kspenglermoore

For those of us that need DEF it is available at the truck/RV pumps. Also the gas station is on the North side of the road. If you are coming from the East the entrance is past the Delta intersection (go straight on Hancock). Friendly enployees.... no potable water, but the dump is great and free. Is open during coronavirus!!!!

Okay I was going to write a pretty decent review, but .... we parked on the big grassy area at the Northeast corner of fairgrounds. There were some trailers, a few motorhomes and tents in the grassy area. Just north of the grassy area is surrounded by a chain linked fence. From what I could tell on the south side are 20 amp hook ups in a row and on the north side are 30 amp in a row. The area for the 30 amp was filled with trailers for the livestock show going on. So we parked on the grassy lawn south of the fence and did not hook up to anything. There are rest rooms a bit further into the fairgrounds, but they do have codes locks. I went to the office Monday morning to make sure we were okay parking were we were. Yes, we were. The gentleman informed my that the nightly fee is $25. I even double checked on not having any hook ups or using their facilities. The answer was they changed their policy: it is $25, no matter what. So I paid $25 for a parking spot in Kalispell, Montana. That bugs just a bit. We were going to stay longer, but not at those prices and with that brisk attitude of the employees..... the place is otherwise one of those older typical fairgrounds - not to pretty not horrible.... The guy did tell me that they do not enforce the payment rules on people coming in late at night or over the weekend since they are only there Monday ti Friday 8-5.....

Okay, we are not staying at the camp ground. We have driven through it and chosen to boondock less then 1/2 mile down the road for more privacy. This campground is has a sign that reads it is currently (most likely for the winter month) free. There is no trash pick-up and the water pump is in operable. There are vault restrooms. The sites are pretty small, but nicely arranged around a loop. It is kind of the end of a valley and there are nice large pine trees all around ...Rainbow trail is close, but sadly in one direction most of the area has burned a few years ago. The other direction however is fine. There absolutly no cell coverage in the area. It is only about 5 miles from Hwy 50... the picture was taken about 1 mile before getting to the campground..

We arrived on x-mas (no fighter jet traffic). The camp is all new. The instructions in an e-mail said to use the south gate. That route took us on a acenic tour of the base, but with help of the signage it was not hard to find (on google maps it is the dirt field right behind -east- of the comissary. The first reviewer wrote about the gate run-around. That does not apply for regular DOD ID card holders aka active duty, retirees and their dependants. That is only for those that can use the facilitiy due to a service connected disablity VA card etc.
The campsites are all pull through and full hook up aka electricity (50/30/20 amps) plus water and sewer. They are all paved plus have nice big site numbers (only on one end). The price is great at $30. The free laundry (3 washers + 3 dryers) are much appreciated. The rest rooms are nice too.
The sites are kind of strangely set up with where the hook-ups are. The sewer is way at the end and the picnic table is way up front on the other side. We had a choice: close to the sewer and our stairs on the rocks/gravel or 3-4 sewer hoses and the stairs close to the picnic table. The pads are just wide enough for the rig, but pretty narrow. It seems to have been designed by a non-rv'er, but considering how nice and clean everything else is, this park is very nice. The park will be very pretty in a few years when the trees between the sites grow up to provide some shade. Being righr behind the commissary and BX complex aka close to shopping is also great.

First of all I have a hard time describing this spot: Amazing, fantasic, one of a kind, one of the best ever etc just do not do it justice!!!! I suggest to look at the pictures. I am posting 3 with fall colors.... We ended up camping in between the two free camp sites on Campendium. We took the second dirt road of CR24 and follwed it around a bit until we turned a bit to the right for an amazing view from a little ridge of the twin lakes and the mountains + valleys behind it. Here are the coordinates: 39.099425,-106.349356. Our site had a few old fire rings, but somebody had policed the place and there was no trash!!!! THANK YOU!!!!! There was a bit of far away road noise, but noting too bad. Being here in the last week of September means the aspen trees turning made it extra beautiful. I would not be afraid to bring a mid-size fifth wheel up. It would just have to be slow since the area has a lot of big rocks and trees!!!! We towed a 21' R-pod with a Chevy Silverado 2500 HD diesel up here. There are other boondockers in the area, but we are pretty widly spread out. Camping at it's finest!!!!

We truly enjoyed our stay here. The sunsets are amazing and it is very quiet. The loudest thing around is the wind in the pines and the birds in the morning. There are 2 loops: 1 loop for tents only (6 sites)and 1 loop for RV/tents (8 sites).The RV/tent side has been recently updated (new signs, new picnic tables plus tent pads). The tent only side has no tent pads, the markings are not very clear plus old concrete picnic tables. All sites have fire rings, but due to a burn ban no open fires are allowed. Gas stoves and gas grills are okay. The sites are gravel and vary in sizes. The is a vault rest room in the middle - think porta-potty. It could use some TLC (hence the 4 stars in cleanliness). There are some wildlife proof trash cans. We did see the maintenance crew emptying the trash. The camp ground sits atop a ridge and can be windy. We had 3 bars of 4G even at the spot furthest away from the cell phone tower on the next hill. There are a few hiking trails in the area and there is downloadable PDF file for them on the internet or if you do not mind searching through pictures I have added a screenshot of it to them. At night there is a very nice view down towards Canon City from the Parking area by the restroom. We used County Road 3A to get up here (that is the road to the Royal Gorge). After mile marker 3 take the next turn-off to the left onto the bit windy, not too rough gravel road. It is less 1 more mile to the campground. You will pass a picnic site on left shortly after turning. At the next fork stay right and you are almost there. As a tip you will know you missed the turn-off onto the gravel road when pass a picnic/rest area on the right side on 3 A. I would not recommend any really big rigs up here, since the spaces are not the biggest plus there is the windy road.

