Sheldon Creek Campground

The road was bumpy and twisted, the campground was way way out there and way down a steep hill. I could hear the creek way down there somewhere but it was not easily accessed so it was basically dry camp with a single permanent outhouse type bathroom. The campsites where primitive no tables or fire rings or defined areas.

Boy oh boy this location is pretty but it is such a headache to get to! 😭 DO NOT follow google maps it will lead you 10 miles up a winding steep road and have you turn off onto a dirt road that is CLOSED to the public with a gate blocking the road. This is the only way I’ve been able to reach this spot: On your maps search for Contento Vineyards, it’s about 3 miles east of Hopland on 175. It is not an official building simply an outdoor wedding venue. The vineyard will be located on Old Toll Road and this is the only road we found that for sure, without a doubt, absolutely leads to this spot. (OLD TOLL ROAD WILL TRANSITION TO YOUNCE ROAD WHILE YOURE DRIVING ON IT) The road is partially paved for about 1-2 miles down Old Toll road, however at one point the road will transition to an extremely winding one lane narrow dirt road that hugs its way up the hillside. It’s recommended you have a truck or lifted vehicle with 4 wheel drive for the dirt portion of the road. But we saw a few people in lower cars that seemed to make their way fine to the site. I wouldn’t trust any vehicle lower than a Subaru Outback. After about 6 ish miles or so you’ll reach the entrance to Sheldon creek and it will be clearly marked as such. If you can endure all that, The campsites line the road all the way up to the road end where there is a single non flushing toilet for use however there is no door on the bathroom. There is not many campsites and it’s not really an area where you can easily trek off to find your own makeshift site to use,(you’re surrounded by incline) so I’d recommend arriving as early as you can. Surprisingly there is decent service here with Metro. Also there is TONS of poison oak literally everywhere. We ultimately only ended up staying one night and still enjoyed ourselves however the bs we had to go thru just to find the spot probably means we aren’t gonna be returning to it anytime soon. Be warned just do tons of research first on the roads you’d be taking to get to this spot before just plugging it into maps and hitting the road. At one point maps took us literally THRU someone’s property before we hit a dead end. Just do your due diligence.

March 19 2024. Road is narrow no turn around to speak of. Relatively in good shape. If you do not like heights do not go. I had no problems with a Tacoma packing a camper

It's a slow and rough ride in if you don't have a vehicle suited for dirt roads. It IS possible, but it feels like a long trip in. It probably feels more "worth it" if you're looking for a relatively quiet place to stay for a couple nights, but we were just passing through. The campground itself is pretty primitive, but there are pit toilets and some spots with tables and fire pits. Cell reception is pretty spotty.

Late in the night we arrived and found our spot 8 miles into the woods. Maps will take you off on a road in the middle of 175 but it reaches a locked gate. Only entrance is off old toll road west on 175. Cow mountain / red mountain camping area was closed due to storm and camping near whilits was closed for winter. This spot saved our butts giving us a place to setup for one night during the storm. Had seen fallen trees on the trail heading back down 1/9/23