This RV park policy and website update clearly indicates that a guest (established or new) might be met with violent force for a late arrival....
Granted, this "dog park/field camp/RV park" is the host's private property, but so is every other independently owned RV park out there, right? By limiting access to the park during overnight hours, including for established guests, and with the threatened violence, I highly DO NOT recommend staying here!! If you are looking for free camping, plenty of other dispersed camping is available in the general vicinity.
On the surface, the campground and host seemed pleasant and sufficient. We arrived in early evening, and after disconnecting our towed vehicle, we prepped to leave the park to visit a nearby hot spring, telling the host that we'd miss the 9 pm bonfire and all, but would see him later that night or the next morning.
After a nice soak, and observing of the stars on an amazing dark night with no moon, we returned to the camp at 3 am. Dimming my car headlights, I went to open the gate quietly to enter the park, yet I was met at the gate by the host and his dog, indicating how rude and inconsiderate I was, and that I'd ruined his night's sleep and he wouldn't be able to go back to sleep. The host has a series of driveway alarms and signs and cameras, creating a circumstance that no established guests could come and go from his RV park without awakening and disturbing the host.
On arrival the previous evening, the website and signs all indicated that the host preferred new arrivals to not check-in in the middle of the night, but to arrive during daylight hours. Otherwise, signage indicated that established guests could come and go, as long as we opened and closed the gate behind us.
The next morning, just after 9 am, the host knocked on our door and told my partner that we needed to pack up and leave and that the "armed man was getting more and more annoyed by our presence", implying that if we stayed any longer, that the host might respond with armed violence and force. My partner asked how long that we had to pack up and depart, and the host just repeated that the "armed man was getting more and more annoyed by our presence."
We packed up and left within 30 minutes.
Apparently, the host took a "survey of current campers" (maybe 3-5 other guests) while we were out that evening, and elected to change his access policy to indicate that the front gate of the RV park would stay locked from 10:30 pm to 7 am every night. This policy would have denied my access to my home (I am a full-timer).
His website (which was changed between when we arrived and the next morning when he ejected us) now includes the following:
"Too many times in 2024 (around 10 so far by July) I've had people set off the driveway alarm at 3-4 in the morning. And while I can turn off the alarm sometimes, I can't turn off the Aussie Shepherd. I personally think you are very rude if you come into a camp that time of night with your lights on and wake up others. So on July 5th I took a vote amongst the nights guests on what would be reasonable, and while I started out on the "let me shoot them at the gate side" the campers felt that closing the gate to all traffic at certain hours would be more reasonable. If you try to sneak thru it during those hours and set off the dog or alarm, my side may win the argument that night. So if you need to be selfish enough to wake me or others in camp up with 3 am charades, you need to camp elsewhere for my medical issues and your health."
The host can establish whatever policies and rules he'd like, but it creates a circumstance whereby any prospective guests should highly reconsider their options when looking to stay in the Arco area.
