roadtripper1430321

Van Damme State Park made the perfect base camp for our time in the Mendocino area! We stayed in the first loop campground in site one, the closest site to the beach. Van Damme Beach is under a five minute walk from this campground area.

The sites are nice sized, the staff is amazing and very helpful, bathrooms were clean, shower pressure was great, and the park has WiFi. Which is good since there is basically no cell reception in most areas of the campground. However, you can get some cell reception near the beach and in Mendocino. The park WiFi can be intermittent and is best close to the visitor center.

Since we were dry camping and our site was partially shaded by beauty forest (some sites get more sun than others), we did have to seek sunny spots for our solar during the day. Which is easy to do in the Mendocino area. We spent our days enjoying beautiful sunny scenic spots to "office." We day camped at Headlands State Park, Russian Gulch State Park, Big River Park, and scenic overlooks. Some of these also provided better cell reception.

Headlands State Park is not to be missed! It has scenic easy walking/hiking trails, whale watching certain times of the year (we saw many grey whales), seasonal flowers, breathtaking bluff views, and impressive sunsets! It is about three miles from Van Damme.

Russian Gulch State Park is less than six miles from Van Damme and also worth exploring! You can also camp there overnight. On our visit there was no WiFi and very little cell reception. The trails are easy and take you to out to the bluffs, give you great views of the bridge, the beach, and the sink hole.

Mendocino is magical and worth exploring! The town itself is adorable with Victorian houses, shops, and yummy places to eat.

Oh, and if you enjoy light houses, be sure and visit Point Cabrillo Light Station.

Another nice Arizona state park. Highlights are the trails, small lake, a natural hot springs tub, mountain view, and well kept up campground.

Nearby in Safford and Thatcher there are several places to purchase groceries: Safeway, Bashas (Arizona-based, family-owned and -operated grocery chain), and Walmart.

Also, if you like good Mexican food, La Paloma Restaurant in nearby Solomon, AZ is worth the drive.

Cell and Wifi:
Verizon 2 bars LTE
3.3 Mb down 2.4 Mb up

AT&T 2 bars LTE
13.4 Mb down 7.4 Mb up

Sprint 2 bars Extended LTE
0.28 Mb down 0.28 Mb up

Roper Lake State Park WiFi
2.0 Mb down 1.3Mb up
(Closer you are to the bathrooms on the Cottonwood Loop, the better the reception.)

This is our 7th California beach state park we have visited this month and one of our favorites! (We have camped at South Carlsbad, Crystal Cove, Point Mugu, Carpinteria, Morro Bay Strand, and New Brighton State Beach.) Other than Point Mugu, it has one of the most accessible beaches.

We also feel there was better spacing between sites compared to many other of the state parks. This is not just a parking lot, there is a small green space between most sites. We had electric at out site and a water spigot in between us and the next site. Trash and recycle bins were nearby.

The bathrooms were not 5 star, but being Spring Break and Easter weekend, it is busy and we'd imagine keeping up with cleaning would be challenging. However, the water pressure in the showers were the best of any CA state park we've experienced! Showers use quarters (50 cents for 2 minutes).

The beach is amazing! Beautiful sunsets!

One big surprise here (and a couple other of the CA state parks) was the Wifi...it is enough to work from and even stream a movie!!

Park WiFi and Cell Reception:

Park WiFi - 11.5 Mb down 4.5 Mb up (averaged)

AT&T - three bars 4G LTE 10 Mb down 10 Mb up

Sprint - three bars of 4G LTE 5.7 Mb down 4.2 Mb up

Verizon - three bars of 4G LTE 12.2 Mb down 4 Mb up

This is a beautiful Upper Sonoran Desert lakeside campground. We stayed in the Coati section, which is for RVs under 30 feet and tent campers. There are several other sections for larger RVs. Each site had a covered picnic table and a fire pit. Handicap sites are also available. Coati had several bathrooms with flush toilets. The bathrooms near the camp host had four showers and a handicap accessible shower. There is a playground for children. There were paths throughout Coati for scenic hiking.

There are not any hook-ups at the sites, but there were water spigots to fill up containers at several places throughout the campground. Trash cans are available in the bathrooms. Windy Hill does offer two dump station on certain days (see picture).

