Buckeye Flat Campground

Surprised to see so much water but too cold for the kids to swim in. The little drive off the highway is treacherous, enough of a deal breaker. Only 35 minute drive to Sherman Tree but hate doing the drive back. The loud river drowns out the neighbors, even the ones who had the outdoor movie screening.

Went there last month during spring break with the family. It was lovely, green, and the river was roaring. The water was cold and crazy, but there were a few people daring enough to jump right in.
The bears were supposedly still hibernating when we went, so there were no sightings. There were deer though!
We took our chances and came without an advance reservation on a Monday. We were lucky enough to find a spot by the restrooms and reserved our spot when we got there. The fee was $ 22 a night. We stayed there 2 nights.
We took hundreds of pictures when we were there. I would definitely come back.
While we were at Sequoia, we went ahead and bought the Interagency Annual Pass for $ 80. We plan on visiting other parks this year and thought it would be worth it.
Here are the links for more info:

Sweet campground! We camped here at site 20 last week (March) and I have to say it was great! This place is a bit of a pain to get to with the winding road from the main highway, with low-​lying trees separating the campsites enough so that there’s some privacy for campers. The main road in and out of the campsite is a narrow two-​way, but it’s really designed for a one way.
Cost per night: $ 22
It’s pretty secluded with the river within walking distance of the campsite. The trees were blooming and the place is warmer than the other campsites deeper in the park. Bathrooms are flush-​toilets that are maintained daily, but the place will still smell/​look quite bad. No showers or hot water available, but I’m not expecting too much since it’s a camping trip.
Temperatures for March were around 40 at night, 60 in the daytime.
Ranger comes in the morning from 8 to noon to check for people with camping permits. Also, they clean the bathrooms twice a day, which is good.
If you have more than one car, the ranger will tell you to park the rest of the cars at Hospital Rock at the entrance of the turn. It’s kind of needed for most campsites l, but 20’s so big 2 cars can easily fit.

The best place ever!!! Watch out for poison oak though.

We had been here last weekend… And Boy, the best campground so far that i had been through… Why? Because of the river… Its just a few feet away from the river and family and friends can enjoy over there… Bring all your swimming gears… You need a reservation to stay in here and just got lucky to find one with three days before we go thru sequoia… There are lot of bees so watch out… There is a clean restroom although no shower but hey i just bring a pale to shower and were on camping so we better feel to be in it… Definitely we will be back here and its highly recommended… Sure there are groups that are noisy and drink a lot… But that usually happened when your in a big group…

If you enjoy a partying camping experience then ignore my review and book a spot at Buckeye Flat campground.
This is a tent-​only campground located at the foot of a long curving pass that leads to the fabulous sequoias. The drive up is beautiful but definitely gets old and the heat you’ll experience at this lower elevation campground makes it hard to enjoy it during the day unless you’re in the river with a cold beer in hand. Good thing that’s what most campers at Buckeye enjoy!
It was immediately obvious that most of our camping neighbors were not staying at Buckeye with intentions of hiking or enjoying the park but rather because of the campgrounds proximity to the river. Think lots of beer, tubes and big groups of people. Our neighbors were up well past 2 am the first night, music playing loudly and drunken yelling filled the night. About ¹⁄₃ of the campground consisted of similar groups. The second night several young girls woke us up around 3:30 am, running and screaming throughout the entire campground. We actually witnessed the campground host exit his tent, grab something from his bear box and say nothing to the girls. I’ve been camping for over 20 years and I’ve never experienced a national park campground that cared so little about maintaining an at least somewhat peaceful environment after dark. Ear plugs only go so far. If you are planning on enjoying the national park and need a good nights rest to do so — go elsewhere. The only reason I give this place 2 stars is because the grounds themselves were adequate.

This was a first ever camping trip for my husband and myself. I’ve been camping when I was younger, but he never has.
This campground is beautiful, and beautifully secluded. The road into the campground is very windy and quite a bit away from the main road. We just got back and stayed Thursday (⁵⁄₇) through Sunday (⁵⁄₁₀), and it was cold! It hailed on us on Thursday night, but Friday and Saturday it warmed up a bit. It was far too cold to get into the river… but we did it anyway. I think the «slide» area is no longer accessible as the water has receded so much because of the drought, but there were still some decently deep parts. The water was absolutely frigid though– quite the experience.
Overall, this place was great. Some of the sites are closer to each other than others, but it wasn’t too big of an issue. Our neighbors were very pleasant people, so it was all good.
It’s about a 30 – 45 minute drive to Lodgepole where the showers are, but the facilities at the site are very much acceptable (bathrooms, large sinks for washing dishes).
Each site has a picnic table, fire pit, and a bear box– which are quite large. We will for sure be coming back– we’re already talking about another trip when it’s warmer to better enjoy the river.

