Campground map – Page 3

Spanish Trail RV Park: Campground Review

Written by tepetravels September 13, 2020November 30, 2021 1 Comment

For our first stop in Utah, we stayed at the Spanish Trail RV Park in Moab, UT.

The campground had a laundry room, pool and hot tub, and fenced in dog area. There were also waste bags along the fence line for dog clean up. It seemed like it had a good layout. The boys made a YouTube video of the campground.

The pool is nice, with a few fountains off the side shooting in and a basketball hoop. The pool is not heated, so it will cool you off on a hot day. The hot tub is off to the side of the pool. There is a changing/bathroom and an outdoor shower in the pool area as well.

The office was small and only offered a few things for sale, although they do have brochures for local attractions. They did sell ice for $2.75/bag (City Market, aka Kroger, had for $1.99/bag with loyalty card) and also had some individual ice cream items (most were $1.75). The office closed at 5:00pm. They do lock the ice after hours, so get any ice you need before then. There was a spot on the office desk for outgoing mail. TIP: There is a small holder of postcards on a shelf for $1/each of area landscapes with the Milky Way. You can get these for free in various Biz Card holders around town (Two places that I know of: McStiff’s Plaza-outdoors on side of wall near right side of their parking lot and Red Rock Bakery-inside towards the back). There was also a lounge attached to the office, but was closed for COVID.

The campground offers Wi-Fi and cable. We didn’t have much luck with the cable, just a few channels, and the WiFi was the standard campground kind.

The laundry room was nice. It was even air conditioned! There were plenty of machines and there was a change machine in the room as well. A wash cycle cost $2.25 and the dryer $1.50.

The shower/bathhouse was amazing. It was the nicest one so far. There were separate rooms that contained a toilet and shower with locking doors.

I believe the campground is all RV spots, with most sites being pull-through. We had a 50 amp site, which we definitely needed in the heat to run both A/C units. No tents/gazebos/pop-ups are allowed. There are trees and grass at each site. The trees help a little with the heat. We had an end of the row site, which was great for parking, but meant that we only had shade on one side. If you wanted more shade, I would try to get a spot further in so you get trees on both sides.

Each site had a picnic table with a concrete pad that sits right next to your RV steps. No fire pits or grills are provided in the campground. Utah also had fire bans going while we were there.

The campground is close to town (7-10 minutes), Arches (15-20 minutes), and Canyonlands (45-60 minutes depending on traffic). There are several grocery stores in town, although pricing seems a little higher here than back home. We mostly shopped at City Market (Kroger) for the fuel points and coupons.

SUMMARY OF CAMPGROUND:

Our rating: 3 out of 5 hitches

Cell Phone Reception: AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile

Laundry: Yes

Bathrooms/Showers: Yes

RV Sites: Pull Through, some back-in

Pop Up Tents/Gazebos/Outdoor Rugs On-Site: No

Amenities: Picnic table, cable, fenced dog area

Cabins: No

Tent Camping: No

Full Hook-ups: Yes. 30 or 50 Amps.

Pool: Yes

WiFi: Yes

Food On-Site: No

Camp Store: Yes, extremely limited

Fishing: No

Campground Review, Exploring Colorado, Sightseeing, YouTube Video Link

Garden of the Gods RV Resort: Campground Review

Written by tepetravels September 2, 2020November 30, 2021

For our stay in Colorado Springs, we stayed at the Garden Of The Gods RV Resort. There were tent sites, back-up and pull-through sites, and cabins for rent. We had a back-in 50 amp site. The electric post also had a spot for 20 amp, so we could run an extension cord for outdoor use (fan, bike charging, outdoor computer use).

There was WiFi and cable, although we didn’t have any luck with the cable. The WiFi was iffy as well since we were in the back. NOTE: Campground reviews listed AT&T as working there, but it does not work in the campground. We found this out when we checked in. Our T-Mobile and Verizon worked though.

The office sold a few souvenir type items, ice ($4.10/bag, including tax), and ice cream. They did accept packages and also had an outgoing mail box inside. The office closed at 4:00pm each day.

The laundry room had a folding table, 2 carts, a vending machine, 3 driers (although 1 was broken the time we were there), and washers. Dryers $0.25/8 minutes.They were x-large capacity dryers (could hold 3 loads). The washers were normal sized and cost $2.50/load. They did sell single use powder soap in the vending machines there for $1 and had some other laundry items for sale in the office.

There were two pools, although only one was open when we were there. It was heated and had a nice covered couch area, along with some chairs around the pool. Because of COVID, you did need to sign up for the pool. (Limit of 40 people, which seems really high for that size pool. No one really checked or seemed to keep track though.)

