Dardanelle Resort, California
California Assoc. of RV Parks and Campgrounds
There is no Facebook drama or other online distractions at Dardanelle Resort. The Sierra Nevada resort at the base of Sonora Pass has no cellphone or Wi-Fi service; and most guests like it like that.
Cathy Ferguson remembers when she took her children on a family vacation to Dardanelle Resort in the Sierra when they were teenagers.
The remote park, located at 6,000 foot level on the road to Sonora Pass, has no Wi-Fi or cellphone service.
“At first they were in shell shock because there was no Internet service,” Ferguson said of the resort, which is 51 miles east of Sonora. “But then probably about two or three hours into it, I remember my daughter said, ‘This is kind of nice. I’m away from all the drama.’ “
Indeed, all the drama of Facebook, Instagram and other online distractions disappear at Dardanelle Resort, one of a relatively small number of campgrounds in California that are so isolated they do not offer either cellphone or Wi-Fi service.
“It’s a wonderful place,” Ferguson said. “You can go hiking, fishing, horseback riding. They have campfires and other activities. We have met so many people up there.”
Stephene Tune of Sonora said three generations of her family camp at Dardanelle Resort, including her parents and her children, who range in age from 12 to 23.
“When we go up there, it’s the only time during the year when my parents can play board games together with my kids. It’s a place for my kids to connect with my parents,” she said.
Tune also likes the Dardanelle Resort because it has wholesome family activities. “They have horseshoe pits and we all learned how to play horseshoes together,” she said. “They have a Fourth of July parade at the campground and the kids decorate their bicycles and ride behind the firetruck. They also have live music and Karaoke.”
Ferguson said her family has also met several other families that they keep in touch with and rendezvous with at the campground each year.
In fact, Ferguson’s family has made Dardanelle Resort a favorite vacation destination for the past 19 years. So long, in fact, that after her kids went to college and moved out of her home, she decided to work at the camp store during the summer months. Her husband, Jeff, visits her on weekends. “He comes up on weekends and works in the store with me. He’s my stock boy,” she said.
And she has grown accustomed to the reaction of teenagers when they find out the resort has no Wi-Fi service.
“I see all the kids come into the store, asking, ‘What’s the password?’ and I say, ‘Honey, we don’t have one,’ and they start freaking out. But they quickly find they can disconnect from the Internet and have fun here. There are a lot of adults that like it, too. They realize, ‘I don’t have to be connected to this phone.’ ”
Ferguson’s daughter, in fact, now comes to Dardanelle Resort with her friends. “This place brings back so many memories,” she said.
Ferguson knew the trips had a therapeutic effect on her daughter. “When she’d get back home,” she said, “my daughter wasn’t too enthusiastic about plugging back in right away.”
For more information about Dardanelle Resort, visit its website at www.dardanelle108.com and its Facebook page at Dardanelle Resort. To find other off-grid parks in California, visit www.Camp-California.com.