McConnell State Recreation Area

"Lovely little spot fairly close to Sacramento that's also not in the mountains / foothills. River access and grass in the campsites for a softer sleep. The beginning of November gave us big trees starting to lose their leaves, quiet, not busy. Bathrooms were clean, but lots of little bottle caps and various litter esp around the river access. There's a small feral cat colony here too (camped with kids who loved to see!) But still a little sad. The signage needs to be cleaned it was impossible to read, see other reviews for photos. Night time you can hear the trains not too far away but not terrible. Campsites are spacious and have animal storage boxes for your food/kitchen supplies. Parking is easy, there's a small amphitheater and it's close to the 99 and some stores a few miles away"

"This is a nice little state Park. The campground looks nice and the picnic area is great, if a little dirty and shabby. The nature opportunities and chance to fish look good. But there is also the sadness of neglect, California State Parks SCREAM "maintenance backlog". Some of the plexiglass on interpretive displays are so cloudy and worn out that you can't even read what they say about the natural history of the area. The restrooms were fairly clean for a state park, this surprised me in a pleasant way! But we shouldn't be celebrating modestly clean restrooms. We should expect clean restrooms. The park worker at the booth was professional, nice, and helpful. I'd give five stars, except for all the obvious signs that California taxpayers have given up on having excellent, well maintained State Parks we could be proud of. Overall, we seem satisfied with a kind of half serious neglect. But maybe that is the right thing to do since we are actively turning the planet into Venus, and will have no children or grandchildren to enjoy this special place anyway."

"Ok for a day trip, but don't think I'd camp here, too many people w loud music during the day, and night would probably be worse . The grounds are lovely w some very big and beautiful trees, a nice short hike out to the river w sandy beaches. I'm sure the landscape will evolve w the ever changing river."

"Nice campground along the Merced River. Currently 21 sites (20 sites available...site #21 held in reserve). Closed to swimming at the moment due to high water levels - assume this will change late summer, but call first if it's a deal breaker. River is moving swiftly, so be careful if you decide to swim anywhere along this river right now. Most sites have shade. Lots of mature trees. Bathrooms are so-so, showers were gross. Noise levels were insane. Lots of families blasting Norteño music at all hours...was there Friday-Sun, so maybe try weekdays, or bring earplugs. On Friday one group was blasting music until about midnight. No response from the passive employees at this location. Apologies if you like this sort of camping vibe...I can handle (and do expect) some campground noise, and have kids - so not bothered there. Don't mind generators if they're not too loud. Most newer gen models are pretty quiet these days. However, the younger crowd pumping tunes at this campground put things on a whole different level than anything I've seen elsewhere, and I've been camping a ton for over 20 years. Too bad as it's a relatively nice campground otherwise."

"This is a such a fun spot for day use or camping. It does get loud with campers playing music and kids running around. I can say that at 10 pm, everything and everyone quiets down. We walked down to the river, crossed it and found a secluded shaded spot for picnic and swimming. People are super friendly and it does get crowded. We enjoyed our stay and will be back again."