Rhododendron Camping Area

Very well maintained, clean campground with spacious campsites and clean, well stocked bathroom (no showers). Very close to Cooper’s Rock overlook, playground, hiking/biking trails, Cheat Lake, marinas, etc. Definitely bring your own wood. And pop-up tents are a good idea. (Apparently due to the geography it rains there quite a bit so the extra layer of shelter was key.) Most of the sites have at least one close-ish neighboring site so don’t expect tons of privacy if it’s booked, but it is a heavily wooded campground so there is some privacy and lots of shade. Fire pits have a built-in grill, and are pretty close to the one-way little road loop. The road is nicely paved and in good shape (so it’s nice and quiet). There are ***no RVs*** allowed in this campground and two tents max per site. Dogs allowed but must be leashed. Two walking trails lead to the toilet house which is in the center of the campground (see map photo attached) - one trail starts from campsite #4 (and passes the water point) and one is next to campsite #14 (which is directly across from #13). It’s just a few minutes walk through the woods (our campsite #13 was about 630 ft away - see photo), but note that the path is dirt so very bumpy with roots/rocks and muddy in the rain etc (FYI for those with mobility issues. The walk was shorter from #4 I believe). Some sites had a hook for garbage bags, others didn’t. There are group sites available as well, which would have been nice for us, but we didn’t see that in the reservation site so I have no idea how to book those (or whether RVs are allowed there or not). We had a group of people - some with tents and a party with an RV, so the RV folks had to go to McCollum campground down the road, which was a slight bummer. We called the number on the reservation site and they gave us all conflicting information almost every time, so beware of that. We didn’t have any issue with creatures messing around with our stuff overnight, but there were signs that bears have been seen in the campground and warnings to be “bear safe” (ie lock food/fragranced/cooking items in the car overnight when possible). Overall the campground is great even though the booking process was confusing - we had a great time there and enjoyed it!

The campground was rustic but clean. The rangers came around more than once a day to check the bathroom. It would be nice to have a place to wash dishes. And a bathhouse would he fabulous - but they did advertise as no bathhouse so it was expected.

3 nights here. I agree with Eric Stoller's review except for one thing.... not every site is the same. The sites vary greatly as to whether there is a constructed tent pad, location of fire ring/picnic table, or the substrate. Some sites are completely flat and dirt while others are rocky and slanted a bit. When booking zoom in on the pictures as much as you can to make sure you're getting a good spot. I had 2 locations during my 3 night stay and 1 was great but the other I had to exchange for a different site because it was too slanted for sleeping in my vehicle. Also the sites are fairly close together, I'd recommend coming during the week when prices are cheaper and less crowded.

We stay here often for short climbing trips. Super peaceful, quiet, clean. I think all sites have a tent platform now, a picnic table, and a firepit. We always see deer wandering around. The bathhouse is kind of far from the sites but it does have running water, toilets, sinks, mirrors. No showers. The gift shop at the overlook area has some essentials if you've forgotten any (snacks, lighters, water, firewood, etc). Easy check in there as well.

Campsites are surrounded by rhododendron flowers and rocks. The only downside is that the shower place is 3 miles away at the other RV campsite

Campsites were nice. A little unhappy the flushing toilets were all out of order and they placed Port o johns in one place for the whole loop of campers. They should spread the portable toilets out and advertise that the flushing toilets are out of order.

It is a great camping area for tents. Just be aware of the tent pad sizes. My 9x11 wouldn't fit on the pad, but there was space on the site to still set up so it was all good!