![]() Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park Visitor Center, with rangers on duty, park information, and a gift shop, is located just down the road from the campground.Coin-Op showers (when we were there, the accessible shower room didn’t require any coins!).Drinkable water, with spigots placed regularly throughout the campground.To be on the safe side, check on reservation requirements prior to your visit. In 2020, reservations were required for all sites due to the coronavirus pandemic. Reservations can be made six months in advance, and booking early is strongly recommended for peak summer season. For reservations and additional campground info, go to the California State Parks reservation website.For information about Elk Prairie Campground, visit the National Park Service website or the Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park website.Elk are extremely powerful animals, and bull elk and female cows with young can be very territorial. Remember: don’t approach any elk and observe them from a distance. Check with a ranger to find out when they are most likely to be out. It’s not uncommon for large herds to come graze in the meadows. The name Elk Prairie didn’t come from nowhere! During our stay, we saw only a few elk here (see photo below), which was probably just poor timing on our part. While still shallow and calm, the water was deeper here, so use appropriate caution with young children. You can also access the creek alongside the Redwood Access Trail. The creek near our site gave the kids a shallow and safe place to splash and play. Some campsites, including our site, #33, provide access to the creek. We did a four-mile loop hike including Prairie Creek, Big Tree, and Cathedral Trees from our campsite read our review here. From there, it’s easy to connect to the Prairie Creek Trail, the James Irvine Trail, and many others. Look for the signed trailhead between sites 26 and 28. ![]() You can head out on the Redwood Access Trail directly from Elk Prairie Campground. It’s important to keep your site “crumb clean” to avoid attracting bears, and this was a big help! I also appreciated that garbage and recycling bins are placed regularly throughout the campground. The grounds and restrooms were clean, and the camp host was friendly and helpful.Others nearby, including #22 and #21, are also beautiful and spacious. Large and surrounded by actual redwood trees, it’s an understandably popular site. Site #24 (see photo below) was my favorite.I noticed that some of the other sites appeared to have softer surfaces. I don’t know if this is the case at other sites, or more of a concern at our location. Don’t pick this site if you have a large tent! Also, the ground was extremely hard, making it difficult to drive in the tent pegs. The pull through driveway gave us plenty of space to park the trailer, but the rest of the site was pretty compact, and we barely had room to pitch our three-person tent. Our site, #33, was one of the smaller ones.The cabins and sites #69 and up are located along the meadow, with little or no shade. Many are quite spacious, and most are fairly private, but some are too small to accommodate large tents or RVs. Sites vary in size, so check the site description when you book.Elk Prairie Campground offers 75 campsites, including four ADA accessible cabins.Whidbey & Fidalgo Islands Paddle & SwimĮlk Prairie Campground is located in Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park, which is one of four parks that operate jointly as Redwood National and State Parks.
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