Remove Ads
risen

risen

Indiana , USA

Premium
August 13, 2022
Rated

This is a tiny rest area. The RV/Truck side is against the highway and parking is nose to tail along the edge. There may be space for 3-4 semis. I fit my Moho and toad along the edge at the exit end. There are about 50 car spots and a bathroom. The dump is at the end of the truck lane. Keep to the right instead of merging onto the highway. It's a pull through. There is a dump and hydrant that is marked 'do not drink'. Lots of grass for walking the dogs. A few trees. Highway is close, but I ran my generator (facing the highway) to cool the rig when we parked. I've definitely overnighted at worse rest stops!

Was this helpful?
risen would stay here again
March 14, 2022
Rated

This place is so quiet and peaceful. I camped real close to the abandoned Ranch. There's only one little pull off on the road that takes you to the ranch. Don't try to go any further unless you have a lot of clearance and a 4 by 4 because you have to cross several steep washes to get any further then the first pull-off area. Take a hike down to the ranch. It's really interesting. Cell service is incredibly fast with full bars of Verizon 4G LTE even a mile or so off of the highway. I have a 38 ft motorhome and I pull a full-sized SUV behind it. I had no problem getting back here and finding a nearly perfectly level site in an incredibly quiet and private area.

Was this helpful?
risen would stay here again

Nightly Rate: $0.00

Days Stayed: 7

Site Number: -

5 Access
5 Location
4 Cleanliness
5 Site Quality
5 Noise

Cell Coverage Rating

Verizon 4G

October 01, 2021
Rated

This is one of those sites that you're tempted to give a false negative review about just to keep it under the radar. But, in the spirit of free spirits...here's the honest review:

It's hard to believe this place is as quiet and peaceful as it is given it's proximity to town. The bustling town of Saratoga Springs with every amenity you'd ever want is just 15 minutes north of this boondocking location. Once you arrive, the wide gravel road leads you towards the lake. You can go all the way to the end and park near the lake, but I chose to stay on the ridge (advantage: solar!!). I'm 38 feet long and pull a GMC Acadia toad and had no trouble at all getting to a great, level, spot overlooking the lake. Bonus: my Verizon 4G is fast enough here to upload to my YouTube channel and stream some Roku shows with my Orbic hotspot (5 bars 4GLTE without a booster on the hotspot; 2 bars on the Samsung S9 Note).

There are a dozen or so others here but there is more than enough space to have privacy. You can see my neighbors in the photo and here's a link to a quick walk around of my camp: https://youtu.be/cNUE3dIFkxc

The GPS coordinates listed in for this site are dead accurate. I'm actually parked at these exact coordinates! Perfect spot!

You won't get much in the way of night skies here; there's too much light pollution from Provo across the lake. BUT, the twinkling of the distant Provo city lights at night hold their own beauty. If you park with your nose facing North, you'll be greeted by an incredible sunrise over the mountains on your patio. The setting sun in the evening will light up those mountains and reveal their colors while your rig provides lovely shade for enjoying the show and a warm campfire.

NEGATIVES: (1) The lake isn't a swimming lake; algae bloom + high salinity + mayflies (swarms of them even in fall). All of this can be avoided by camping on the high ground and simply overlooking the lake from afar. (2) Because you're close to town(s), there is some overhead jet noise occasionally; distant, but it's there. (3) As others have pointed out, there is some litter; shotgun shells, brass casings, nails where it's pretty evident someone burned a pallet or two; nothing terrible though.

10/10 will add this to my boondocking rotation!

Was this helpful?
risen would stay here again

Nightly Rate: $0.00

Days Stayed: 3

Site Number: n/a

5 Access
5 Location
4 Cleanliness
5 Site Quality
4 Noise

Cell Coverage Rating

Verizon 4G

December 02, 2022
Rated

We stopped here on our way south because we spotted it from 1D. What a lucky find! Showers, banjos, beach access, level parking. Dry camping, but that's OK!

My 39ft class A pulling a Jeep Wrangler was no problem. I am 13 ft tall and the wires at the gate were very close, but I made it.

Prices are by size. My rig was charged 300 pesos for 24 hrs. My friends converted van was 250. They have a 7pm to 7am option for 150 peso too.

Gated, small oxxo near, nice restaurant near. Definitely a good start to our Baja journey.

Verizon through Telcel is fast here too!

Was this helpful?
risen would stay here again

Nightly Rate: $15.00

Days Stayed: 2

Site Number: -

5 Access
5 Location
5 Cleanliness
5 Site Quality
4 Noise

Cell Coverage Rating

Verizon 4G

May 09, 2023
Rated

Imagine my disappointment when I arrived to find that the USFS had made this a parking area. Yes, you can still camp here but you'll be on a sloped gravel lot with boulders preventing you from parking on the field. Bummer. There are two or three sites for smaller rigs on the right side of the road after you enter from NM 90 and before you get to the 'loop' area of the road. You can no longer camp in the large area to the left of the road - there are "no camping" signs there now. Yes, I will still camp here every spring because it's also where the Continental Divide Trail crosses and I set up a trail magic station here for the through hikers. My understanding from the locals is that there are plans for pit toilets to be installed here 'soon'. It's hard to say if this will remain free or if it will go onto the forest service campground roster. At any rate, if you come here in the spring (Last part of April through mid-May) you'll see lot of through hikers. At this crossing, they are 150 - 165 miles into the 3100 mile hike. Do yourself a favor and pay attention to where the trail crosses the parking area if you would prefer not to have people walking through your camp daily. Just look for the trail signs. This area continues to have free range cattle and, new this year, two feral house cats. We didn't see any large predators in our two weeks and only heard coyotes once. Any rig will fit back here but you'll be very challenged to get level without lifting tires on one side.

