roadtripper467949

This the other place we stay in VA to visit family. If you want cell reception and do not have a booster then you will definitely want to stay in C1-C8, C37-C60, or in the C90's... you'll have to check your phone; it's really weird how there is a line right through C loop that seems to have decent service. Not great, but good enough. Streaming might work for you, but sometimes the reception drops right off to minimum. All of C loop seems to be fine for voice on Verizon.

Loops A & B are dead zones. I mean dead like Orlando D loop. You might get voice or text service, but don't count on it.

The roads are often times not good, but they are gravel roads built on the side of a hill, so you'll get that. The park does try to keep them groomed, but you can only do so much with gravel on a hill.

The large pond/small lake is pretty and the pool looks really nice and is usually busy during the summer. They have a store with snacks and such. The rec hall is huge but usually empty. The laundry facilities are sub-par and we usually go to a local place in town. Like all TT parks I've visited, the staff are friendly and helpful. As always, if you don't like your spot, you can ask to move.

This is a get-away-from-it-all park with lots of seasonal people, so don't look for much entertainment outside of your site unless you're willing to spend some quality driving time. This is not a complaint, because there are times when we definitely want to be away from it all. The Food Lion is OK, so we' don't mind the occasional run into town for supplies.

If you NEED great cell service, keep going as this whole area needs better coverage.

Unless your neighbor is blaring their music, the place is quiet (except for the occasional cow in the nearby pasture), and at night get's pretty close to pitch black.

Small out of the way campground that suffers with out of level sites. Verizon and AT&T were acceptable.

The Hershey RV Thousand Trails campground is a nice, well maintained place. They charge an extra fee ($4/night) for 50 amp and if that allows them to keep the placed kept up, then I'll gladly pay it.

The campground is in a small valley so TV and cell reception starts and not great and trends towards non-existent, depending on where you're parked. We've were in the F loop on a previous trip and had very acceptable cell reception. Right now we're in B81 and the reception is marginal to acceptable for streaming, depending on time of day, weather, etc.

Verizon is 2 bars and OK to marginal for streaming, AT&T and Sprint are 1 bar and not suitable for streaming and sometimes not suitable for browsing.

If you need good cell service, bring a booster or park in the F loop with good equipment. If you're here to go to Hershey park or take in a relaxing atmosphere and chill, then find a great spot and enjoy!

It seems that several pedestals were replaced in the last few years and A loop's work is now done. The roads are better than we remember, though could still use a bit of work. In all, it appears that Thousand Trails has put some money into the park since we were here.

The Divine Swine is about 6 miles up the road and worth the visit for it's great BBQ. Hershey park is open, but with COVID still going strong, we've decided we'll wait a year or two to visit the park, again. The park could really use a paid WiFi vendor, but I understand that can be difficult to find if you want a reliable company.

In all, we really enjoy the park and the Hershey area. In order to go anywhere, you're literally traveling between cornfields and the area is full of small businesses and farm stands.

Typical KOA (in my experience) being clean, well maintained, and fairly level. Lots of gravel and good Verizon and AT&T signal. Friendly staff. We're being chased by C19 lock downs so we're not seeing much of the campground or area.

This Encore park is part of the Thousand Trails system and free to members. Located in Eustis, FL north of Orlando, it's up to an hour from the attractions.

The area itself has a more small-town/suburban feel and the sidewalk system makes it incredibly easy to get from point A to B on bike when there isn't a bike lane available.

The park has a pool, spa, shuffleboard, and other amenities along with a very large laundry that takes coins, cards, or the CSC app. The roads are paved and in decent repair. Sites range from tight fits to spacious and if you come outside of the January - March time frame, you'll probably really enjoy yourself. In that time frame and you might be squeezed into one of the narrower sites, so if that bothers you, be warned. Personally, we've been in a few of the narrow sites with our 42' fifth wheel and enjoyed ourselves immensely.

There's a couple of really nice dog parks within easy driving distance and one of the better pizza places we've found outside of NY City, called Double Take Pizza. The Crazy Gator is decent and there are several coffee spots in the area.

We used to live right next to the I-95/I-64 exchange, so when I say noise is not a problem, take that into consideration.

There is various WiFi offerings (CampLink and XFinity) which I've had some success using when the area was populated with thousands of streamers hogging the bandwidth, but this year it's not that bad. I suspect a lot of people have moved to 5G and that means 4G users now have better bandwidth. My expensive multi-antenna 4G router/hotspot died last summer and I replaced it with a $40 Orbic the size of a pack of cards and still get reasonably fast bandwidth on most days. Color me amazed.

5G is 4 bars, 4G is 3-4 bars.

