All about our camp, at Jerseydale Campground...

My family has been camping at Jerseydale Campground since the 1960's, as its located less than an hour away from our family's hometown, Merced, California, known worldwide as "The Gateway to Yosemite." Jerseydale campground offers everything that we could ever ask for, including beautiful scenery, peace and quiet, running water, garbage collection, ample recreation opportunities, and best of all, NO FEE IS CHARGED! Another great thing about Jerseydale Campground is that it's not well known outside of the immediate area, and dispute the fact that there are only 10 camp sites, the campground is seldom full.

Photo: A look at our well-organized camp, with my camouflaged tent in the foreground. Paul chose to sleep in the back of his truck.

Jerseydale Campground is located in the beautiful Sierra National Forest, within just a few air miles from Yosemite National Park. Driving to Yosemite from Jerseydale is another story, as the most direct route is via Forest Service dirt roads, which are rough and dusty in the summer, and frequently impassable due to mud and snow during the winter. By road, it's a roundabout route, taking you over narrow, county roads until Highway 140 is joined at Midpines. Most people would complain that there's "nothing to do" at Jerseydale Campground, as there are no services, no major scenic attractions, and no nearby lakes or rivers. But if you're a hunter, an explorer, a four wheeler, or if you just want to get away from the crowds, you could spend days, maybe even weeks at Jerseydale, exploring the beautiful country. The campground is by no means a "destination" for most people, and it's a well-kept secret, only known to a few locals. Maybe I shouldn't have even published this article!

Now that the genie is out of the bottle, I'll tell you where Jerseydale Campground is located: In Mariposa County, on Jerseydale Road, about two miles north of Darrah Corners. If you're GPS equipped, you'll find the coordinates to be N37.32.713, W119.50.345 at an elevation of 3688 feet.

Photo: Left to right, my brothers Michael and Paul, with family friend Dave, enjoying the bar after a long day of exploring.

Memorial Day weekend, May 23 to 25, 2009, found my two brothers, Michael and Paul, and Michael's friend Dave, and myself camping at Jerseydale Campground, for a "guys weekend," to do a bit of exploring, four wheeling, and a min vacation away from our wives. Michael arrived Friday night and picked out our spot, site 3, which is in our opinion the best spot in the campground, as it's near the water faucet and the trash cans, a bit distant from the somewhat dubious pit toilets, offers parking for three vehicles, and features a large, flat area with space to pitch several tents. It also has a sturdy wooden picnic table, and a clean fire pit. It's interesting to note that the Forest Service recommends campers to boil the water before drinking, but we've never had any issues with the water in the campground.

From my home in Roseville, it's about a three and a half hour drive to Jerseydale Campground, on Highway 49, the highway through California's gold country. I left early Saturday morning, May 23, 2009, and wisely I topped off my gas tank and ice chest in the town of Mariposa, as Mariposa is the last chance for any services, as there are none available at Jerseydale Campground. Michael already had his tent and his personal items already set up, so as we chatted, I unloaded my things from my truck, set up my camp, and pitched my tent. Then, it was time to gather enough firewood for two nights, and begin the day's activities, which included a trip to a nearby winery, geocaching, and a short four wheel drive trip on the Hite Cove Trail.

Photo: Paul enjoys a mudslide, which was only one of many varieties of mixed drinks that we were able to make.

When Michael and I returned to camp, Paul and Dave were waiting for us. Saturday night, it was Michael's turn to prepare dinner, and as he busied himself preparing dinner, I began the most important task of the trip: Opening the bar. When we camp, we camp in style, and we like to enjoy the delights of a full-service bar when we're out in the National Forest. Besides the usual assortment of beer and wine, our bar included liquors such as run, whiskey, tequila and peppermint schnapps. We brought mixers and ingredients to make our favorite drinks, including Mudslides, Tom Collins', Piña Coladas, Margaritas, Daiquiris and our favorite, a Tequila Martinis. Bar side dishes included corn nuts and salted peanuts, and our mornings started out to be Bloody Mary mornings, for everybody except the poor person who was to do the day's driving. Note: We're responsible adults, as we don't drink and drive, and whatever we do, we put safety first.

Photo: The Rench boys, from left to right, Paul, Eric and Michael. I'm Eric, the author of this article, the webmaster and the photographer, all wrapped up in one.

Both Michael and I cooked breakfast and dinner, click on this link to read about our camp cooking. We also explored the Hite Cove Jeep Trail, the steep and twisty Burma Road, and a short, steep, four wheel drive climb up Jenkin's Hill, for a panoramic view of the Merced River Canyon, and Yosemite Valley.

This trip was unique, in that this was the first time that any of us had seen all ten spaces in this campground full, and a couple of camps set up in open spaces near the campground. Maybe word is getting out about Jerseydale Campground? Maybe some of these happy campers are surfing this web site!

Photo: The lantern and camp fire are lit, Michael is cooking steak, and we're all relaxing, as Paul makes a point to Dave.

Photo: After dinner, we sat around the camp fire smoking cigars, drinking, and swapping lies!

Both Saturday and Sunday evenings, after our exploring and four wheeling activities had concluded and we'd arrived back at the campground, we enjoyed a fine meal, lots of delicious drinks, fine cigars, and a fine time, just sitting around the campfire and swapping lies. What an enjoyable way to spend Memorial Day weekend!

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