roadtripper892665

This December, we were on that long, long haul down I-10 and looking for a place to stop for the night. There are several similar campgrounds in town, but I'm glad we opted for Wild West RV Park. It was a delightful surprise with just about everything you'd need for a stop.

PROS:
- Immaculate bathrooms. They looked newly remodeled and were SUPER clean!!
- Super easy access to I-10
- Nice long, LEVEL, pull-thru spots (you won’t even need to unhook your toad)
- Full Hook-Ups at all the sites
- Terrific price at $27 (plus an additional 10% discount for Good Sam or 15% off for military)
- Slick, easy-to-navigate website with all the relevant info
- 4 bars Verizon LTE
- The young man who checked us in was super nice & he told us to pick whichever open site we wanted (giving us more than enough room to maneuver our rig)
- They have a fenced pet area with a shaded bench to sit on, doggy poop bags, and even a trash can so you don't have any excuse not to pick up after Fido
- WiFi, TV, and laundry (however, we didn’t use them on our brief overnight stay)
- They had a one page flyer with the bathroom codes, TV channels, and even a list of the local restaurants
- This RV park was exceptionally clean!! You can tell the management really tends to this place and takes pride in it. There wasn't even a scrap a paper/litter in the campground (a rarity in windy West Texas)
- Simplified after hours check-in process if you arrive late. It's posted on the office door and on their website

CONS:
- Yes, you are going to have some road noise or the occasional train come by. It's right next to I-10. But so are ALL the other campgrounds in Van Horn. So it's really hard to avoid or even complain about it.

OTHER THOUGHTS:
- Overall, this place is a real gem and super clean. All the water spigots were insulated for the cold winter nights and where else are you going to get FHU for $27/night?
- Van Horn is only 10 miles from from the Mountain / Central Time Zone border. So, you are coming from the west (AZ or NM), be prepared to lose an hour on the clock right before you get there. Don't worry if you miss their normal business hours though. The park's after hours check-in process is posted on the office door.
- There's no online booking through their website. But honestly - I doubt they need one. The campground was only 50% full, someone actually answered the phone when I called, and they have after hours payment instructions. The majority of the people staying here seemed to be one-night stopovers too. After all, it's not like Van Horn is a major tourist hub.

We only spent one night here while traveling through, but were pleasantly surprised by this campground.

PROS:
+ Close to I-44, making it very easy to get to, but still but far enough away that there wasn't any highway noise.
+ The bathrooms were beautifully updated and clean.
+ The campground wasn't even half full, so the staff made sure to assign RVs to every other campsite to give everyone a little extra room.
+ All the pull-through sites were a level rock base
+ Excellent Verizon signal
+ Good looking pool (we didn't actually use it due to COVID-19)
+ Most sites had tall trees to provide some shade, but they weren't placed too close so as to interfere with any RV slides
+ Nice dog run/play area
+ Friendly staff

CONS:
- Sites are fairly narrow, so the campground could feel crowded if the campground was completely full
- It's the Wichita Falls, so there's not a whole lot tourist sights or reasons to visit the area

Stopped here for one night and had mixed feelings about the place. Admittedly, we were here in the off-season so maybe the campground has a different vibe during peak season.

Pros:

1. Only 1.5 miles from town. I was able to take my 3-mile morning walk and stop at Dunkin' Donuts at the halfway point. I even grabbed a cup of coffee for the walk back home.

2. Super easy to access from I-40, and no need to drive through Flagstaff. Just use Exit 191, and take Bus. Rte. 40 east to the campground.

3. Tall mature pine trees provides a woodsy feel.

4. Very long pull-thru sites with a gravel base. Easy to get in and out of.

5. Showers have awesome water pressure and were hot!

Cons:

1. Doesn't really seem like a campground for travelers. There's no amenities other than a bathhouse and laundry. It looks like it's mostly permanent residents in older mobile homes, stationary RVs, and a few tiny homes (although perhaps it was just the time of year).

2. Office hours were only 10 am - 2 pm. Luckily I called around 1 pm to check on availability and got a hold of someone.

3. Cost is a bit more on the expensive side considering it was the off-season. Yes, the FHU, pull-thru sites and long and mostly level, but the place was also mostly empty that time of year, so $40 seemed a but high.

4. The weird bathroom situation...

The first thing I noticed was a sign saying that the bathrooms closed from 7pm-7am. I've never encountered that before. Why do they need to be closed for 12 hours? But, this isn't even accurate. We returned from dinner around 7:30 pm and the men's bathroom was still unlocked, so our son was able to run down to the bathhouse and take a quick shower before bed. But, then next morning, my husband went to use the bathroom around 8 am, and the men's side was still locked! So, not only do they close the bathrooms/showers during the entire night - but then they didn't re-open it when they advertised.