There was also an arcade, which the kids loved. It was mostly older machines (if you grew up in the 1980’s it was very nostalgic). Most games were $0.25. We were only there a couple of times. It seemed like little kids were sent there and never had masks on, so we tried to limit our time to when it was empty. Trying to social distance can be hard.

There were no individual fire pits, although there were two grills and two communal fire pits by the playground. There was a fire ban while we were there, so fires were not allowed. You could use the charcoal grills though. The playground was small and a little older. There was also a fenced in dog area.

The campground had two shower/bath houses. The one back by the playground was definitely nicer!

There was an on-site breakfast food truck that was open Wednesday to Saturday 8:00am to 12:00pm.

We were also right next to Manitou Springs, which is a really cute town. We made several trips in and enjoyed walking around.

Garden of the Gods was pretty much right up the street, about a 10 minute drive, Pikes Peak was about 30-45 minutes, Royal Gorge about 1.5 hours. The Olympic Training Center and Air Force Academy were closed to visitors due to COVID.

The location was convenient to attractions and grocery stores. There were two Costco’s within 40 minutes! There was a horse area close by, so sometimes in the morning you could smell it, but it wasn’t too bad. There was a full time RV or mobile home park on two sides. There were tarps overhanging the campground fence in several spots. I didn’t feel safe walking on the street by myself with the kids. The Garden Of The Gods RV Resort is fenced though.

NOTE: Beware when you make your reservation. When we had to restructure our trip, we were going to shorten or skip Colorado Springs. Because we had originally booked with Best Rate, Garden of the Gods RV would not refund, only let us move our reservation. They had had few other locations, but nowhere we were going to be. If you are worried about COVID ruining your plans, please do not choose Best Rate. Everyone there was nice, it just stinks about their policy even during a pandemic.

If we were in the area, I might stay here again, because the employees were nice and it was conveniently located, but I would definitely look more closely at the cancellation policy. We did get to see a lot, but one week would probably be long enough (not the two we had).

Here is a link to the boys’ Campground Tour.

SUMMARY OF CAMPGROUND:

Our rating: 3 out of 5 hitches

Cell Phone Reception: Verizon, T-Mobile (AT&T did not work in the campground)

Laundry: Yes

Bathrooms/Showers: Yes

RV Sites: Pull Through, Back-in

Pop Up Tents/Gazebos/Outdoor Rugs On-Site: Rugs allowed

Amenities: Picnic tables at each RV site. Community fire pit and grills. Arcade, playground, fenced dog area.

Cabins: Yes

Tent Camping: Yes

Full Hook-ups: Yes. 30 or 50 Amp sites.

Pool: Yes

WiFi: Yes, spotty

Accepts Mail: Yes

Food On-Site: Breakfast food truck

Camp Store: Yes

Fishing: No

Animal Sightings, Campground Review, Costco, Exploring Colorado, Hiking, YouTube Video Link

Cherry Creek State Park Campground: Campground Review

Written by tepetravels August 18, 2020November 30, 2021

For our stay in Denver, we stayed at Cherry Creek State Park. It was actually in Aurora, Colorado, but it wasn’t a long drive to get into downtown Denver. The nice thing about the park is that you seem tucked away from everyone, but stores are 10 minutes or less away. There were several Costco’s, Targets, and Kings Soopers (Kroger’s for those from back home) within 20 minutes or less. There was also a Camping World and Cabela’s within 40 minutes or so.

To camp in Cherry Creek State Park, you need a state park pass: $80/annual or $4/day. We ended up getting an annual pass because we weren’t sure how many state parks we would be visiting during our stay in Colorado. You can buy online and print out a temporary number. A physical pass will also mailed to you.

There is a welcome office with small shop (postcards, firewood-although there was a wood fire ban in effect when we were there, ice cream bars, etc). When we were there, the office closed at 4:00pm.

The campground is pretty spread out, with a mix of tent and RV sites. RV sites areas are a mix of back-in and pull through. Some sites have shade and others were in full sun.

It looked like all the RV spots had a concrete pad, a fire pit/grill and a picnic table. I was really happy with the layout of our site. It felt roomy. We could even put up Ben’s pop-op gazebo/clam shell shelter, for an outdoor space. The hook ups were on the opposite side of the picnic table (at least for our spot) and on the same side as the RV hookup connectors. It made for an easy set up.

