Had a great time here this weekend. Only took 2 hours and 15 minutes to get here, the 2.5 mile dirt road was not nearly as bad as others reviewing would have me believe. Have a Subaru forester - not a huge clearance vehicle and was just fine. We got here Friday about 2:30pm - first ones here. It was overcast and perfect temperature. Very dry. Gorgeous river. Sites 1, 2, 3 leave a bit to be desired - small and/or on top of each other, 5 is small but pretty and overlooks a big parking area used for day rafter parking. We chose 4 - open, big and with a large live oak for shade. All sites were "on" the river. Bathrooms were very clean and the sites were too, with the exception of an enormous amount of cigarette butts. My friend's back was a bit hurt, so we didn't do a bunch of hiking - and I'm glad for that because Saturday was 80+ and very dry. Walked about 1.5 miles up the dirt road looking for the "waterfall" - we saw some runoff from the hills into the water - perhaps that was it. Regardless, it was a nice walk and very pretty. Odd about this campsite: both nights we had visitors who came after dark and left before morning. The first was just a couple who stayed for a few hours in site 5 - and didn't bother us. The second night, we had visitors at the site right next to us. They arrived at 8pm, two very small crying children in tow. They opened and closed their vehicle doors about a gazillion times, set up a tent, used their car headlights at their "lamp" and started blaring rap music. Uh uh! Friend marched over and very kindly asked them to lower the music. They did. Then they proceeded to burn brush as their firewood and when we got up at 7am, they had cleared out, leaving a bunch of trash at their site. Odd. The park service representative was uber nice and came every day - we never did see the ranger. We loved this place and would definitely come back to do some trail hiking when feeling more physically able. read more

This campground had a nice view , alms the river was right off the campsite , theirs 5 of them. It's a self pay 28 dollars a night which is on the cheaper side. Now the down fall was their was only a port of potty bathroom and no faucet water. Their happen to be a lot of bees but I think that could be normal. Also, the ride down is really rocky and should probably be paved or at least put down a full gravel road. Overall I like this campground j just need to be more prepared but im not sure if I would spend the night being their isn't showers. read more

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It's very nice and remote. The drive down is kind of tough for low torque cars. I was able to get down and up just fine in my '17 chevy Cruze. The area is clean and the bathrooms are not horrible. The river is really fresh and runs fast. I like coming down with my friends and swimming in the river for the day. The rangers were nice and we had a ton of fun. Perfect for small groups or those who want to be farther from the crowds. If you take two or more cars, be sure to fill out the day passes for each. Don't fill out one with all the license plates, each car needs it's own. Perfect for a chill day at the river. read more

Ruck-a-Chucky Campground - Little river you pass by. - Rafting/Kayaking Near Me - Auburn, California

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We decided to spend a night here on our road trip. Most campgrounds have closed in national parks in California due to wildfires and COVID. We got really lucky to find this. The road that leads to Campground like other reviewers have noted is graveled and requires a four wheel drive. Once we got to the campground though, it was awesome. Could see the smoke in horizon but we knew no fire was around us. We had first checked at the ranger station. We could hear the river all night. No one else was around us. They definitely do not have running water so make sure you load up. Overall, we had a great experience camping here. I can only imagine how crowded this place would have been otherwise if there were no wildfires or COVID. read more

I drive a focus.... the rangers said I'd be fine getting down there... warning there is a rock that will scrape the crap out of your cars under belly! While down there by the campsites my friends and I had a blast! It's beautiful and on a hot day the cold water is perfect! The sand will burn your feet!!! Prepare for that. You pay about $10 to park but it's good for the day all around the park. Going back up was scary! My tires didn't all touch the road at some points. We looked carefully for the rock that scraped my car on the way down to avoid it if possible. Nope. Didn't see it and went scraping over it again. UGG. Cars fine. Would go there again... just not in my car lol. This whole area is pretty cool I'd recommend getting the app AllTrails read more

