Goldledge Campground

After having stayed in two wonderfully maintained national forest campgrounds on the same trip, Goldledge campground was a shocking departure from those standards. Our campsite, while spacious, contained a picnic table that was half-way rotted, so that the bench on one side was splintered, crumbling and unusable. It was apparent that the campground host had not looked at the campsite in several days, as there were racoon feces in the middle of the picnic table, and there was trash throughout the site. The paper tabs clipped by the parking space, used to show the upcoming reservations at the campsite, still had the two parties before us clipped on top of our name and dates, leading me to believe the camp host had not passed by in many days. This is not an especially large campground, and it would not be difficult for the camp host to look at each site on the day that a new camping party is scheduled to check in to make sure it is clean and usable. Indeed, in the other two national forest campgrounds we were at on the same trip, the employees said there were special COVID protocols in place that required extra cleaning before a new party checked in. Obviously, nothing of the sort was practiced at Goldledge.
We contacted the camp host, showed him the problems, and he saw nothing wrong with it, saying no one had complained before. The condition of the grounds in general was also disgusting. For example, near the edge of the river swimming hole I saw multiple soiled disposal diapers on the ground.
Bottom line: don't stay here. I don't know how the other national forest campgrounds along the same road are maintained. But this one is decrepit and uncared for. You are much better off getting a campsite in one of the well-maintained private campgrounds in the town of Kernville nearby, which is where we were lucky to get a last minute site for the night after choosing not to stay at Goldledge at all.

After having stayed in two wonderfully maintained national forest campgrounds on the same trip, Goldledge campground was a shocking departure from those standards. Our campsite, while spacious, contained a picnic table that was half-way rotted, so that the bench on one side was splintered, crumbling and unusable. It was apparent that the campground host had not looked at the campsite in several days, as there were racoon feces in the middle of the picnic table, and there was trash throughout the site. The paper tabs clipped by the parking space, used to show the upcoming reservations at the campsite, still had the two parties before us clipped on top of our name and dates, leading me to believe the camp host had not passed by in many days. This is not an especially large campground, and it would not be difficult for the camp host to look at each site on the day that a new camping party is scheduled to check in to make sure it is clean and usable. Indeed, in the other two national forest campgrounds we were at on the same trip, the employees said there were special COVID protocols in place that required extra cleaning before a new party checked in. Obviously, nothing of the sort was practiced at Goldledge.
We contacted the camp host, showed him the problems, and he saw nothing wrong with it, saying no one had complained before. The condition of the grounds in general was also disgusting. For example, near the edge of the river swimming hole I saw multiple soiled disposal diapers on the ground.
Bottom line: don't stay here. I don't know how the other national forest campgrounds along the same road are maintained. But this one is decrepit and uncared for. You are much better off getting a campsite in one of the well-maintained private campgrounds in the town of Kernville nearby, which is where we were lucky to get a last minute site for the night after choosing not to stay at Goldledge at all.

Great Location near the River & with a "Beach Area" to enter with your tubes... Host was super nice to us, too! Definitely coming back! Thank you!

Great Location near the River & with a "Beach Area" to enter with your tubes... Host was super nice to us, too! Definitely coming back! Thank you!

Good Place

Good Place

I absolutely loved Camp site 22. The camp site was flat and perfect. At night the sound of the river was amazing; it helped me and the kids sleep.
I realized fast that all trash needs to go out right away or else a skunk will get into it. We seen over 4 skunks but they did not bother us one bit. The worst part of the trip was the using the bathrooms. Yes, bathrooms were super clean, but the smell was awful. We decided to make this a year trip.

I absolutely loved Camp site 22. The camp site was flat and perfect. At night the sound of the river was amazing; it helped me and the kids sleep.
I realized fast that all trash needs to go out right away or else a skunk will get into it. We seen over 4 skunks but they did not bother us one bit. The worst part of the trip was the using the bathrooms. Yes, bathrooms were super clean, but the smell was awful. We decided to make this a year trip.

Great to arrive right after the Memorial Day Weekend. We had a reservation, but since there was nearly no one in the campground, we were able to stay at a different campsite, right on the river, and barely saw anyone during our three day stay. Very hot, but the river made it very easy to stay cool. Had a really nice camping experience.

Great to arrive right after the Memorial Day Weekend. We had a reservation, but since there was nearly no one in the campground, we were able to stay at a different campsite, right on the river, and barely saw anyone during our three day stay. Very hot, but the river made it very easy to stay cool. Had a really nice camping experience.