Adirondack Adventures Schroon River Resort – Diamond Point, NY

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July 8, 2009

This Adirondack RV resort park has everything you want in an RV/camping resort – sunny sites or treed sites depending on your preference. The park can accommodate up to 40 ft. motorhomes and has full hook-ups. It also provides cabin rentals that are really nice.

We had had no problems with aircard access, cell phone problems (we have Verizon for both) and open sites receive satellite service just fine.
The park has river access, a pool, pavillion, store, children’s play area, entertainment, horseshoes, kid’s game room, etc. The restrooms are immaculate and the staff are always there to help.

The location of the resort is great as well as you are close to Lake George and not far from Saratoga, Lake Placid, Schroon Lake, Montreal, and Lake Champlain.

The two “best features” of the park are Linda and Leroy who manage it every season. They not only keep it in tip-top shape, but are two of the nicest and most generous and accommodating people you could ever meet. They both make your stay a delight.

While the campground is not a new one, it certainly is a lovely one and improvements are being made as we speak to update it and improve it.

We definitely would recommend this campground to families, couples, retirees. There are amenities for every age and every taste at Adirondack Adventures Schroon River Resort.

Smuggler’s Den Campground – Southwest Harbor, ME

By

Warner NH campers

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July 6, 2009

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We were looking forward to spending ten nights at this campground that describes itself as “a comfortable and relaxed camping experience on the quiet side of Mount Desert Island.” We have been to Acadia before and looked forward to returning. The brochure describes “over 25 miles of ANP hiking trails can be accessed from” the campground. We are two adults (no kids) who love campgrounds that provide peace and quiet and a relaxing time. We HATED this campground!

Although we requested a “secluded” site, our hook-ups were within 2 ft of the next site’s firepit. We had two different neighbors during our stay. Both were loud and enjoyed staying up very late. Quiet hours are NOT enforced. Our last night there, our neighbors returned very drunk, very loud and peering in our windows. They kept us up (even though we closed our windows tight and turned up our radio) until 2AM. The owners, however, like to mow at 8AM sharp. They will mow your site while you are there. They also repaired their roads with new hard pack before 9AM.

The hiking trails are a joke. You need to traverse about 500 ft of newly forested wood lots to access them. The wood lots are left with deep ruts, stumps and downed trees. Do not follow the orange blaze! That dead ends you into a swamp.

The Free Island Explorer bus service does not start until late June. The swimming pool does not open until late June. A LP gas refill will cost you $24.50.

The positives? The seasonal sites look nice. The campground is within a 30 minute drive of ANP visitor’s center and the park loop road. Making reservations was a snap. Our site had W/E/S.

Bottom line: If you are looking for a quiet getaway that will allow you to rest and unwind in a peaceful setting – DO NOT STAY HERE!! However, if you enjoy partying with like-minded individuals and do not give a hoot about nature, neighbors or peace & quiet – have at it!

We would NEVER stay here again.

Dallas Pike Campground – Triadelphia, WV

By

JJandCP

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July 5, 2009

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Dallas Pike Campground is located off Exit 11 on Interstate 70 in West Virginia. They have a permanent section and a temporary section. The front permanent section looks easy to get into and is close to the office. The temporary section is up the hill and very cumbersome to drive to, rutted road. Let’s say, I held my breath.

The manager was very nice and led in front of me to show me which spots I could choose from. The temporary area is quite rustic, despite having full hookups. Lots of trees, great shade. Sites are far from being level. The sites were so unlevel, let’s just say, I didn’t even bother putting down my stablizers. I had trouble with my cable connection, wouldn’t work. So, the owner and someone in the next spot over helped to get it working. Let’s just say, you don’t want to know how they got it working.

The manager knew I was traveling alone and didn’t have a tow car and said if I needed anything, they would get it for me. The manager is willing to do anything to help you out. I thought that $32 was a bit pricey, but this may be average for this area, and since it was July 4th time, beggars can’t be choosers. The manager told me that a shopping area was about half a mile away, but I didn’t check this out. I just stayed put in my RV for three days, after holding my breath to get up the rutted road. The manager said it’s ok to unhook and go in and out if needed. This is ok for an overnight, but wouldn’t use if for a destination. It was pretty quiet during my stay.

Pioneer Park Campground – Somerset, PA

By

JJandCP

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July 5, 2009

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Pioneer Park Campground will provide directions to the Flight 93 Memorial Crash Site. After you check in at the main building, the driving area to get to your sites is kind of “reversed.” You drive on the left side of the road, going to your site, and going out. Adequate spacing (not large, but adequate) between sites.

Although each section has it’s own bath house and shower, there is only one laundry area, in the main building. Regardless of where you are in the park, it’s a hike to get to the laundry. The pool is nice, deep end is 9 feet. There are some good walking trails. Interesting garbage arrangement. You put your sack of garbage out near your post and it’s picked up twice daily. The park has garbage bags if you don’t have any.

Cottonwood RV Park – Columbia, MO

By

JJandCP

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June 30, 2009

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Cottonwood RV Park is a nice campground. The spots are close together, but it didn’t seem to be a big issue.

They have a nice clubhouse. The pool is only 5 feet deep. They have no cable tv, but there is good reception of digital network channels. The WiFi worked very well! I was exhausted from driving so I didn’t get to check the laundry and bathrooms.

Blackhawk Campground – Cloverdale, IN

By

JJandCP

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June 30, 2009

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This is a real campground, not an RV Park. It’s located off the same exit as a state park. Take the state park exit near Cloverdale and follow the Blackhawk signs, it’s well marked.