Second, the bathroom design is really odd. They tried to cram 2 showers + 2 toilets into the women's bathroom. That meant one toilet was turned sideways (and your knees touched the partition wall for the second stall) and the second stall was so short my knees touched the door when I was sitting down. I'm not a giant, so I could make do. But, I can't image how a larger person would even fit.

We were looking for a place near Redding to basecamp out of for two weeks while hiking and fishing in NorCal. Overall, it was a great RV park and I'd definitely return again.

PROS:
+ Multiple bathhouses and these were the CLEANEST bathrooms/showers I've seen in a very long time.
+ Very large laundry room (5 washers, 5 dryers)
+ Only a 10 minute drive to Redding, with easy access to I-5 to drive to points north like Lake Shasta, Castle Crags, Mt. Shasta/Lake Siskiyou for day trips
+ Most RV sites were pull-thru, paved, and long enough (no issues fitting our 34' MH + toad)
+ 4-5 bars of Verizon service (they also had Wifi, but we didn't try it)
+ Pool
+ Able to find several routes from the park for my daily 4-5 mile walk without running into lots of busy road traffic, unleashed country dogs bounding out of their yards, etc
+ Recycling bins
+ Dog park
+ Extremely friendly office staff & they had no issue accepting packages from Amazon for us

CONS:
- It's right next to I-5. You will hear some road noise, though after a day or so it kind of fades into the background.
- Not able to book sites online. You can either call the office or fill out their website's reservation form.

EXTRAS: During our time there, we discovered two great local restaurants down in Redding -- Guadalajara (Mexican food) and Woody's Brewing Co. (brewery + restaurant). Both are worth trying if you're visiting.

Stopped here for one night and had mixed feelings about the place. Admittedly, we were here in the off-season so maybe the campground has a different vibe during peak season.

Pros:

1. Only 1.5 miles from town. I was able to take my 3-mile morning walk and stop at Dunkin' Donuts at the halfway point. I even grabbed a cup of coffee for the walk back home.

2. Super easy to access from I-40, and no need to drive through Flagstaff. Just use Exit 191, and take Bus. Rte. 40 east to the campground.

3. Tall mature pine trees provides a woodsy feel.

4. Very long pull-thru sites with a gravel base. Easy to get in and out of.

5. Showers have awesome water pressure and were hot!

Cons:

1. Doesn't really seem like a campground for travelers. There's no amenities other than a bathhouse and laundry. It looks like it's mostly permanent residents in older mobile homes, stationary RVs, and a few tiny homes (although perhaps it was just the time of year).

2. Office hours were only 10 am - 2 pm. Luckily I called around 1 pm to check on availability and got a hold of someone.

3. Cost is a bit more on the expensive side considering it was the off-season. Yes, the FHU, pull-thru sites and long and mostly level, but the place was also mostly empty that time of year, so $40 seemed a but high.

4. The weird bathroom situation...

The first thing I noticed was a sign saying that the bathrooms closed from 7pm-7am. I've never encountered that before. Why do they need to be closed for 12 hours? But, this isn't even accurate. We returned from dinner around 7:30 pm and the men's bathroom was still unlocked, so our son was able to run down to the bathhouse and take a quick shower before bed. But, then next morning, my husband went to use the bathroom around 8 am, and the men's side was still locked! So, not only do they close the bathrooms/showers during the entire night - but then they didn't re-open it when they advertised.

Second, the bathroom design is really odd. They tried to cram 2 showers + 2 toilets into the women's bathroom. That meant one toilet was turned sideways (and your knees touched the partition wall for the second stall) and the second stall was so short my knees touched the door when I was sitting down. I'm not a giant, so I could make do. But, I can't image how a larger person would even fit.

Stopped here for one night and had mixed feelings about the place. Admittedly, we were here in the off-season so maybe the campground has a different vibe during peak season.

Pros:

1. Only 1.5 miles from town. I was able to take my 3-mile morning walk and stop at Dunkin' Donuts at the halfway point. I even grabbed a cup of coffee for the walk back home.

2. Super easy to access from I-40, and no need to drive through Flagstaff. Just use Exit 191, and take Bus. Rte. 40 east to the campground.

3. Tall mature pine trees provides a woodsy feel.

4. Very long pull-thru sites with a gravel base. Easy to get in and out of.

5. Showers have awesome water pressure and were hot!

Cons:

1. Doesn't really seem like a campground for travelers. There's no amenities other than a bathhouse and laundry. It looks like it's mostly permanent residents in older mobile homes, stationary RVs, and a few tiny homes (although perhaps it was just the time of year).

