RV Travel Scout

This park is well-maintained, well-manicured, has great food available from their on-site food truck, and is situated in a quiet area of a very small town. (Population ~650 or so.) The owners are new. Apparently they just bought the place in April. They were an absolute delight to talk with. (I could have chatted with them all evening, if time permitted.) They run both the park and the food truck. My burger was shockingly good. Getting in and out of the park was cake. I don’t think we saw more than one or two other cars on the road our entire final hour before we arrived. We didn’t use the bathrooms or showers, but we did poke our heads inside the bathhouse. It was small and a little cramped, but was at least clean and in good shape.

Our only real gripe about this place was that the sites were super close together. Maybe not the tightest we’ve encountered, but close. Our neighbors on one side had two cars parked behind their rig, one of which slightly encroached on our site. I had to abort my initial approach into our site because I would have clipped their car with our Airstream. In order to get in, I had to back waaaaay up and turn super wide. Not the biggest deal in the world but this required that I drive on the grass and attests to just how cramped the sites are here. I should also note that our gravel pad was only long enough for our 30′ Airstream. We didn’t disconnect, so our truck was off the pad in the grass, which was an inch or two lower than the pad. I had to get the rear tires of the truck positioned just right in order to get the trailer level front to back.

We would 100% stay here again, but only for an overnighter.

I’d stay here again, but only for an overnighter. It wasn’t pretty, but it was very convenient. Right next to the freeway, and right next door to a lightly-trafficked gas station with trucker lanes. Easy in, easy out. The spaces were fairly cramped but, again, totally fine for an overnight stop. The park is basically an asphalt parking lot with hookups. Water pressure was mediocre. Bathrooms were very clean, but there was a sign that said “please stop spitting on the floor.” What is that all about? We had no problem navigating the park with our 30 foot Airstream and Ram 2500 truck, but some turns might be difficult for folks with rigs on the larger end of the spectrum. We could definitely hear traffic from the freeway inside our rig, but it wasn’t so bad that we had any trouble sleeping. It just sounded like white noise to us. Your mileage may vary, depending on your sensitivity to noise like that. Staff was friendly and helpful. Check in was a breeze.

This park is nice. It’s huge, clean, and offers many amenities. However, our arrival was marred by the rudest, most condescending employee I’ve yet encountered at an RV park. He followed us in to guide us to our spot, which is all well and good, even though it was unnecessary because we’ve been here several times before (without an RV) to visit family who lives here semi-permanently. The trouble began when we started our process of backing into our spot. Even before I put my truck into reverse, he was in my face doling out unsolicited advice. I asked him no fewer than 3 times to please, please give my wife and I some space. We’re not pros at this, but we’re not newbies either and have a system. We just need some breathing room. Instead of respecting that request, he resorted to making snarky comments as we proceeded. As I’d start backing up, he’d snap “You’ll never make it at THAT angle”. More than once he taunted me with “I could park your rig in that spot in a single shot.” He would stand directly in front of my truck, arms crossed, shaking his head disapprovingly. At one point he offered to park for me, which I declined. For one thing, he was already behaving obnoxiously. Why would I hand my keys over to someone like that? Second, no one drives my (rather expensive) rig except me. And third, how am I supposed to learn if I just hand the job to someone else when the going gets tough? All this in the context of an unusually challenging parking situation: the street was a bit narrow, the site was 90 degrees relative to the street, there were obstacles on both sides of the spot’s entryway as well as across the street, and there was a 4″ barely-sloped curb I had to push my rig over. Had I struggled for 45 minutes without much progress, it might be time to offer help. But this man’s approach was just plain insulting and made an already stressful situation needlessly difficult. Even after I got the rig parked, he continued to lecture me. When I made it clear I still didn’t want to hear it, he called me an insulting name and finally walked away. There was simply no need for any of this. I should note that everyone else we interacted with was helpful and pleasant. Also, we parked in a spot nestled among the park models. There are also many other RV spots in another section of the park that look much easier to get into. The only reason we chose the spot we did is so we could be next door to family.

We have never returned to this park since this incident. Instead, we stay the the KOA that’s nearby, where we’ve had consistently positive experiences.

This place is absolutely on our Top Five RV Parks list. (Full disclosure: that list has more than 5 entires.) Epically beautiful, wonderful owners, spacious sites, outstanding bathrooms and showers, peace, tranquility—this place had it all. This is the type of RV park that’ll ruin nearly all other RV parks for you. It’s that nice. We stayed for two weeks and we were very sad to leave. We hiked, ran, biked, standup paddleboarded, talked with the owners (at length, lol), and met a bunch of other amazing travelers. There is a nearby reservoir with a paved pathway around the perimeter. From DarkSky, around the reservoir, and back is (I think) close to 10 miles. Very pretty. We didn’t use Starlink when we stayed here, but it’s a perfect location for it. Zero obstructions. I can’t recommend this place highly enough.