Good spacing between sites. The full hookup sites aren’t really in the shade, but have trees behind them, so they get shade in the afternoon. They also have some primitive, water only, and water/electric sites, but I didn’t get to check them out. There are 19 full hookup sites. There is a laundry, but I didn’t get to check it out.

Nice place for an overnite. Wilderness Cafe just down the road a bit, good food.

Dillon State Park – Nashport, OH

By

JJandCP

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June 30, 2009

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Since when does a state park sell ice cream and fudge? And have laundry facilities? Nice park! Great price for the money! I have been to state parks in other states that were more expensive and didn’t have all this!

The laundry facility is at the main station. It’s a bit of a hike from any of the three loops! Most likely have to drive your toad to the laundry station. My comments on the bathroom and showers pertain to the B loop, can’t speak for the A and C loop. All three loops have camp hosts. Good spacing between the sites.

Lake Mitchell Campground – Mitchell, SD

By

JJandCP

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June 27, 2009

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RVBuddy.com | RV Park and Campground Reviews

The base cost just to “show up” is $15. Oh, did you want hookups? Well, those are priced on a “cafeteria” plan. There is a separate charge for each of the following: water, electricity, sewer, and cable. Strange, but in a way, fair. On the other hand, I don’t know how closely they monitor “whether or not you paid for something versus whether or not you actually used it.”

I stayed two nights, and paid for cable one night, and didn’t the other night. The cable was pretty decent. Without the cable, you can pull in two channels, FOX and NBC, via antenna. No Wi-Fi, but Verizon Air Card worked very well.

The campground is pretty typical, with fire ring and barbecue grill at each site. The sites are gravel/dirt, with some grass between each site. The water connection is goofy. The water connection is dual and is placed between every other site. So, depending on what site you get, your water connection may be on the “wrong” side and you might require extra hose. I would try to avoid getting placed in sites 15 and 40. Both of those sites are near the walking path to the lake. On the other hand, site 15 does have a great view of the lake, and is the only site that does. If you want the view of the lake, then you have to put up with the parade of people going down the path. But if the park isn’t busy, this isn’t a big issue. Bathrooms and laundry were so so… but I do have to comment on the washers in the laundry; the washers seemed to be larger capacity than what I usually see in RV Parks. For $1.50 on a wash, I managed to stuff a lot of clothes in the washer!

There is a children’s play area. This is a nice park for overnighting. If you don’t tow a car, you are within walking distance of a good grocery store, liquor store (for those that need….), ShopKo, and some pizza restaurants.

Outback RV Park – Craig, MO

By

JJandCP

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June 27, 2009

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I had just crossed the Missouri State Line on Interstate 90 and there were NO RV parks in sight for miles, according to any source that I had. I just randomly took an exit, hoping to find SOMETHING. I weasled around, and ended up in Craig, MO.

Oh my, a sign! Outback RV park, 2 blocks away! I drove to it. Oh my. Seven spaces on grass near an alley behind the buildings on main street. I saw some local towns people, so I inquired as to whether I would be safe. I was assured that I would be safe. I called the “after hours” phone number on the sign, only to get voice mail. I left a message that I was there, and I would pay if they found me.

I finally located the owner at a local community fish fry (which I attended) that happened to be occurring that night. I paid, and he told me he didn’t have any receipts. If you arrive during the day, you pay at the local hardware store.

Now, for what you get. Park has 30 amp and 50 amp, and sewer. There is only one water faucet, a community one. That’s pretty much it. I wouldn’t enter the park from the street, there is a slight rut along the street. I would go into the alley and drive anywhere on the grass from the alley. (This might be cumbersome if you have a toad.)

The park can accommodate big rigs, but it might be cumbersome having to come through the alley. The neighbors next to the RV park have a barky dog that you may have to put up with, and trains do shake the ground. But for $15 (price as of this writing), you can put up with this for one night.

Warning, I did get some occasional power surges on 30 amp. Verizon Air Card barely worked.

Sun Lakes Park Resort – Coulee City, WA

By

JJandCP

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June 24, 2009

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Sun Lakes Park Resort operates on State-owned land under a concession permit from Washington State, and is located right next to Sun Lakes/Dry Falls State Park.

Spots are rather close together, on grass, mixture of pull-through and back-in. I had a pull-through, which was quite long. The pull-throughs are “side by side,” i.e., the “evens” pull in one way and the “odds” pull in the other way. One good thing about the “closeness” of the sites, if it gets windy here (which it did the night I was here), the wind won’t hit you that much.

Each site has a picnic table. There are trees providing partial shade. Bathrooms were ok, not perfect, probably due to how busy the park was. There is a good sized laundry room for the park. Wi-Fi was iffy. There was an “unsecured” wi-fi in the RV section, and a “secure,” password protected wi-fi for use near the check-in office. The “unsecured” wi-fi had very low connectivity, probably due to lots of people using it. The “secure” wi-fi worked if you took your laptop to the office. Verizon Air Card didn’t work here, although the cell phone would get a signal if you stood in the right area. There are a couple of pay phones if your cell phone doesn’t work.

There is a little store, and small fast food serving local cuisine, to include a good German sausage on the menu. The putt-putt course was nice. Make sure you bring a good supply of DVD’s, as you won’t get any TV reception over the antenna. I have a “wingman” on my antenna and I still couldn’t get any TV. There were some power fluctuations while I was there. If you have one of those expensive surge protectors from Camping World, they will fit on the poles. Recommend using one if the park is really busy.

For people concerned about junk mail, this resort automatically puts you on a mailing list unless you specifically think to ask/tell them not to. If you stamp your feet and insist on it, they will write a note on the your registration saying not to add you to mailing list (but who knows if anyone pays attention to this!).