Howonquet (Xaa-wan'-k'wvt) Village and Resort

Some friends of ours stay here a couple of months each summer to fish and enjoy the ocean weather.

Despite new ownership supposedly going through a renovation process, this is a very old and tired looking rv park. You have to drive through permanent trailers and mobile homes to get to the over night areas. Spaces are tight and crowded when we were there. Bathrooms and showers however were surprisingly clean and well maintained.

The light at the end of the tunnel is about a half dozen still usable spots at the very end, away from the main rv area, and right along the mouth of Smith River. Rough. Ours was not level at all and was tricky to get ourselves situated even with our little 16’ travel trailer. No sewer hook ups on these sites but the electricity and water worked. Also lots of foot traffic as many people make their way down from the main rv sites (and mobile home park?) to enjoy fishing and walking on the beach. But camping right above the water was pretty damn nice. Fresh ocean air, river otters, seals, birds, and we grilled fresh salmon our buddy caught just a couple hundred away from our campsite. Turned out to be a nice 3 days and as long as we can get the spot on the water again, we would come back.

This run down little campground is one of our favorites. It’s split into two sides: 1 side is the regular tightly packed RV park with full hookups and an age limitation of 20 years for your RV. Next to the RV park is a small cute mobile home community, as well as some rental units that were under construction when we were there in the summer. On the other side of the mobile homes is the boondock/ tent side. There are water spigots at each site, some dilapidated wobbly picnic tables that are barely standing, and some rocks formed into a small makeshift fire pit. There are also showers and toilets on this side. The whole boondock side looks like an abandoned drive-in movie theater. Add to that the super friendly staff and the old hotel and restaurant that are closed and abandoned and look haunted, and you have such a unique and oddly charming place to stay. 

Smaller RVs have the option of staying in one of several waterfront sites, which are tucked away from the main areas and are out almost on the beach. Sadly, our 26ft Class C is too big to camp in one of those sites. 

The RV park side is expensive, at approx $55/night, but they offer a Passport America discount at 50% off for one night. The laundry and showers are clean. There is a community room with a great water view and there’s also a book exchange in the room. The boondock side is around $27/night, not cheap, especially considering the lack of amenities, but we love it anyway. We love the boondock side much more than the RV park side. It’s generally deserted, plenty of space all around you, and it’s so quiet and peaceful. The beach is a short walk away, and you can walk all the way along the beach along the Smith River to where it meets the ocean. There is an amazing amount of wildlife and tide pools here. We saw so many otters, sea lions, osprey, pelicans, and even a herd of elk one early morning. 

Cell service is good here, and the park’s wifi (on the RV park side) wasn’t bad. There are trash dumpsters throughout the park and one large mixed recycling bin near the entrance.  You can also get propane here.