All sites are full hookup and most are 30/50amp. While a lot of sites are grass covered, I've never seen or heard of anyone getting stuck (or even seen big muddy ruts) after a storm. Water pressure is more than acceptable and in some parts of the park you better have a pressure regulator.

Most sites are open for satellite use, but there are some trees to park under to get out of the hot Florida sunshine.

It has everything a camper needs, nearby. If you don't mind driving 45 - 75 minutes to visit Disney, Universal, the airport, IKEA, Sea World, or just about any other popular shopping/tourist icon, then this is the place for you.

One bonus for delivery is that Amazon/UPS/Fed Ex will drop your package off at your campsite if you add it to the delivery address. Also, being from VA, it's wonderful to be able to get Kroger deliveries.

Amazing! It rained hard and the place isn't a swamp for more than a few hours! They've improved the drainage and built up the sites. I am so happy about that!

Covid has the amenities curtailed. Short hours for laundry, 10 people max in the club house that holds several times that many.

Verizon signal is good, as expected, but there's a bandwidth issue now after 5pm. Streaming shows and movies will pause on a regular basis and cache. That's never been an issue before. Covid related? Who knows, but it sucks.

Another improvement is the largish dog park near the front of the campground. It is quite new and a welcome addition to the park.

I've started being more critical about noise and am trying to be as honest as possible about it. It's close to the highway and if you stand outside you can't help but notice. We live in an RV that's well insulated, has double pane windows, and we lived (literally) a stone's throw from the I-95 / I-64 interchange for 15+ years, so noise doesn't bother us that easily; thus I'm trying to put myself into the shoes of someone who might have some expectation of quiet.

The highway sounds are very noticeable an may bother light sleepers or someone with their window open.

LP is available at the KOA next door along with decent coffee, wine by the glass, and Hunt Brothers Pizza.
The Lucky Duck Distillery sells our favorite chocolate liqueur and the campground is about 50 miles from both Savannah and Charleston.

I would not stay here again only because there are a lot of other places that would be normally open. During the C19 crisis, a lot of them were full or not accepting new arrivals. This park is a gravel covered parking lot with utilities. The guy seemed grumpy but the woman is very nice and does most of the customer service work. It's in the middle of an industrial area, which is fine, but to get there we traversed neighborhoods with burned out and/or rotting buildings. We passed a church that was probably the jewel of the city at one time but is now a window broken shambles. St Louis did not impress us and if we did come back to see the arch, we'd stay outside of town. I'm sure that's unfair, but we simply could not believe that any city would allow that much real estate to simply rot in place.

I mooch-docked nearby and we drove through the campground to take a look for future use when we're in the area. It's a cute little campground were everything is neat and clean. Most of the rigs look like full-timers living here, and where not run-down. There are big-rig sites but a couple of the corners are a bit tight, so take them slow and careful.

Does not appear to be any sewer hookups for many sites, but they do have a dump station.

Central Wisconsin has an occasional mosquito problem, so like everyplace else in the area and depending on the time of year, you gets what you gets. The area is very popular with deer hunters during the fall.

Location? It's Central Wisconsin... everything is at least 30 minutes away and there's not a ton to do unless you are into outdoors stuff, which could keep you going for months. There's a huge public hunting grounds bordering the campground.

The obligatory rail-road tracks are nearby and a train comes through a few times a day. The highway noise is not terrible except for the very occasional trucker coming up 173 and using their jake-brakes at the stop sign.

My T-Mobile iPad seems to be using AT&T towers, but my T-Mobile hotspot has no service. Verizon and AT&T devices are very happy and providing enough bandwidth to stream anything. Sprint has a signal but I didn't take time to play with it.

Heading out to parts unknown in the area or going to town? Expect numerous areas with no cell service. However, if you're on the side of the road, there are plenty of people who will stop to see if you need help; it just may take a while for someone to pass by unless you're on a main road. TAKE REPELLENT when traveling the area!

Ok campground out of the way. Quiet once the locals settle down for the evening. AT&T and Verizon signals lacking. Frequent drop outs. Big rig friendly (barely) as getting to the campground can be a bit harrowing.

We were desperately looking for a place to stay during the Coronavirus lock downs and this campground offered a very reasonable rate and worked with us on timing and needs over the phone. It was not ideal as it was 13 hours from home, but it was a place to land. Ultimately we found a different location only a few hours from home that would take us and we canceled well in advance of the 72 cut off and they promptly returned our money (minus the advertised $25 fee for cancellation). I have zero problems with anyone who puts things down on paper and then does just what they say. They were friendly and very accommodating over the phone and when we get back to the area, we're going to look them up.