Apgar Campground

The location was beautiful, but our experience was ruined by a very unpleasant interaction with a park staff member.

While I was cooking inside our camper, he approached and abruptly said, “You parked in the wrong direction. This is a one way road.” I explained that we parked that way to level our camper and were fully within our pull-through site. He cut me off, said “I don’t care,” and then added, “Next time, look at the map before you book.” Then he turned and walked away without any further discussion.

What made it worse is that the camper van at the site right next to us was parked the exact same way, yet he said nothing to them. We felt unfairly targeted.

What truly upset us was how he behaved toward our 10-year-old daughter. As he approached, he gave her a stern look through the windshield and silently raised his index finger, making a firm “1” gesture. It startled her, and later she asked, “Why was he angry at me? Did I do something wrong?”

She had done nothing wrong. And yet, this encounter left her anxious and affected her entire day.

We’ve visited many national parks and stayed at dozens of campgrounds. This was the first time we felt disrespected and unwelcome — especially by a staff member representing the park. It was a huge disappointment.

We love when we get to stay in Apgar. Remote enough to be peaceful, while still having amenities that are needed for small kids.

The location was beautiful, but our experience was ruined by a very unpleasant interaction with a park staff member.

While I was cooking inside our camper, he approached and abruptly said, “You parked in the wrong direction. This is a one way road.” I explained that we parked that way to level our camper and were fully within our pull-through site. He cut me off, said “I don’t care,” and then added, “Next time, look at the map before you book.” Then he turned and walked away without any further discussion.

What made it worse is that the camper van at the site right next to us was parked the exact same way, yet he said nothing to them. We felt unfairly targeted.

What truly upset us was how he behaved toward our 10-year-old daughter. As he approached, he gave her a stern look through the windshield and silently raised his index finger, making a firm “1” gesture. It startled her, and later she asked, “Why was he angry at me? Did I do something wrong?”

She had done nothing wrong. And yet, this encounter left her anxious and affected her entire day.

We’ve visited many national parks and stayed at dozens of campgrounds. This was the first time we felt disrespected and unwelcome — especially by a staff member representing the park. It was a huge disappointment.

We love when we get to stay in Apgar. Remote enough to be peaceful, while still having amenities that are needed for small kids.

The location was beautiful, but our experience was ruined by a very unpleasant interaction with a park staff member.

While I was cooking inside our camper, he approached and abruptly said, “You parked in the wrong direction. This is a one way road.” I explained that we parked that way to level our camper and were fully within our pull-through site. He cut me off, said “I don’t care,” and then added, “Next time, look at the map before you book.” Then he turned and walked away without any further discussion.

What made it worse is that the camper van at the site right next to us was parked the exact same way, yet he said nothing to them. We felt unfairly targeted.

What truly upset us was how he behaved toward our 10-year-old daughter. As he approached, he gave her a stern look through the windshield and silently raised his index finger, making a firm “1” gesture. It startled her, and later she asked, “Why was he angry at me? Did I do something wrong?”

She had done nothing wrong. And yet, this encounter left her anxious and affected her entire day.

We’ve visited many national parks and stayed at dozens of campgrounds. This was the first time we felt disrespected and unwelcome — especially by a staff member representing the park. It was a huge disappointment.

We love when we get to stay in Apgar. Remote enough to be peaceful, while still having amenities that are needed for small kids.

Friendly rangers. Clean bathrooms. Close access to stores and restaurants.

The campsite is at the close proximity to the Apgar visitor center, guest services with restaurants and souvenir shops and the Mc Donald’s lake picnic area, it’s a beautiful location and has all the needed facilities for a wonderful camping experience.

Camp was clean, sites a bit small but we were able to make our space work. Happy to use the dump & fill!
Rangers very friendly & helpful. Great the rangers walked around to meet people & invite them to the evening presentations.
Close to the visitor center. Downside lack of showers. Be sure to get a timed entry tho. We had no problems getting ours.

Friendly rangers. Clean bathrooms. Close access to stores and restaurants.