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Warning! The road down here is extremely treacherous! There are no warning signs at the top of the 3 mile narrow road down a gigantic cliff letting you know this. Possible tire poppage or a swift kick to your car's belly highly possible!!! I have to be fair. We chose this spot while looking for a nice place to relax and swim in the water. What we got was quite a bit different. The best description for the weather here is a deep ravine oven, with sand so hot you could fry an egg (it would get sandy), and water the temperature of the arctic seas. Seriously, we barely made it running in flip flops from the lower parking lot down to the water, burning our feet the whole way. When we finally made it down to the water and jumped in, were were met with the burning, itching feeling of numbness instantly. Ouchy! This place is probably the perfect spot for rafting or boating, especially if you're driving down in a 4 wheel drive SUV that can take a beating. But other than that... I'm just thankful that we didn't decide to camp here (we stayed at Mineral Bar State Recreation campsite, which has much warmer water and much cooler temperatures for some reason). Not that this place isn't beautiful, because it really is (high cliffed walls of trees bourdering a serene looking river), but because we drove in at dusk and I'm sure my car would still be sitting there t-boned on some dagger-like protruding boulder. read more

Very awesome scenic area on the Middle fork American river! Water is crystal clear and icy cold! The surrounding mountainous terrain is breathtaking and so wonderful to look at. Lots of trees, wildlife and hiking trails to get lost on! I've personally seen a young Eagle flying through the trees and real honest to goodness bear tracks on one of the upper trails in spring time! Campground is kind of expensive and there are to many signs telling you what you can or cannot do! Other than that I enjoy this place very very much! read more

Ruck-a-Chucky Campground - Bear track near Ruck A Chucky! - Rafting/Kayaking Near Me - Auburn, California

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I'll never return to this park/campsite while Guy Chrisos is on duty! I had never been here before but I expected the treacherous drive down the mountain, the cold water, and even the bare minimum facilities but what I did not expect was to be disrespected, harassed & ticketed within the first hour of meeting my friends here. We pulled a glass beer bottle out of the river while we fished and enjoyed the beautiful afternoon and placed it on a rock until we went ashore. When Guy made his afternoon rounds he saw the bottle on the rock I was sitting on and assumed it was mine, pulled me out of the water to ticket me for $150+. Apparently being good citizens of Earth by pulling it out of the river is cause for a sizable fine. We tried to explain it wasn't ours and asked where it was posted that glassware was not allowed he just continued to yell at us saying we were being angry and rude and our questions were never answered. Once he had another female friend and I alone, he kept ogling us in our bathing suits having just pulled us out of the water, barely looking us in the eyes and constantly referred to us as "girls." He was completely disrespectful and we were in shock of how unprofessional he was. He continued to get short tempered and raised his voice to my friend when she was trying to be cooperative and helpful in paying for an extra vehicle at one of the camp sites. No, we're not done yet! Next he wanted to scold us about the music he claimed could be heard at his truck by the bathrooms. We were standing in camp #3 and it was a hum at best from where we stood 20ft. away from the river...I couldn't even see his truck from this location. It's HIGHLY unlikely he could hear the music from the bathrooms and yet we didn't put up an argument, but stood in awe taking note of his outrageous accusations. We ran into another family further up river leaving for the day and they had the same trouble with him; accusations about the ladies feeling uncomfortable around him, complaints about music mid-afternoon and pets - the one difference: the elderly father was actually drinking out of a glass bottle but HE was only told to empty it and put the rest in their vehicle. NO TICKET! They left shortly after because he had made such a miserable time of their afternoon as well. During his final rounds of the evening, I was waiting by the bathroom for my boyfriend to walk back to camp with me and once again he stopped to make me feel uncomfortable by making small talk to stare at me once again. I tried to be as short as possible so he would leave me alone and finally he moved along, but it made my skin crawl to know he was even around. The next morning no one wanted to hang around the park any longer than we had to with Ranger Chrisos on duty. We packed up our things and made a concerted effort to look for signage regarding the glassware and how this was an offense that could result in ridiculous fines. We only found one that was very vague about it being prohibited "in parts of the park" and we nearly needed a magnifying glass to find it. All other 3 camp sites had also left before 9am to avoid contact with the ranger. He's running off the regulars as I believe many of the other folks had been there before when another ranger was on duty and told us they loved their experience. As I said before, I will not return to this park with Guy on duty! I will not suggestion this park to anyone I know and my friends who have been there before have also decided to boycott this place until something is done about the ranger managing it. I think my experience here could have been wildly different had I not had any interactions with Mr. Chrisos. He's ruined the beauty of this location with his greed for writing tickets and disrespect for those who come here and pay for it's maintenance and ultimately his salary. Be aware of what you're getting into when looking for a day or weekend of outdoor fun at Ruck-A-Chucky State Park! California has SO many other beautiful places that are just as lovely but won't leave you feeling like you've been abused and used just for wanting to enjoy the wonderful outdoors our state has to offer. read more

