Road Access to Richland Creek Campground

[Josh Sanford]

I want to go hiking around the Richland Creek Campground tomorrow, but I have concerns about the road access from the south. Is it possible to drive to the campground down 1205 (along Falling Water Creek)?

I have heard that was a landslide, trees down and everything else. Is it possible to drive in from the south?

Please post if you know the answer. Thanks

Josh

[Fish]

Falling Water road is still blocked by a landslide. There is a "back" way into the campground though, which involves coming in from the north, and it was cleared of trees after the ice storm. Also, note that there is no camping at Richland Campground anymore... at least not legally.

Good hiking!
Fish

[Bad Andy]

What makes it illegal to camp at the "old" campground? Just because it is "closed" doesn't mean it is illegal to camp there. You can camp most anywhere you want to on Forest Service property. Closing the campground just means the FS won't maintain it any longer.

[Fish]

I don't know if it's "legal" or not. My past experience with the USFS is that when they "close" something they sometimes mean for people not to be there. But like BA says, they may not care. Has anyone actually talked to USFS and know for sure?

[tkennon]

I have talked to the Forest Service and the campground is closed with no camping allowed. The guy I talked to in the Jasper office said you can hike in the area. There is a gate at the entrance and it is locked. If you camp there you risk a ticket. The official reason is there is only one way to get emergency vehicles and it would take too long to get there.

I have parked at the gate and hiked up Richland on river left since it was closed. A good option for camping is at the wilderness access on the north access road not far from the creek. This is the spot where the trail goes to Lower Screw-up on river right.

Hope this helps.

[Fish]

Seems a bit silly to ticket people in the campground when they can camp in the woods right outside of it. The USFS moves in mysterious ways...

- Fish

[tomcat]

tkennon wrote...."I have parked at the gate and hiked up Richland on river left since it was closed. A good option for camping is at the wilderness access on the north access road not far from the creek. This is the spot where the trail goes to Lower Screw-up on river right."


hum....don't you mean this trail is on river-left? North side of the river is on the left if your headed downstream.

[Bad Andy]

But back to the original question; how do we get into the bridge now? Do you used the put-in shuttle road or is there another way in to the bridge? I havn't been there since the landslide, just curious.

The FS works in screwy ways. You can camp any where you choose along FS road 1205, or any other place you want if you're deer hunting. Drive thru the timber, hack out a clearing for your old camper ect......but you better not use that old campground!!!!!!!!!

[tomcat]

I think the issue is that if the campground is open they (FS) have to service it with trash pickup. If you camp elsewhere, it's your responsibility to remove trash....(not that this always happens with rednecks).

Bad Andy....what "bridge" are you talking about? If you're talking about the bridge at the campground....as stated, you drive to it from the north side. From the bridge, you can access trails on both sides of the river.

[Bad Andy]

Guess I'll have to look that route up on my maps. I think I did come in that way once.

There are a lot of campgrounds scattered about on FS managed property that they just more or less abandoned and call them "closed." Typically, the FS just stops maintaining them and lets them go back to their "natural" state. I've never heard of them gating one off like that becasue they can't get EMS there fast enough. Sounds like they just don't want to be bothered with maintaining it any longer. They are short staff and resources, doubtful a Law Enforcement Agent would ever go down there just to check and see if someone was camping there. If it were closer to a main road possibly or if they recieved a complaint possibly, or during deer/turkey season, but I doubt they would take the time and trouble to check on it.

[tkennon]

Sorry Tommy, you are correct the trail I was referring to is on river left, I must have been sleep walking when I wrote that!

I really wish the FS would at least open Richland Campground for day use, so that boaters and hikers could use the lower area. At least that makes sense to me.

[Dave Smith]

I think it's as much to do with it being so far from either the Bayou or Buffalo District offices that it's hard (and expensive) to keep tabs on.

And that's on a good day with Falling Water Road open....least that was the situation when I worked for the FS.

[David Mac]

I'm not sure if I'm remembering the distances correctly but the rule for camping "anywhere" in the NF is something like "anywhere more than 100 feet from a road or established campground." Richland is an established campground even though it isn't open for bussiness and might not be for a long time.

[Prairie Tater]

If the "no camping 100' from a road or campground" rule does exist, it certainly is not enforced. I know of lots of forest road pull-offs/hunters' camps or whatever you want to call them that are less than 100' from the road. And it seems to me that they would want you to camp close to the road, rather than "'dozing" your way into the woods to get beyond the 100' mark.

Guberment bureaucracies...geeeeeeeeez! :roll:

Prater

[Bad Andy]

Ya what Terry said. We see hunters drive to the end of an old logging road and set up camp basically in the road, on powerline access ROWs and anyplace there is a wide spot in the road ditch. There worse part of it; they ride their ATVs all the woods destroying trees and veggies and scatter/leave their garbage all the place. FS property after deer/turkey season resembles a land fill. No law dog hassles them, even if they recieve complaints.