THE SANCTUARY CAMPGROUND

Quiet and enjoyable

Rustic- and private. Lovely setting. Steven is very friendly and helpful

I stayed at The Sanctuary for two weeks living from a tent. It was a sanctuary. I felt very safe and rested well. It was quiet and with the location perfect for star gazing without any city lights. It is a bit of a bumpy drive back in but I was able to get back fine with my Mazda 3 and enjoyed the spectacular views on the drive in.

Steve may come across as a bit rough around the edges to start with, but dont be fooled by that. He might be bold, loud, and public with his convictions and beliefs, but he's one of the kindest hearted people you'll ever meet- always willing to help and is quite the story teller too. This was my first experience camping off grid to this extreme but Steve has loads of experience and is always willing to answer questions and had so many great tips for local highlights and national parks and I soon felt at ease and confident living life in the wild.
And... he also helped out with a flat tire.

The camp is entirely off grid but there is still access to flush toilets and showers. One day I went into town and heard there'd been a power outage in town. I never found out. Obviously with all off grid living there is a process to keeping those conveniences running, (genetators and propane) but if you communicate with Steve he can always use his truck to get the water pressure/pump going as needed.

All in all: i can't wait to go back.

This is a gem! My husband and I stayed for only one night on our way across th country but would have loved to stay longer. Very peaceful area. The local town is very cute. The owner is very nice and hospitable.

We ended up not staying the night. We drove all the way down a winding one lane dirt road past where it said the site was on the map. We were greeted with a sign saying “Biden is not my president” and a gun rights flag and other political messaging. We could not turn around because the dirt road was one lane and in poor condition and we were towing a camper. Steve took us to a site near his house and helped us back our camper in “to the best site” which had garbage on it. Once we were able to back our camper into the site, we drove out of the campground.

The trail into the property Isa bit rough but we made it in our station wagon without any issues.
Steve and his family welcomed us very warmly and showed us our spot overlooking the valley. The whole area is fairly densely wooded and finding a perfectly flat, stone and root free spot is tricky so worth bearing in mind. We have airbeds so this wasn't an issue.
There are nice flushing toilets and hot showers which is a really nice bonus.
Spectacular views and huge chipmumks

Wonderful and unforgettable experience.
We highly recommend this campground, beautifully perched on the mountain side. Our family loved exploring the property. There were so many activities for the kids. There were chickens and roosters. Bikes, a baby swing. A small obstacle course. Basketball hoops. A volleyball or badminton net Even a church.

There are amazing views too.

The host Steven was friendly and accommodating. He welcomed us with humorous stories and answered all our questions. He checked on us after we set up and we had a great time exchanging stories with him and learning about how he built everything on the property himself.

We had the pleasure of meeting several other campers who were just as pleased as us with the exception of one elderly woman, if I recall her name was Donna, who was rude and invasive to other campers and demanding toward the host. I felt terribly sad that such a wonderful person was being treated so unfairly. His property is off grid and rustic and is ideal for people who appreciate nature. If you want a posh hotel and a butler to order around this is not the place for you.

You must order the mountain man breakfast! Steve prepares this feast himself and it exceeded all expectations. The food was so delicious and the best meal of our whole trip.

We can’t say enough good things about this place. Excellent value for a memorable stay.

My stay was awful. I upgraded from a campsite to the large cabin. We were informed by our host when we arrived that unless we brought our own generator, we would have no electricity. That is NOT what was described when I reserved the cabin. at 10:45 pm, someone looking for the host opened the door and shined a flashlight in my face. It was sweltering in the cabin and needless to say, it was a horrible night. I would never stay here again or recommend anyone stay here.