This camp site was a surprise.
I booked a few nights here mostly because I didn’t want to have to deal with RVs.
First, it’s down this narrow windy road (which I really liked). As I entered I got to see a few kit foxes, which added to the wilderness experience.
Pros: Tent only campsites. The campsites can hold about three tents, but since it was just me it felt big. Bear boxes are big enough. And surprise, surprise my site was a mere 2 min walk from an amazing creek that was still ice cold-​which is great because even in early September it was in the high 80s. I didn’t find it too crowded, but then again I went after Labor Day. Word of advice: If you go to a popular National Park during the summer-it’s going to be crowded, no matter what campsite. The toilets are flush and there is a sink to wash your dishes.
Cons: The camp sites are close to each other, but my site was on the corner so it didn’t bother me. The road is very narrow so even if you have a small car, you might have to hug the side to let others pass (this is only on the entrance road).
All in all, I absolutely loved this campsite-​the creek, the fact that there is no RVs, the calmness-​totally recommend it.

Stayed for four days during early June 2014. The water level had receded about a foot since an earlier visit to the campsite in May 2014 but was plenty deep in the pool area directly below the camp.
There is a cliff jump (~18 ft. high) and slide in this pool area. The water was still deep enough to do both during out visit. There is a bridge up the path that people jump off as well. This bridge is about 5 feet higher and has a shallower landing zone so be careful if you attempt.
Stayed in campsite #16 which was nicely located next to the restrooms. The restrooms are flush and there is a dish washing area as well. Inside the family/​accessible restroom there is a power outlet if you need to charge any electronics. The campsite itself was fairly close to our neighbors but we didn’t mind.
The park rangers are quite strict about using the bear boxes. Make sure you have all your food locked away and the bear box closed (even when you are in the campsite) or else they will come around and talk to you.
The temperature was a little warm in early June (low 90s) but we went down to river during the day to stay cool. The water temperature was a good temperature to get out of the heat. When I went previously in late May, the temperature outdoors was mid 80s but the water temperature was really cold. Cold enough that you didn’t want to swim it for more than a couple minutes.

Awesome! It’s super hot temperature wise in the summer, but it’s also right next to the river, so you can jump in.

Stayed at Buckeye Flats 6÷19−6÷23 2013. This place is absolutely amazing. It is first come first serve til may of next year when it becomes reservation only. There are trails that lead upstream to the bridge where you can jump off into crystal clear water or hike across the bridge for another couple minutes to a beatiful waterfall slide. Hike downstream a few minutes and there is another waterfall slide with a beatiful 20 foot deep swimming area where you can sun bathe on the rocks or jump off the rocks. Complete paradise. There are bathrooms that were surprisingly clean and 2 big sinks to do ur dishes in which were very conveniant. We will be back next year no doubt.

Buckeye Flat (in Sequoia)
Open late spring to early September (through the end of Labor Day weekend).
Location: In the foothills along the Middle Fork of the Kaweah River, 4 miles (6km) from Sequoia Park entrance & 12 miles (19km) from Giant Forest. Elevation 2800 feet (853m) in an open stand of oaks.
No reservations: First come, first serve.
Amenities: 28 sites, 1 handicap site, tents only, flush toilets. One bear-​proof food-​storage box provided at each campsite: 47″ long x 33″ deep x 28″ high. There are several additional boxes for sites to share.
Fee: $ 18/​night.
My complaints: Too much luxury camping and not enough wilderness. Bathrooms & huge sinks to wash dishes, etc was all supplied. Yes, it’s nice of the park to offer that and it’s VERY convenient for everyone but the idea of camping is to rough it dude!
Also, a lot of the camp sites were too close to each other therefore there wasn’t much privacy among the campground.
Last but not least, all of Sequoia campgrounds are definitely not for the party animals. Quiet hours were around 10pm or so. Boo…