McHenry Recreation Area

It's a nice, clean park right on the Stanislaus River with multiple river access points and free loaner PFDs.There are two parking lots... one with about 10 parking spots and the other has about 25 spots... some spots are reserved for campers so campers always have a spot.We had a nearby early Saturday morning event and we wanted to avoid bay area traffic in the morning so we camped here Friday night. It's a small walk-in campground... you can't park next to your spot and the parking lot is about 1/4 mile way do we brought a wagon.Most camping spots are pretty close together and some dont have much room for a tent.They have modern bathrooms but no showers. Most people visit for day use to access the river and cookout facilities.The closest grocery stores are 10+ minutes away and once the gates are closed an hour before sunset you can only leave for emergencies because a spike strip prevents anyone from re-entering. So bring what you need because running to the store at 9pm is not an option.The river was slow moving during our mid-August visit & if we return we'll bring our fishing poles and canoe with us.If you don't have a kayak or canoe it's a perfect river to float on a big tractor tube or pool raft in August