The main shower house had bathrooms, showers (paid), food vending machines, and laundry. The laundry was $1.50/load on both the washers and dryers. There were 4 of each machine. There was also a vending machine with single load detergent and fabric softener. It looked like they were $1 each. Showers were $0.50/3minutes. There was a change machine located outside the laundry room to provide quarters for everything in the bath house. The food vending machines sometimes gave change back in $1 coins!

Although you can see the road in the distance depending where you are in the campground, you don’t get a lot of road noise during the week but some on the weekends. However, you will get airplane noise as it seems to be in the flight path of Denver airport.

There are several hiking trails in the park. Cherry Creek also has a dog park area, a lake (boat rentals available), and a horse rental area. There are a lot of bikers in the park (the bicycle kind) as well. We did not get to swim in the lake, although there is a beach area. There were signs warning of blue-green algae, so we stayed out of the water.

The boys have made another campground walk-through video. Although it was really hot that day, so they stayed on just our section of the campground.

If we were in the Denver area, I would stay here again.

SUMMARY OF CAMPGROUND:

Our Rating: 4 out of 5 hitches

Cell Phone Reception: AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile

WiFi: Yes

Laundry: Yes

Bathrooms/Showers: Yes, paid showers

RV Sites: Pull Through, Back-in

Pop Up Tents/Gazebos/Outdoor Rugs On-Site: Yes

Amenities: Picnic table, fire pit/grill

Cabins: No

Tent camping: Yes

Full Hook-ups: Yes. 20/30/50 amp sites available.

Pool: No

Food On-Site: No

Camp Store: Yes, very limited

Fishing: Yes, need license

Campground Review, Exploring Montana, Exploring Wyoming

Yellowstone RV Park Campground: Campground Review

Written by tepetravels August 8, 2020November 30, 2021 1 Comment

For our time near Yellowstone National Park, we stayed in Gardiner, Montana at the Yellowstone RV Park. It offers spots anywhere from tent camping to large Class A’s. Most of the spots are back-ins, although they do have some pull-throughs.

Pros: Near the river, close to town, close to north entrance of Yellowstone National Park. The campground also has laundry facilities, showers, a playground, and a grass area with waste bags for furry friends. They do take a AAA or Good Sam discount (at the time of our booking).

Cons: Tighter spots, steeper hill down into the campground.

Laundry is $1.50/load for the washer and dryer. Washer is on the smaller capacity size, but the driers are normal/larger sized. Two loads of wash fit in one drier. There are 2 laundry facilities and bath showers, one at either end of the campground.

Each campsite has a picnic table. There are no fires/fire rings allowed, however you can bring a propane fire pit. They allow mats/rugs outside, but do ask you to move them off the grass since they water it each day.

They do work hard at maintaining the park. They were watering the grass everyday and mowed/trimmed. It seemed nicely kept. It was very convenient to go into the park or into town.

I have a video of the drive into the campground, and a video of the boys’ walking tour of the campground up on YouTube.

SUMMARY OF CAMPGROUND:

Our rating: 3-3.5 out of 5 hitches

Cell Phone Reception: AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile

Laundry: Yes

Bathrooms/Showers: Yes

RV Sites: Back-in, some pull-throughs

Pop Up Tents/Gazebos/Outdoor Rugs On Site: No tents, rugs ok but have to be moved for watering each day

Amenities: Picnic Tables, Free Cable, playground

Cabins: No

Tent Camping: Yes

Full Hook-ups: Yes. Most 30 amp sites, limited 50 amp sites.

Pool: No

WiFi: Yes

Food On-Site: No, but close to town/restaurants

Camp Store: No

Fishing: No

Campground Review, Exploring South Dakota

Rafter J Bar Ranch Campground: Campground Review

Written by tepetravels July 25, 2020November 30, 2021 3 Comments

For our week in South Dakota (for Mount Rushmore), we stayed at the Rafter J Bar Ranch.

They offer full hookups, RV and tent camping, and cabin rentals. There is swimming pool, bathhouses (open!), laundry facilities (washer and dryer by quarters), a small store, and a pancake breakfast (for a fee, Monday-Thursday, Memorial Day to Labor Day). Unfortunately, when we went to reserve a spot for the pancakes, we were told they were not doing them this year due to Covid-19.

It is a beautiful campground and seems well maintained. RV spots are pull through or back in and are on gravel spaces. A lot of the spots are in the shade. It is really well spaced out so you don’t feel cramped in. The beginning drive is paved and has street lights lining it. They do (as of our booking) take a discount for Good Sam members.

It backs into The Black Hills National Forrest for hiking activities.

It is a bit of a drive to get to other places. There is the small town of Hill City about 10-15 minutes drive and a Walmart about 30-40 minutes away. Custer State Park, Mount Rushmore, and Crazy Horse Memorial are 20-30 minutes away.

