Knights Ferry Recreation Area

Pros: We had the campground to ourselves. Water was calm this year around. It was mostly flat with a smooth downstream flow. Water was shallow and perfect for beginners. Lots of giant bullfrog tadpoles and fish. Pit toilets and nearby trashcans. Cons: Parts of the river's edge were inaccessible on foot because of the gated private properties or there was simply no trail. Our floats were short. We floated down the same section of the river over and over. It's like a 1/2 mile section. Other rivers u can float for hours before hiking back to your campground. Also another thing I didn't like was how close the other camp sites were to mine. I booked a group campsite and other single campsites were like 10 feet away. It wasn't an issue because my group was the only group camping. But if it had been more packed it would've felt claustrophobic. I prefer primitive campgrounds and these had way too many picnic tables with cement plots, too many fire pits and just too many "campsites" for a single campground.Also the address is wrong. It should be 10500 rodden road

This was my first one at Knights Ferry and it was beautiful. I moved to the Central Valley about a year or so ago and I love finding new and amazing spots to relax and enjoy life. Knights Ferry is a wonderful place to see some historical sites and really take some time to enjoy nature while sitting next to the river as water flows. If you're into hiking trails you can also walk along the river using a trail or just sit next to the river and lay back on a rock. The only issue was parking but that's only an issue when really busy.

I camped here this past weekend with 40 people and everyone seemed to have a fantastic time. Okay...maybe it was only 39 people...but still. Our friend, the birthday girl, reserved the entire campsite. This was our 4th annual camping/rafting/drinking trip and this is by far my favorite campsite that we have used. The only downside was that is was a bit of a walk from the parking lot to the campsite. However, it was totally worth trekking ourselves and all our stuff in and out since we had a shady, secluded area right on the bank of the Stansilaus river. They have two pit toilets (hey, better than nothing!) and plenty of fire pits, trash cans, hooks for lanterns and space for tents. Moonlight was sparse at night, so be sure to bring flashlights and/or lanterns. A bonus is that the end of point of our Sunshine Rafting (http://www.yelp.com/biz/sunshine-rafting-adventures-oakdale) adventure was just a few miles up the road from the campsite.

I camped here last weekend for my friend's annual river float down the Stanislaus River, an event she's organized for the past ten+ years. When the powers that be were informed that we intended to do a 20+ person float down the river in inner tubes and blow-up boats -- as has happened every one of the ten+ years prior -- we were very casually advised to exercise caution as conditions were more severe than usual this year.On Saturday 7/16/11 in the afternoon, after I was pulled out of the emergency rescue boat that was called when myself and two other friends almost drowned, I was handed this notice from Orange Blossom Recreation Area, the neighboring camp where the emergency boat docked:"NOTICE TO VISITORSCurrent river conditions are extremely cold with fast moving water. Only experienced swimmers and boaters utilizing professional quality equipment should enter or boat the river. Hypothermia can quickly set in and can be deadly. Life jackets should be worn at all times when in the water or boating. Three people have drowned in this river this year and none were wearing life jackets."Our warning was not anywhere close to this specific or severe -- if it was, we would not have gone in. I give Valley Oak Recreation Area one star for otherwise being a very nice campsite, but their failure to properly warn us about the river conditions -- as their neighboring camp did -- came very close to costing a few of us our lives.