Eshom Campground

Hello friends on this trip I explored Eshom Campgrounds, but was unable to stay long due to a prescribed burn of the of eshom forest, so I made my way to Hartland Christian Camp Whitaker Forest Rd where I stop and prepared a meal with tea. There are giant Sequoia trees near Eshom camp.

5 star experience for those who look for wilderness with a clean toilet and running water!! Middle of nowhere before the Kings Canyon entrance. --We came from the south, heading northeast on CA-198 E. We took the CA-216 W to Dry Creek Dr. and stayed on that to Eshom Valley Dr. This was a long, narrow, windy road. Then Wortman Mills Rd to the campground entrance. I had downloaded offline maps and had no problem navigating. --It was so quiet, and if you didn't breathe too loud, you could hear the creek from our campsite. Isolated dark skies and a million stars! The large meadow at the end of the campground was lush in August. I did not see any cows :( The creek was within walking distance of almost all the sites. We tried traipsing along what we thought was a trail we found at the end of the campground, but it's overgrown and dead ends at the meadow fence. There are bear boxes, fire rings, and tables on each site. The bathroom was clean and the spigot was close. We collected loose wood at the entrance for firewood and swept the campsite for kindling. Nature provides :) A great tranquil campground! A few other groups were camping but it felt like we had the whole place to ourselves! --I highly recommend if you have time to commute to and from the park entrance. It's as close as you can be to the park without being in with the crowds. It took about 45 minutes on forest roads to get to the Big Stump entrance where 180 forks. --Wortman Mills Rd turns left and becomes Forest Rte 14S75. Then a couple miles on 14S43 and 14S45, which ends at the General's Highway 180. -The forest service roads are mostly compacted and smooth, with tree canopy and breathtaking vistas, but a few deeply rutted areas made me glad we brought my husband's Chevy Silverado and not my Subaru Forrester.

Beautiful place to camp! I would not follow Googles directions though. Maps is suggesting taking an unmarked dirt road off of Hwy 180. Forest Service directions say to take Hwy 180 to Hwy 245. Hwy 245 is currently closed for repairs at Hwy 180. From Fresno I prefer to take Hwy 180 to Dunlap Rd. Dunlap Rd to Hwy 245. Hwy245 to Whitaker Forest Rd. which is the road the campground is on.

After a tortuous, 3+ hour drive exiting Sequoia to 180 (where we learned 245 was closed forcing a detour) we finally arrived at Eshom Campground yesterday at 330pm. We passed through a Church camp to get there and the camp leader assured us we were going the right way so I'm very confused by all these positive reviews. Here is what we found on July 10, 2024. - control burns right near the campground entrance with a dozen or so firefighters. - two giant, menacing looking cows stationed at the park entrance. - no camphost on site. Nowhere to be found. - no other campers, anywhere. It was completely deserted. - firepits overgrown with weeds and nasty vegetation. Burnt wood all around. - no shade for the campsite we reserved. It was 107 degrees. Why was this even an option? It advertises itself as a campsite in Sequoia National Park. That is - in its current form - false advertising. It would take a camper at Eshom 3 hours to reach Sequoia unless they had a vehicle and the knowledge to navigate the Forest Road, which is NOT advised by Park Rangers. Needless to say, we left. No cell service, no updated maps, nothing to guide us out of there other than the navigation of our vehicle and the understanding we needed to drive south. Maybe we got there on a bad day? I have video of the campsite we reserved. It was f'n gross. Hideous hell hole of a spot.

Great experience overall. Steve the host is knowledgeable, helpful and funny. It is kind of far from the actual sequoia national park attractions but a quiet place to spend a couple of nights....

5 star experience for those who look for wilderness with a clean toilet and running water!! Middle of nowhere before the Kings Canyon entrance. --We came from the south, heading northeast on CA-198 E. We took the CA-216 W to Dry Creek Dr. and stayed on that to Eshom Valley Dr. This was a long, narrow, windy road. Then Wortman Mills Rd to the campground entrance. I had downloaded offline maps and had no problem navigating. --It was so quiet, and if you didn't breathe too loud, you could hear the creek from our campsite. Isolated dark skies and a million stars! The large meadow at the end of the campground was lush in August. I did not see any cows :( The creek was within walking distance of almost all the sites. We tried traipsing along what we thought was a trail we found at the end of the campground, but it's overgrown and dead ends at the meadow fence. There are bear boxes, fire rings, and tables on each site. The bathroom was clean and the spigot was close. We collected loose wood at the entrance for firewood and swept the campsite for kindling. Nature provides :) A great tranquil campground! A few other groups were camping but it felt like we had the whole place to ourselves! --I highly recommend if you have time to commute to and from the park entrance. It's as close as you can be to the park without being in with the crowds. It took about 45 minutes on forest roads to get to the Big Stump entrance where 180 forks. --Wortman Mills Rd turns left and becomes Forest Rte 14S75. Then a couple miles on 14S43 and 14S45, which ends at the General's Highway 180. -The forest service roads are mostly compacted and smooth, with tree canopy and breathtaking vistas, but a few deeply rutted areas made me glad we brought my husband's Chevy Silverado and not my Subaru Forrester.

Love it here. A little off the beaten path but very quiet and peaceful. The campground manager steve is super nice and he keeps the vault toilets very clean. It is a bit of a drive to the center of the park, but we dont mind the drives through the forest.

This campsite is off the beaten path, but once you’re there, it offers large sites, clean bathrooms, and a small creek running through the campground. My only minus for the site was the distance that you have to travel to get to the National Park. If you book here, be sure to read the directions carefully, or you’ll find yourself on a bumpy road!