Came down here last year with my brother, his girlfriend, and myself. We had two campsites were close to the water and the fishing was great. Going back again here in a few days with the same group and always have a blast . The boat down the hill is a little sketchy just take your time and go slow and you'll be fine. read more

I've never camped here, but I was here today for a couple hours just checking the place out. I tried to come here a few years ago in a Toyota Camry and couldn't make it - today we came in a lifted F-250, but we did pass a few sedans coming back up the hill. It took us about 15 minutes to get from the road to the campsite. We did use the 4wd on the way back up, but there were several cars at the site. What I'm trying to say is that the access road to get in is much improved. There were signs saying the campground would be closed for a few days for the Western States Trail run, which for whatever reason I thought was pretty cool. They have real bathrooms and porta-potties, plenty of parking and your campsite is only steps from the river. It was about 10 degrees cooler at the campground than it was at the main road. It is a very pretty campground. I have AT&T and didn't have service at the campground, but there were others there that did. We were able to listen to the radio all the way down and there were some hippies that had it playing quietly at their car. I was surprised at how many campers and other passers-by there were on a Thursday afternoon/evening. Everyone seemed cool though. I'll add this spot to places to camp sometime this summer. read more

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Camped here the weekend before July 4th to avoid the crowds. The site is pretty limited but the bathrooms are clean and well kept, surprisingly no foul smell which kept the girls happy during the weekend. First off get here early thursday for a weekend spot. Campsite 4 is the biggest and best site which allows for big groups (we had 14 adults/2 toddlers and got 2 sites, but was able to put everyone on one site). The rangers are all friendly and very accomidating to all the guest. I highly recommend bringing a pop-up shade since it's gets extremely hot here during the summer and the sand literally burned my feet. The river is pretty calm during the morning so swimming across is fairly easy but once the afternoon tide rises, it's best to stay near the banks of the river to avoid the strong current. There are lots of trails which mostly follow the river. River rafting companies come all morning and afternoon long picking up passengers as there is a pick up point just a few yards from the campsite. Our group had a great time and will highly recommend these primitive sites to anyone wanting to enjoy the beautiful Middle Fork of the American River. Parking is very limited so when camping with a large group, visiting the other sites of the ASRV was difficult but the campsite provided all the activities needed to keep a large group occupied. Fishing, hiking, swimming, mountain biking are all available and the views are pretty spectacular. The road isn't too bad, long as the vehicle isn't lowered or have low profile tires they're fine. Past the campsite, the road becomes a little more off-road which required a minimum 6in clearance. Otherwise we had an amazing time. The only reason I didn't give a 5 star rating is the lack of shade available on the campsites and the parking, otherwise it's an awesome place to get away and take some friends and family to visit. read more

Recommend sturdy 4-wheel drive for the road down. We took a 4-Runner and made it just fine. The campgrounds are Spartan, but there is a vaulted toilet. Scenery is fantastic: steep canyon walls, great hiking trails. Jumped in the water a few times (November) and damn, was it cold! Plan on going back this summer, but need to get there before the rafters, as this is a popular take-out spot and can get quite busy. read more