South Fork Campground — Hotel in Lindsay

Minimalist features as far as campgrounds go, GREAT for a quick couple of days to decompress. Deluxe base camp for single day hikes w/several trailheads at or near the site, or multi-day backpack.

PROS: Great for what I need, quiet, small, and secluded; No through traffic, the road dead-ends at the back of the site; mid-elevation (I believe around 3,500’) makes site good for shoulder season trips. Around 10 large spaces with a few out of the way of the rest, about $10 per night, first come first serve. There are a couple of water spigots w/ one set of vault toilets. Each site has a bear box, fire ring and picnic table. The place is rarely, if ever full and I have spent several days and nights as the only resident. (With the exception of Maggie the Mountain Lab)

Even though you’re on the river, there is no real access directly at the site due to a steep bank and usually fast flowing section of the river, though I have used it many times as my water source when the spigots are off in the winter.

CONS: Sites can become overgrown and REALLY buggy if use has been sparse; would not recommend for families with children unless you plan on “around camp” activities only. The accessible trailheads are heavy elevation gain, river is not easily fishable. I have taken my 10 y/o son on a couple of overnighters there to work bush-craft, but my family trips are taken elsewhere.

South Forks’ real value for me is as a close to get to, but far enough away “secrete spot” about 30 min....

Nothing special, just a campground. Looking at the map, the place looks as if it is in the National Forest, but just about .5 miles from the campground, it turns to Sequoia National Park. The sign says 14 day max stay, but it's pretty obvious there are some squatters living here. Why do people feel the need to encroach on public lands? I personally wanted to hike for the day, but there was no day use parking available thanks to the excess vehicles. The worst part was two campers that decided it was a good idea to burn California Bay tree branches in their fire, which might have been good for the bugs, but that smoke was horrendous. Park Service needs to get back in there and kick the...

Campsite is beautiful! Totally worth the drive out on a Saturday morning. Overnight camping April 1 was cold with a low of 32, but was prepared with mummy bags and a super small tent to trap the heat in. The place only has a dozen or so campsites that have fire rings, bear boxes, and picnic tables and we were lucky to score the last two sites. Water spigots were capped off (possibly due to winter) and vault toilet was rough, but nature is spectacular here! We hiked a fairly demanding 6.5 miles Sunday morning and went to Sequoia before heading home. Great...