Gulpha Gorge Campground

great campground. nice stream, quiet and friendly peeps, beautiful surroundings. good amount of flying bugs. what you expect of the region, but had a couple annoying wasps that made us eat inside the camper van. Quiet after sun down and relaxing in the day. really nice hike up the hill behind the campsites.

I just got back from a cross country trip (NYC — LA — NYC) and this campground was actually the first one we stayed in. The babbling brook that runs through the campsite is incredible. since it was early May, it wasn’t busy at all, so I slept like a baby to the sound of the water. Also, it cost $ 10 for the night to pitch my tent which was awesome. No showers, but we basically cleaned off in the mineral bath we took at the bathhouse the next morning (HIGHLY RECOMMENDED EXPERIENCE! @ BUCKSTAFF BATHHOUSE for only $ 33, but that’s a whole other review).
Each site has a table, BBQ pit, and a slice of area for your tent. Clean.
I wish I could have stayed longer to hike the trails, but this actually ended up being one of my favorite places on my whole trip and I plan to go back for more hiking and hot springs!

This is really interesting find: a National Park campground with fill hookups, landscaping and a beautiful locations. The hosts and camp service people do a good job of keeping the place clean and within the rules. It’s a bargain at $ 30 per night for full hookups and $ 10 for dry camping.

This is probably the worst campground in a National Park that I’ve ever seen.
The campsites are not good for tent camping at all — there is barely any room to set up your tent, and privacy is about zero. Most of the people here are in RVs, so you can expect to hear generators, TVs, and even bug zappers. I only saw 2 sites with fire rings, the rest all have BBQ stands only. To make things worse, US 70 is right next to the campground so you should expect to hear trucks, semis, and cars most of the time you’re there (even at night.)
There were also several homeless people staying here, which isn’t an issue except that some of them seemed like they were on drugs.
You have to use the machine to pay for your site, and it was only taking cash. Be careful which site you pick, if it has RV hook-​ups it will cost more (and these are the better sites.)
The good news is that there are hiking trails, and you can hike to the bathouses.

I loved staying at the Gulpha Gorge, my husband and I found it extremely peaceful and met some of the nicest people. It’s an affordable getaway. I think it was $ 10-​ish for tents and $ 20-​ish for RV’s, but don’t quote me. We were able to pay with plastic, which is basically awesome.
The Good: It belongs to the National Park Service so they maintain the property really well. A stream runs alongside the campsite which is really lovely and a few trailheads start at the gorge. (Though I will caution that the Dead Chief Trail is a bit of an unexpected challenge with its loose gravel and dramatic elevation changes.) And there’s a volunteer campground host usually around to keep a handle on things. There’s a good feeling of security here; people look out for each other.
The Bad: A spur road runs next to the campground and you don’t notice it until a big semi-​truck drives speeds through, which of course happens in the middle of the night. So if you’re a light sleeper… Then there’s the bathrooms, which are just bathrooms. As in, no shower.

There is a babbling creek along the campsite you can hear as you sleep. Be prepared to pound your tent stakes in with a log or a hammer as the ground is gravelly. There isn’t any privacy between sites but there is decent space between each. We didn’t have any issues hearing our neighbors although they weren’t rowdy either. It’s 1.7 miles from Bathhouse Row. Sites are $ 10 per night. No showers but we did the bathing experience in town. Nice, clean bathrooms. We regret not hiking any of its trails as we heard they’re lovely.