Stanislaus National Forest, Service Road 7N17 California

Primitive Camping... Ready To Give It A Try?

What is Boondocking

If you are not familiar with the term boondocking, it basically means you are camping in an undeveloped area with no campground amenities. You need to be completely self contained. You will not have access to water, electricity, a bathroom or a store to buy food or firewood. You get the picture. You need to have a well equipped and stocked vehicle.

Other names for boondocking are primitive camping, off the grid camping, dry camping and dispersed camping. They all basically mean the same thing.

Getting off the beaten path often means rougher roads and bigger obstacles. Its not a bad idea to protect your vehicle with some off road upgrades. Take a look at some of our reviews of items we have added to our van.

WildPeak All Terrain Tires – Rear Sumo Springs – Front Sumo Springs – Traction Treads – Shovel – Engine Skid Plate – Recovery Straps

Why Do People Boondock

There are a lot of reasons people choose to boondock. Some people just don’t want to be next to anybody. They want their voices to be the only ones they hear. They don’t want campground rules that tell you when you have to be quiet or that your music is too loud. Others just really want to get deep into nature where few people go. To experience nature that hasn’t been pushed back into the forest due to so many people being in the area.

Well this spot may be a good starter option for you. While it is not completely out in the wilderness miles from civilization, it gives you a taste of having your own space without campground rules, noise and fees.

There are campgrounds in the area so you are not completely on your own. Rocky Point and Sandy Flat primitive campgrounds are on the same fire road you will be boondocking on. There is a pit toilet a few hundred yards down the fire road. One hundred yards in the other direction is the end of the fire road and is designated for street legal off road jeeps and trucks. The trail looks pretty intense. It is defintely not designed for even the toughest 4×4 Sprinter.

Finding Your Campsite

Ok so now it’s time to find this wonderful place. Most of the time when you are given directions to a primitive camping location, you will be given the coordinates. For example, the coordinates to this site are 38.43848° N, 120.00722° W. Put that into any gps device or phone mapping app and it will give you directions. I forgot to drop a pin when I was in the actual spot, but this will get you within 100 feet. I put the coordinates into the map at the bottom of this page.

Your other option for this location is to do a Google search for Rocky Point or Sandy Flat USFS Campgrounds and use those directions. The campgrounds and boondocking spots are located on Forest Service Road 7N17. There are a lot of boondocking areas in this region of the Stanislaus National Forest. When we stayed at Sandy Flat Campground, the host said we could boondock anywhere outside the general campground area.

In the photo below you will see forest service road 7N17. If you go straight you will quickly come to the end and see the rough road sign. In the picture you will see a slight turn to the right. This is your spot. It will be on the right. If you pass it, you will come to a river crossing. When we were there it was 3 feet deep. Only well equipped vehicles were crossing it.

If you happen to go later in the season it may be low enough to cross. If it is, you will be treated to even better primitive waterfront camping areas.

What's Special About This Site

Well, it’s right at the start of the northern fork of the Stanislaus River as it flows from the Utica reservoir for one. You hear the constant rumble and bubbling of the river flowing past your site. It is also a short walk to launch any water craft you might have into the Utica Reservoir. The Utica Reservoir does not allow motorized boats so it is very peaceful.

Now one drawback might be that 4×4 vehicles could be frequently going by heading the the 4×4 area just up the road. We were there on a Sunday and probably had 6 or 7 trucks go by.

A word of advice, bring bug spray. I think we were there just after a mosquito hatch. Thankfully we had our side and rear Van Essential bug screens on.

You can enjoy your own space and not have to worry about being too loud, staying up too late and playing music into the night. Let this be your entry into boondocking.

What Is There To Do

Paddleboard.
Kayak.
Swim.
Lounge around reading a book.
Cool off in the river.
Walk up to the 4×4 area if you are into off road vehicles.
Walk the fire road.
Sit on the banks of the reservoir and just relax.

Final Thoughts

We are hooked on boondocking now. We will definitely be back to discover more remote areas of the Stanislaus National Forest. There are so many fire roads we want to explore. With so many areas we want to explore, we probably won’t be back to this spot, but be sure to come back to our site to see where we go next. Safe travels.