This campground is DOD ID card holders/disabled (VHIC) veterans only. No visitors currently....
The campsites are $35 for rigs over 27ft/$30 under. Tent sites are $18, but are only open from May 1 to Oct 31.
The place ist nestled between the main road of the Air Force Academy (not much traffic there unless it is on a game day or graduation) and the train tracks. The tracks are located below the campground and the train do whistle coming by. A bit further east is I25 and it is only rarely noticeable. The USAFA air field is south of here, but that is not a major noise pollution. The loudest thing here are the trains, the Falcon's football stadium (during events only) and at 4:45pm the lowering of the flag daily. The campground is literally in a beautiful pine forest. They trim the trees and grate the roads annually (just got done in early April).
The office is open from 9-6 pm/7 days a week during the Peak season. Be advised, that some of the sites are closer together than others. The roads and sites are all gravel/dirt past the office and the rigs will get dusty. The bathroom houses both clean and also have an inexpensive laundry in them. There are lots of dog bag dispensers, but not dog park 🤨. They sell propane at the office.
During the peak season (April1 to October 31) the max stay length is 30 days. In the winter only the 6 month max per calendar year applies. Reservations can be made 90 days out for active duty, 60 days out for retirees and all other dod id card holders plus 30 days out for disabled veterans (VHIC). We use a unlimted hot spot and had no problems streaming TV or using the internet. Satelite might be an issue depending on the site since the sites are all in the forest.
***☃️****☃️***☃️***☃️***☃️***☃️***
The Low season is from Nov 1 until March 31. The office is closed. You can call, leave a message and wait to get called back a day or few days later. The rates are lower $30 per day or $750 per month, if you are staying the full calendar month only (they just raised those to that for the next winter!!!) The water stays on, but only to fill tanks when the temperstures are above freezing (heated hoses do not make any difference) and they check that!!!. Last winter the bathrooms were locked up for the first time. Skirting is not allowed. There are only 60 or so sites open in the winter. The 30 amp area become a rv storage. There is absolutely NO snow removal or sanding. The gravel roads turn into ice for weeks. It is especially back around the dumpsters. This did not change even after a fall while walking the dog with a broken bone that required the military police to come out and a transport by ambulance.

Easy in and out. The parking lot was pretty much empty, and it was no big deal to turn our 35ft 5th wheel and truck around. Also there non-potable water and potable (drinking) water available. I gladly donated for the convenience.

We stayed for one night only instead of the two planned I had needed.
First of all a lot of the spots before the Agua Fria Monument were blocked off by the BLM (probably due to overuse). The road was mew, but passable towing a 33ft 5th wheel pretty slowly. There were lots of car camper along the way.
It was getting close to sunset and I needed to stop somewhere. So we followed the road to 34.2327009, -112.0994252 aka a bit past the trail head an Vault toilet. I backed the 5th wheel in. The interstate noise was minimal. Around us was one van, a newer travel trailer, a big tent covered by a silver trap with two people and two dogs (homesteading?). Further in I could see a couple of white vehicles through the bushes behind a huge mud puddle left from the last heavy rain.
I set up as in drove on a long wooden board on one side to get in the bubble aka semi-level, stayed connected (since I had a strange feeling about the place), pulled out 2 of 3 slides (I pulled them back in when I went to bed) and had the truck facing so it was easy to get out.
After letting my dog go sniff a little and do his business we had our dinners and watched a bit of TV. I did not bother with the starlink dish since I had 5 bars on my verizon hot spot. We were just about to go to bed around 9 pm after a long and stressful day in Phoenix when I heard first arguing from the white vehicles behind us past the bushes and the mud puddle (east) and than a little later a few people singing to some loud music. The people southeast of us, the nicer new trailer, left after that in the dark.
My 70 lbs Doberman/hound mix and I went to bed. But at 4:20 am the same people, that had been singing, got their chainsaw out and started cutting something for about 15 min. I am assuming they ran out off wood, had forgotten to chop some up before dark, then at 56F got too cold at what I call "O dark thirty" sobered up some and decided to cut more wood up.... that was enough for me to say ONE NIGHT IS ENOUGH.
Also the road would be not passable after a rain. The big lot right at the interstate might be a better option for an overnight as in less quiet, but easier access and less sketchy people....

To get to the free beach go north on the islands main road (towards Galveston), go past all the houses and beach access signs in town. After the houses end on both sides (less then a mile north) there is a dark blue sign with white writing "Public Beach access 1". Turn right there and the beach is about a quarter mile straight in front. The beach is for vehicles one way only on packed sand. There is an exit further north (labeled as Public Beach Access 2". I am not sure, if there are any more. Almost any rig will fit on this beach. There are trash cans and Port-a-potties on the beach (not sure how clean they are and how often the trash is picked up). The next "normal" grocery store is on the mainland. The stores on the island close or have very much reduced hours in the off-season plus they have tourist prices. I recommend this beach from September through May. Reason being is that is was raining all weekend on Laborday and there were still lots of people thoughing it out. Since it is only 60 miles from the Houston area I can just imagine what it is like when school is out and the weather is good, lol.... At the right time this beach is probably pretty close to heaven....