Mary and Bill

We came in at night. Not highly recommended. There is lots of soft sand around and a good wind would spread it across the road. But pick your line down the graded dirt road, and you’ll be fine.

We never did find a camping area. We just pulled down Stoddard Wells Road, turned right on Townsend St, and parked. Too sandy to go much of anywhere else in the dark.

There is a little freeway noise and some light pollution from Barstow. Neither bothered us at all.

There are probably some great places to camp here. We will pack up and leave shortly, but we would return. Not a place I would call a destination, but a great stop-over.

Anyplace that is free where you can get sunsets like this place deserves a good review. It is close to the highway. Quiet. Isolated. Beautiful.

Other reviewers say it's hard to find. It's easy to find during the day. There are a few campers at the first sites; so, I kept driving and camped in a little pull-out along the dirt road overlooking the water. Sure, there is a power plant across the lake, but they are also your hosts (I think).

I parked and immediately jumped on my bike to tour around. If you drive all the way to the end of the road, there are some picnic tables and fire pits. There are also a few sites down near a "beach." Plenty of places to camp. Of course I was there on a weeknight, but only saw a few people. Everybody smiled and waved.

I had some work to do; so, I sat in a lawn chair by the lake and processed some paperwork and made some calls. Not a bad spot to get some work done.

There was some stormy weather over night. It got very windy for a short time. I could see lightning across the lake. It was beautiful. However, I did not want to stick around for the show and pulled out early (5AM).

Slept well and really enjoyed this place. Great stay.

It is a pain to get on/off the Ohio Turnpike, with having to pay a toll and get another ticket with each off/on. This solves that problem. Just pull into any of the four rest areas (eight total--four eastbound, four westbound) that provide RV spaces and electrical and a dump station and potable water for some rest. It's a great solution. Costs $20.

I did have a very nice rest stop manager check on me to see I had paid. Others had not paid and were asked to pay or leave. Just friggin' pay. It's pretty much honor system, but I am galled by people who try to sneak in/out and not pay. If you don't want to pay, stay in the lot with the OTR truckers. (Getting off my soapbox now...until my next review.)

Anyway, I plugged in, ran my A/C and fan all night (drowning out the thrum of the trucks that pass right by the RV lot) and slept like a baby. Highly recommended.

BTW, I hope Campendium upgrades the cell service options to include 5G. I have two bars of Verizon 5G here. I stop and work every evening and 5G is smokin' fast. Got a lot done in a short time.

This is our second stay here. We won't be back. The campgrounds are fine and there is a nice little nature trail that winds along the creek. However, it is very close to two highways and not at all quiet. That's still fine in my book as the location is perfect for us, half way between where my 90-year-old father lives and the hospital where I have been treated for cancer.

But, and this is a big but, the staff here do not have their act together at all. Here's the details of our little odyssey: while checking out during our first stay, we booked a second stay and were told "Sites in the winter are first come, first served. When you pull in, take ANY available site."

We subsequently received an email saying to stop at the Night-Check In and there would be a list of available sites. So, some conflicting information there, but no problem. Upon arrival, we checked the Night Check-In Station for the list. No list; so, I picked a site, per the original instructions I got.

The staff here watched me pull into the site, set up, and then came over to tell me I could not stay there b/c they were shutting off the water. So much for ANY open site. This guy, at least, was specific about which sites I could use, however. More on that in a minute.

I was discouraged. But, OK, I tore down and moved to one of the sites they said I could use. I pulled in and got set up. The second site had a bad sewer hook-up. We stayed there one night using our holding tanks and decided to move again the following day, selecting a site that guy said was going to remain open. Remember they guy who waited until I was set up before making me move?

The office is closed; so, we called to tell them we had moved. Guess what? We were told we could not stay there. BTW, there was still no list at the Check-In Station.

Also, twice we were informed the laundry room was to be used "by reservation only." So, we called for a reservation. Nope. We are not allowed to use the laundry room. Hey, I get the COVID-19 restriction, but get your story straight. People make plans based on the information you provide.

