Packsaddle

It’s a nice place for every a every year trip

The campsites are very small and not level and some are very close to the neighbor. Easy access to lake and trails.

The campsites are very small and not level and some are very close to the neighbor. Easy access to lake and trails.

Enjoyed my 4th Annual Camping Trip at Packsaddle!!

Enjoyed my 4th Annual Camping Trip at Packsaddle!!

Overall a very nice camp. Bathrooms were well maintained with TP for the entire week I was there. They remained clean and did not smell any worse than you average pit toilet. Mosquitos at camp were very mild and while we did have some hungry meat bees around meal time they were manageable. I've had much worse. Camp has a large parking area for nearby hikes. Creates a lot of open space near camps 1-4. Camps 1-4 appeared to have the most flat space for tents and were well shaded but other spots looked shaded too. Some of the camps in the other loop seem to have limited flat tent pads but did have some interesting layouts. There was a large group up in that loop that was apparently up until 2am few nights but could not be heard from our spots. Nearby Packer Lake has some plant growth in it that makes it not the best swimming lake. But.. you can drive to all nearby lakes pretty quickly from this location. It was nice and quite at night and pleasant in the mornings. Stayed in tent until 8:30 comfortably. I'd go back for sure.

Overall a very nice camp. Bathrooms were well maintained with TP for the entire week I was there. They remained clean and did not smell any worse than you average pit toilet. Mosquitos at camp were very mild and while we did have some hungry meat bees around meal time they were manageable. I've had much worse. Camp has a large parking area for nearby hikes. Creates a lot of open space near camps 1-4. Camps 1-4 appeared to have the most flat space for tents and were well shaded but other spots looked shaded too. Some of the camps in the other loop seem to have limited flat tent pads but did have some interesting layouts. There was a large group up in that loop that was apparently up until 2am few nights but could not be heard from our spots. Nearby Packer Lake has some plant growth in it that makes it not the best swimming lake. But.. you can drive to all nearby lakes pretty quickly from this location. It was nice and quite at night and pleasant in the mornings. Stayed in tent until 8:30 comfortably. I'd go back for sure.

Overall we really enjoyed our stay at Packsaddle; and we will go back.
Originally booked site 13; it was pretty bad, very uneven, no shade, have to walk uphill to the decrepit picnic table that was being held up on one leg by a burned out log.
Fortunately we were able to relocate to another site, which was perfectly adequate.
Great hikes with beautiful sites along the PCT and lovely nearby lakes.
No site host. Typical vault bathrooms.
Rangers come through daily to switch out reservation tags.
Refreshing , cold potable water at hand pump

Overall we really enjoyed our stay at Packsaddle; and we will go back.
Originally booked site 13; it was pretty bad, very uneven, no shade, have to walk uphill to the decrepit picnic table that was being held up on one leg by a burned out log.
Fortunately we were able to relocate to another site, which was perfectly adequate.
Great hikes with beautiful sites along the PCT and lovely nearby lakes.
No site host. Typical vault bathrooms.
Rangers come through daily to switch out reservation tags.
Refreshing , cold potable water at hand pump

My wife and I have been camping in this area for 30 years, primarily at Salmon Creek Campground. This trip (6 nights) was our first time at Packsaddle.
Overall we were pleased with the campground. Fewer sites made it feel more remote with less traffic nearby on the road to the Buttes parking lot. The campsites are quite rocky and not really comfortably level for tents or rv, but that is a minor drawback. I would consider using Packsaddle again because of the quietness of the site compared to the busy-ness of Salmon Creek due to the nuisance and speedy traffic of people constantly driving through at unreasonable speeds and the noise of Gold Lake Highway.