We were very disappointed with our stay at McConnell State Recreation Area campground. When we checked in, our campsite was filthy, with trash scattered throughout the site and the fire pit completely full of garbage. After I called, someone came by and did a light cleanup, which I appreciated, but the site should have been clean before our arrival. The biggest issue was the flies and gnats. From morning until sunset, we were constantly swarmed. It made it nearly impossible to relax or enjoy being outside. The overflowing trash cans throughout the campground certainly didn't help and likely contributed to the problem. The bathrooms were also in poor condition. The showers (which require quarters, so come prepared) had dirt, hair, and grime, and the restrooms were dirty with spiders, toilet paper all over the floors, and generally felt neglected. Our kids did enjoy playing in the river, but it had a noticeable sewer-like odor. At night, there was also a very loud machine-like noise that made it difficult to enjoy the peaceful camping experience we expected. Overall, this was not an enjoyable trip, and unfortunately we won't be returning. read more

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Came here with a big group (40-45 people) for Group Campsite A this past weekend (Friday check in through Sunday check out). Plenty of picnic tables and plenty of space for our tents in the shade. Plenty of parking as well. We also reserved Group Campsite B because we thought we needed more space, but we didn't end up needing it. However, Group Campsite B has its own parking spots (can fit 6 cars comfortably I believe) which was good use for us for our friends who came on Saturday when it was packed with two different baptisms and other day use overflow. Group Campsite A didn't have its own parking and could only park at the overnight/overflow lot, which was fine for those of us that came on Friday when it was empty. Group Campsite A is more secluded/private and has outlets as well. Group Campsite B didn't have much shade and was next to the other campsites. The bathrooms nearest the group campsites got pretty gross by the end of the day with all the day use people using it as well, but they were cleaned every morning. There was another bathroom at the other end of the park near the rest of the campsites, but didn't feel the need to go to them. Park Rangers also made a point to come by and get trash every morning as well and collected them from us at the river! There was a big dumpster near Campsite A that we could walk to as well. The river was close by. Campsite A had a lot of shade and we didn't even need our EZ-Ups. We brought them down to the river instead. There were coin showers (25 cents per minute and minimum of 2 minutes required each time). It was really hot Friday evening through Saturday morning and a TON of bugs, but Saturday there was a nice breeze and no more bugs. Saturday night got really cold into Sunday morning. Will definitely be coming back here in the future for more big group camping! read more

McConnell State Recreation Area - Great corner spot of the river we set up at! - Parks Near Me - Ballico, California

Great place for camping or day trip! Group camping site has water clogging issue and park ranger didn't fix that in our 2 night stay. read more

This was our first time here. We were invitd by friends and met them here because they arrived really early to get a spot. As we drove in we notice the parking lot was really crouded and full. We circled around a second time and lucky for us we found a parking spot not to far. Traveling with kiddos the first stop was the restrooms. We found an open one and it was ok considering we were at a park and a lot of people use them. Luckaly I have my complementary Yelp bag which I filled with bathroom items I might need, like, toilet paper, Clorox wipes, gloves, taper towels, baby wipes, and hand sanitizer. Yes, I come prepared, lol. They did a good job getting a great spot at a table next to a grill and another spot near the water. They had a canopy and chairs set up right on the water which was great idea. We lounged in the chairs while the kiddos played in the water. It was a nice spot where the water was very shallow and the current was very calm. A perfect place for younger kids to play in the water safely. Spent most of the day at this spot conversating with other parents and watching the kids enjoy the water, rocks, and play. It was a great day well spent with family and friends. I read some of th other review, however, I felt safe spending the day here with my family. I noticed the camping parking spaces with families that seamed to be having a good time. read more

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We went during a busy time in May and wow that was a mistake. There were only 4 bathrooms and they all were disgusting! Toilet paper on the floor, wet floor and urine. I will never come here again as even the showers were nasty with peoples left over shampoos, red solo cups on the ground. In addition, when floating in the river you get bitten by who knows what!! read more

Nice family park an camping spot or fishing , grilling $12 for day parking staff are nice read more

