Darrel F.recommendsFebruary 25, 2018
Odin's Helm Camp
Beautiful property... My son and I camped there for two nights in February - it gets cold! We had a heater for the tent and lots of layers so we were fine. We fished and hiked some nearby trails... A good secluded getaway from the day to day, we will go back for certain!
Henry R.doesn't recommendAugust 23, 2017
Odin's Helm Camp
I'll caveat this by saying... I'm pretty sure this doesn't happen often, but not a great experience, regardless.
Campsites were nice enough, beautiful landscapes at dusk, certainly. Pond wasn't in swimming or even fishing state (solid green with algae) but this area tends to be a bit dry in the summer. Outhouse was well kept and campsites were far apart. We chose the farthest from road (and closest to river) site with a picnic table. My brother and I set up camp, and enjoyed the evening expecting to leave early for a fishing trip in Redding, CA the next morning.
At 6:00am we were awakened by the sound of a man yelling various versions of "get the $!@# off my property or I'll shoot your truck" followed by ~6 gunshots and more of the same yelling. (to be clear, none of these shots were fired *at* us from what I could tell -- but obviously a threat) All of this was coming from the hill overlooking the river and our campsite. In the moment, the only thing I thought to do was yell back something along the lines of "Sorry, we're leaving". I'm assuming this is a looney old mountain man who's claimed the hill for himself and upset to see us, so we rush to pack up and GTFO. While packing out, I see two guys coming down the bank -- decidedly *not* mountain men. Matching hats, one has a hunting rifle, the other some sort of chest-fanny pack combo. They're also not approaching aggressively, or conspicuously -- so I figure best bet is to actually take a minute and try to talk to them.
Turns out they're quite reasonable/nice guys -- any other situation happy to grab a beer with. Apparently, this was the 1st day of deer season (bow, I believe) and these guys have a large piece of land used for hunting on the other side of the river. Last year, on the same opening day, there was a poacher camped out in the same spot we're standing. So, they assume this same poacher is back for more after getting chased off last year. Ah, that explains the hostility. There was also some obvious tension with the landowner of Odin's Helm on the intended use of his property -- but not my business and I'm sure 2 sides to that story.
They apologize and insisted we should stay (also turns out where we're standing is probably *not* their land) but we already need to get on with fishing trip so we head out. In retrospect, I think should have called the sheriff to report incident (god forbid I had my wife and kid with me) but didn't have time to wait around.
In summary:
1.) Neat campsites
2.) Very, very rural area with all that entails
3.) 6:00am alarm very effective, but I don't remember asking front desk for a wakeup call
Odin's Helm Camp
A great and secluded location....IF YOU CAN FIND IT! Its absolutely beautiful but it is in the middle of nowhere and a good amount of our time was spent lost while trying to find it. Get there early if you plan on going because it would be almost impossible to find at dark. The gate "code" is more of a padlock combination. Good Luck!!
Larissa C.recommendsJuly 4, 2017
Odin's Helm Camp
Odin's Helm was amazing. Elder Creek is utterly gorgeous, the land is great to explore and it's perfect if you're looking for a remote and primitive site. We were there in early June and the swimming in the creek was incredible. Such a special place.