Was this helpful?

Nightly Rate: $0.00

Days Stayed: 14

Site Number: -

5 Access
5 Location
5 Cleanliness
3 Site Quality
3 Noise

Cell Coverage Rating

T-Mobile 5G

September 17, 2021
Rated

I'm a thousand trails member and booked this 'resort' for 14 days. I managed to suffer through 12 hours because I arrived at sundown and thought I would give the place a chance. Sites are cramped. Zero privacy. Old power pedestals. Trash. Loud. Dumpy seasonal sites. It wasn't worth staying even though it was free for me. I left. Listen to the site reviews! I wish I had looked at reviews instead of trusting the pretty pictures on the TT site. Beware!!

Was this helpful?

Nightly Rate: $0.00

Days Stayed: 1

Site Number: -

1 Access
1 Location
1 Cleanliness
1 Site Quality
1 Noise

Cell Coverage Rating

Verizon 4G

October 01, 2021
Rated

This is a very busy state rec area on a very popular lake. Its proximity to Bloomington and Indiana University makes it a popular day trip location. I stayed here for two separate 14 day stays during August and September 2021. My first site was near the entrance; #13. It wasn't bad and I stayed here 14 days. Level and of good size and easy enough to get my big tall rig into. My second stay was at a site in total sun with direct access to the lake (I can't remember the site number, but it's at the end of the first spur in the sunny clearing). Here I was on a asphalt pad with my canopy facing the huge open area. Yes, there was foot traffic occasionally but not much. I was close enough to a bay off the lake to carry my kayak down to the water and just left it tied to a snag for a few days.

As far as state parks/rec areas go, Paynetown is a decent place to spend time. It does get busy and can be noisy during the day but it quiets down in the evenings. If you're a boater, you'll be in heaven here. Bring your own or rent one at the marina. There are some great trails right off of the campground for those who prefer to hike. NEGATIVE: lots and lots of bugs (noseeums) and biting flies near the lake.

Was this helpful?
risen would stay here again

Nightly Rate: $38.00

Days Stayed: 28

Site Number: 13

5 Access
5 Location
5 Cleanliness
5 Site Quality
3 Noise

Cell Coverage Rating

Verizon 4G

April 19, 2022
Rated

After Lubbock, I hoped to find a Texas picnic area along 82 but no luck. As I got to Crosbyton, I noticed an RV parked in a little lot and then saw the wonderful sign with "Crosbyton free RV parking". Oh happy day!! It's 11pm and I'm exhausted. My plan was to pull off at any closed store and then I saw this. I'm 38ft with a toad and there's tons of pull through space. There is only one other RV here. Best yet, there are electric boxes at each site plus water! I won't use electricity, but will be happy to add a splash of water before headed out tomorrow. I will update if there's also a dump available. If so, that will be awesome!

UPDATE: The dumps have been capped off and I'm not 100% sure that the electric works. BUT, the water does! Also, there are dumpsters for trash. This little place is actually a the parking lot to a little city park. It's designed as a pull through, so no worries! There are a couple of picnic tables and some nice shade trees, too.

Was this helpful?
risen would stay here again

Nightly Rate: $0.00

Days Stayed: 1

Site Number: -

5 Access
5 Location
5 Cleanliness
5 Site Quality
4 Noise

Cell Coverage Rating

Verizon 4G

September 14, 2021
Rated

Holy smokes! Where to start? This place is GORGEOUS!! Spotless, huge private sites. Asphalt parking pad, concrete pad under the picnic table. Fantastic fire pit. LAUNDRY facilities! Lighting fast 4G LTE. Quiet. Paved bike paths. Walking trails. Ponds with shelters for picnics. Playground for kids (looks brand new!). And, of course, Maumee Bay and Lake Erie are an easy walk from the camping area. They have electric only and full hookup sites. The electric sites have 15/30/50 at every site. Pedestals look new and all worked as it should.

Honesty, I could go on gushing about the place. Instead I'm going to go out and enjoy myself for the next two days while waiting for my Amazon shipment to show up in Toledo.

Was this helpful?
risen would stay here again

Nightly Rate: $29.00

Days Stayed: 2

Site Number: 171

5 Access
5 Location
5 Cleanliness
5 Site Quality
5 Noise

Cell Coverage Rating

Verizon 4G

August 21, 2022
Rated

This place is amazing. The roads are excellent, and the sights are beautiful. Unfortunately, as canyons go, this thing goes straight uphill the entire way from I80. Although the sites are large and appear to be flat, There is really no good way to get a large motor home level. We ended up staying at the ADA accessible site. Although it appears flat, The slope is enough that I had to chock the wheels on my manual transmission Jeep to stop it from rolling even when it was in gear. If you don't mind fighting getting level, or if you are camping in something small or a tent this this is a perfect and amazing place.

As others have mentioned, there is a lot of traffic near the front of the area. But since there is no exit, the traffic is simply people coming and going from the campsites that are deeper in. I took the Jeep to the very end the end of the road. There there is a large turnaround that I probably could have gotten the 38' motor home turned around in without my Jeep attached. So don't be afraid to drive all the way down the road because you because you can get turned around at the end.

Was this helpful?
risen would stay here again

Nightly Rate: $0.00

Days Stayed: 2

Site Number: -

5 Access
5 Location
5 Cleanliness
4 Site Quality
4 Noise

Cell Coverage Rating

Verizon 4G