McConnell State Recreation Area - River - Parks Near Me - Ballico, California

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If you're looking for quiet nature camping, this isn't for you. I read reviews talking about groups playing loud music into the night and thought, "Maybe it's just the rare group that does that." Nope. We had 3 different groups in the immediate area doing that. It was as if each was competing to see who could play their music the loudest. The bathrooms are nasty. It's almost as if someone put up a sign saying, "You know what? Just piss anywhere. Maybe some will hit the toilet." Parking sucked. There are two types of parking passes: day and overnight. If you get there after hours, you can't get an overnight pass so you have to wait until the morning and hope you don't get a ticket in the meantime. Day pass users will park in the overnight parking spots so that sucks too. The river was fun. Definitely kid friendly. It gets a little crowded but still fun on a hot day. read more

A safe place for kids, great family atmosphere. Love it had so much fun with my little ones. read more

McConnell State Recreation Area - The water is clean n clear. - Parks Near Me - Ballico, California

Look, I've had Yelp for a long time. This is the first time I've rated anything one star. I don't even know where to begin. I just had such a horrid experience I turned to my dad and told him I'm never ever coming back here. Something about it is so eerie first of all. I felt like I was in a game of Slenderman and I was about to find my first note in the showers. We had to circle arouns the place to find our camp because the camp markings are so tiny with no lights on them. The people there were something else- super loud with no regulation or rules. One guy came up to us and told us not to leave anything in the bathrooms cuz someone stole his phone that was charging. Then later we found our car door open with things out of place- luckily we didn't find anything missing but still creepy. Then. The worst thing. The bathrooms. Oh my god. I've been to a LOOOOT of campgrounds and most are actually super nice. This was dirty, uncomfortable, smelled like weed, no toilet paper, and there was a giant poop in the toilet. I just wanted to get the hell out of this place asap. DON'T GO. read more

One of the best places to go to for Merced/Atwater area in my opinion. This place is great to go to for summer time, and my kids love it. So we mainly go for the river. It's great to go floating, especially at the end of summer since the current isn't as strong and the water level isn't high. We usually have an area where we setup next to the river, and we would grill and hangout. It's a must to have a canopy and water shoes (if you plan on going in). There's really not much shade around, so you definitely want one to not get sunburned. We usually arrive early to get a good spot. I noticed a lot of people arrive around the mid afternoon, and it's impossible to get a good parking spot close to the river. So if you plan on going here, make it a whole day trip. Though the only complaint I really have is that there are inconsiderate people that leave trash. (So always bring trash bags as well). There's a spot that's around the parking area that's designated for trash disposal. But you know.. for some reason the cleanup is such a drag that some people just leave it by the river. Either way, I've seen people go fishing, bring their dogs, grill etc. If you are in the Merced area, and you want to go hiking, camping, swimming, and such, this is the closest state parks around to do that. read more

Great place to go with family and kids.  Big camping sites, heavily covered in trees, and located walking distance to the river.  They have 2 beaches.  The less developed one sometimes allows dogs. Camp hosts are friendly and so are the rangers!  Spent almost an hour talking to them both! Make sure you make it to the river.  It even had an improvised rope swing. Tip!  -- The ranger station has life vests at the main entrance for kids to borrow. Tip - October starts the salmon run on The Merced river. Tip - bring a fishing pole.  They have black bass, blue gill, trout, and catfish.  We saw tons of fish. read more

McConnell State Recreation Area - Parks Near Me - Ballico, California

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I've been here a total of 4 times in the past 2 years as a stop between home and our final destination and I can't really complain. This place is definitely more of a day-trip kind of stop on a trip; weekends are when it is truly busy and when all of the families come together and barbecue it up next to the river and such. Sundays are great and really quiet (we stayed on a Sunday once). The river is always relaxing and at the perfect temperature for such high heats of the valley, at least during the summer when I have gone. There is plenty of beach room and swimming area and there is a tree swing on the other side of the river. Also, the current is so slow I always mistakenly call the river a lake. I haven't discovered an area in the main watering hole that is more than maybe 7-8 feet deep and there is a great amount of shallow area to wade in the water Both periods I went, there was one somewhat okay day (the weekend) and then a great day. Day-trippers are required to leave at sunset and there is a park patrol who enforces that but once the day-trip people leave or move to their campground, that is when the "party" happens. There is a strict 10pm-6am noise curfew that NO ONE follows during the weekend or when there is a significant amount of campers. But, I have been irritated enough at 11pm to go across our campsite and ask them to turn it down and did it within seconds. I honestly believe that the groups don't realize how loud their music is so you just need to give them a polite wakeup call. It would be nice to have patrol come around at curfew (10pm) to turn down/off the music. So yeah, I would suggest this as a pitstop between home and your final destination or for a family picnic if you're extremely local. FYI, I would suggest reserving your spot because most times we have gone, the Park had a sign saying "lot full." read more

