Jan Schmitt

We stayed here for 2 weeks over Labor Day 2020. It is a secluded, large property far away from any road noise so it is very quiet. All sites have FHU 30/50 amp. Sites are either grass or some gravel. Our site, 25, was shady, grassy and level with room for us to park our car next to our MH. The owners are pleasant and helpful. When we arrived they were on vacation but they had a woman watching the park. She told us to pick any site. Our Verizon was 2 bars of 4G and I was told that AT&T is sketchy here. There is plenty of shopping in nearby Ardmore. There is 1 set of showers, a laundry room and 3 community fire pits. There are no dog runs but it seems nobody pays attention to the “Pets must be leashed and under control” rule. In my opinion this is one of those places where “Resort” is a misnomer. No picnic tables, cable, WiFi. Pool or other amenities associated with other RV Resorts. If you are in the area, especially for Lake Murray, you don’t need those other conveniences and enjoy peace and quiet this is a good place for you. Website is www.shangri-larvresort.com

Watson, MN – Lac Qui Parle State Park – Upper campground
What a beautiful park! In early July 2018 we stayed for 10 nights in the upper campground in site U9, which had FHU, 50 amp. The site was large, grassy, with fire ring/grill and picnic table and surrounded by corn fields and prairie with lots of wild flowers. We could see the water in some places. Nightly sunsets were spectacular. There is plenty of space between sites. It was a calm and relaxing place. The visitor center was very interesting and the staff was very friendly and helpful. The clerk forgot to take care of our tow vehicle permit but a ranger came by a few days later and took care of it for us. The hiking trails are mown trails through the prairie and woods and were nice to walk through, with the exception of the woodsy area, where the mosquitoes swarmed like crazy. That’s not unexpected given all the rain this area has had. Price was $33/night for FHU plus we paid the annual vehicle permit of $35. There is not much around to do there, Verizon cell was 4G 3-4 bars and OTA digital channels were slim but we very much enjoyed the calming atmosphere, watching the birds and 13 Lined Ground Squirrels. Our only complaint is the water: it has a bad alkaline smell and taste (even with double filters) and leaves a brown stain in the shower. Bring drinking/cooking water with you.

Washington Ranch – Carlsbad, NM
We stayed here for a week in March 2019 to visit Carlsbad Caverns and Guadalupe Mountains NP’s. This is not a typical campground or RV Park. It is a non-profit organization with 3 RV sites, tent camping, 3 motel rooms, 2 single-room cabins, & a bunk house, dorms/bunk houses and holds weddings/group events. The gentleman we dealt with was extremely nice. The 3 RV sites are in a dirt area and only one is close to the sewer. The sites have 30 amp service and water. There are 3 sewer spots but they are clustered together. The sewer setup was odd but the situation was unique and we really liked it! The view out the front window was spectacular! Mountains and we could see Carlsbad Caverns NP in the distance. There were quite a few wild turkeys around. It is quiet and serene here. They have a path to walk around the property that was interesting. We would stay here again. https://campwashingtonranch.org/

This is a nice park with mostly mesquite trees. It is close to San Antonio and Corpus Christi. The park is VERY quiet. Most of the campers appear to be refinery workers. We rarely saw anyone out and about. There is a dog park and a playground. Sites have FHU with 50 amp. They are spacious lots but there are no picnic tables, fire rings and not too level. They have gravel parking pads.
There are 2 Wi-Fi towers but service slowed down significantly at night. They have mail slots so you can have your packages/mail delivered there. They take great care of the property. Jeff, the owner, is a very caring, helpful person.
There is a laundry room with 5 washer/dryers. Wash is $2.50, Dry is $1.50. Unfortunately they only take tokens and the dryers took 2 cycles to dry.
There are great sunsets from the park! To the east is a large Valero refinery that is visible in the distance but it actually looks nice at night.

We stayed at this KOA for 10 days while visiting Cuyahoga Valley National Park and Cleveland in late September, 2018. It is a nice KOA that is lower priced than many I have looked at but also not as fancy. There is a mix of different kinds of sites. Some seemed to be seasonal and/or permanent but they were in separate sections. Our site 600 was not very level and very muddy. It had been raining a lot but in the 10 days we were there it never dried. We had full hookups, picnic table and firepit. There was a small fish and release pond that we were near and could see out our window. It was very busy with families on the weekend but quiet during the week. The park has a gated entrance, has laundry (5 washers, 2 broken, and 4 dryers), store, propane, pool (that was closed for the season) and playgrounds. Staff was very friendly and helpful. We were escorted to our site. Trash and recycling bags are provided and are picked up at your site. Wifi was not too stable, cable was OK.