The laundry room closest to our camp site had 3 washers (although one was broken), which costs $3.00 to do a load of laundry. They were regular sized washers. The driers (there were 2) were much larger and cost $0.25 initially. I think each load of our laundry used about 2 quarters to dry (on medium heat).

The pool was a nice size and there were tables with umbrellas. The camp store had souvenirs, beer, ice, basic camping and first aid supplies, and ice cream sandwiches! There is also a small parking area just for pool parking, if you are in a further away camp spot and want to drive up.

I felt very happy with our campground selection . If we would ever come back to this area again, I would definitely stay here! Everything was well maintained and we didn’t feel crowded. When we drive around and see other campgrounds where they are packed in like sardines, I am so grateful we found this site.

The boys made a video tour of the campground, if you would like to see it.

~Sarah

SUMMARY OF CAMPGROUND:

Our rating: 4 out of 5 hitches

Cell Phone Reception: AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile

WiFi: Yes

Laundry: Yes

Bathrooms/Showers: Yes

RV Sites: Pull Through, Back-in

Pop Up Tents/Gazebos On-Site: Yes

Amenities: picnic table, fire pit/grill, playground, volleyball and basketball

Cabins: Yes

Tent Camping: Yes

Full Hook-ups: Yes. There are 30 and 50 amp sites.

Pool: Yes

Food On-Site: Camp store, pancake breakfast suspended due to Covid

Camp store: Yes

Fishing: Yes, need license

Campground Review, Exploring Ohio

Frontier Campground

Written by tepetravels July 12, 2020November 30, 2021 2 Comments

We needed a place to park the RV for a month while we sold the house. We wanted to find a campground that had full hookups so we could get used to the systems in the RV. Everything was new to us.

Most of the local (within 45 minutes of the house) campgrounds were booked for the month, or didn’t have full hookups available. We tried both private and state parks. Our HOA doesn’t allow for long term RV parking either. Finally, I found an opening at a campground that was doing monthly/long term rentals: Frontier Campground in Waynesville, Ohio.

The campground is only RV’s (travel trailers, 5th wheels, a few class A’s in the mix), although there are also cabins available for rent. There is an office that sells ice ($2/bag), a laundry facility (takes quarters), a shower house (closed currently due to Covid-19), a small dog park, some play equipment, and a rec room (also closed to Covid, but looks fun in the pictures).

Sites are $500/month (cash/check, or $515 with credit card), plus electric ($0.18/kwh). Everyone we dealt with on the phone or in person was really nice and helpful. Walter even took time and helped me pull into the spot and get the water hooked up (it was still shut off from winter) when he knew it was my first time trying to park the RV.

Pictures from Frontier, including a frog visitor in our water hookup basin

The campground is close to Caesar’s Creek State Park, a canoe/kayak rental place, Little Miami Bike Trail, and Spring Valley Wildlife Area. Walmart, Kroger, Aldi, and Target are about 20-30 minutes away.

Most of the spots are shaded and there are a lot of trees on the lot, although it seems like they keep them decently trimmed. The shade definitely helped when it hit 90 degrees! It does seem like a mostly long term, full time facility. There is an Air Force base close by that they said they get a lot of business from.

The dog park was small but fenced. It was nice to let her off leash to walk around. There was a bunch of poison ivy along the back fence, so we kept her away from there.

We had a good stay. Towards the end we did loose power (and water) twice, due to the high heat and the electric demand of the area. It didn’t stay off for too long (a few hours the first time and 30 minutes the second time). It was a quiet place to stay and pretty close to various stores and trails.

Caesar’s Creek is a great place to explore. See the Caesar’s Creek post for our experiences there.

The Little Miami Scenic bike path isn’t too far away either. We drove down to an access point (maybe 5 minutes away), parked, and took a walk. There was a brief view of the river, some smaller feeder creeks, and old telephone poles (the shorter ones with metal spikes that probably has the glass caps). I eventually got made fun of for taking too many pictures of the old poles: “Hey Mom! Look! It’s a telephone pole!” We ended up near a park and turned around. Keep in mind this is not a loop trail, so you will have to turn around! Different points on the trail offer different views. Our was pretty boring, but there are several access points nearby, so we may try another one soon.

The Spring Valley Wildlife Area main parking area was closed, as was the boardwalk. We tried walking some of the trails close to the campground, but didn’t have much luck. (Too many biting flies.) I think once they get the boardwalk repaired and the trails cleaned up it could be a really cool spot to walk through.

~Sarah

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