Needed a halfway stop on the way to the bay area and rain...82 when we got here at 2pm : -)! Here on a Monday in February, so no worry about crowds. The rangers were nice, the park was clean and we could let the dog run off leash cause there's no one else here! It worked for us. read more

McConnell State Recreation Area - late Feb 2014 - Parks Near Me - Ballico, California

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I booked a client from Los Banos we can't drive, so I have to drive out there to do her photoshoot. I found this place on yelp and thought I'd give it a try. Keep in mind, I'm from Tracy and never been out this way. BUT I FELL IN LOVE WITH THIS PARK! We only stayed around the parking lot area but I can't even imagine how beautiful the rest of the park is. I want to go back and explore it. But sadly is about 2.5 hours from me. Anyway, I was able to get some amazing photos of my client and she loved them! I wish this park was closer! read more

Went there for a family camping trip and turned out to be a horror. Some guy came into our site with a huge knife saying some one was trying to kill him and if we could give him a ride . The kids and dogs were terrified , dogs are barking kids are crying Im scared. Then a second guy comes from the back with a knife and a call pulls up to our site and these two guys get in d car . What was that all about... The car takes off and then comes back drives by our site again, by that time we called the police and started packing up . We had made reservationsfor 3 nights but ended up going home . We were not trying to make news - slaughtered family found at camp ground lol .Its cheap to camp there but ghetto people ruin it! If your going be careful and aware of your surroundings . read more

Some of the other reviewers are nuts. This place is awesome! The water is very clear and surprisingly warm. Great place to go picnicking and taking the kids swimming. The water is not too swift for younger swimmers and it has a long shallow beach which drops off into a great swimming hole. The rope swing seems like it could be dangerous, but also looks like a lot of fun. If you live within an hour of this park, it is well worth the trip to take the kids - they will have a blast. Take food and water, the park is remote and has no snack bar or nearby store. read more

Ok i just saw these reviews and decided to give it a try yesterday. So anyhow after paying within a 1 minute drive i wanted to leave because this place is a hell hole but not many options that late in the day and no refunds. So now the review... i contemplated on whether to give it one or two stars i decided two and will let you know why. First off this place and the guests are comparable to the dirtiest part of LA meets a river..the thought is quite disgusting..People and kids cross your camp like theyre your family ( not cool at all ). The river is comfortably accessible from one spot and let me tell you that spot is not for anyone looking for peace or comfort..it was the loudest and disrespectful groups of people ive ever seen(yes groups) not one group of a few but more like 50 groups of 5 or more people and lets just say LET THE CUSSING BEGIN...you cant tell whose parent to what kids cus nobody is looking over kids (INSANE BEING AT A RIVER!) i found myself looking out for children just in case and let me tell you there is stress with that cus you can clearly see the visitors were not swimmers but acting a damn fool like they are in command of that water... So i scouted from the area and found a dirt side parking lot and there we found a nicer more remote area with only a few people (about 30) lol Now that is why i gave a 2 star versus 1...if that area wasnt found i would have just stomped all over this review... this place might have been good in the 80s but now its disgusting to say the least... now if youre not opposed to the shadiest looking neighbors who cus and drink all damn day...give it a whirl you may love it :/ Also i grew up near the beach and one thing i can not stand is people fully dressed and swimming! it just looks awful! i was in shorts and a tshirt prior to going in the water and at that point i felt i was almost nude compared to others and heres some advice if youre going to weigh 250lbs at 5' 6" please MEN do know where see through shirts...its not stylish at ALL!!!!! anyhow i can go on for days about this slum of a spot. WOW did i give it a 2 star!? if they had no star system then they would have gotten 1 star for the spot i found but 2 stars seems way too high!! hope this helps EMMA you were sooooo right!!!!!! i bow to your review read more

Its a great little place to go camping. Their restrooms have a mirror, toilet paper, seat liners and electrical outlets. Their showers are coin opperated put provide (hot) water. The rangers clean and restock the restrooms everymorning and take out the trass. The camp sites have fire pits and food lockers. And the river and parking lots are walking distance. Would definatly check the weather before reserving a spot. But we picked the perfect time bc it was warm yet breezy. Would def come back again. read more

