SP Campground Review - Three Island Crossing State Park, Glenns Ferry, ID

Reblogged from Wheeling It:

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A very green and wonderfully historic State Park in South-Central ID.

Note/ Review updated as of last stay May, 2013

Link to campground here: Three Island Crossing State Park, ID
Link to map location here:  Three Island Crossing State Park, ID

1. Site Quality = 4/5
   The site quality here is very nice although upper & lower loops are quite different. All are long, flat paved sites with picnic table and fire-pit.

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Just a quick update of our park review for Three Island Crossing State Park. Still ranks very high for us as a stop on I-84.

Green, Greeen, Greeeeen!!! Three Island Crossing State Park, ID

A very happy kitty

This park has a ton of cool displays about the historic Oregon Trail

On Wednesday we arrived at Three Island Crossing State Park and saw GREEN GRASS!! Now, this may not seem like much of a thing for most of you, but since we’ve spent the last 4 months in semi-arid desert it was a total revelation. We parked the rig in the lush GREEN lawn, piled out of the RV and ALL 5 of us flopped down and rolled around with reckless abandon in the grass….GLORIOUS!!!

This green stop also marks the end of our desert travels, the end of our time in Utah and the bridge to our summer in the Northwest. Since the beginning of January we’ve been in desert mode and have spent the vast majority of our time either boondocking or dry-camping. In fact when we arrived at Antelope Island early this week it was the first time we’d dumped or re-loaded on water since Monument Valley! That’s almost 3 weeks “in the boonies” on our tanks, a pretty typical span for us these days with good water conservation. It’s also one of the things we love about the SW in winter -> tons of easy boondocking, low-cost camping and opportunity to get in the “wilds”.

Not a bad view for afternoon cocktails!

Afternoon walk on the trails

Now that’s a nice, green pad!

From here on out we’ll be spending more time in campgrounds and thus a little more $$ on camping, at least until we get to our summer jobs in Bandon, OR. This is not because there are no boondocking opportunities in the NW (there are, although you’ll get less and less of them as you approach the coast), but mostly because we really, really love the NW state parks. So we’ll be taking a rather cushy tour along the Columbia River Gorge and down the WA/OR coast with the luxury of hookups, at least part of the way..

As for Three Island Crossing State Park, it’s a spot we discovered on our dash to OR to get our big slide issues fixed a few years back. We found it and immediately fell in love. It’s a super-easy stop on 84 north with huge sites, TONS of green grass and a really neat visitor center. Apparently we’re not the only ones who think so. Yesterday afternoon we noticed a rather familiar rig enter the campground (Paul and I both swore we’d seen it in Antelope Island) and a short time later we got a visit from some blog readers. Indeed they’d been following the same route and ended up in the same spots! We spent a fabulous evening chatting with young fulltimers Brian and Sharon who are on their way to a workamping job in WA. We had so much fun I took zero pics, but can you can share the creative side of these fine folks through Brian’s self-published Amazon book Indian Paintbrush.

But first we’re making a stop in Boise. Paul is taking a quick trip home, I’m going to be getting into trouble tackling a few RV projects and we’ll be stocking up. So it’ll be back into “the maw” for a while before we get back into the wilds. All part of the journey

P.S. I also want to say thanks to blog reader Ward who braved the gnats at Antelope Island to come out and visit while we were there. Your company and bottle of wine was most appreciated!

Hiking at the park

Polly cools in the Snake River

Gorgeous sunset

And moody sunrise

SP Campground Review – Antelope Island State Park, Syracuse, UT

A lone bison on the beach at Antelope Island State Park

A wonderfully spacious and relaxed state park on a unique island in the middle of Great Salt Lake, ~41 miles north of Salt Lake City, UT. Just be sure to check the gnat-situation before you come!