Response from Steven, the Host, on August 3rd, 2021

DONNA YOU ARE A BOLD FACE LYING DISGUSTING HUMAN BEING! NOT ONE THING YOU SAID WAS TRUE. AS I HAVE OUTLINED BELOW, ALL ANYBODY HAS TO DO IS ASK! THEN I GO OVER AND BEYOND TO HELP THEM. BUT YOU'RE HATRED FOR EVERYBODY BUT YOURSELF KEEPS YOU FROM COMMUNICATING. THEN YOU LASH OUT AT PEOPLE IN SUCH A SLANDEROUS WAY TO FULFILL YOUR INSECURITIES AS A TINY EXAMPLE OF A LOST HUMAN BEING. I WILL BE CONTACTING HIPCAMP TO HAVE YOU REMOVED FROM OUR COMMUNITY SO YOU MAY NEVER BOTHER ANOTHER HOST OR OUR CAMPERS AGAIN! 11 POINT REVIEW OF THE BOLD-FACED LIAR DONNA: 1) first off nowhere on the website hipcamp or any of our other websites does it say The Sanctuary has buildings with electricity in them. 2) the upgrade to a cabin was from a tent spot to a building with beds in it and a full bathroom and a living room with a wood stove to keep warm in the winter. It didn't say an upgrade to electricity! 3) the website states that we are off the grid, the definition of grid is the electrical grid that supplies electricity to a country, therefore off the grid means no electricity. 4) we do offer the rental for $75 a day for a generator. 5) Donna was at a campsite with other people when she asked me the question why the switch and the building didn't turn the light on. That is when I told her well that's because there's no electricity in there. I told her that she could either bring her own generator or she could rent one. Her response was why would you put switches and lights in a building that's doesn't have electricity. She never requested a generator 6) while she was socializing with her friends, out of courtesy I placed an extension cord in her doorway from the big generator running the lodge building. 7) I got busy with other campers arriving late I didn't get a chance to explain extension cord. When I went to the cabin she had thrown out extension cord and it shut the door. 8) For Donna just say that some camper opened the door because the door doesn't lock is a bold-faced lie. All my cabins & buildings have working door locks on them. 9) the next morning when the maid went to clean the cabin Donna rented it was left a disgusting mess! A small trash barrel was turned upside down with his trash continents askew on the floor. And in the bathroom there were used tp clumps on the floor & the The free bottles of shampoo & conditioner were on the shower floor. Then the hide a bed was not returned to its couch position 10) also the next morning when her friends were leaving their campsite I was told by them that Donna had a CPAP machine that's why she needed electricity. We have had this situation over a dozen times and we always say no problem and we get a generator at no charge and hook them up with electricity. But not Donna never mentioned anything about a CPAP machine or needing electricity that night before. I cannot accommodate people by reading their minds I can only accommodate people who communicate their needs to me. 11) I don't appreciate people like Donna who make up lies about me and my campground because they failed to ask the necessary questions before making a reservation or they mixed me up with another campground. But in any event I will reiterate nowhere does it say that there is electricity in our cabins other than the rental of a generator. Therefore I will not refund her any money and I will block her from ever coming to our campground ever again.

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Remove vote :(

My wife and I spend a very nice week here so my review is based on my 5 days there where I have the chance to enjoy the camp and discussion with the host.

About the camp. Location is nice, with a lot of three and beautiful mountain view. Ground is dusty due to the past very high temperature and dry weather, but nothing really big except when you have some strong wind. Camp spot are split enough so each can have privacy and at the same time you can share with other people if you like to. The town is really really nice, they have an amazing laundromat if you need one and the bar next to it do nice pizza.

Campground is under constant improvement by the host Steve.

About the Host. Again, we spend almost one week there and I read past review before booking, and we had plenty of time to discuss with Steve and I feel like mandatory to focus on one main point here. Obviously, Steve is a patriot. He will tell you. Sign on the road will tell you. The Hipcamp description of this campground will tell you. Is it a good or bad thing ? I don't care. But during my stay I witnessed people turning away when they saw one Trump sign and a flag because it "hurts" their feelings and this is one of the weirdest thing I saw in my cross country roadtrip (from NYC to Washington state area -round trip-).

Believe me, I am French, so for whoever I want to vote in my country, the average American will consider my choice either as a communist or at most a Bernie Sanders level. Nothing close to a Trump supporter but I feel really uncomfortable with people leaving this beautiful (and cheap ! - Remember, I am French so that matters a lot to me) camp just because of one flag and one sign at the entrance hence why I am writing this review. And worst, they missed an opportunity to meet Steve, an amazing host with a lot (and yeah, a LOT) of subject to talk about.

And I pity them, they also missed one of the best American breakfast I ever had because of, again, one sign and one flag when I am sure, they could have told Steve that they just wanted to enjoy his land without much "discussion" with him, and Steve would have share his land without trouble.

Even if you are a Bernie Sender supporter, I think you will, as I did, enjoy your stay here.

Response from Steven, the Host, on August 3rd, 2021

Matthew and your lovely wife were a pleasure to have here! I enjoyed all of our discussions debating world politics and the implications of thereof. Years ago, probably 30 or 40 years ago, the Democrat party used to debate the topics of the day. We now call them the JFK Democrats. It was a pleasure to have you here so I could remember the old days with robust but yet friendly and considerate discussion. Unfortunately today the Democrats are racist anarchist who only tolerate one point of view which is theirs. I think if you stay here long enough Matthew you will become a member of our Republican party. LOL! ENJOY OUR COUNTRY ON THE REST OF YOUR TRIP OH, YOU OLD SOUL YOU! LOL!

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Remove vote :(