Extra special mountain campsite
River View at Jackrabbit Ranch was exactly what we were looking for in our two night camping trip: secluded, remote, quiet, wild... and all the other words that describe a beautiful campsite tucked into a river-filled valley.
Heidi was helpful and communicative in our messages and gave great instructions to get there. The road to get to Heidis gate is pretty fun and wild. We had some concerns about our small rear-wheel drive sedan, but it did totally fine and I think most other cars with somewhat reasonable ground clearance will as well. As for the road down to the river that others have mentioned: it’s a bumpy and windy road from the campsite, but no worse than the road to get to the ranch itself. It was maybe a mile or two (at least it felt that short), after two metal gates there is a pull off with a sign for “small car parking” and enough room for one or two tandem cars to park. This parking is for any car with two wheel drive as the grade at parts gets steeper on the final road down to the river and only recommended for 4WD. The walk from the small car parking down to the river itself felt very short, maybe 1/2 mile if that, with a few hundred feet of gain, and very manageable even in high 80’s weather. Once down the road there are the railroad tracks where we took a right to find the stairs on the left after a few hundred feet. We encountered exactly zero other people for the entire afternoon. The water is mostly shallow and clear. The day we went it got quite windy so keep that in mind, also bring shade (that won’t fly away two times like ours did).
The campsite itself is huge. We were only two people but Heidi is not kidding when she says it can fit 30. There are several pads that are relatively flat to pitch a tent and park a car. The center of the site has the fire pit with ring and metal grate that fits inside. The PPTP was clean and tidy and stocked with TP. The views from all of the sites are really lovely, mainly looking at the opposite mountain from the river.
This site felt super special and very much worth the tiny trek to get there. If you are looking for remote and quiet, this is it. We look forward to our return.