2. Office hours were only 10 am - 2 pm. Luckily I called around 1 pm to check on availability and got a hold of someone.

3. Cost is a bit more on the expensive side considering it was the off-season. Yes, the FHU, pull-thru sites and long and mostly level, but the place was also mostly empty that time of year, so $40 seemed a but high.

4. The weird bathroom situation...

The first thing I noticed was a sign saying that the bathrooms closed from 7pm-7am. I've never encountered that before. Why do they need to be closed for 12 hours? But, this isn't even accurate. We returned from dinner around 7:30 pm and the men's bathroom was still unlocked, so our son was able to run down to the bathhouse and take a quick shower before bed. But, then next morning, my husband went to use the bathroom around 8 am, and the men's side was still locked! So, not only do they close the bathrooms/showers during the entire night - but then they didn't re-open it when they advertised.

Second, the bathroom design is really odd. They tried to cram 2 showers + 2 toilets into the women's bathroom. That meant one toilet was turned sideways (and your knees touched the partition wall for the second stall) and the second stall was so short my knees touched the door when I was sitting down. I'm not a giant, so I could make do. But, I can't image how a larger person would even fit.

Stopped here for one night and had mixed feelings about the place. Admittedly, we were here in the off-season so maybe the campground has a different vibe during peak season.

Pros:

1. Only 1.5 miles from town. I was able to take my 3-mile morning walk and stop at Dunkin' Donuts at the halfway point. I even grabbed a cup of coffee for the walk back home.

2. Super easy to access from I-40, and no need to drive through Flagstaff. Just use Exit 191, and take Bus. Rte. 40 east to the campground.

3. Tall mature pine trees provides a woodsy feel.

4. Very long pull-thru sites with a gravel base. Easy to get in and out of.

5. Showers have awesome water pressure and were hot!

Cons:

1. Doesn't really seem like a campground for travelers. There's no amenities other than a bathhouse and laundry. It looks like it's mostly permanent residents in older mobile homes, stationary RVs, and a few tiny homes (although perhaps it was just the time of year).

2. Office hours were only 10 am - 2 pm. Luckily I called around 1 pm to check on availability and got a hold of someone.

3. Cost is a bit more on the expensive side considering it was the off-season. Yes, the FHU, pull-thru sites and long and mostly level, but the place was also mostly empty that time of year, so $40 seemed a but high.

4. The weird bathroom situation...

The first thing I noticed was a sign saying that the bathrooms closed from 7pm-7am. I've never encountered that before. Why do they need to be closed for 12 hours? But, this isn't even accurate. We returned from dinner around 7:30 pm and the men's bathroom was still unlocked, so our son was able to run down to the bathhouse and take a quick shower before bed. But, then next morning, my husband went to use the bathroom around 8 am, and the men's side was still locked! So, not only do they close the bathrooms/showers during the entire night - but then they didn't re-open it when they advertised.

Second, the bathroom design is really odd. They tried to cram 2 showers + 2 toilets into the women's bathroom. That meant one toilet was turned sideways (and your knees touched the partition wall for the second stall) and the second stall was so short my knees touched the door when I was sitting down. I'm not a giant, so I could make do. But, I can't image how a larger person would even fit.

Stopped here for one night and had mixed feelings about the place. Admittedly, we were here in the off-season so maybe the campground has a different vibe during peak season.

Pros:

1. Only 1.5 miles from town. I was able to take my 3-mile morning walk and stop at Dunkin' Donuts at the halfway point. I even grabbed a cup of coffee for the walk back home.

2. Super easy to access from I-40, and no need to drive through Flagstaff. Just use Exit 191, and take Bus. Rte. 40 east to the campground.

3. Tall mature pine trees provides a woodsy feel.

4. Very long pull-thru sites with a gravel base. Easy to get in and out of.

5. Showers have awesome water pressure and were hot!

Cons:

1. Doesn't really seem like a campground for travelers. There's no amenities other than a bathhouse and laundry. It looks like it's mostly permanent residents in older mobile homes, stationary RVs, and a few tiny homes (although perhaps it was just the time of year).

2. Office hours were only 10 am - 2 pm. Luckily I called around 1 pm to check on availability and got a hold of someone.

3. Cost is a bit more on the expensive side considering it was the off-season. Yes, the FHU, pull-thru sites and long and mostly level, but the place was also mostly empty that time of year, so $40 seemed a but high.