Link to campground here: Antelope Island State Park, UT
Link to map location here: Antelope Island State Park, UT

1. Site Quality = 4.5/5
   Really fabulous sites here. We stayed at the Bridger Bay campground which is the best area for individual RVs on the island. There are 20 pull-throughs and 6 back-ins all large, flat, paved sites (only one site #9 was a tad small and uneven…the rest were lovely) with excellent paved “sitting areas” containing large covered shelter, separate table, picnic table and fire-pit. Some of pull-throughs are so long they could easily fit 3 “beasts”! Very nice separation between sites and plenty of space to relax and spread out in camp. Lower and upper sites are tiered so every single site has an excellent panoramic view of the beach and surrounding nature. Only slight dings are no shade or hookups.
   Note/ There is a separate campground  a few miles from this one called White Rock which is more suited towards group campers and not nearly as nice IMHO. If you have the choice stay at Bridger Bay.
2. Facilities = 3.5/5 
   Basic, but good facilities here. Several toilets in camp, but no showers (there are showers at the beach day-use area below the visitor station). Dump station and potable water right below visitor station. Lots of picnic areas around the island plus marina and boat-slip on north side.
3. Location = 4.5/5
   Antelope Island is a place you come here to get away from it all, and on that front it totally delivers. Once you cross the 6 miles to enter the Island you enter a whole different world with almost zero traffic, lots of nature, tons of hiking/biking trails, excellent birding, sand/sea, boating and sweeping views. There is a wonderful on-site visitor center, a historic ranch and plenty of spots to drive and visit around the island. It is quite the place! Despite the feeling of isolation you’re only ~6 miles from Syracuse which has all the basic shopping you need and ~41 miles from Salt Lake City. The only possible ding is that the island does get really bad gnats from ~April-June. It’s a seasonable thing so I can’t really fault it too bad, but you need to be aware of it before you come.
4. Pet Friendliness = 4.5/5
   Very good pooch spot as long as the gnats are not out. You have plenty of space to hang out to camp and are right next to miles of  great hiking trails plus a very nice beach area. Only slight dings are that dogs are not allowed on the southern trails (southern end of the island) and are not officially allowed on the day-use beach.

Overall Rating = 4.25
BONUS ALERT = Camp on an isolated island with sweeping views of beach/sun/sky and nature!

Summary: What a place is all I can say! Antelope Island is the largest island in Great Salt Lake and is accessed by a 6-mile road across the lake from Syracuse, ~41 miles north of Salt Lake City. It’s a completely unique place with practically zero traffic, lots of nature, miles of excellent hiking/biking trails, beach/sea, birding, marina, visitor center and historic ranch. There are even free-roaming herds of bison! There are 2 main camping areas on the island, both on the north side Bridger Bay (mostly for single RVs) & White Rock (mostly for groups). Bridger Bay is a very spacious and pretty spot with 26 large, paved sites. It has wonderful paved “sitting areas” each containing shelters & fire-pit, excellent separation and sweeping views all-around. There are no hookups, but the sites are wonderful. White Rock is not as nice and mostly for groups, but also has excellent views. The only real ding for the Island is the gnats! They can be very, very bad especially from April-June (the park website even has a warning about them on the front page). As soon as temps drop or the wind whips up they’re gone, but the rest of the time they are relentless. Despite the biting insects we were blown away by the local nature and loved our stay here. If you’re in the area I would recommend this as a “must-see” as long as you check the gnat situation before you come!

Extra Info: Mixed/unstable Verizon signal going from 1X to 4G LTE! We were able to get a rock-steady and usable data signal by forcing our hotspot onto “3G only” and using our external antenna/amp. 26 campsites all reservable on-line (no hookups). Sites cost $10/night. There is an additional $3 one-time fee to enter the Island. On-site dump station and potable water (just below visitor center).

Typical site view. This is our rig in #2

View of lower-tier campsites looking back towards our rig. On Left is site#4, we’re in site#2 right behind it. Lots of separation here!