McConnell State Recreation Area - Parks Near Me - Ballico, California

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B E W A R E: You will be told to park anywhere and then be given a citation for parking in a "campsite", which we absolutely did not do. Unless you call unmarked parking spaces in front of bathrooms, "campsites". That was $60 for a day at a poorly maintained "park". Time and money wasted. First and last time we will ever go. Bathrooms are also very neglected. read more

Small campground with good tree coverage and close to the river but apparently the people who camp there have zero consideration for other campers: loud m, shitty music and yelling at 3am, motorcyclist doing loops around the camp at 2am, conversations that could be heard across the campground until 4am, trash everywhere, dirty bathrooms, and people walking through our campsite...I have never been to a campground with such entitled assholes. It gets 2 stars because it was shady and a decent location but the people ruined it. read more

The "park host" there I is so racist! We seeen a sign tHatvthey charged not for parkIng but for RVs. We checked out the pkace and we were about to take I off since we were lOoking for walking trails. The guy aggressively comes towards my car doesn't even say hi to me nor attempts to be nice in any way and demands $10 I didn't want to argue so I gave them to him and left!!!! Not even knightsferry charges $10 they charge $5! I will never ever go back there again I truly fElt harassed because I'm Mexican. Never had I ever felt the way this man made me feel. read more

Had a fun time here with family during Fathers Day weekend. The park has a few nice shady areas to relax, bbq and little river streams to dip into. The park is equipped with private restroom stalls so if you need to have a #2 you can with no worries. The park is also equipped with an outdoor shower for rinsing off. Now aint that something because you dont see that everywhere you go. Great area for fishing as well. My kids caught a few baby big mouth basses but had to let them go, too tiny to keep. Plenty of good size bluegills at the park, good for frying up. Alittle hard to find so make sure you use a GPS. read more

Lots of reviews are negative and I completely disagree. This place is very nice and clean. The beach was pleasant and was perfect for a group of people. The bathrooms were kind of messy, but that is sort of expected while camping. I had a really great experience here! read more

I use to go to this place often last year, but due to the bad experience I no longer go. It's such a shame for a small town, this is the closest river park we have. Good place for fishing small fish and for kids to practice. They are very strict when it comes to opening and closing. Will drive around yelling to tell day user to leave. They don't manage their animal policy at all. We see dogs (often time huge ones) roaming freely. I don't want to get bitten, especially for my kids. This place will get extremely pack during the summer and people will play music extremely loud, but park doesn't do anything. The lady that lives there who we see all the time is rude. read more

I love that this campground has big beautiful shady trees and is right on the river. We loved splashing and swimming on a hot day. There are large groups of folks picnicking etc, even an outdoor baptism ceremony on Sunday! Unfortunately there is a lot of littering both in the campground and by the river, and although I saw the staff trying to keep bathrooms clean I think there is too much day use traffic to keep up with the mess. The park could perhaps do with more cleaning and more patrolling to make sure folks clean up after themselves. read more

I rate this place 3 stars because I've been camping every year since I was 7 years old. Before it was peaceful very nice and we felt so much freedom. However since last year and this year I came again I feel like I'm not free to do anything here. The lady that is a ranger volunteer or whatever she is. She is very rude, super strict and makes a huge deal over a small thing. She was angry over who was gonna pay the parking. No one rejected to pay. Honestly I think she shouldn't be here. I feel like she's on everyone's case trying to see what bad they do. Everyone here comes to enjoy their time. Not to be guarded and told what to do every single hour.. this is definitely my last time I come camping here because of this lady.. it's a shame and upsetting I have to give up my yearly tradition over an exaggerating rude lady that is grumpy. read more

I was just here with my family and our stay wasn't all that great. I had my reservation since months back and it turns out the tree from our site fell on its own and it was full of sun. Now I know it's something no one can control and it's part of nature but if this happened i would've like to be notified and maybe her offered something else since I have a 15 month old and a 3 yr old. The lady told me there was nothing she could do for me that there wasn't any other site available I wonder why because the 2 nights we were there we had no neighbors! So we had to leave all of our food and drinks with the rest of the Family that were in the campsite across from us since they had shade but it was still annoying! I just wish the lady would try to help out a little more than to just say well there's nothing I could do for you ! I also saw like 20 ppl in one site which wasn't a group site I didn't think that was fair because she made a big deal because we were 2 ppl over lol other than that we had a very good time at the beach that's what my 3 stars are for ! read more

Excellent river water is room temperature, I love this river sand looks like gold,nice place for kids and families

