Beals Point Recreation Area — Hotel in Folsom

2nd time visiting this place and not a good experience. People at the kiosk we're nice and helpful as usual. Problem was the so-called camp hosts.

Wife and I paid for a campsite and left in the morning to get some food nearby. It was not close to check out time. When we returned the hosts had parked their cart in our parking spot and were doing something in an adjacent site.

The parking spot was made for two vehicles so I parked in the spot too. We assumed they were doing maintenance or something and ignored them.

Although we had the pay tag prominently displayed in the windshield, one of the gentlemen decided to walk in front of our car, ignore the tag and ask us what we were doing there. When I told him we paid, he finally looked at the tag. Then he proceeded to advise us that check in is at 2:00pm, even though we had checked in around 3:00pm the previous day. Apparently he didn't know what day of the month it was, nor did he know how to read a pay tag.

Worst part is the guy wouldn't leave. My wife was a little frightened and I wasn't sure if this guy was just Lahey from Trailer Park Boys (with his own Randy) or that scene from Deliverance. Finally he did and we enjoyed what was left of our time there.

We complained to the ranger about the issue but she said he was within his rights. I guess camp host position comes with a free RV hookup and all the guests you can offend.

Don't know what they were doing there in the first place. They told the ranger they were cleaning the sites but my wife and I cleaned up after ourselves so no trash and the adjacent site hadn't been occupied. It was shady though so better than doing something useful in the hot sun.

The guy couldn't even man up and discuss it with us and the ranger. He just ignored us and drove off in his tax funded cart.

First I thought to ask for a free night or something, but who needs that attitude? Great place but watch out...

Who is in charge? The land itself is beautiful but this SRA has some improvements to be made. First off about one third of the sites are closed for whatever reason at the time I am writing this. Secondly, there are boulders along the perimeter of our site so that we cannot drive onto the site and use our van to sleep in on our site. Meanwhile there are plenty of handicapped sites that no one is in. Now, maybe there is some state law regarding this and if there is, it needs to be modified or someone local to managing this specific campsite needs to check their interpretation because we were told we couldn't use the site unless we were handicapped. I am having a hard time believing that handicapped campsites work like handicapped parking. Moreover, if someone handicapped had arrived, we surely would have given it to them, but as of this morning all those sites have yet to be occupied. In other words, one third of the campsites here are closed, about 5 more are handicapped, of the remaining sites, you can't drive your vehicles onto so you have to haul all your stuff in. Some of the sites remaining are on severely steep slopes. NOW, the bathrooms are locked and apparently not working so there are those horrible porta potties too gross to mention. Many of the running water spiggots do not work. Good God who is running this place with what sensibilities! That said, it was quiet where we were but that might just have been luck because very few people were here....

The place itself is amazing. There's a really nice, sandy beach, which is a nice break from the rocky shores elsewhere along the lake, plenty of space to set up a parasol, grills for BBQ'ing, and picnic tables. And the parking lot is super close as well, so on those hot days you won't have to walk too far.

However, there are some absolutely awful park rangers here. I've been coming here for probably 10 years, I usually show up with a parasol, some chairs, and an ice chest filled with food and beer. Not once have I had any problems.

But last weekend, as I was enjoying myself, sitting and not bothering anyone, a ranger came up and accosted me. She told me that alcohol wasn't allowed on the beach and that I had to pour it out. She then took down my name and birth date and told me she'd be back, and if she caught me drinking again, she'd give me written citation and ban me from the park.

I've been to lots of parks and beaches in my life, and unless you're being obnoxious, loud, or have glass bottles, the rangers leave you alone. I've never met such an unpleasant ranger in my life, but she's ruined Beales point for me. I'll never be back so long as they have this SS gestapo ranger roaming the beaches on a mission to ruin...