Looks like it would be a beautiful view! But they are charging $30/ person! We have a family of 6! That would be crazy! So we drove the 4? Or so miles of poorly maintained road driving our 40' motorhome. They have an RV parking area that is dirt and poorly maintained as well. Almost looks like they forgot it was there and it's needs to be taken care of. We went and checked it and and was very disappointed by the price so we left. There would be soooooo many more people that would go if they had a reasonable price! Total tourist trap. I've heard of you go down to New Mexico they have a similar thing and it's free. We might do that at some point instead.
We didn't stay here but we did do the tour. It was neat to see the inside of the hotel and the story but we didn't really feel we learned as much as we'd liked to have. Nothing paranormal either with our group. Lol my 12yo daughter LOVES The Shining so this was her "thing" she wanted to do on the trip. Our tour guide was very nice and did a nice job but I wouldn't "highly recommend" the tour because I didn't feel it was GREAT. But if you're really into the movie and a Stephen King fan....
We were disappointed. We got there just after the visitor center closed which was fine. I had read you can do a self guided balcony tour from above so that's what I planned. We got there and the road for the balcony tours was closed! They didn't mention this at the park entrance. From the park entrance it was another 25 miles to the furthest homes. I was not aware of that. Mind you, you're driving at 25-35mph going up a mountain. The views are gorgeous as you go up!! We were only able to see the homes from across the valley which was disappointing. So glad I all ready had my annual pass or I'd have been really upset that I paid to get in and didn't get to see anything! The roads get closed at dusk because they don't want people driving that crazy drop off the cliff mountain in the dark so be aware of that. The visitor center closes at 3:30 so you'd need to get your tour tickets before that if you want to get an actual hands on tour.
Warning..... this is not an easy hike. We are not hikers. We did survive though. 😆 if you have foot, ankle, hip or knee issues, this might not be the best falls to see. It's very rough terrain. But if you can handle it, and there are shady spots and rocks to rest on along the way, the view of the falls is worth it along with the view from the top! We stayed a bit to cool off and then made it back down. Way less heavy breathing on the way down! 😆 the short walk to the falls is 1.2 miles. You can hike further up also but like I said..... we're not hikers so that was plenty! 😊 don't forget your water!
We arrived late for the night- like at midnight after having RV troubles. There was a board outside with our space info on it so we reluctantly drove through to our spot and found we couldn't make it into our space with our 40' rig plus van on tow, we didn't want to wake anyone and left to go stay at Walmart down the road. We came in the next morning and let her know that spot wouldn't work and she gladly changed our spot for us. She was very nice and felt bad we weren't able to stay the first night. There is only 1 bathroom for the whole rv park which we thought was kind of odd. It's on the back side of the main office. So we used our shower and toilet for the most part. The office store has a handful of things in case you forgot anything. No food, etc. All in all a decent place! We'd definitely come back!
This is kind of a dive BUT the employees were super nice, we got to hold a baby gator, got some pictures and a bravery reward that the gator even "stamped" for us! Lol Tons of areas to see and like nothing we've seen before! We went to a place in FL once where they wanted to charge you like $4 to feed 1 little niece of meat. This place you got a bucket of feed for $2! The gators have all the food they could want- they're all housed with tilapia fish and smaller ones too! Such a cool place!
I'll say what no one else did on Google maps.... this is an insanely long hike to get TO the dunes. In the heat like we were in.... it would just be dumb. We all agreed that a picture was enough. We came, we saw, we left. 😆I had thought we could park at the base of the dunes. I was wrong. And you know how it is to walk in the sand right?! Lol we saved our legs by just looking and admiring the ginormous dunes. 😊
The road TO the parking area is a pretty rough road. It's about 18 miles out so to where you can park to walk. The hiking trail is very rocky the entire way. We went in the 80 degree full sun heat. We aren't hikers but we did ok on the hike. BRING WATER! The Falls was totally worth it! Even my teen who was INSISTING he didn't want to go on "another stupid hike" said it was worth it! Lol
DO NOT attempt this on a large RV. I thought this would be a nice stop after driving 2 hours on our way through. I was very very wrong. We drove our 40' motorhome towing our van on a car dolly so there was no way to back up and no place to turn around. This is 20+ miles of gravel wash board roads on Toadstool Road. I read reviews on Google maps and people had no issues. Low and behold we were driving through on a Sunday and we drove all that way at about 30mph only to find the gate was closed. 🤬😭 we were not happy. We were sooooooo relieved just to get back on flat ground! Just a warning to those in an RV. Attempt it at your own risk! My husband is never going to let me live this one down. Our motocross is completely covered in dust and the radiator is full of dust and started overheating. We have to spray it off when we get settled in at our campground. If I only would have known...... 🤦♀️
Had no issues during our 3 night stay. Never saw our meet the owners as we arrived in the rain and no one was in the office. They took care of everything over the phone including precise directions to get into our site. The Fort Hays Chuckwagon in right on the other side of the fence which works great for getting pancakes the morning we left and didn't need to drive our vehicle. We were hooked up and ready to go the night before! All you can eat pancakes at For Hays for $.99! I guess the showers are a little small. I didn't use them or the bathroom but the husband and kids did.