View towards end of lower-tier sites. #7 on left with #9 (the only site we didn’t really like) behind it.

View of “end site” on lower tier. This is #8

View along beginning of upper tier sites. Empty site #11 on left with RV in #13 behind it. RV in #12 on right.

Another view of upper tier. RV in site #12 on right.

Yet another view along upper tier sites. This is #15. You can see how the “tiering” works here. Our RV is just visible on the lower tier in middle-left.

View of back-ins at end of top tier. Empty site #18 on right with RV in #20 on left.

“Aerial” view of the campground taken from the hiking trail. Our RV is on left.

View of typical “sitting area”. This is our site #2

View of facilities

A Place Unlike Any Other (Oh, And Gnats) – Antelope Island State Park, UT

A glassy sunset from the shores of Antelope Island

Polly poses in the big salty flats

It’s a place unlike any other. An island in the middle of an Ancient Salt Sea, a spot almost unfettered by human touch where the most primitive of earthly rocks (up to 1.7 billion years old) lie side-by-side with the most new (tufa deposits from the last 10,000 years). It’s an oasis of green and raw nature, a birders paradise, a place where the buffalo roam (I am not kidding). It’s astonishing, astounding….magical.

Well, unless the biting gnats are out…

We arrived at this island paradise 3 days ago, and the gnats hatched 2 days before that. The lady at the entry station informed us of this lucky coincidence as we paid the $3 nature fee to get in. Being the eternal optimist I reasoned that it couldn’t possibly be that bad. I mean I’ve lived in Asia, hiked the rain forests of South America, RV’d through the mid-west in summer.

Then again, I’d never been to Antelope Island.

Birds flutter in the setting sun

Very early AM…and the gnats are already out!

A pronghorn takes a look

This place is absolutely everything that the story tells you. It is…literally…an island in a sea of humanity. When you cross the road from the massive suburbia of Salt Lake City and drive the 6 miles across Salt Lake to enter the 28,000 acre island you emerge into a whole different world. Bird songs fill the air, gulls swoop over the salt ocean, white-tipped mountains reflect eerily in the glassy-still lake. And then you see buffalo (whole herds of them on the beach!), pronghorn antelope springing in the plains, rabbits bouncing through the grass…even a lone coyote crossing the road. You are enveloped by the glove of nature, surrounded by pure beauty. And your massive RV site (easily the size of 3 “beasts”) sits lone alongside the beach with 360 degree views and nothing but the tweeting of birds to keep you company. WOW!

Practically no-one is here.

Of course, that could have something to do with the gnats…

Our RV site sits lone on the shoreline

Paul strolls in Salt Lake…of course he has nothing to worry about

Another magical sunset

Now at this point in the story I should interject that Paul is a very lucky man. You see he has me, and I don’t mean this in the “oh it’s so romantic” sense I mean it in the “I’m a blood-sucking insect magnet” sense. There exists not a biting insect on the face of this earth that has not wanted to dine on ceviche-a-la-Nina. Paul may have the advantage of a natural resistance to bugs, but he is backed up by the iron-clad security of carrying along the mobile bug all-you-can-eat buffet that is moi. Within the first half-hour of our stay at Antelope Island I had at least 100 bug bites and by evening my skin looked the human version of a walking pineapple. Even Klingon’s could win a beauty contest against this one. Paul of course, was utterly untouched.

All I can say is the bugs are bad…..very, very bad…

Historic Garr Ranch – a very cool visit

View from Bison Point Hill

And a last look at some last light

The only respite from the biting bastards are before sunrise and after sunset. The rest of the time they swarm like…well…bloody insects and your best bet is to stay inside with everything shut. Despite the amazing beauty here, miles of biking/hiking trails and even an on-site historic ranch (which is very cool) we’ve decided we have to leave early. We’ve loved the view from our RV window and enjoyed some pretty amazing sunsets, but after battling valiantly through three days of unrelenting gnats we concede defeat and will probably leave tomorrow.

