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Submission
Van Damme State Campground- $45 nightly fee.
Worth every penny. Campground is pristine, the bathrooms are probably the nicest I've ever used while camping. Showers are $1= 5 minutes and are steaming hot. A box of firewood is $10 but you get a decent amount, if you don't like the price there's Fort Bragg maybe 18 min away.
Most spots have many trees, but take note campsites 66-69 are in a clearing with none. The campsites near the entrance of the park are very small and mushed together.
Check-in 2pm checkout 12pm. 3 car max per the website.
This is such a clean, well taken care of campground/park. Restrooms with flush toilets are located in multiple areas, showers are very inexpensive, $1 for 5 minutes. Very peaceful atmosphere, loved the 8.5 mile Fern canyon trail hike. Bridges have been well kept on the hike. Lower sites by the entrance are small and crammed close to each other, not very private, but close to the ocean. The inner sites of Highland Meadows are spaced out further which is better for bigger families or multiple tents. Reservations are a must on weekends since they are always packed. Will be returning here regularly during the weekdays where only a handful of sites are booked.
We camped at Van Damme for two nights and had a great time. The campground is kept very clean (including the bathrooms!). One thing to note is a couple campsites on the upper loop have some trees that were chopped down (I think due to the storms this past year) so there is no longer shade as shown in the booking photos. We booked two of these sites but luckily had a canopy so it worked out. We stayed at sites 62 & 64. Site 64 has room for a small tent (nothing bigger). With the two sites combined we were able to fit two extra large family tents and two 4 person tents. We would definitely stay here again but would either book in the large meadow (if with a large group) or at another site with more shade.
