joyduellman

This COE is approximately 10 miles north of I70 so NO traffice noise at night. We snagged a site during off-season for $5 for FHUs (electric and water at site, dump on the way out) and the shade in the trees was fabulous to beat the heat. Would definitely recommend this COE (downstream of Wilson Dam)! Super level gravel site that was long and spacious!

This Army Corp of Engineer park was close to Montgomery and Plattville. There are two loops (Antioch and Catoma) and Catoma loop is better as it is renovated with concrete pads and sewer (sites 1-75). We stayed in Antioch and wouldn't stay in that loop again.
PROs
* staff friendly enough and do see them around;
* can bike or walk the loops for exercise;
* our site 116 was in tall pines and trees which helped with shade since the day temperatures were in the high 90s;
* if you like dark, Antioch loop has no lights except at the shower house;

CONs
* the roads within the loop are very poor, pot holes and narrow but we went slow and easy with our 40' class A and did fine;
* sites are gravel, very few of them are level and we noted some of them were washed out;
* showers are in poor condition but are clean and have hot water;
* laundry facility was okay, 2 washers and 1 dryer that worked and the best is how cost effective, $1 per wash and $1 per dry / load;
* smelly in the area, almost border lined 'sewage' smelling. No dumps at the sites so would assume it was coming from the River;
* very buggy this time of year.

We loved it here, from the great views to the ease of reaching this State Park. We have no CONs to report, this was a wonderful experience!

This park was fabulous, it has set the bar high for future COEs! In fact, we usually will list PROs and CONs for the reviews but in this case, no negatives come to mind!
* Three sets of hosts and all of them are super, Char and Gary were in the entrance booth when we came in and their enthusiasm was contagious!
* Site was super long, level and overlooked the water, somehow we landed with the best site in the loops. Oodles of sites big rig friendly;
* Hiking trails, birding was good and plenty of area to bike as well;
* Connectivity was ok for over the air antennae (TV) and connectivity was good for internet;
* Went to larger town of Meridian and did a tour at the Soule Machine Museum, well worth the trip (60 miles) and money;
* Showers were super clear and plenty of hot water and used the one washer/dryer (this room was again very clean) with reading books available in same room;
* Take precautions for ants and we were told at check in so kudos for the heads up!
* Quiet at night.

Not bad as I thought it was going to be. Not many folks in the approximately 400 'sites'.
Super clean bathrooms and areas to wash dishes.
Dump available at one location.
We used this affordable location (1/2 off $14 charge for interagency senior pass) to explore Death Valley.
No over the air TV, radio stations or cell coverage.
Super easy to get to and level parking for the most part.

We would come back here.

We were not impressed with the lack of 'customer service' from the person 'checking' us in. Borderline rude and our exchange was fairly brief. No maps available and he was somewhat put out to explain where the loop was located.
PROs:
* We were in Loop #4 and it was half full and loop #1 almost empty. Sites are paved, good size with covered picnic table, grill and fire ring;
* There is also restrooms and hot showers in each loop along with trash dumpster;
* There is good views of the lake to photograph;
* Beautiful and quiet area.

CONs:
* Check in not one minute prior to 3 p.m.;
* The campground has a not so friendly curfew. If you are not in the park by 10pm, you have to wait until 8am when the gate opens, no exceptions;
* This campground is about an hour north of San Antonio and in the hill country of Texas.

This army corp of engineers campground is approx a mile downstream of Beaver Dam. It attracted a lot of fishermen and kayacers.
PROs
* Clean enough bath houses with plenty of hot water;
* the sites are spaced far apart in the small loop we were in (12 -14 sites);
* lots of trees at the sites for good shade during the hot summer heat;
* good launching CG to explore Eureka Springs (12 miles), Bentonville and Rogers;
* Crystal Bridges, War Eagle Mill and old downtown of Eureka Springs is well worth exploring!

CONs
* Getting to this COE is on challenging roads with regards to extreme curvy, up and down grades. Same applies to getting to points of interest, this area is in the NW Ozarks and up on ridges;
* No easily accessible bike paths or walking paths;
* Connectivity was challenging with 1 bar Verizon.

We came off of boon-docking for a couple of weeks so we needed to restock food, dump tanks, do laundry and eat out! This State Park served our needs.

PROs:
* Clean for such a large park. Plenty of dumpsters for trash and our site had electric, which helped out on the hot days;
* Sites are level and easy pull in;
* Nice paths to walk and bike and some of them went along the lake;
* We enjoyed doing all our needed shopping in Loveland, a lovely large town!

CONs:
* Sites are close to each other and not all shaded with trees;
* The daily park entrance is steep ($10/day) but we had purchased an annual pass before we started touring Colorado;
* This is a LARGE campground so typical noisy (music, partys, etc).

Overall, a nice cost effective (running a 62Plus discount) park.

PROs:
* The gravel sites were large and long, fairly level and many of the sites were separated by landscaping. Eight sites with full hookups and others with E and W;
* Never really saw camp hosts and check in person was okay. Not busy during the week and did fill up over the weekend;
* The shower houses were super clear, hot water, FREE Laundry and a super lending/swap libaray;
* Lots of biking and hiking opportunities in this State Park, this was a big plus!
* Wildlife abounds with black bears (didn't see), racoons, armadillos, wild boar;
* Boating ramps, canoes, fishing opportunities, vistor center (not open) and water splash pad;
* Visited Avery Island and the Tabisco tour and manufacturing facility
* Historic old downtown Abbeville was great to explore.

CONs:
* very out of the way State Park, the roads getting to the park were NOT RV friendly so make sure everything is strapped in place.
* The interior roads of the camping loop were the worse ever seen, the pot holes were frequent and large.

This is our favorite COE we have stayed at - would love to LIVE here!
PROs:
* our site right on the river was large, paved, level, 50AM with water, roomy and at least 40-50 feet away from the adjacent sites;
* the showers were super clean and plenty of hot water;
* plenty of bike paths to use in the park as well as outside of the park;
* suburb is Pinnacle Valley with plenty of anything you need;
* we used this park to go explore Little Rock as well as Hot Springs, AR;
* lots of mature trees offered relief from the hot and muggy summer heat;
* good connectivity and over 30 TV stations with our over the air antenna.

CONs:
* this is all we can come up with. One of the mature trees was a pecan and we 'enjoyed' the morning and evening snacking of the pecans by the squirrels which dropped on our roof with loud hits!