Yes, we are in bear country! The bears in our area are still very shy and do not like to interact with people, but will sneak into any food or garbage left outside overnight. Please keep all food, garbage, and scented items inside of vehicles or RVs overnight or while away from your site.

We also have very sneaky and hungry ravens at the campground. During the day, they can get into any food or trash that you leave behind as well - so any time you are away from your site be sure that your food and garbage are secured inside your vehicle or rental unit!

We do not have a public dump station. A public dump station is open during the summer in Big Trees State Park (phone: 209-795-2334). The next nearest dump station is at New Melones, but it can sometimes close when overloaded.

Check-in starts at 1 PM. Check-out is at 11 AM. An additional fee will automatically be charged for all early arrivals and late departures. Please call ahead the day of your arrival for possible early check-ins to see if your site is open.

We kindly ask that unless you have made prior arrangements with the campground that you not arrive before 1 PM and be sure to depart promptly by 11 AM. Our staff need every minute of that turnover time to clean and prepare sites for our next guests.

If you have never been to the park before, we HIGHLY recommend arriving before dark. Golden Pines is an old campground, originally built for the small RVs of the 1960s so navigation can be tricky once evening arrives.

Yes! We sell firewood for $5 a bundle. There is a cash drop box at the firewood shed for easy purchasing at all hours.

We do not sell ice in the park, but the Camp Connell General store just up the road does! Turn left out of the park, drive down Hwy 4 for 1.2 miles and the store will be on your right.

We have hot showers on site in our two bathroom facilities. They are coin operated, so be sure to bring quarters or stop by the office for them before 5 pm.

Our laundry washers and driers are also coin operated.

Tents are not allowed on Back-In RV sites, Cabin sites or Tent sites.
Tent sites are limited to 2 tents per site, no extra tents. One small tent is allowed on pull-through RV sites.

Un-licensed vehicles, including but not limited to, ATVs, OHVs, 4-wheelers, and dirt bikes cannot be driven on park property. You can bring them with you to the campground, and they can be enjoyed in designated OHV and dirt bike areas in the surrounding area - but cannot be driven on campground roads.

There are two short hiking trails around the park. The trailheads are indicated on the camp map, and connect to the logging roads around the park.

We do not offer long term stays in the campground. The park has a stay limit of 14 days per month for all sites.

The closest full service grocery is Big Trees market in Arnold, 6.5 miles SW down Hwy 4. They have a great selection for a rural mountain grocery.
If you just need to pick up some basics while camping, the Camp Connell General store is just 1.2 miles NE up Hwy 4.

There are lots of lakes in our area, including White Pines, Spicer, Union, Utica and Lake Alpine. The Stanislaus River also isn’t far, and can be accessed from several places nearby. Check our our Things To Do page for more information on local attractions!

Big Trees State Park is just 2.1 miles SW down Hwy 4. Either of the Sequoia Grove hiking loops make for a great activity, and they have a wonderful visitors center.

Our Campground Office hours are from 10 am to 5 pm daily. We are often helping other campers or out and about cleaning the campground during those hours, so if we don’t pick up the phone, be sure to leave a message and we’ll get right back to you.

If you’re arriving after the office closes for the evening, we will have a map on the door with your name and directions to your site. You can also use your reservation email to check in online and speed up the process! As this is an old and uniquely designed campground, we highly recommend arriving before dark, especially if this is your first visit.

Verizon cell service is great at our location! But sadly, it is the only cellular provider that has reception at the campground.

Our wifi service up here is so poor, we practically do not have any. Starlink use can also be extremely limited due to all of our beautiful, tall trees. If you will be in need of internet service during your stay, we recommend bringing a Verizon mifi or heading to the nearby Arnold library where they have great publicly available internet service.

We sure try to be! We do close when there is significant snow-fall on the ground, which can happen at any time in the winter months. We reopen as quickly as possible after we are able to clear the snow from RV sites.

Sadly we do not have a dog park on site, but there are plenty of roads and surrounding forest to explore responsibly with your dogs!