roadtripper2926411

Well, I didn't check Google Earth before I booked. Otherwise, I would have seen just how close our campsite was to the Hwy 71. This was our 4th Texas State Park in a little over 2 week's time, so I thought Bastrop would be as off the beaten track as the others. Not so much, here. You are very close to the highway, and the noise inside our coach is noticeable, even at 2100 hours.

The reception at HQ was very professional and accommodating. And, they have a gift shop there along with Blue Bell ice cream!

There are many short hiking trails throughout the park, and they have playgrounds for the kids, and a swimming pool during the summer.

The park roads are narrow and the 30 mph speed limit is about 10 to 15 mph too fast, really! We got buzzed by both a motorcyclist and a bicyclist on the same walk along the road. I would try and stay on the trails.

The campsite loops are very nice and clean, although some of the sites are stacked somewhat close, and our sewage hookup was ~30 feet away from our sewage connection. So, I chose to use the dump station the next day upon departure, rather than run 3 sections of sewage hose over the ground just for one night. The bathrooms are clean, newish, and includes showers.

We were in a full hook-up site in the Cooperas Creek Camping Area loop. However, I would op for the Piney Hill Camping Area loop, sites 1 - 25 next time as they are just a little further away from the Hwy.

I'm curious about how many campers actually use the casino. The only reason that we went into Cactus Pete's Casino was to give someone our registration envelope with our $20 fee. There wasn't any drop box that we could find. We also didn't see a camp host or anyone else in an official capacity until the next morning when they seem to drive around to see if occupied spaces have paid. I'm not sure really how they monitor who has paid.

We didn't use the water and sewer hookups as it froze during the night. We had also had a back-in spot along the fence.

There is also a dump site as well.

This is a good value for a full hook-up RV park. The only noise I heard was somebody racing down the side street once next to the RV Park. Quiet. No TV reception.

There is not much camping between Price and Spanish Forks that close to the highway.
The road could be a bit tricky to get off on from the hwy. There is a turning lane for east bound travel, and a wide shoulder for west bound. There is also signage on the hwy. You go up a grade to the campground on the left about 3/4 of a mile. The campground is just a beat down pasture with plenty of parking area. There were over 20 rigs parked there, helter skelter, the next morning.

Some hunters, it appears, leave their trailers there for extended periods during hunting season. We were here in late October.

The roads going into the park are crooked and narrow. The road coming from the east especially so. I recommend coming in from the west.

Nice park! Nice little lake! There is a 20 site full hook-up campground, and 4 tent sites that are well off the road. There is also a nice laundry room (2 washers, 2 dryers) with showers in the center. There is nice spacing between sites. Tables and fire rings for all.

Pads are a little narrow, Trees all around. Easy come, and easy go.

No recycling, and there are only 2 dumpsters in the whole park.

The lake has a nice pier, boat ramp and is very inviting if you have a canoe or kayak. No swimming, however. Looks like there is decent fishing.

No internet, not much cell service.

The campground is located about 6 miles from the Hwy, and sets in a heavy forested area close to the cliff, approximately 250 feet above the ocean. Although there are no scenic views from the campground, one does not need to walk very far until you get to one.

This is a state park that only has a small number of full hookup sites for "hosts". Otherwise, it's water and electricity only. Also, there is NO DUMP SITE at the park, period. So, if you are in a rig, that might dictate how many days you want to stay here. Also, our 30A service plug was loose, so I used a 50A converter plug and plugged into the 50A service.

The campground has trails that lead to the Cape Blanco Lighthouse, and to the beach where you can get on the Oregon Coast Trail, and walk forever. We hiked to the Sixes River and back, ~5 miles, and it took us about 3.5 hours.

In 3 days, we didn't see one park ranger, and only 2 volunteers. Oregon now uses a 100% online reservation system, so its advised that you make reservations before you arrive, even if it has vacancies.

For a commercial park, this is better than most KOAs that I've been to. Very nice people in the office. We did not have reservations in early June but got a selection of a couple of decent sites. We had a pull-through, but it was tight the next morning pulling out due to other rigs and trees. We also had cable TV. This park is probably no more than a couple of minutes off of the interstate. It has many mature trees and I heard very little traffic but no interstate noise.

This is a smaller campground on the north side of the hwy from Yellowstone NP to Cody, WY., with a very nice camp host. Not many amenities in the campground, and there is no water. Each site does have a bear box, picnic table, and fire ring and there is one vault toilet in the campground.

Our site was level but there are very few sites with open views and there will be some highway noise. The campground is prone to spring flooding in wet years. Do you remember those? Consequently, the river bank that outlines the north side of the campground is undercut and is not stable near the river's edge. Mosquitos will be a problem after a rain.

Its an easy campground to get in and out of, and a couple of sites would accommodate larger rigs.

This park is managed by the concessionaires, PisgahAdventures.com who have some of the best people I've ever dealt with in a federal government campground. Like a bonehead, I reserved a site without services, and the park has a 4 hour limit on running generators. I was concerned that it might be too hot, so, I went back up to the gate and asked if they had any sites with electricity. The nice ladies worked hard and got me a 'Host' site that had full hookups, for a few bucks more. Dude...score!

There are many sites without services and a few with hookups. There are 3 loops, and one loop has most of the hookups. There is a small lake where there is fishing and swimming. However, dogs are not allowed on the swimming beach. There are many bike and hiking trails nearby, both within the bark, and just outside.

There is no camp store. However, they sell ice and firewood ($10) at the gate. The only recycling are aluminum cans.

GPS got us to the park, but I was suspect going through a residential area before arriving at the gate. There are a lot of sharp turns, hills and dips.

To get cell service, I drove a couple of miles outside the gate for 2 to 3 bars of 4G AT&T and 1 bar of 4G Verizon.

Late October, and we were looking for something for one night and took a chance and drove to the campground to see if there were any vacancies. Mesa Verde was closed. We went by a sign that read all camping is done by call-in reservations. So, we called the number without success in talking with anyone and then drove up and spoke to some contractors who revealed that the Park Manager was still in the office. The nice lady got us a spot, although no hook-ups. It was a pull-through with plenty of room. However, some of the spots are not so much. And, the road through the campsite is very narrow and winds around tree and campsites.

The dump station is just as you leave the campground and there is no water available to flush out your tank.

As an alternative, there is dispersed camping about 4 to 5 miles further up the road.

Some state and federal campgrounds are hard to reserve due to their popularity. Lost Dutchman is one of those with its proximity so close to PHX. After 3 years of trying to get a site some 60 to 90 days before hand, I finally got lucky this year and got one.

While they do have some sites with power and water, I think I liked our dry camp site better as we were on the outside loop against the Superstitions with no one behind us. Our site was close to a trail which did bring people close to our site, but not a big deal.
We still had a lot of privacy, probably more than most sites.

The check in process was very good. Marty, one of the volunteers and a retired Navy Captain welcomed us, checked us in, and directed us to our site. Every staff member we met were very friendly.

The park has a modest but well stocked gift shop. They sell maps, but please don’t open or unfold them before you buy them, as there are signs posted to such and they are not timid about telling you not to,

They have a double station dump facility as you enter and leave the campground with both flush out water and potable water. Each campground site has a nice metal picnic table and fire ring. The park rangers are also sticklers for keeping your wheels on the pavement at your site and for observing generator hours. There are potable water spigots throughout the campground, and they do have recycling!