Arroyo Seco

Never went due to COVID-19 didn’t even get a refund

n/a

Enjoyed the stay for 3 nights during July 4,2020 holidays. Campground was a bit crowded with noise from multiple family gatherings. Noon hours it’s getting super hot, out small kids napped inside our car with AC turned on. The Santa Lucia trail hike and Arroyo Seco river made the whole trip worth it. The only problem - after the day of July 4 celebrations some irresponsible people dumped their extremely hot charcoal right at the river bank and our 4y.o. barefoot stepped on resulting 2nd degree burn.

great place

Super nice and clean place. The day use area is great for kids. However you probably want to get there a bit on the early side. To hike the ranger said it was a half of a mile but it was probably around 4. We never actually made it to the cliff jumps because we had a 7 year old but another hicker said we were about 5 minutes away. The day use area has barbecues and picnic table right by the water. YOU NEED BUG SPRAY there are no bugs by the day use but if you plan to hike you need bug spray. Overall it was a great time but it was a bummer not being able to do the cliff jumps.

(Do not use my name/email address)
The camp host, Robert, was exceptionally accommodating!

I have been going to camp since the late 1970's. Been camping here since the new bathroom/showers were installed and Rocky Mountain Recreation was the concessionaire. We were there for 10 days in October and the showers NEVER worked and the host said he couldn't fix it! The water was almost all cold at one shower and almost all hot at the other. And this is IMPORTANT- all the years with Rocky Mountain Rec we never had to pay to park at trail heads as long as we were paying to camp. But now you pay $35 to camp and another $10 to simply park at the trail heads? I am writing the National Forest office in King City to get clarification because there is NOTHING on the board as you enter the camp that says you must pay an additional 10 bucks to use the trails you came to walk on! There is nothing that says that! But the camp host chases people around the camp area to track down anybody that parks at any of the 3 trail heads or the river day use area.
I want you to email me with an explanation. This is the SECOND time you have asked for my review- do you read any of them? I doubt it.

We had a great experience staying at the Arroyo Seco campground. The camp host Robert was amazing and extremely friendly! The campsite was extremely clean and well kept. And there are tons of beautiful trails available from the campsite, for all levels of adventurers. It was a great way to start off the new year! We will definitely be returning to the campsite.

The facility had implemented a "no campfire" rule and we were not informed prior to arrival with Boy Scouts who intended on using the fire rings for their outing. Nothing was posted on Recreation.gov even on the day of the reservation either. Request for a refund was refused by the venue as-well. This was a poor experience with both Arroyo Seco and Recreation.gov.

Arroyo Seco is a lovely area and worth visiting and protecting. In fact, we visit Arroyo Seco in September annually and conduct a cleanup of the river and the day use area. However, this year the camp hosts were particularly unpleasant, uptight, and rigid. The camp hosts were a younger couple who made it a point of obsessively enforcing the rules and speaking to us rudely. It appeared that they forgot about customer service and about making all campers feel welcome. One evening, while relaxing around our campfire after dinner, the female camp host entered our campsite and demanded that I speak with her privately for some unknown reason, thus interrupting an otherwise pleasant evening. Arroyo Seco would be better served without these particular camp hosts. In fact, if they are present next year, we may very well cancel our annual river cleanup.