June 30th I visited Dru Barner Campground for the first time. There was an equestrian - runner event scheduled and I went to volunteer. Large events are scheduled in advance and since I arrived the morning of the event and 99% of the competitors were already camped the night before, I have no knowledge of the squatters, tweakers and freaks mentioned in the ither review. However, given the drug and homeless epidemic in California, and the shortage of park land coverage, I would not doubt for a second that aside from this event, that Dru Barner could be loserville when there isn't a large event going on. That said, I really hope the other person's recent experience is not the norm.
Downfalls - the "kitchen" area (two bbq grills, water spigot, fire pit, and about 8-10 picnic benches (including one bar height, benchless table near the grills) was infested with black widow webs. All of the picnic tables were lathered in their crackling webs. I want nature in nature. Widows have a place, but not on picnic benches. There are so many crevices they can retreat to, and thankfully they stayed away while we ate and enjoyed the award ceremony and raffle, but it was unsettling and removing the webs required a lot of broom work. Also, since the campground was full, the front restroom ran out of toilet paper a lot. I'm not sure if reloading t.p. during a big event falls on park management or the event management.
Upsides - easy access from Georgetown. Short paved drive (nominal pot holes) to the camp area which is not paved, but good enough in dry conditions to get a large horse trailer through the one way road, no problem. Fee payment area is easily accessible and straight forward. Currently $3 daily, $8 overnight. Many different camp sites and some offering nice seclusion. Two toilet buildings. First toilet building is just one toilet, no plumbing. The second building has two bathrooms and is directly across from the kitchen. Both have sink, liquid soap, paper towels, camping mirror, and flushing toilet (not the strongest plumbing - do not put much t.p. in toilet before flushing). Also, in the first half of the day these restrooms are extremely cool on hot days due to the brick construction! There's also a single horse tie post right outside this two restroom building as well as a water spigot.
I didn't get to explore the trails, so no input on those. I understand they aren't too technical, unlike the Tevis trail. The road is extremely dusty in dry conditions. You and your vehicle will be filthy, guaranteed. It can be the same high heat as Sacramento. Sacramento was just 4-5 degrees warmer than Dru Barner, I didn't get the reprieve I'd hoped!
If you want to stop by the bars, saloons, pizza parlor and small businesses in Georgetown on your way back, they're just 7 miles from the campground. Get out of dodge and take a stroll to Dru Barner. If you see potential squatters or people behaving in a questionable way, call El Dorado County Sheriff non-emergency dispatch (530-621-5655) and report it right away. The Verizon coverage - calls, sms, 4G data - is outstanding for California Mother Lode. I sent two emails each with a 5 MB file attached, within a minute. read more