4. The weird bathroom situation...

The first thing I noticed was a sign saying that the bathrooms closed from 7pm-7am. I've never encountered that before. Why do they need to be closed for 12 hours? But, this isn't even accurate. We returned from dinner around 7:30 pm and the men's bathroom was still unlocked, so our son was able to run down to the bathhouse and take a quick shower before bed. But, then next morning, my husband went to use the bathroom around 8 am, and the men's side was still locked! So, not only do they close the bathrooms/showers during the entire night - but then they didn't re-open it when they advertised.

Second, the bathroom design is really odd. They tried to cram 2 showers + 2 toilets into the women's bathroom. That meant one toilet was turned sideways (and your knees touched the partition wall for the second stall) and the second stall was so short my knees touched the door when I was sitting down. I'm not a giant, so I could make do. But, I can't image how a larger person would even fit.

Stopped here for one night and had mixed feelings about the place. Admittedly, we were here in the off-season so maybe the campground has a different vibe during peak season.

Pros:

1. Only 1.5 miles from town. I was able to take my 3-mile morning walk and stop at Dunkin' Donuts at the halfway point. I even grabbed a cup of coffee for the walk back home.

2. Super easy to access from I-40, and no need to drive through Flagstaff. Just use Exit 191, and take Bus. Rte. 40 east to the campground.

3. Tall mature pine trees provides a woodsy feel.

4. Very long pull-thru sites with a gravel base. Easy to get in and out of.

5. Showers have awesome water pressure and were hot!

Cons:

1. Doesn't really seem like a campground for travelers. There's no amenities other than a bathhouse and laundry. It looks like it's mostly permanent residents in older mobile homes, stationary RVs, and a few tiny homes (although perhaps it was just the time of year).

2. Office hours were only 10 am - 2 pm. Luckily I called around 1 pm to check on availability and got a hold of someone.

3. Cost is a bit more on the expensive side considering it was the off-season. Yes, the FHU, pull-thru sites and long and mostly level, but the place was also mostly empty that time of year, so $40 seemed a but high.

4. The weird bathroom situation...

The first thing I noticed was a sign saying that the bathrooms closed from 7pm-7am. I've never encountered that before. Why do they need to be closed for 12 hours? But, this isn't even accurate. We returned from dinner around 7:30 pm and the men's bathroom was still unlocked, so our son was able to run down to the bathhouse and take a quick shower before bed. But, then next morning, my husband went to use the bathroom around 8 am, and the men's side was still locked! So, not only do they close the bathrooms/showers during the entire night - but then they didn't re-open it when they advertised.

Second, the bathroom design is really odd. They tried to cram 2 showers + 2 toilets into the women's bathroom. That meant one toilet was turned sideways (and your knees touched the partition wall for the second stall) and the second stall was so short my knees touched the door when I was sitting down. I'm not a giant, so I could make do. But, I can't image how a larger person would even fit.

Stopped here for one night and had mixed feelings about the place. Admittedly, we were here in the off-season so maybe the campground has a different vibe during peak season.

Pros:

1. Only 1.5 miles from town. I was able to take my 3-mile morning walk and stop at Dunkin' Donuts at the halfway point. I even grabbed a cup of coffee for the walk back home.

2. Super easy to access from I-40, and no need to drive through Flagstaff. Just use Exit 191, and take Bus. Rte. 40 east to the campground.

3. Tall mature pine trees provides a woodsy feel.

4. Very long pull-thru sites with a gravel base. Easy to get in and out of.

5. Showers have awesome water pressure and were hot!

Cons:

1. Doesn't really seem like a campground for travelers. There's no amenities other than a bathhouse and laundry. It looks like it's mostly permanent residents in older mobile homes, stationary RVs, and a few tiny homes (although perhaps it was just the time of year).

2. Office hours were only 10 am - 2 pm. Luckily I called around 1 pm to check on availability and got a hold of someone.

3. Cost is a bit more on the expensive side considering it was the off-season. Yes, the FHU, pull-thru sites and long and mostly level, but the place was also mostly empty that time of year, so $40 seemed a but high.

4. The weird bathroom situation...

The first thing I noticed was a sign saying that the bathrooms closed from 7pm-7am. I've never encountered that before. Why do they need to be closed for 12 hours? But, this isn't even accurate. We returned from dinner around 7:30 pm and the men's bathroom was still unlocked, so our son was able to run down to the bathhouse and take a quick shower before bed. But, then next morning, my husband went to use the bathroom around 8 am, and the men's side was still locked! So, not only do they close the bathrooms/showers during the entire night - but then they didn't re-open it when they advertised.

Second, the bathroom design is really odd. They tried to cram 2 showers + 2 toilets into the women's bathroom. That meant one toilet was turned sideways (and your knees touched the partition wall for the second stall) and the second stall was so short my knees touched the door when I was sitting down. I'm not a giant, so I could make do. But, I can't image how a larger person would even fit.