A first time visitor to Roche-A-Cri State Park, my campsite selection was determined by whatever available information I could find online. In this case, as it often is, it was a map from the park website and Yelp reviews.

Helpful things to know about picking a campsite in Roche-A-Cri:

• The campground is relatively small compared to other state parks so campsites can be close together. If this is a concern for you, pick a site spaced further apart on the map, as I did.
• While not extreme, this was the loudest state park campground I’ve ever stayed in. My thought was being so small, it isn’t monitored by park rangers as late, but that might be completely wrong.
• Pit toilets only
• The left, outer side of the loop is the side closest to the mound. This makes for a unique campsite, with a steep slope up behind the site, but also means a hiking trail runs behind your site.

We camped at site #32, circled in pink. The red circles are the pit toilets, and the blue line is the connecting trail out of the campground to the other hiking trails. See the full park map here. 

Like all parks, checking in for the night is the first step before setting up camp. The park office at Roche-A-Cri is tiny and a little confusing to find at first, as it is located on the rear of a garage looking building. Once located, checking in was quick. Firewood is available for purchase, for $6 a bundle.

Site #32 is surprisingly large and set back from the road. Noticing that the campground as a whole was smaller, I wasn’t expecting this much space.

The parking area could fit two cars, but it would be tight. The car shown here wasn’t all the way over to the edge of the drive, but this might be a challenge with 2 larger vehicles.

The campsite had the standard picnic table and fire pit with the cooking grate., but also had a bonus bench.

 One side of the site was a larger restoration area with no neighbors. The other side, the neighbors were visible through the trees. The divide between both sides was marked as a restoration area. There seems to be a large restoration effort throughout the entire park.

As mentioned previously, the hiking trail runs behind the campsite on top of the ridge. Hanging out at the campsite, we could hear people on the trail. From the trail, you can see the campsite. See the tent through the trees? The trail is far enough away that this wasn’t a concern, but if you are looking for a very secluded campsite, this might be an issue.

Overall, this campsite was fairly standard, with a few pros and cons. I enjoyed the size and scenery of the site, but would have preferred to feel more secluded.