Hermit Park Equestrian Campground
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PDF Trail Map
I could not find a separate link for the PDF map. If you go to the website and then click on trail map it will prompt you to save a pdf on your desktop. You can also click on the Hermit Park Brochure to see the trail map.
Trail Map
The Hermit Park official trail map does not show the extension of the trails onto national forest but it is easy to find other trail maps that show the connection between Homestead Meadows Trail to Lions Gulch.
Park Fees
Kruger Campground is an equestrian campground reserved for campers with horses and can be reserved through the call center only (800-397-7795). If campsites are available 14 days prior to arrival date, you may reserve without horses.
$40/night for equestrian site
2 horses allowed. 2 Corrals per equestrian site. Only "Certified Weed Free" hay and/or straw allowed.
Park entrance permits, one for each vehicle, are required in addition to camping permits. These must be purchased before you get to your campsite. "Daily" or "Annual" permits are available at park entrances. Annual permits are also available online, ahead of time. Allow two weeks for arrival before your trip.
$40/night for equestrian site
2 horses allowed. 2 Corrals per equestrian site. Only "Certified Weed Free" hay and/or straw allowed.
Park entrance permits, one for each vehicle, are required in addition to camping permits. These must be purchased before you get to your campsite. "Daily" or "Annual" permits are available at park entrances. Annual permits are also available online, ahead of time. Allow two weeks for arrival before your trip.
Day Use Information
Trailer Parking
There are two great places to park your trailer for day use. The first is by the Kruger Equestrian Campsites by the dumpster. There are 3 slots that can accommodate at least 6 trailers.
There is another place to park horse trailers by the Homestead Meadows Trailhead. There is a sign designating horse trailer parking on the North side of this loop.
Restrooms
There are vault toilets at the campsites and trail-heads. The restroom by K03 had a hitching post and doggy bags.
Water
I have learned from this trip to carry water in my horse trailer. Those big corner water tanks are popular for a reason. For this trip I had to walk 0.5 miles to the pavillion by Kruger Rock to get to the closest water spigot and then 0.5 mile back to the campsite! There is no water spigot at the Kruger Campsite or Homestead Meadows!! So, I took 20 minutes to walk and fill up my coleman jug with water just to return and have Sam drink it in one sitting as soon as I walked into his corral! Luckily Yvonne had a corner water tank and filled it up to share. Remember to have a long hose handy to fill up your tank because it is not possible to park right next to the water spigot.
Camping Information
Human and Horse Accomodations
There are 5 equestrian campsites to choose from. We all agree that site #2 is the best. Site #3 is stinky from the proximity to the restroom. Each campsite has 2 horse corrals. Site 1 is pretty shady and sites 4 and 5 are a bit of a hike from #1 and #2. Going with a group I would either reserve 1 and 2 or 4 and 5. The spigot symbol in the map is misleading - there is no water spigot at these campsites!
Campsite K01
From my position parked at site K01 and sleeping in my truck bed I could see Sam from my bed if he was in the corral the white horse was located in, in the picture above. Being generally paranoid about my horse I traded places with Yvonne. I used some glow in the dark bracelets and connected them to form a ring around Sam's neck. Being able to see my black horse at night from my truck bed gave me some wonderful peace of mind!
Campsite K02
Hands down the best view and easiest site to back into.
Campsite K03
This is the stinky site, quite literally. I originally set up here and had a hard time backing my 2 horse bumper pull into this site.
K04, K05
So, I didn't even walk from site 1 to 5 to take a picture. Again, I was partial to site 2. When site 4 is occupied it is hard to back into site 5 if you have a 3+ horse trailer. Site #5 was nice as the horse corral was in front of the parking space. Site 4 the horse corral was to the west of the parking place so may be hard to see from your car/trailer.
Mounting
There are lots of picnic tables or big rocks to stand on to mount.
Footing
The trails going uphill into the mountains were moderately rocky. Echo did well with front hoof boots. We did walk across sections of flat rock that were slippery for the shod horses. The Homestead Meadows trail was softer but you had to take a rocky Limber Pine trail to get there. I would ride your horse shod or with boots and be prepared for rocks.
Horse Hazards
We did not see many bikers. The biggest horse hazard was the moderately rocky footing climbing uphill in switchbacks. This is a very horse-friendly, safe trail system!