Bottom line: these people have not idea what's going on in their own campground or how to communicate clearly or how to follow through on the (sketchy) information they provide. Terrible management. Terrible.

Only recommend staying here if absolutely necessary or if you are way more tolerant of utter incompetence than I am.

We are driving across country and only have time for one-night stays. Shady Acres was perfect for us. Level site, water, 30A and close to the state park. (We jumped on our bikes and pedaled over to the start park to check out the river.) Otherwise, there is not much to write home about here. Yes, it is clean, pretty well laid out, and the folks are friendly. Every other place was full and we got the last spot at Shady Acres. So, it worked out well; however, if the area wasn't as busy and we had more time, I think I'd opt to stay at the state park. Very pretty setting right on the river.

Wow. I saw some marginal reviews of this place. I thought it was great. Called ahead and was informed that there were plenty of spaces for my 24' Class C. Arrived after closing time, picked a very nice little spot, and went back to the window. They were still there! Quick, friendly transaction.

The sights are not huge, but they were not unreasonably small, either. I did not feel cramped at all. Lots of campers waling their dogs. Everybody was very friendly and welcoming.

There is a train track nearby. Heard a train go through at night but no whistles. Slept quite well.

Inviting little park. Level site. Reasonable price. What's not to like?

I was shocked to read the reviews that even hinted at a less-than-ideal place to camp for FREE. Some people cannot be pleased. It’s not fancy, but even the back lot has poured concrete slabs to pull alongside. It’s level. It’s quiet. It seems to attract good people. And it free. There is a huge sign saying free camping. What’s not to like?

I was shocked to read the reviews that even hinted that this is a less-than-ideal place to camp for FREE. Some people cannot be pleased. It’s not fancy, but even the back lot has poured concrete slabs to pull alongside. It’s level. It’s quiet. It seems to attract good people. And it free. There is a huge sign saying free camping. What’s not to like?

One caution to campers driving along the 180 eastbound: the road has dips and humps in the last few miles before the Petrified Forest Road. Slow down. I was lucky, I think, to be following a local who knew exactly where to slow down. Saved me from a wild ride.

You couldn't swing a dead cat (not that you'd want to) without hitting a lifted truck or a HUGE 5th wheel at this place. We were there on a Friday night. It was PACKED. I am guessing there are 100 sites there and I counted two tent campers, including our friendly neighbors. Standing room only. It was also very windy and most folks did not know to put everything away at night; trash was blowing everywhere when we got up. So, it felt kinda like a weekend warrior location while we were there.

The campground itself is very nicely maintained and the camp host was good with directions. We had a smallish site, but there were some super nice sites there that face the woods. Site 62 is kind of a shared site. Not much privacy. But the site was pretty clean, save for a few cigarette butts. We had 30A but no water, which is fine with us. There is a dump and potable water in site. Easy to access.

We also stopped at a local bike shop before getting to the site. They gave us maps of the mountain bike trails around the lake. We did not have time to ride them, but I hope we can get back there and check it out, hopefully on a weeknight...

Incredibly friendly campground host lady recommended a site with a view of the river. Did me a solid. Beautiful site. Huge back-in with electric. Water spigots everywhere, but no city water. Level concrete pad, picnic table, fire pit and view of the river. I live on a comparitively small river in CA and just think the Mississippi is wonderfully majestic. There is really something ineffably soothing about the flowing water.

I sat outside to work for a few hours, but was interrupted by thunderstorms. The temperature dropped about 15 degrees in 15 minutes. Eerie. So, I moved inside and finished up my work. Went to bed and sleep incredibly well.

I woke up at 5:30 and checked the weather. There were more thunderstorm coming. So, I hurriedly broke camp and headed out before 6 to a stunning sunrise along the I-80.

This place is well worth the detour off the 80 for a stop-over or a weekend of camping by the river. Just beautiful.