I have gone many times and had great experiences. Someday's there is a parking fee and others there is not. I have ridden my bike from town many times just to go hang a hammock and relax for a few hours. I have never camped here before, but it looks like a place that would be fun with a large group of people. The only complaint that i have was last time I got in the water there was leaches. read more

we came all the way out here on a day trip from sf. we were not disappointed. it's a 2.5 hour drive with no traffic from the bay bridge. once we got there, we asked the ranger where it would be best for our family to hang out and picnic for the day. he looked in our truck and said give the river down at the end of the parking lot a try since we didn't need tables. we drove all the way back and unloaded our stuff by the river. the river was clear, warm and slow moving. we hung out in the river for 7 solid hours. it was so nice i moved one of our lawn chairs in and sat half submerged for an hour or so. towards the end of the day, we waded downstream about 50 yards and came upon a short, swifter moving area. my youngest at 4 years had a flotation device and just loved walking upstream and then floating quickly into the banks after a 20 yard float. it was so shallow and safe i had no problem hanging out in midstream and watching her have her fun. this park is really nice. relatively peaceful as all the overnight campers were more upstream. btw, it was 60 degrees in sf and 90 degrees when we left mcconnell at 7 pm. some recommendations: - try to arrive early. - bring plenty of water and food. - bring some sort of flotation device for the kids. otherwise, enjoy this jewel of a river/park. read more

Nice for little kids to go to river. Lots of trees to provide shade. Camps very close together. Bathrooms are gross tho..

Friendly staff and the park is very well managed. We like to do some fishing use this as an access point for kayaking. However, be aware that this is sharp glass in the River. WEAR SHOES AND HAVE YOUR KIDS WEAR SHOES!! read more

If I wanted to go to sleep on the rangers time I stay home and go to bed early. They don't want any noice past 10pm this place sucks if you are staying overnight spect the older lady who lives on premises to make you go to sleep at the same time she does 5pm lol read more

Definitely not coming here ever again! My family came here to came for more than 10 years every year was nice until last week! Ranger came the first day like 3 hours we got there only 7 ppl at the came site and ranger said "we were too loud" he came to try to prevent from others complaining from the "loud music". First off felt like the ranger was racist and didnt like us at all! Every year they came to empty our trash cans if they were full. Not even one single time they came to our campsite to empty our full trash cans or not even bags so atleast we could put the bags to the side!!!! Anyways second day low music most of the adults playing volleyball and ranger came said "loud music" again!!! seriously such BS!!!! Was so annoying!!! Have it for sure my family was annoyed too and we all agreeed were not returning ever again! Plenty of nicer places out there! read more

If this evening is typical, this campground should be shut down. A group of three is playing loud music and yelling. We asked them to turn down the music and we were informed that they could do anything they want. There is no way to pay the camping fee. The restrooms are unbelievably dirty. For five more dollars I could have stayed in a clean RV park. Why does California even have campgrounds? CA cannot manage their campgrounds and they charge far too much, leaving hoodlums to take them over. read more

Our group of five families had booked a group site and went there on a Saturday afternoon for two nights. We were there at check-in time exactly, but some other group of ghetto people had occupied our spot. They would not even budge when we told them we had reservations. Adding to this, the place is managed by an incompetent ranger. After waiting for two hours they emptied the spot (We had to remind the ranger to make the people move several times). Later, some other group ran a long extension cord to get power from our site. The bathrooms were stinky as hell. Will never return! read more

Bad experience the rangers, felt harassed and discriminated one thing is that they are there to help and protect another one is that they harassed and try to act like officers. Horrible horrible. read more

I think this is a great little state park. lots of family celebrations going on and there's always families visiting during the daytime. the river is great for groups because for most of it it is quite shallow but you can venture out into the deep parts for a real swim. the temperature in the summer is amazing. the camp areas are very well shaded cooling it down a few degrees which really helps when its 100+ weather. there's a little pink market carnicia, taqueria, grocery on your way there which has almost everything but firewood. you can buy wood from the park ranger (if you can find him) for $6 a bundle. lots of people just passing through overnight and lots of us young people getting drunk and laying in the field to look up to the stars. couldn't believe how many shooting stars i saw. a few trees to climb. not a good place for hiking as i didn't really see any trails except for one behind campground a. good place for bbqing, water fun, and enjoying the scenery. you'll still have cell phone reception. showers are 50 cents for five minutes and the larger group campground have electric outlets. read more