A Tonto National Forest pass is required to camp. The daily pass is $8. There are two places locally to purchase these near the campground: Spring Creek Store and the Tonto Basin Ranger District. Maximum stay is 14 days.

Cell reception varied within the campground, at times we were limited to 3G and other times we topped out at 2 bars of LTE on Verizon.

The other reviewers have done a great job describing the area (thank you), hence the reason we came here! I'll just add a little about our experience...

Beautiful beautiful area!! Quiet, wildlife, and pristine water views!

We camped in the West Campground. The dirt roads are very well maintained. The vault restrooms were clean. The sites are not too close together. Our site was not level and looking around the campground it appears that others are not either. It made setting up camp a little challenging. Everything tilted a little, even the picnic bench at the site. Perhaps this is due to the weather over the winter?

Cell reception:
2-3 bars of LTE/4G on Verizon, T-Mobile, and AT&T.

Fort Worden is more than just a fort or a campground! They have a lot going on there, from yoga classes to cultural events to "Farm to Fort to Fork" dining! At times it felt more like a resort than a state park camp ground.

The upper campground is in the forest and the lower campground is near the beach and lighthouse. Bathrooms were not as well maintained as most WA state parks. There is public WiFi, works best near the fireplace in the Commons. There is one washing machine and dryer they will let you use, ask at front desk for code.

Cell reception:
AT&T - 3 bars LTE - 7 Mb down, 2 Mb up
T-Mobile - 1 bar LTE - 3 Mb down, .1 Mb up
Verizon -2 bars LTE - 1.2 Mb down .01 up

This place is amazing! Trees, views aplenty, salt water, beach to walk on, amazing sunsets, trails, nice camp sites, clean restrooms, recycle bins, place to wash dishes, a real fort, and even Beachcomber Cafe (open during the summer months)!

The upper campground is in the forest and the lower campground is near the beach. Most sites in the lower campground have at least a partial view of the water.

Showers have amazing water pressure, 2 tokens for $1, each token is for three minutes.

AT&T - 4 bars LTE - 11 Mb down, 30 Mb up
T- Mobile - 2 bars LTE - 13 Mb down, 2 Mb up
Verizon - 4 bars LTE 24 - Mb down, 23 Mb up

Five stars for the location!! A secluded cove beach on the west side of Orcas Island! Life is good!

Paradise is the word that kept coming up as we enjoyed our time at West Beach Resort! Our first night we enjoyed a large camp fire on the beach while watching the sunset (see picture)!

Great staff, nice store (Lopez Island ice cream, yum), lots of water activities, plenty of wildlife (deer, birds, sea life), and the resort has a fun somewhat rustic summer camp feel to it. The type of place families come back to year after year to make memories. We certainly plan to come back again and again!

The RV sites are on grass and mostly level. They vary in size, so be sure and let them know how large your RV is and if you'll also have a tent, etc. We saw RVs of all sizes camping here. Sites have water and electric hook-ups, a fire pit, and picnic table. Even though our site was a "non-view" site, we had partial water view. Bathrooms were clean. Showers take quarters.

In addition to the RV sites, there are adorable cabins/cottages and tents/yurts. There is a playground, volley ball area, table tennis, and a hot tub. Very dog friendly.

If you need strong Wifi or cell reception to work, this is probably not the place for you.
There is WiFi, which works best near the office. There is greatly varied Verizon reception. It seemed to work best on the beach or near the office. At rare times we also had 1-2 bars of LTE at our campsite. Sprint often said, "Welcome to Canada." We had little to no AT&T. We knew there would be little to no reception, so planned our trip on a weekend rather than a work week.

Be sure and visit Moran State Park!

Notes for RVing on Orcas Island*:
You will need to make a reservation for a ferry from Anacortes. Camper vans under 22 feet are the same price as a car. RVs larger than that can get a bit expensive.
Watch for orcas and other sea life while on the ferry!
Places to RV: Moran State Park, West Beach Resort, and Doe Bay Resort (small RVs/camper vans). There may be other places, these are the only ones we have been to and are aware of when writing this review.
Best to fill up with gas and buy groceries before taking ferry over to Orcas. There are three gas stations and places to buy groceries on the island, however they are pricey.
Ferry terminal has Wifi and cell reception (some of the best on the island).
*Disclaimer: Not experts on Rving on Orcas Island, this is just our second time to enjoy this lovely enchanting island. :-)