That is unless the gnats leave first…

This is most definitely a place unlike any other.

Note/ According to the local ranger the gnats hatch as soon as weather warms and stay in force until temps hit around 90. This means the best times to come to Antelope Island are probably very early spring or late fall. Totally worth the visit, as long as you plan for the gnats!

Sunset in the grasses

A lone bison on the beach

Gloriously perfect reflections

Old blacksmith equipment

At the Garr Ranch

And a last sunset

Boondocking With Curves & Gods – Goosenecks State Park, UT

It’s a postcard moment

Parked gloriously by the rim

The past 3 nights we’ve been camping on the edge of a meandering chasm, 1000 feet above the San Juan River with 300 million year old rocks below us. The view outside our window stretches to infinity and the river snakes its way in bulging and dramatic curves deep into the valley below us. Best of all this entire area is free…completely gratis…a grand old payment of absolute zero to stay here. The combo makes you feel magnificently privileged and completely insignificant at the same time. We’ve made it to GoosenecksState Park, deep in the heart of SE Utah. We’re only ~30 miles from our last stop at MonumentValley yet it feels like a completely different world.

Self-panorama of the fabulous curves at Goosenecks State Park

It’s a different world here

Utah is something else. When I’m in this State I feel more remote than almost anywhere else I’ve been. So much of this place is so very barren and so little of it is inhabited. It looks like a giant Martian landscape with massive buttes stretching to the sky and large swathes of desert valley floor sweeping far into the horizon. There’s almost no-one on the roads and the complementary colors of deep red rock and bright blue sky ever-changing with the days’ light make it a photographer’s dream. It’s such an odd place, yet it feels spiritual and relaxing at the same time. Weird, huh?

Polly poses for YET another shot by the rim…patient girl that she is

Wild views in the Valley of the Gods

The CRV is dwarfed by the buttes

This jumble of emotions applies perfectly to the Valley Of The Gods, the “mini-MonumentValley” of SE Utah which just happens to be right next to us. It’s a short drive from our boondocking spot to the start of the 17-mile dirt road (San Juan County Road #242 -> in very good condition I might add) that takes you through a slew of interesting formations. The sandstone buttes in this area stand up to 1200 foot deep and date back to the Permian age 250 million years ago. Water, wind and ice have sculpted the shapes that the Navajo believe are living spirits -> warriors frozen in stone and guardians of the earth. In modern terms the buttes have less creative names like “Lady In a Tub”, “Sitting Hen” and “Seven Sailors”, but that doesn’t detract from their splendor. It’s a mega-cool drive and if you’re a small rig or truck camper there are some spec-tac-cu-lar boondocking sites along this stretch (no way we could get ”the beast“ in there unfortunately).

“The beast” parked on the ridge. Can you see us?

Backlight afternoon light on “the beast”

A rare shot of BOTH of us!

Red views in the Valley of the Gods

We’ve really not done much since we’ve been here except gawk at the view, photograph panorama’s and enjoy the spectacular drive through the Valley. Given that we have almost zero internet (we’re talking a trickle of measly 1X) that’s only added to our outdoor time and limited our blogging. BUT there has been ONE incident….well, TWO if you look at everything in totality, but one in particular that’s caused an “eeeeek” moment and had us scrambling to take almost everything apart in the RV. It’s a helluva story and it’s not done yet but that, my friends, is best left for better internet and a later blog post. For now, just assume all is well in RV-land and the wild soothing view is the only thing on our minds. ‘Tis a pleasant fantasy and I hope you will linger a while J

P.S. Our new, new boondocking spot has even less than zero internet so it may be a while before you hear from me again unless I feel motivated to drive into town That’ll put me a tad behind on blog posts, but it’ll be worth the wait…I promise..

Ring sculptures by the rim

Pretty weeds

Fiery red flowers

And pretty purple ones

A gorgeous sunset

Our afternoon cocktail spot