It is very convenient as it is right off I-70. Very pretty with the cliffs behind it and a little pond on the property. The pond is stocked with fish.
Even by the highway, it is fairly quiet. The sites are well spaced. It could use a few more tent spots, but hookups for rv's are plentiful.
This place was really smelly when we stayed. Fire was real close as well. The road is noisy. Did not enjoy
We liked the setting and the campground was nice and clean. However sites were very close together and the tent sites were on top of each other. We were asked to move our site for a new camper at like 9 am even though check out was around 12. Other than that we liked the campground there is a nice playground a wonderful fishing pond and a swimming hole. There are showers however they are $1 for 4 minutes so bring your change.
The confusing thing was there are a few campgrounds in the area with the name James M Robb. We stayed at the James M Robb Campground a few miles east of Palisade, Co.
We stayed in the C loop. The campground was in great shape and was well maintained. If you are seeking off the grid camping this is likely not the place for you. We had full hookups (water, sewer, power). The area had nice views with the Colorado River running along the side of the campground. We did some hiking on trails above Palisade and spent time at the wineries, cideries, breweries, and distilleries in Palisade and Grand Junction.
I would stay here again.
Campground Review: I've stayed at Island Acres a few times, three times in the last months. All three times have been different. I wanted to do a secondary review for this particular trip. We arrived mid day on a Friday and there were plenty tent sites remaining. There are only six in the whole campground that are tent only sites. We originally were assigned to number 38, which is a more desirable site, we were excited. It is shaded and back in a corner along the river. But when we arrived to our site, there was a park ranger that asked us to change to site 36 because he had a sprinkler project he wanted to finish. While we had the right to say no, we disappointedly took site 36, which has little to no shade. It has two small trees that provide minimal shade during the heat of the day. This particular weekend hit high 90's. He also informed us at the move that they forgot to give us our card back when we registered.
So we went about our trip and set up camp late in the day and there were still no other tents there. This weekend, however, was a much busier weekend then most of the others we have stayed. Therefor, more people and more chaos. One site came in and set up around 1:30 am, with air mattresses and lights shining. The site on the other side of us left around 1:30 am. So again, a lot of light shining in our tents. Beyond that, there were also people that set up outside of standard sites, which I've never seen before. They were parked in the grass and in no parking zones, which a ranger came and corrected, early in the morning on Saturday. The swimming pond was refreshing for 5-10 minutes this time of year but then you wanted to come out for a half hour or so to warm up again. We purchased a shade tent, which came in handy at the beach and our site. That evening, the crowd returned and there was a lot of really bright lights again. People coming and going super late and camping in non-designated sites. People camping in their cars with huge tarps over them in the parking lot.
We also could hear a lot of highway traffic, which we hadn't noticed in previous visits. It is a very busy highway so traffic was heard all night long. The tent sites are on the farthest side of the campground from the highway so if the noise is loud for us, it is likely loud throughout the campground.
Product Review: As a Ranger for The Dyrt, I get products to test from time to time - today I am testing The Campfire Cutting Set from Primus. The campfire cutting set is so lightweight and compact. It's easily packed along for any trip. It's made out of a nice oak that is appealing to look at and extremely functional. The knife cuts like butter. The video is cutting a raw potato and it does it with ease. Cleanup was a breeze as well. So, out of the box, it contains a chef knife (extremely sharp!) and an oak cutting board, all wrapped up in a nice prep mat that is great for packing your campfire cutting set. We loved the convenience and practicality of this set!
Overall this is a nice peaceful park. There is a set of train tracks across the river and trains go through quite frequently but it's not terribly loud. The site was spacious and we had a nice spot to pop our tents under a big tree. We had a nice picnic table and a fire ring along with a grill. Although there is a level one fire restriction, you can have a fire in a fire ring no taller then two feet. There are six sites for just tents. A parking area and walk over. The bathrooms closest to us were very clean and flush. They had pay showers. There is a nice swim beach that allows only swimming. It has natural cool and warm pockets. The sand gets super hot in the heat of the day. Staff was friendly and the campground was clean. We definitely would return.
Stayed the weekend of May 29, 2015. The surroundings of the canyon walls are absolutely stunning. And the Bald Eagle that lived nearby and flew over the campground daily was Awesome! However, the highway is very noisy all day and night and can be seen clearly from most campsites. The Train (just as close) was actually a nice touch when camping with todddlers (they love Choo Choos). Also the camp sites are a little packed in (close together).
