Lake Walcott State Park Campground

I really liked camping here. The area was generally quiet despite 4th of July fireworks and one guy who decided to have a screaming argument via his cellphone one night. 

The campground is well kept- no garbage or nasty smells. The bathrooms are also well cleaned even on a high use weekend but small, 2 stalls each- all showers were working. The only real problem is the lack of a sink for tent campers- we couldn't wash our dishes after meals. There is water but it's for the RV sites so bring water to drink and a camp sink for the washing up.

The Camp Host was exceptionally polite and communicated very well. Our group of 9 reserved sites 26 and 25- when we arrived we realized 25 juts out into the public area so there was no privacy at all. We decided to use the space next to site 26- there was a 6 table dining pavilion right in front of both sites which might be a problem if other visitors use it and you are there just trying to relax. The tables in the pavilion were damaged and splintered so we did not use them- the wood  is not safe unless really well covered. Also there is a colony of Swifts that uses the pavilion for nesting so there are mounds of poop everywhere- this is probably why no one used the space the entire time we were there.

The park is a wild life refuge so we saw Deer and Racoons at night. We kept all food items in out car to avoid issues. This is not the place for those with Insect phobias. There were non stinging flying insects all up in our face and flying up our nose. We got a few Mosquito bites but nothing above normal for a summer evening- the insects go away if you start a smoky fire. 

The park is also part of an electric dam project so you'll hear an alarm every once in a while but it's not very loud. 

I recommend staying here- it's peaceful even in high use summer holiday weekends and the staff is doing their best to provide a clean and safe experience for campers of all kinds. There are many spots to choose from and lots to see in the park itself. There are also life jackets provided for those who may not have their own so bring a canoe to enjoy the water.

We stayed here the end of September. Our Garmin RV GPS and Google Maps had us exit earlier than exit 216 off of Interstate 84 coming from the NE. The emailed state park instructions have you get off at exit 216. Since the roads looked RV-friendly on Google Maps, we took the earlier exit. It was fine, but exit 216 would have been more of a straight shot. The RV GPS and Google Maps eventually followed the brown Walcott SP signs all the way to the campground (CG). We had a couple of interesting turns at the far side of Rupert, but no big deal. When we arrived at the CG check-in building, it was unmanned. Since we had paid online, we paid the $7 vehicle fee per day via envelope and then proceeded to the CG. As a side note, the next morning, we got a call from the park office that our tow vehicle was included in the nightly camping fee, so they gave us our envelope back. We saw a right turn to the tent and boat ramp area and decided to go straight, and as we rounded a corner, we saw the RV campsite sign and proceeded to pull through site 5 with water and electric. The site was plenty big enough for our 40’ 5th wheel and our F-450. The water and electric were in the middle of the site, which was nice. There was decent water pressure, and we had a clear shot to the north sky for Starlink; however, to the south were mature trees. This site had decent spacing between the adjacent sites. We got 2 bars on Verizon. There are two tent areas, one that’s to the first right with the day-use area and another that’s adjacent to the RV CG and cabins. Most sites here will take larger rigs, and the center and north sites will give both north and south shots for satellite. There were a couple of interesting quirks with this state park. 1) The park’s sprinkler watering times were special, with our site getting an hour's worth at 1:00 PM with five rainbird sprinkler heads. However, the grass and trees were in good shape for this desert-ish area. 2) As we have seen with COEs, there’s a dam between the lake and the river, so when they open or close the floodgates, there’s a siren that goes off until the process is completed. We had this happen our first night at 1:00 AM. In the park’s defense, they have both of these activities posted in several locations. There are a ton of areas to walk your dog, and we saw deer during our walks. There’s a dump station located as you enter the CG area. We enjoyed our stay at this well-managed state park.