Andy Friedman

Disclaimer: I stayed for free with my Thousand Trails/Trails Collection membership so I don't know what the retail cost is.

I thought the previous review was a little harsh. As long as you understand that this type of resort caters mostly to long-term residents and is not a campground in the traditional sense you'll be fine. If you're looking for hiking trails and roasting marshmallows by the campfire this isn't the place. However I really enjoyed my stay and my dogs really loved the large dog park. Everyone was super friendly and made me feel welcome. So much so that it actually surprised me. Seems like many of the residence-type RV parks I've been to don't care much for the transients coming in and out. And I haven't cared much for those types of parks either as many residents let their sites go to the dumps, but not here. The grounds are clean and well-maintained. Access roads are wide and no potholes at all. The laundry room machines take credit cards, which was very convenient. The previous reviewer complained about nothing in walking distance, but what RV park is?? Seriously it's only a 5 minute drive to go shopping (compared to other places I've stayed where I had to drive 30 minutes to get to town). And because of the mostly older demographic it was extremely quiet at night. I would definitely stay here again.

Those who left sub par reviews must only stay at fancy resorts where everything is perfect because this is one of my absolute favorite campgrounds (and I've been to a lot), and I always make it a point to stay here when coming through the area. The only real negative is the uneven sites, but not a big deal if you bring enough leveling blocks. And cell signal is pretty bad if that's important. Most sites don't have a sewer hookup but there's a central sump station. Again not a big deal unless you run water like you're in a house. Otherwise this place is super clean, great nature, and miles of walking trails. No lugging your trash to the dumpster, every site has its own trash can and they come around regularly to empty them. PRIVATE bathrooms: you get a sink, toilet and shower all to yourself. Compare that to community washrooms at most places. There's a laundry room available and firewood for sale at the office. They also offer tent camping with electric and water as well as primitive camping which is a little further back in the woods. Close access to town yet tucked away just enough that you still feel pretty remote. For everything that this campground offers I'll gladly put up with spending a few extra minutes leveling my rig.

I've stayed here several times now. Yes this is a 55+ park but they welcome all. Everyone is really friendly. Park is very clean and super quiet at night. Sites are pretty standard, uncluttered and level. My site was right across from the dumpster and pickleball court so it was a little noisy during the day but not a huge deal. Nice little dog park just steps away from my site.

Location is just a couple miles off the freeway and right in the middle of town so you're only minutes away from just about anything and everything. I'd give it 5 stars but sometime within the last year they implemented a pet fee of $3 per pet per night. So if you have a couple dogs and you're staying for a week or two it adds up. Pro tip: don't mention your pets when you make the reservation or check in. The park is so huge and there's many dog owners walking around, trust me no one will know the difference. Besides, after you check in you'll never see the office staff again unless you go back to the office for whatever reason.

Note: My cost was $0 because it's an Encore park included as part of my Thousand Trails/Trails Collection membership. Not sure what the daily rates are.

When you think about getting out to the mountains this is the place you have in mind. Gorgeous mountain views and endless hiking trails. The campground itself is very clean and well maintained. I stayed in the middle of the summer, which I thought would be peak season yet it was very peaceful.

The biggest downside is driving in and out can be a real chore. The drive up the mountains and through the campground is tight and tedious in some areas so if you have a really big rig (> 40ft) you might want to think twice. If you don't plan on leaving the confines of this little mountain town, dining and shopping seem fairly adequate. But if you're like me and tend to spend 2-3 weeks at any given location inevitably you're going to want to venture out to a bigger town for your other needs. So be prepared to drive at least an hour each way to get to the next town. I had to go out to town several times during my stay and it got old fast.

As others have stated I would pay to stay here. Great views and very well maintained. No hookups obviously but there's a bathroom and waste containers scattered about.

Roads are paved and very accessible. Sites are split between back-in and "pull through" shoulder sites on the side of the road. Some are level and some are on a bit of an angle but nothing extreme.

There's a couple signs before you enter that warn of a 28' limit. I believe this is pretty accurate. My trailer is 27' pulled by a 20ish foot Ram 3500 and with my combined truck/trailer length I barely squeezed into my shoulder site (if I wanted a back-in site I would've had to unhitch so as not to block the road).

Kind of a bummer that you can't take your dogs on the trail to the monument but that's often the case with public trails.

Cell signal is weak. Even with a booster I was only able to get two bars and even then I wasn't getting much bandwidth probably due to others hitting the same tower.

The good: It's right off the freeway.
The bad: It's right off the freeway.

Very nice state park. Clean and well maintained. Sites are perfectly level and many are backed up to a lake. Fishing is permitted if that's your thing. The negative (and a big one for me) is the amount of freeway noise. It goes on all night and disrupts sleep. What a shame to have such a scenic and beautiful park and you can't even get a solid night's sleep. Bring ear plugs.

Also, you need to have a CO park pass to enter or pay an extra $10 for a day pass.

