Standish-Hickey State Recreation Area — Attraction in California

Let me start off this review by saying that we reserved the only site that has any electrical hookups (some other sites didn't even have a working water spigot) and a week before we arrived we decided to call to make sure everything was still in place. They claimed that someone from our group called and cancelled our reservation the week before. We reserved the space months in advance and no one from our group called for anything of the sort. They claimed that someone already had the spot since we 'cancelled'. We of course did not take that kindly so we made a big stink and they gave us the site again. When we mentioned that maybe someone who worked there cancelled our reservations so that their friends could use the site, the lady on the phone said "ohh... Yeeaaahhh..." like she knew who it was or it has happened before.

The campground was not maintained very well. The branches of the trees along the route were too low for a decently sized RV. The bathrooms were dirty without no soap to be found. The showers for our area were out of order and no one did anything about it. And of course it went right downhill when we went to the restrooms.

When walking to the public bathrooms, there was a dirt path that went to them. When coming back out we were confronted by some hostile people who apparently were setting up camp where we walked through. Very rudely they said "hey, how about next time you don't want through our camp ahole." We of course meant no harm in it and let them know they may want to put something up since it was labor day weekend and there would be kids that could mistakenly roam through on the path. "This is our fin campsite and we don't want anyone in here." A man behind her added "yeah, we fing live here ahole and if you have a problem with that, bring it up with the god da** ranger! We know her!" It was later that we found out that they were the 'volunteers' that were supposed to take care of the campground. Yeah, real good selection there. They were all aggressive potheads that used and abused their power because they thought they were special. Appalling behavior to say the least. Needless to say, we felt very uneasy staying there and felt as though nothing we left outside would be safe.

When checking out, we were going to say something to the ranger at the front about the ridiculous way that not only us but other campers were being treated (as the night before we spoke with others that complained about the tyrannous potheads that lived next to the bathrooms). When we pulled up to the rangers post though, the eldest of the problematic group was in the station talking to the ranger.

We will never be returning to this campground again. The only upside to the entire experience was the access to the river and the fact that we were able to spend time with our family. I can not recommend this campground in the state that it is in currently. Steer clear of...

My wife and I camped for 2 nights at Rock Creek campground. While it has potential to be a really cool place, it seems in disrepair in my opinion. I will say the restroom facilities and staff were great though. But on to the negative. Redwood camp, which seems to be the most convenient for distance to recreation and more seclusion, has been closed as there is no longer a bridge to get there, so you're left with the two other camps to the north, Rock Creek and Hickey, which are really close to hwy 101 (our camp was probably 60') and quite the downhill trek to get to the river for some recreation. The sound of Harleys and big rigs kinda dampens the getting away from the traffic experience of camping. Additionally, the trails are in disrepair and require crossing the river to get there. Mill Creek Falls trail, for example, is permanently closed. I hiked up to Standish Tree and back real quick, but could tell the trail was hardly ever used. I will say we made the best of it (the swimming area is 👍), but the traffic noise, and difficulty getting down to the river and the trails made the experience just OK. So if you're looking for seclusion and relaxing recreation, you may wanna look elsewhere. I really hope they get the place up to snuff. I'd love to camp down at Redwood camp and give it another go...

Comfortable park. We had sun and mild temperatures the first week of June, with plenty of shade in the camp site. We stayed Monday through Friday, and there were only a couple of other campers on our loop until Thursday night. Bathrooms were well stocked and maintained, and showers are $2 for 15 minutes. There is a market across the street with pretty good stock but, of course, steep prices. ("Never don't stop at the Peg House!" - Ice was about $1/lb.) Also there was a restaurant we didn't try under the same management. They had free live music on the patio Thursday afternoon (which I didn't hear from the campground). Downsides were being a little close to highway 101, lots of poison oak, which we managed to avoid, and some sort of leaf dropping fungus afflicting the laurels (I think?). Also, remember your bug spray! (They are only fierce for a couple of hours morning and evening, so my botanical stuff worked as well as wifey's super extra strength chemical.)

All in all, a very nice campground, but not IN the redwoods like Richardson Grove 20 miles further north. We'll try that...