I can see why this park received such good reviews. It is one of the nicest campground parks we’ve been in. It’s very similar to forest service campgrounds except it has full hookups if you want them and the sites are close together. We’re 38’ overall and we had to be careful while navigating through the trees. It’s pretty tight in some places. Our site had an asphalt pad but wasn’t level; you’ll need to use your levelers. There was enough room to get our slides and awning out. We did notice some of the sites were very narrow. This campground was built in the late 60’s when RV’s didn’t have slides or as big as they are today. Make sure when you make your reservation that you give the manager the overall length of your vehicle and how many slides you have. We weren’t able to get a signal on our dome satellite so we used our portable dish and that worked out great. There was cell service (Verizon) but I couldn’t get out on my computer even using our booster antenna. The signal was fluctuating from no bars to 5 the whole time we were there. Water, power and sewer were good. Having paved roads made all the difference in the world while sitting outside. NO DUST…. People were very respectful of other people’s space. Quiet time is from 10pm to 9am and it was quiet!! I know that cell phone service, Sat reception, etc. isn’t important to everyone but we’re full timers so to is to us. There’s a really great market in town that has a butcher counter and good produce and we thought the store was well stocked. I would have given this park a 10 if it had wifi. This was a very enjoyable park and we will return when in the area. We camped here in a Motorhome.
We had a great time as always - the weather was poor with rain/snow and there was still a bit of snow on the ground. Jason (the manager) was very helpful and friendly. We'll definitely stay there again. We camped here in a Fifth Wheel.
Beautiful place! So many hundred-foot pines and other trees, you feel like you're in the middle of the forest. Spots are large, spaced very well, with many areas to congregate with other campers over a campfire, etc. Pool was very clean, small play set for kids, basketball hoop, volleyball net, newly paved pads for RVs in many sites, very friendly and helpful manager (Jason), kitchen/lodge for group parties, laundry room, bathroom/showers all clean. Less than 5 minutes from Calaveras Big Trees, gorgeous river where you can fish or have a picnic, lakes around, town of Arnold about 10 minutes away for groceries, restaurants, etc. Highly recommend this place - it's hot in the summer, but because of all the shade from the trees, you don't even notice. We camped here in a Motorhome.
Nice park in a beautiful setting. It snowed several days while we were there and had bear tracks in the morning. Staff and long term neighbors were friendly. We'd definitely stay there again. We camped here in a Fifth Wheel.
Nice woodsy feel, needed propane but found out they couldn't fill "Motor Home" built-in tanks. Got to give the Manager credit as he did try to find a way. Only got to spend one night, but I would go again if was in the area. We picked it as it is close to the Calaveris Big Trees. We camped here in a Motorhome.
Review Rating
[ 8 / 10 ]
July 2006
$35
We stayed for 3 nights. The campground is in a grove of Sequoia trees, only two miles north of Calaveras Big Trees State Park. It is a peaceful, quiet park in the trees, even with all the the children present. There are no permanent residents, only vacation leasee's. While the leasee spaces are more or less permanent, there is a limit to how long they can stay as well. There is a group area with a large fire pit and big table fashioned from a Sequoia stump in the middle of one of the sections of the park. Each space has a fire ring, BBQ and picnic table. The camp was very clean and presentable. The city the campground is located in is Dorrington, as Camp Connell is a bit further up the road. Dorrington does has a couple eateries/taverns about a mile north. The bathrooms and showers appeared clean, though my wife noticed a discarded bottle in a ladies shower stall that was never picked up for the duration of our stay. The campground was full for the 4th of July weekend, and our space was very close to our neighbor on the left. Despite the trash in the shower, and the potential for crowded conditions, we will stay there again. It is a very nice campground. We camped here in a Truck Camper.
Review Rating
[ 8 / 10 ]
October 2005
$34
This is the only campground with hookups anywhere near Calaveras Big Trees park that we could find. It is just six miles north of Arnold up Hiway 4. Huge redwoods prevail over the entire park, with all sites being shaded. Big Rigs would have a hard time in some of the spots as most were tight between the trees. Call ahead to be sure they can accommodate your rig. There was only one MH that we saw. Some permanents but certainly no problems. They offer vacation leases so some of the tennants weren't even there. Nice playground & pool area. Besides the RV park they also have a 35 space "tent only" area. Local area amenities abound. Big Trees park, Lake Alpine, Spicer Reservoir, Bear Valley, plus Mercer Caverns in Murphys. Much to see. Besides the above website, you can visit www.rvandcampoutwest.com, click on California and then type in "Golden Pines" for the park name. A detailed description plus pictures is available on that site. Friendly place, we will return. We camped here in a Travel Trailer.