We stayed here for a week in October in site 67. We liked the location because it was close to the Shenandoah National Park. When we drove through we had a very difficult time finding our site. The forks in their roads were not mapped and they had no printed maps of the campground to help find it either. The staff person we dealt with when we arrived was not very pleasant but others were.
The sites are narrow and small. We had a very tough time leveling our motor home. The campground is nicely wooded but they don’t clean up the leaves at all. There are many seasonal campers there and some of the RV’s looked pretty sad. Our site was FHU with water and electric on the left rear and sewer on the right rear of our backed in MH. We had a picnic table and a fire ring. There were also 3 large electrical boxes on our site.
If you want to visit this area there are beautiful sites to see. Shenandoah National Park, Luray Caverns, George Washington and Jefferson National Forests, and our favorite the Crabtree Falls. The Blue Ridge Parkway is nearby also. There is plenty of shopping around within 15 minutes. I won’t say this campground was horrible but the 2 of us didn’t like the feel of it and will not go back. It might be better for families with kids.

The TWO RV Park in Port O'Connor, Texas was our home for Dec. 2018 and Jan. 2019. Port O'Connor, or locally known as POC, is a small fishing town that was rather quiet while we were there but the RV park was pretty full. Their rates are very reasonable.
Our site was level gravel with a wooden patio and plants on each side. Wifi was fair but cable was good. We had water (wasn't drinkable), 50 amp power and sewer. The owers were very friendly.
While we were there it was sold to new owners who said they had lots of plans for improvement, which is wonderful because the place needs some TLC. I can see on their Facebook page they are becoming very active with events - so good to see! It is a very popular place for fishing. We strolled the streets of town quite a bit.
There is a fairly decent market just a few blocks away but other than that you have to drive about a half hour to Port Lavaca or an hour to Victoria. All in all we liked the place.
http://thetworvpark.com/

Bristol, WI – Happy Acres
We stayed at this family campground for a week in late August 2018 and over Labor Day weekend. It was not very busy until the weekend. It is very much geared towards families and kids although it could use some updating. We were in site 205, a back in site that was perpendicular to the other sites in the row. Our site was not very level. It had 20/30/50 amp service, water, and picnic table. No sites had sewer but if you stay a week they give you 1 honey wagon dump plus they have a dump site. It’s a large campground with different sections. We did not visit the bathrooms so have no info on those. The laundry room at the main building was small with 2 washers, 2 dryers and $2 each load, each machine. Wifi was pretty good, Verizon was 4G 2-3 bars.. Staff was OK, mostly young adults. They have quite a few animals and birds there to visit. This campground was convenient for our attendance at the Bristol Renaissance Faire but I don’t know if we would stay there again. We paid $55/night and $330/wk.

We stayed here for a week in mid-October 2018 in site 17. We had FHU, 30/50 amp and a brook right behind us. The site had a very level cement pad and patio, picnic table, and bench. It was just long enough for our 35’ motorhome and our car parked sideways. Sites are very close together but well manicured. The staff cares a great deal about the business and customers. We were provided a packet of local information including the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. We were escorted to our site and assisted in backing in. Cable and Wifi were very good and there is a Gatlinburg Trolley stop at the top of their driveway. It is right on a busy street and there was a lot of road noise but it quiets down at night. Police, PO, grocery, liquor are within walking distance. They have 2 pools and a hot tub that were still open in mid-October, a small fenced in pet area, bathrooms and laundry (did not check them out). Trash is picked up at your site. We paid $68 per night with Good Sam’s/AAA discount. Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge are very touristy. We enjoyed the different areas of Great Smoky Mountains and Blue Ridge Parkway. Check out Dragon’s Tail Route 129 for a fun drive (NOT with your RV!).

We stayed here for a week in late April 2018. We had FHU and Wi-Fi. It is a well maintained resort with quite a few park models and full-time residents as well as open sites for RVs. We were in site 9, very level, very close to the park model next to us. The staff was pleasant. Cell service for Verizon 4G was 1 bar, horrible. Wi-Fi is free and you need to get a code for each device but a number of times the network did not work. There were many open sites when we were there as most had left for the spring/summer. Park was walled in like so many others in town. Laundry was clean but rather than coins uses a card you have to purchase using $5/10/20 bills- you cannot get back any funds left over on the card. The pool and spa were heated (visited in April) and had nice music playing. They recycle aluminum, plastics 1 & 2, paper and cardboard.