We were only here for about 16 hours, so take my review with a grain of salt. If you’re passing through Albuquerque, this is a great place to stop. Easy in, easy out, pretty level sites, exceptionally nice and clean bathrooms, friendly staff. Importantly, we felt safe and secure inside the camp. I emphasize this because, unfortunately, there are some shady areas in Albuquerque. In fact, the only reason I deducted a star from my overall rating is because the neighborhood immediately surrounding the KOA isn’t great. It’s run down and a bit impoverished. Does that necessarily mean it’s unsafe from a crime standpoint? I really have no idea, but regardless it wasn’t the type of neighborhood I’d make a habit of visiting. Your analysis may vary. On a positive note, there is a bar/restaurant literally right next to the KOA and the beer and food there was good. We’d happily stay here again because it was so easy to get there, park, eat, and carry on with our trip the next morning.

When I was a kid I used to come here every summer with my grandparents, so I have very fond memories of this place. I didn’t come back for over 20 years, then made two trips in two years. I really wanted to like this place, but it’s tough to love. On our first return visit, we stayed in one of the park models. It was spacious with powerful A/C that kept us cool even in September, but it was pretty dirty and run down. Nothing inside or out had been updated since they were originally built. If the price was half of what they actually charge, it may have been worth it. On our subsequent visit we had our own trailer so lodging isn’t an issue, but the RV spaces here leave something to be desired. The park was largely empty, but for reasons I can’t understand, park management stuffed everyone in the lower section (near the water) all together at one end instead of spacing everyone out. The spaces are very narrow, making this particularly annoying. We noticed this when we arrived and immediately requested a different spot. The office gave us a list of open spaces, and we picked one we liked with empty spots on either side. The next afternoon, someone showed up in a Class A and scrunched in right next to us. As far as we understood, the spot we occupied and the spots immediately adjacent to us were not reserved, so despite our best effort we still ended up with another camper right on top of us. Worse, he insisted on parking his rig facing the “wrong” direction, meaning his front door faced ours. This isn’t the park’s fault, but it definitely reduced our personal space and thus our enjoyment of our stay here. Had we planned on staying more than a few days, I would have moved to yet another space in order to have more breathing room. There are spaces right along the water with only 30 amp electricity. If you want 50 amps, you have to pick an “inland” space. We opted for the latter, because staying cool was important to us. There are many additional spots further away from the water in what resembles a Walmart parking lot. Those seem more spacious than the “beach” spots. There is a diner here, which we never visited, and a small convenience store that sells essentials, including beer and alcohol. (Word from other campers was that the restaurant wasn’t great.) Office staff was pleasant. Bathrooms were gross and barely maintained. The last 7 miles or so of road coming into and out of this place is paved, but very bumpy, winding, and steep. We rarely drove faster than 15 mph. All in all, I wouldn’t recommend this park unless you’re desperate for a place to go boating. Lake levels are low everywhere these days, so options are limited, but I have to think there must be somewhere better to go than here. Especially for the very high price. We paid $75/weekday, $80/weekend day, plus $12/day for electricity, so between $87 and $92 total per day. One of the highest rates we’ve paid, for the one of the worst parks. California. Gotta love it.

We stayed here back when it was called Big Chief RV Park. (Personally, I think that name had more character. Oh well.) Pretty nice park that’s right on the edge of Lake Buchanan. We worked remotely from our rig during our week long stay, and it was great to be able get out on the lake with our standup paddle boards before our morning meetings. The water’s edge was literally a 5 minute walk from our rig. Didn’t use the bathrooms, showers, or laundry, so can’t comment on those facilities. Hot tub and pool were nice, even though we didn’t use them as much as I thought we would. There was a super nice nature trail on site that we enjoyed at least once a day. There wasn’t really a great place to go running nearby because the road outside the park had very little shoulder. During the week, the park was mostly deserted and it was fun watching the armada of RV’s file in as the weekend approached. It was extremely hot during our stay, but that’s to be expected in Texas in June. The first half of the trip was too windy to leave our awnings out, but it really died down during the latter half. Inks Lake State Park is a short distance away and offers all kinds of activities, including hiking. All in all, we really liked this place and highly recommend it for the lake access alone. The only thing we didn’t like were the flies—there were hoards of them. Bring your fly traps!

