Horse Creek Campground — Hotel in Exeter

Note: You now have to make reservations at least three days prior to arrival. They do not do day of reservations at this time which is difficult for many, so be prepared. Gate closes at 9pm until the summer season. During summer season it closes at 10pm. Check for dates. Small campground 11 miles from the southern entrance to Sequoia but 1.5 hours from the big trees. RVs over 22 ft not allowed on this Sierra Drive/Hwy 198 road in Sequoia. Use northern entrance if you do not have a small vehicle. This is an older campground, no shade. It is noted on the recreation.gov campsite info page. You will need to bring your own shade that does not tie to the trees. If using a hammock bring a stand for it. This campground gets busy in the summer especially on holiday weekends. In the winter the sites 59-84 are available unless circumstances require a change. There is one older bathhouse for those winter sites. Bathhouse has a single shower on each side. Limited hot water if another takes a longer shower at the same time. Difficult but possible shower if ADA needed due to it being a very old unit. There are plans to update that unit in the future. There is hardly anyone there during winter months now due to the new reservation restrictions. No same day reservations, not even using a credit card. After covid they did accept credit cards the day of but that has changed. They will turn you away no matter how many empty sites you see. The host cannot do anything about it. They would love to assist but they cannot due to the reservation settings being used. The hosts have check in capabilities or extending capabilities. Extending before your reservation ends but not on the day of departure. You will have to use the recreation.gov website for everything including site changes. The host can provide area information. Be sure to greet your host. This is on a reservoir not a true lake and the campground will flood at high water. It is also very low around October. You have to drive to the day use areas on the lake for lake access. They will take the campground off reservations during that high water time period to prevent someone reserving a site that is underwater and not having a place to move them to. At that time it becomes first come, first serve with a credit card only, no cash will be accepted. No setting up and leaving until Friday to show back up. That is not allowed, you set up and occupy the site overnight. Campsites flooding and how much depends on snow pack in the Sierras. There are equestrian sites (81-84)with limited corral space Oct. to Mar. Campsite 81 is also a double site. Information is on the website. These campsites are in the corral loop with a closed gate. This area also accommodates the longer RVs over 38-40’ . There are paths/trails great for full moon night equestrian rides. No motorized vehicles or electric vehicles at this time on any path/trail. No off roading allowed at this lake. Vehicles/motorized units stay on the paved roads and designated parking areas only. One path/trail is the old paved Hwy 198 seen at low water levels. Now called the Kaweah River path since it follows the river. Some parts at Slick Rock are not available to horses due to it being a public area. The same with Horse Creek Campground and Kaweah Rec. Ask a ranger for...

My husband and I have been to this campground so many times with and without the rest of our family and it's usually always awesome. A+ Campground. Very nice view and accessible lake. Horse creek is dog and family friendly.

The time before this last time we went, there was no one else camping here. So when we decided to try and move over one campsite for better shade from the sun, the young ranger who came to check on us said it would be fine as long as we were only staying one night.

We stayed one night this time as well, but when we arrived to our campsite we realized it had a pretty severe slant. Anyone who tent camps know that sucks. So we tried to switch again, but this time I call to make sure it would be okay. There were only two other people camping. And no other reserved signs posted.

The man I spoke with first was very nice and respectful. The lady he transferred me to wasn't as nice or respectful. It's only $20, but it's my hard earned money that I paid. I also understand that it is their policy to not allow switching campsites because "they would have to let everyone do it". When I voiced my concerns about my tent being on a slant she said in a very rude tone "I've seen millions of tents on that campsite" if it wasn't too late I would have asked for a refund.

Other than that our stay was as...

Been going here for years there are stickers and spiky leaves that hurt if you walk bare foot wear sandals or shoes even in the water. There are some camping spots that have good shade trees but it's best to take a canopy especially if you want to be close to the water. The water levels change drastically throughout the seasons sometimes the road to get into the campground is flooded (you can walk the rangers path to the highest campsites but you have to carry everything what feels like a mile)and other times you can drive till the road runs out and still have to walk a long way to the water. In the 12 or so years that I've been going I've seen 2 snakes mostly the animals seen are squirrels various birds and toads (or frogs idk the...