When I read that Mineral Bar was a first come, first serve campground, I immediately wanted to check it out.
I was hoping to find something similar to Bootjack Campground in Mount Tamalpais. What I found instead was an absolute mess.
According to the website, there would be self pay, first come first serve campsites. Additionally, there would be a kiosk staffed with a ranger.
When I arrived to the campground, it was almost completely empty. Only two other spots were occupied.
But, a busy weekend was coming up, so I wanted to secure my spot as early as possible.
I was hoping to prepay for at least a few days, so that I could leave early in the mornings to go hiking.
There was no ranger at the kiosk. A sign on the window said, “online reservations only.”
The problem?
Reservecalifornia.com locks most campsites 48 hours ahead of time. I couldn’t pay online for a campsite for the same day.
Even though the entire campground was empty, the sites were locked on reservecalifornia.com
Irked, I called the Auburn Recreation District Office. I said that I wanted to camp there, and the campground was empty, but I wasn’t able to reserve a spot.
They told me that I could camp there. They told me to call Reserve California, promising they would help me out.
They didn’t help me out.
Meanwhile, a ranger had pulled up. I overheard him tell another camper that they could self register using the iron ranger.
I hung up the phone, and did the same thing. I put money in the envelope for three nights. The next day, a sign with my name on it showed up on my campsite.
So far, so good. I was on site 11, and I liked it a lot. The sites in the back row are kind of close together, but well shaded.
When the weekend rolled around, I wanted to pay for three more nights. But, this time, the ranger told me I could only pay for one at a time.
I asked if I could leave the money in the envelope for him, because I wanted to leave early to go hiking. He told me that, no, I had to come back at noon.
I explained that I have a disabled pass because of an anxiety disorder. There are a thousand reasons why I need to be able to leave early, and be gone all day.
I specifically asked if I could pay early as an accommodation for my disability. Again he said no.
Every time a man came up to pay, the ranger made me wait while he helped the man first. After he did this several times, I got irritated.
I told him I was going to call Auburn SRA to complain, because I heard him tell another camper that they could just leave the money in the envelope for him.
When I picked up my phone to call, he said, “Wait a minute, I just told you I was going to help you right now.” This was actually the opposite of what he had just told me.
I said, “No, you told me you’re going to help all these men waiting in line first.”
He then said, loud enough for everyone to hear, “I have to help you first, because you’re special.“
He emphasized the word “special” as if to imply that I’m mentally retarded.
The actual reason I wanted to be helped first is because I was there first. I was first in line. I’d been waiting for him since 8am.
I paid him for that night. I stayed on a sunny site on the upper loop, which I hated. The upper loop was way too crowded.
I had made online reservations to be back at site 11 for the following week, but I canceled them. After that interaction with that ranger, I just wanted to leave.
It was also hard to camp there because there was no cell service, no outlets to charge electronics, the toilets were nasty, and the closest town was thirty minutes away.
My favorite thing about Mineral Bar is the location. Stevens Trail in Colfax, which is one of my favorite trails, is just a few miles away.
There was also a small waterfall right across the bridge from the campground. From the road, I had thought it was the waterfall from Stevens Trail.
The old wooden truss bridge across the North Fork American River was very sketchy. It had dozens of plywood board patches.
Combined with all of the “river cold deadly and swift, stay out stay alive” signs, it was a little scary. But, after watching some teens march confidently across it, I did the same.
Overall, I love Colfax, but I hated Mineral Bar Campground. It’s hard to imagine myself staying there ever again.
Camp Host Diaries 