Sweetwater Valley KOA is just about like all KOA’s. There are lots of activities for kids and pets. But if you are just passing through and need a spot for the night, it is very overpriced.
I did use the laundry. It was very small but fairly clean. The camp sites are a lot closer than we like!
Sweetwater Valley KOA is located just off I-75, exit 62, then north on Oakland Road, and left on Murray’s Chapel Road. The campground is about 1/2 mile on your left.
The sites at Austin Lake RV Park are so tiny that in our small hybrid camper, our bed was about 2 feet from the gazebo at the site next to us, and the slide of the camper on the other side was overhanging onto our site.
There is no traditional one-way loop for traffic. This means that if your site is near the entrance (ours was) you get tons of traffic from both directions. Cars, bikes, golf carts, etc. non-stop. The bath house does not have free hot water for showers. You must pay $0.50 for five minutes of hot water. Seriously?
There is no sign at wrong-turn. GPS/Google maps/etc. send you the wrong way. The owner knows this and puts this information on the map you receive when you check in. However, that’s not very helpful when you’re on your way there and don’t have that map yet. There is one wrong turn by a baseball field, which we took. We got stuck on a hill pulling our camper, and had to be towed over it. The people that helped us out said that it happens all the time. People are constantly making that wrong turn. I don’t think it would be difficult to put a sign at the turn indicating that to get to Austin Lake you should continue straight, not turn as indicated by your GPS.
There is an entrance fee. You pay $3.75 to enter the park, THEN pay to do each individual activity. Our family paid for a pavilion for our reunion, but each attendee also had to pay to enter the park.
As far as the activities… The tube slide is advertised for 4 and up, but the children aren’t allowed to drag the tube back up the hill. They aren’t allowed flip it up the hill like a tire flip. They aren’t allowed to put it on its side and roll it up the hill. They must pick it up and carry it up the hill. What four year old can do this? Heck, what 10 year old can do this? When we complained, the owner said, “Well you should just carry it up the hill for them. That’s what I’d do for my boys.” Really? For hours you would carry a tube up the hill, then walk back down to meet them at the bottom to carry it up again? Also, the tube slide is run by the concession workers. At one point, my kids were told they were no longer allowed to slide because the worker had to go back to the concession stand.
Wifi… it’s pretty much non-existent. Instead of setting up one network with multiple access points, it’s set up as multiple networks. So every time you move from one area to another, you have to switch which network you’re connected to. And there is zero overlap, so if your campsite is on the fringe of a network (ours was), the signal isn’t strong enough to stay connected, but you aren’t close enough to the next network to connect to it, either. Because there is no cell service at all, you’re reliant on this “wifi” for any sort of communication. Be prepared to walk to another area of the campground to have a strong enough signal to be able to connect.
Pros:
The fire ring at the camp site was very nice. The proximity of the creek to our campsite was fun. There are lots of things to do to keep kids busy if you’re willing to pay extra. Multiple playgrounds (free) that are mostly newer nice ones with a few older, but still serviceable ones, mixed in.
I understand that it’s a business, not a non-profit organization, but it felt like every single thing was done solely for how much revenue it could generate. I would’ve rather paid a little more for the campsite and had free hot water, reliable wifi, a little bit more space, etc.
AAA RV Park is a very small, but well kept campground.
The park has no trees, but all sites are pull-thru, gravel, and very level with full hook-ups. They have a small, but clean bathhouse. Easy hook-ups and good, free internet access. This campground has no frills… it’s just a basic RV park.
AAA RV Park is family owned – and they are super nice and very helpful! They are also very reasonably priced.
In between urban on one side and rural (a field) on the other, but very quiet area.
In my opinion, this is the most overrated, high dollar, not family friendly park I have ever been to. We have been here 3 years in a row out of sheer desperation only. This is the only park near Mt. Washington, KY. Other options are 20 plus miles away- a lot when traveling multiple times per day from your site.
On this visit, my husband paid $64 more than he was supposed to upon arrival. I had to argue for a half hour to have the fees reversed on my debit. They were for a $10 site guarantee – isn’t that part of the “reservation”? Another $30 for the 2 kids that weren’t with us, but were billed at $5 per day for 3 days. And $27 for the KOA passport that my husband was talked in to buying even though we were not able to use it on this stay.
We did have to pay the $5 per day extra for our son due to the rule that sites for trailers and rv’s are only for 2 adults- all kids are $5 per day additional, per kid. Only tent sites are for 2 adults and 2 kids. So, $41 per night for 2 adults is where I get the not family friendly part.
There was no email or phone message to say the pool (a huge reason we went with this rip off again this year) was not open in the middle of the July heat. My Old KY home does not have a pool or lake.
The events for the weekend that were listed on the website seemed to be forgone this year. There was no movie or other organized plans as listed.
