Trace Branch Campground

I arrived in late afternoon on a weekday and there was only one other camper on the waterfront site. While the campground is set up for RV -style camping with pads, power and water at each site, it was fine for tent camping as well. Heavy fog during the night made it seem even more isolated — and it’s isolated enough on its own! — and peaceful. Great, friendly and accommodating host who lives on site made it even more enjoyable. Was quite a ride along a lightly maintained mountainous road with washouts in several places that made me glad I hadn’t had to find the campground in the dark. All in all a memorable experience largely free of mosquitoes and other bugs on the late June of 2021 day I was there.

I arrived in late afternoon on a weekday and there was only one other camper on the waterfront site. While the campground is set up for RV -style camping with pads, power and water at each site, it was fine for tent camping as well. Heavy fog during the night made it seem even more isolated — and it’s isolated enough on its own! — and peaceful. Great, friendly and accommodating host who lives on site made it even more enjoyable. Was quite a ride along a lightly maintained mountainous road with washouts in several places that made me glad I hadn’t had to find the campground in the dark. All in all a memorable experience largely free of mosquitoes and other bugs on the late June of 2021 day I was there.

Great Hosts,clean bathrooms and showers. Quite campground, family oriented. Beautiful mist on the mountains early in the day.mapquest directions from Hal Roger's parkway a few miles east of Hayden got us on a BAD road in. Straight in from Hayden somewhat better,best from the north.

Great Hosts,clean bathrooms and showers. Quite campground, family oriented. Beautiful mist on the mountains early in the day.mapquest directions from Hal Roger's parkway a few miles east of Hayden got us on a BAD road in. Straight in from Hayden somewhat better,best from the north.

The electric wasn’t on but it was still great

The electric wasn’t on but it was still great

The directions to the campground in Rec.gov were grossly wrong!!!! They led us up a one lane road that was blocked by a truck that couldn’t make it up a hill. Another trailer in the campground was damaged on the same route. A lawsuit may occur if not corrected.

The directions to the campground in Rec.gov were grossly wrong!!!! They led us up a one lane road that was blocked by a truck that couldn’t make it up a hill. Another trailer in the campground was damaged on the same route. A lawsuit may occur if not corrected.

Positives:
The camp hosts were great. The check in experience could not have been better.
The restroom and shower facility are among the cleanest we have ever seen.
The campground was free of litter and the trash containers were emptied often.

Downsides:
The campground is recovering from a major flood. Every campsite is muddy. Only place that wasn't muddy was the paved pad. We had reservations for three nights, but left after one night due to the mud.

There is a lack of signage telling you the safe way to enter the park. DO NOT TRUST YOUR GPS to get you there, otherwise you will end up on single lane roads with impossible hairpin turns and with pieces of the road that have slid down the hill. Seriously, my steering wheel has indentations from my death grip. I highly recommend calling the campground for the correct (safe) way to enter the park. Plan to arrive prior to dusk as the roads are dark and are prone to be foggy.

Perhaps the park could have been closed long enough to allow for some grass to establish.

Cheers to the hosts for their efforts to make the best of a bad situation.

This campground was not properly prepared for the season. Rain created mud pits everywhere. Grass seed thrown everywhere and picnic table and fire ring placed in areas that made it difficult to set up. I had reserved S13 which on the map you all have for this site shows it located on the end of the loop. It was not. Instead of 11 12 13 on the map, it was 13 12 11. I chose the site when I reserved it based on its location, as I had not camped here before. I was surprised when we found out the location was different. Also there seemed to be a lot of local traffic just cruising the loop and we never saw the host, only their small children. We have always enjoyed every Corp of Engineers site we have ever stayed in but this one we will not return again.