We stayed here for during a 4th of July weekend, thinking it would be packed due to the holiday. Instead, we practically had the entire lower section of the park to ourselves – which was kinda fun! This park has two distinct sections, an upper main section and a lower “creek side” area. The former has easier access to the bathrooms but seemed more crowded, while the latter is a very short distance away down a descending road. As the name suggests, the “creek side” is adjacent to a small creek where you can fish. This section of the park feels like camping in an amphitheater because you’re surrounded by an elevated periphery of lush trees and other greenery, while the main area is wide open with a nice field of grass in the rear. We had some fun throwing our aerobee around on this field, something that often isn’t possible at other parks. The other benefit of the lower area was substantially less wind, compared to the upper area. Honestly, I have a hard time imagining why anyone would choose the upper area over the lower. Our site was pretty level, very long, and a breeze to navigate into and out of. Although there were many trees on the edges of the camping area, there weren’t many near the RV sites, so shade was limited. And it was very hot while we were there, which is to be expected at the peak of summer. We found ourselves moving our picnic table around based on where our RV would provide the most shade from the sun. About 10 minutes away from the park is the “Medina River Natural Area”, which is well worth a visit. It has cement and dirt pathways – where you can ride bikes, run, or walk – and a fairly long creek where you can kayak or paddle board. Very scenic. I wish we had known in advance that paddle boarding was an option in this area, because we left our boards at home. Next time! As others have indicated, there is a fairly long dirt road that leads up to the park. I think it’s about a mile long. So what? Drive slowly, and accept the fact that rigs get dirty when you use them. Lastly, I want to specifically mention that Terri was wonderful, helpful, and accommodating. We can’t wait to come back!

This is another one of our all-time favorite parks. We’ve been here three times, including our maiden voyage with our first RV, and we always leave wishing we could stay longer. The Council Bluff loop is our favorite. It’s a quieter loop and has full hookups, which we prefer. It’s easy to get a site with beautiful views of the lake and there are lots of trees throughout the park. The trees are great for shade and scenery, but less good for Starlink, so working remotely here may or may not work out. (We’ve never tried.) There’s lots of hiking trails and there’s plenty of open space for running and riding bikes. We have never showered there and I can’t say I was impressed with the facilities in that regard. A bit run down and rustic. I guess fairly typical for a state park. The bathrooms were fine, but also on the rustic side. Still, a wonderful, peaceful state park that we highly recommend.

This park is definitely one of my all-time favorites. As I write this, we’re on our third stay here in three years and we’ll likely continue the annual tradition indefinitely. What’s not to love? The spaces range in size from big to huge, the scenery is breathtaking, and you’re right next to a beautiful lake. The park is about 7 minutes away from the DFW airport and you will hear the planes coming in, but we never found it loud or distracting. Overall the park is very quiet and peaceful. (But it’s crazy how much louder the planes get if you walk into the neighborhood that’s adjacent to the park!) We’ve always stayed here in May when there are dozens and dozens of Canadian geese roaming the park with their goslings. Really fun to see up close—and they will waddle their way right though your site! We also commonly see ducks, heron, and occasionally turtles here and there. Just outside the park is the town of Grapevine, which has an upscale small town vibe despite its population of ~50,000. Tons of cool restaurants, bars, and other similar places. Feels very safe everywhere you go. Twice a year, the town hosts a street festival with popup vendors, food, drink, and live music. The park operates a shuttle that carts guests back and forth between the park and the festival every 30 minutes, an awesome perk! If you like to run (as I do), you’ll have plenty of options without having to drive anywhere. Look up ‘Oak Grove Trail’ on Google Maps. The same trails can be used for road cycling. It might be obvious to say, but you also have direct lake access for kayaking, standup paddleboarding, and even swimming. We don’t use the bathrooms or showers much, but they are very clean. The showers are little “utilitarian”, perhaps, but clean and totally usable. One of the smaller bathrooms near the peninsula had a slightly unpleasant odor, but all the others were fine.

Of course, nothing is perfect, and the park does have a few cons. First, it’s not the cheapest place to stay. I’m of the opinion that it’s worth every penny, but the premium sites will set you back about $80/night. Basic sites run closer to $65/night. Next, the park is prone to flooding. On purpose, as it turns out. It is a Corp of Engineers designed park, operated by the City of Grapevine, and intended to flood in order to protect the nearby homes. And flood it did the first two years we came. We had to move to a different site our first year due to rising waters and we heard that the entire park had to close for a while after we left. Several cabins were destroyed as a consequence. This year is the first one we’ve experienced without flooding. So just be aware that flooding is a risk here. Next con is that some sites are surrounded by brick walls and/or have awkward utility placement. Look at my pictures to see what I mean. Our first site was one of the “walled in” sites. Didn’t hate it, but wouldn’t chose it again. And be prepared for some creative routing of your sewer line, water hose, and/or power cable!

All in all, highly recommend this place!