested and open meadow sites. We stayed in site 20 which is a pull-through site near the end of the campground. There was tall grasses and plants between the site and the river and a small forest on the south. The pull-through was a bit tight for our truck and trailer so we backed it in.

While at Sulphur we had family visit us and we participated in several activities. With our first visitors we went kayaking and fishing in Butterfly Lake. We caught a few fish, taught a few grandchildren to fish, and watched them have fun in and around the water.

Thunderstorms rolled in the next couple of afternoons and dropped lots of rain. The lightning was bright and the thunder was amazingly sharp and loud. We watched from within our home away from home and played board games.

With our next guests we hiked to Ruth Lake. The hike is short, but the lake is quite beautiful and the kids had fun playing in its icy waters. On our way out a thunderstorm rolled in and we quickly got into our rain gear. Fortunately the hike back to the car was only slightly over a mile and the storm was a short one.

The next morning seven of us hiked to the top of Bald Mountain. It’s summit is at 11,943 feet, but is one of the easiest mountains in Utah to summit. We were proud of our children and grandchildren for making the hike in just over an hour. Heck, we were proud of ourselves for making it! We have been enjoying the Uinta Mountains for over 34 years and had never taken the opportunity to climb this mountain, very happy we did.

At the summit there was a jar full of notes. The one I pulled out was from Ryan from Minnesota who asked that I send him a text message. Sure enough I had service, texted him, and received a friendly response. The message my wife pulled from the jar asked for a selfie, so she snapped one and sent it along. The response asked her to put the note back because the young lady is looking for a young and cute hiker guy 🙂

The area surrounding the Uinta Mountains has hundreds of small lakes, ponds, and rivers. From the top of Bald Mountain many are visible. The views were spectacular, but the gathering clouds and hunger drove us back down.

On July 11th our family departed, but we kept one of the grandchildren. In the afternoon we took our son and our grandson and taught them how to fly fish on the river. While we caught numerous fish earlier in the day, our afternoon training was unsuccessful in terms of catching fish. We did have a good time and we were able to pass on a tradition that was started 34 years ago when my wife’s grandfather taught us to fly fish on this very river and from this very campground. Perhaps these young people will remember this day and pass the lessons learned to their children and grandchildren. It was kind of an emotional experience for us as we reflected on our lives and those we miss, but praise for what they passed on to us.

On July 12th we had business down in the hot valley and used the time to shop, return our grandson to his family and pick up a friend of our son’s who will stay with us until the 18th. On the 13th we packed up and moved to Trial Lake for another week.

Best Sites

There are 21 sites in Sulphur Campground. The campground is spacious and is stretched out down the river. While we were camping there was running potable water in the campground.

While we enjoyed site 20, if we were to return we would select site 18. The pull-through of site 18 is far more usable than that of site 20, the fire ring and table are in great locations, and there is plenty of tent space. This site is closer to the river than site 20 and there is far less tall grass obscuring the river view.

Sites 19 and 21 are on the opposite side of the campground road, but offer a good alternative for two trailers and a plethora of tent spots. Site 16 is also a reasonable pull-through with a nice view of the river. Sites 7 and 9 are good options for a trailer and those using tents. Site 20 is pleasant, but better suited for a smaller trailer.

Sulphur Campground was a nice place to spend a week and for us to recall pleasant times past.

Nights	Total Nights	Miles	Total Miles
7	75	81	8243

Cherry Campground, Utah

We made a quick getaway this past weekend to celebrate a dear friends 60th birthday and the couple’s first time camping in a trailer. We arrived in Cherry Campground near Springville, Utah on Saturday June 30th and returned home on Monday July 2nd. Three of us were aware of the pending surprise, but her husband was not. We arrived at 4:30pm to ensure that he was settled and wouldn’t notice us arrive. We got the trailer parked in site 2 very quickly, waited for two of their children to arrive, and then walked down to their site and surprised him. It actually worked!

The campground was well maintained and our sites were right up against the Hobble Creek. Each site had the typical fire pit with grill and a picnic bench. The site was very adequate, and while we enjoyed it, it is very close to the canyon road which is just on the other side of the creek. If we were to camp in this campground again, without children, we would choose a site away from the stream to get us away from the road and its associated noise. With children, we would likely stay where we were simply because they enjoy the creek so much.

The campsite fee was $23 per night which seems a bit high for a campground with vault toilets and no running water. The sites were clean, a reasonable distance from one another, and the hosts were friendly. What more can you ask for for $23 per night?

We learned that Cherry opens in April which is welcome news for those of us who get the camping itch early in the year. This may be just the answer for spring get aways.

Just up the canyon from Cherry there is Balsam Campground. Balsam is not as good for RVs, but has many sites for larger groups of tent campers.

Nights	Total Nights	Miles	Total Miles
2	68	48	8162

Riverside Campground, Idaho

On June 13, 2018 we returned to the Riverside Campground in Island Park, Idaho. This is the campground we first visited after acquiring our trailer in 2016. For this visit my wife, son, and I chose to stay in site A-5. It is a pull-through site right next to the Henry’s Fork River; it’s a beautiful site. We stayed here for four nights and returned home June 17, 2018.

Riverside has three loops, A, B, and C. As far as I can tell the A and B loops are paved while the C loop is packed gravel. Many of the sites are away from the river, but all sites are fairly spacious and a reasonable distance from neighboring sites. The sites along the Henry’s Fork River are gorgeous and the fishing is reported to be great. However, on this visit I forgot to pack our fishing waders so we’ve played a lot of board games and found other things to do. We finally fished from the bank for about an hour and caught two small fish. Waders and more time would make this stretch of river a lot of fun.

Best Sites

Our favorite sites in this campground are A-20 and A-21. A-21 is at the far end of the campground, is very close to the river, and has great views. Riverside also has a group site that looks fun for family gatherings. The parking area is large enough for three or four RVs and there are numerous tables and fire pits. With some care I am sure you could circle the wagons and have a great time as a group.

The island park area is one of our favorites. The air is cool, the fishing is amazing, the rivers are huge, the campgrounds are spacious and the area is not nearly as busy as most Utah mountain camping areas. W hope to come back here year after year, and work at BYU-Idaho nearly guarantees we will.

Nights	Total Nights	Miles	Total Miles
4	66	634	8114