In my opinion, this park would be out of business given any other option near this area. Planning on driving further away from our desired destination next year. This campground is not worthy of the “holiday” label or expense.
Sandy Springs is a very nice campground situated on the banks of the Ohio River between Manchester and Portsmouth, Ohio.
Each site has a picnic table and fire ring and is equipped with a 50-amp and a 30-amp hookup. Ten sites are located on the river front, and they have ten pull-through sites. Their rates are very reasonable and there is a dump station on the premises. They also have individual shower/toilet facilities and a shelter house.
It’s quiet and relaxing here.
Just an average place to stay, nothing very remarkable except the price. Recent changes may disappoint returning campers.
This park is located within driving distance of many central Florida attractions, and has basic amenities like a pool and a clubhouse. It is not located on any type of water feature for boating or fishing. The playground is about the size of a backyard play gym. There is an unmanned gated entry/exit which requires a code to get in. It is frequently broken and just left open. Access is easy, but exiting is difficult. To leave West bound requires you to go East and make a U-turn.
During ‘season’ there are many planned activities like day trips and day cruises, bi-weekly bingo, group exercise and craft activities, and live entertainment. In the off season, there will be a BBQ or Pot Luck on major holidays, but nothing else. WiFi is included, but access is spotty. Basic cable is also included. Fires are not allowed. There is a fenced area for dogs to run and a bench for the owners under a big tree.
This is the highest priced park in a 15 mile radius for comparable amenities. The only thing it offers which the others do not is that it is next door to a 24 hour Wal-Mart. On their website, at the bottom of the rates page it states, “Rates are subject to change without notice.” Take that line seriously! I assumed it to mean that the rates might go up and the website not be updated, so I should call to make sure. I called in and made a reservation in January to arrive in June. When I arrived, my space was available, but the rate had gone up. I said to the office lady that my understanding of a reservation (such as those I have made at hotels and other campgrounds) was that it guaranteed both the space and the rate. She told me, “We are not a hotel.” I had to pay the higher rate. I am very unhappy about the tone in which I was spoken to, the demeaning attitude treating me as though I were asking for special treatment, and the overall unfairness of the situation. An office staff member (when I stated the date and amount of my deposit) said to me, “Well, your lucky it wasn’t more. It usually is more than that.” I didn’t ask for a discount. I paid the amount I was quoted, and she treated me like I was a free-loader. Very insulting! Be careful when dealing with these people.
Hidden Oasis is a beautiful and peaceful RV park for either short-term or long-term stays.
The owners are friendly and the facilities are well-kept. They serve scrumptious food at the Cool Water Cafe.
The campground is 5 hours from Phoenix, 5 hours to Las Vegas or 3 hours to the Grand Canyon!
If you like to camp around very large trees, 2 foot to 4 foot diameter tree trunks, don’t come here! Shasta County city officials had decided to remove all the hundreds of big trees in their campground beginning of last year.
Today, but few remaining large trees in and around the campground have also been marked to be logged and sold. At first, when they began cutting all the big trees down, they claimed it was because of the bark beetle and the drought situation.
When I was there last week I spoke to 10 to 15 different campers and most of them said they probably won’t return because the park is ugly and has no character as it once had before when the large trees were everywhere in and around the campground area.
Lake Siskiyou Camp resort was one of the nicest campgrounds in Northern California because of its original, 150 to 250-year-old pine trees and Douglas fir trees, which have all been removed by Shasta County land management officials in the last six months!
Sandusky Bayshore KOA is not motor home ready.
We called ahead and asked about a pull through for a 40′ coach towing a car, we were told no problem, the sites were 100′ long. When we arrived and got a site which was very narrow, the coach barely fit without the car. We went back to the office, got a different site and still had to unhook. That wasn’t a big deal but still super narrow, there are other vehicles parked in the streets so I’m not sure how I will get out.
They advertise cable but it is out of order. There is no one next to us which is understandable but if there was we would be on top of them.
This is a definite do not return, not to mention the train track across the street and an adjoining mobile home park.
In 13 years of full-timing, I have always been pleased by the staff and owners at campgrounds. In the case of Gulf Haven Campground in Gulfport Mississippi, however, it is the worst case I have ever encountered.
I checked in on May 26 and prepaid for a month. The receipt had me leaving on the 26th. On the 25th I was scheduled for surgery and planned on checking out on time on the 26th. On the 24th, I was informed that the computer required me to check out on the day of the surgery… at the same time… one day earlier. When I checked with the office and the owner, in spite of the receipt showing check out on 26th, I would be charged an extra day to check out on the day on the receipt.
Not only was this illegal, they wanted the extra money to stay to the date of the receipt.
I do not recommend that anyone else get caught in this mess. There are too many better, and more sociable, places to stay.