It's basically a big parking lot, although the sites on the beach side are dirt and gravel and have a little gazebo over the picnic table. The sites on the opposite side are all asphalt, but they're twice as wide so if you have a big rig or need extra parking the asphalt side is the way to go. Either way you're a stone's throw from the beach but without the annoyance of tracking in sand all over the place. It's first-come-first-serve but I came on a Sunday late afternoon and there were spots available. You just go to the little bulletin board/kiosk thing right in the center, grab a payment envelope, fill it out, tear off the stub which goes up on the board to mark your site, and drop the payment portion it in the lock box. There's only one way in and out but there's a culdesac at each end so turning around is no problem.

The bathrooms and showers seemed pretty clean, although the showers use those annoying faucets that shut off every 10 seconds so you have to keep pressing the knob to keep the water flowing. Plus it was hard to get any hot water out of it so I gave up on the shower. It was super quiet at night except for the surf and people seemed pretty respectful of the rules and quiet hours.

Now here's the big negative, at least for me: NO CELL SIGNAL (well almost none, I'll explain) - despite the fact that at the time of this writing this page rates Verizon 4G LTE at 3 bars. I don't know who the hell gave the Verizon a 3 bar rating but it's not even close. With my cell booster I was able to OCCASIONALLY get a "theoretical" 2-3 bars. Theoretical meaning I would intermittently switch between no signal and a couple bars, but even during those brief moments of perceived signal any attempts at internet access were futile. The signal was just far too weak, even boosted. If you try over and over you might be able to get a single web page to load on your phone, but for all intents and purposes internet is pretty much unusable. Voice calls and texts barely work and I had to keep repeating myself because my voice kept breaking up. I require internet so I can work so I planned this whole trip based on the knowledge of this page saying 3 bars of Verizon 4G, and sadly I had to cut my week long stay down to just one night and go somewhere else. Btw, this is not a knock on the camping area itself, it's a knock against whoever gave these false ratings. I would love to return another time when I don't have to work.

This is one of the smallest Thousand Trail parks I've been to. It's an older park in a rustic setting in the hills on the outskirts of San Diego County. There's a bunch of sites undergoing electrical upgrades (in Thousand Trails lingo "undergoing" means a year later and there's still little to no work being done), which leaves the number of active/available sites to only a few dozen or so, and most of those are 30A and do not have sewer hookups. However they do offer a honey wagon service for $25. There's quite a few tent sites spread throughout although virtually none of them are in use. Maybe the tent sites are more popular in the summer.

The roads are hilly and tight and crumbling in some areas. As other reviewers have stated this place isn't very big rig friendly, although it's doable if you can find a site to accommodate you. If you have a big rig I would call the ranger on the morning before you arrive and ask if they can save you a spot.

They currently accept packages with no fees. At the time of this writing many Thousand Trails have begun implementing a per-package fee, so your experience may be different.

Because of the remote location and relatively small size this place is very quiet, making it a good "get away from it all" place. Central San Diego is a 45 minute drive, the beach is closer to an hour, but for basic needs you can get to the nearest town of Alpine in under 15 minutes. No WiFi is offered but for being way out in the hills I was really surprised at just how strong Verizon and AT&T are.

Last time I was in San Diego I opted for one of the expensive RV parks in town. But I also paid over $1000 for a month's stay. And other than the location there was nothing special about it, like camping in a crammed parking lot. So if you don't mind being a little remote and you're a TT member you can save a ton of cash and still have access to all that San Diego offers.

Clean and wide open. Plenty of vacancy, no reservations required. Sites are level and gravel. Free wi-fi works well if you're parked closer to the office. Easy access off the freeway. Can't beat the price either - $20/night but they accept Passport America, making it $16 (btw, I'm not a PA member and she didn't ask for proof - hint hint).

It was a little confusing when I pulled in because the main building is more like an old mini mart/gas station, but that's the registration office.

*Note: the $35/day rate I submitted was about the average because I paid for the monthly rate. The actual daily rate is much higher, in the $74-94 range. So if you're planning to stay 2-3 weeks or more it's cheaper to get the monthly rate and spend the extra time there.

The "basic" sites are cramped and parking is tight. This is urban camping, so no picnic tables or fire rings, just an asphalt slab to park on and a small concrete slab next to it. The "deluxe/premium" sites have a little bit more room and usually an extra space to park your vehicle. The park is pretty well maintained and bathrooms are clean. Staff is friendly and helpful. Very close to interstate I-8. So close that I could hear highway noise all day and night. Although I was parked on the outermost edge of the park right next to the road, those more inward may not hear it as much. Access to the light rail station and public trans is a short walk. Free and paid wi-fi available but the free version is pretty much unusable except for basic email checking. Verizon signal isn't the strongest (1-2 bars) but usable. There's a tiny little dog park about the size of an RV site. No USPS mail accepted unless you rent a mailbox, however FedEx and UPS will deliver directly to your site.

Overall it's pretty expensive for what you get but that's to be expected for San Diego.