Andy Friedman

There are actually 3 parking lots behind the shopping strip: a dirt gravel lot designated for semi trucks, a regular parking lot with plenty of room to move around, and an RV lot with long parking spaces. What's odd is the RV lot has a bunch of signs saying "no camping". Does that mean no overnights or no extended camping? It's not clear. The regular parking lot had no signs and was more level so I chose to park there. As others have mentioned there is a train that goes right along the parking lot. So yes it's loud. Fortunately for me the only train that went through was around 10pm so it didn't interrupt my sleep. Otherwise the lot was very quiet and well lit. When I awoke the next morning there were a handful of RVs parked in the RV lot. So again, not really sure what the "no camping" signs are supposed to mean.

Basic RV park on a grass lot with gravel roads. Each The price I paid ($32) was with Good Sam discount but I think it's normally $35. Easy access from I-40. Some audible freeway noise but not enough to be a bother. Owners live on the property and are super friendly and accommodating. They have a simple convenience store at the entrance that they will open up for you even if it's after hours if you need water, beer, snacks, or other basic supplies. They even make catfish dinner nightly and will deliver directly to your RV with a side dish for $11!

Amenities include wifi and a FREE laundry facility (which is unheard of - I didn't actually do laundry so I can't rate the facility itself). No common bathrooms. Nice little trail that goes adjacent to a pond and out to a field for walking your dog. Each site even has its own mailbox if you're staying for any length of time.

One of the nicest and most scenic rest stops I've been to. Even had a dog park. As you would expect there were semi trucks coming and going but the noise didn't seem as bad as other rest stops I've been to. Slept pretty well then in the morning I dumped my tanks and filled my fresh water.

Wide open, plenty of room, clean, new(er) asphalt, and nice views. The truckers seem to gravitate mostly on the south end, keep driving past the bathrooms to the north end and pick your spot. The periodic trains passing through was the only bummer. I'd definitely stay here again.

Note: under new ownership/management so it's no longer Desert Willow RV Park, it's now "Wild West RV Park".

Perfect place to stop for a night or two if you're traveling down I-10. This is your basic no-frills RV park, simple and clean. Just a big red gravel lot with hookup pedestals. Good bathrooms and free wifi and cable.

The sites and access roads are a little tight but manageable. Very friendly staff. There's a fenced in dog area for the pups. They accept Good Sam so I paid 10% less than the stated $45/night. That's the cheapest rate, which is for a basic 30amp site. Personally I think it's a tad pricey for what it is but maybe that's because of the proximity to the beach areas. Bathrooms are nice, they're individual private restrooms that each have their own shower, sink and toilet. All in all it's a decent and clean place to squat for a night or a week.

Note: I'm a Thousand Trails member which I why I put $0 for the nightly rate. Just so nobody thinks it's a free place to camp.

Lots of nature here: ducks, deer, and many many acres to roam around on. It felt very rustic, like you're camped out in the country, yet maintenance appears to be kept up. A lot of campgrounds feel like they tried to cram too many sites and amenities into a small area but this feels very spacious and wide open. I was told at check-in that they were having electrical issues at some sites but they're working on it so I picked a site that had a newer looking electric box and no problems. Many (more like most) of the sites don't have sewer but I suspect that decision dates back decades ago when the place was built so I don't hold that against current management. To retrofit new sewer lines they'd have to excavate the whole area - probably not worth it. But they do offer a honey wagon service (for a fee).

I've seen other reviewers whine about the roads. Yeah they're not in the best shape, and there's potholes, but not so bad you can't get around easily. And well worth the trade-off for the scenery and peace and space offered here.

My only real complaint is I wish some of the permanents were held to a higher standard and management would enforce keeping their sites neat and orderly to eliminate the trailer park effect you occasionally come across. It's not bad here, but you may stumble upon a couple sites that look rather disheveled.

Serene mountain camping. Bathrooms ok. As others have stated the roads going through the campground can be a little challenging in some places. While there were some big rigs there it still seems intimidating navigating a big rig through the park.

If you need internet you might as well forget this place. While I was able to pick up 1-2 bars on my phone (Verizon), trying to connect to any websites was futile. Maybe if you hit refresh enough times you can get a site to load, but for all intents and purposes it's virtually unusable. Supposedly the park offers paid WiFi but I heard it's not much better.

While this place was a little more out of the way than I prefer, if you truly just want to get away it's a nice campground.

Note: when you're getting close to the park there's virtually no signage to guide you in. When you're on the last stretch of Dimmette Rd you'll see a sign that says "dead end". If you didn't know any better you might be hesitant to keep going but that's the correct way.

Simple, quiet, and spacious country setting. Not only are the RV sites roomy but the campground as a whole has a lot of wide open space. Less sites than the typical Thousand Trails park which is great because it doesn't feel like a crowded RV city. And like many TT parks you can tell this one is pretty old but I was surprised at how nice and clean the newer bathrooms are. Half the sites don't have sewer hookup so unless you get lucky don't expect to land one when you arrive, but you can always get on a waiting list when you check in. I hate setting up twice so I went without. Verizon signal was super strong. Not much going on in the area but there's a Walmart and H-E-B about 10-15 minutes away.

If there was a 3.5 stars that would be my choice. 4 stars is pushing it.

As is typical with many TT parks, this one is no exception and is sorely behind on maintenance. No power at many of the sites and there are entire sections without sewer. However, the section I stayed in (A) has barely anyone in it. You can tell this section doesn't get utilized much as many of the sites have tall weed growth in them. So the trade-off for not having sewer is tons of peace and privacy. For much of my stay I was surrounded by several acres of empty sites. And as others have stated, deer are everywhere and they're not as skittish as deer typically are. The office even sells bags of dried corn for feeding the deer.

They recently added a couple of (FREE) wifi hotspots and I was close enough to connect to one. But even without wifi the Verizon signal is very strong here, 4-5 bars was typical.

Mail: There seems to be a policy spreading throughout the TT parks regarding mail: no USPS deliveries accepted (although you can still have something shipped to this address and they will hold a slip for you to pick it up at the post office 12 miles away). FedEx and UPS accepted for $5 per package.

Getting to this place feels a bit weird as you have to drive through an older and run down neighborhood to get to it, and the roads are rather beat up. Not much to do here unless you're into boating on the lake. There's also not much in the way of shopping except for a Dollar General, and getting to the outskirts of San Antonio is a good 30 minute drive.

This place definitely has its shortcomings but the peace and tranquility of the wooded surroundings are hard to beat.