Campground Review: Cathedral Gorge State Park is a beautiful spot of geologic mystery. When you are driving in, you will wonder what the appeal is initially and then BAM! The first small cathedral formation shows up on your right and you are awestruck. You head off to the campground where you are greeted with a large pile of firewood for sale, an intro sign and pay kiosk, and plenty of campsites. Granted it was late December in the middle of the week but I was basically the only person in the entire campground. There was one other RV there but it was very quiet and calm at the site. The sites were mostly level but were rocky dirt so tent camping would have been a bit tricky. Each site has a picnic table, fire pit, and shelter over the table. There were free hot showers on the main campground side and the water was very hot and the bathrooms were heated too. Flushing toilets and sinks were well maintained.
The amphitheater is right next to the bathroom and in between sites so if there is an event happening there it might be loud for the closest sites. The group sites are across the road from the main campground so they are easily accessed by the other site. In the group site there are single stall bathrooms and more showers but they took money. I didn’t see a sign for how much they cost.
There is also a handicap campsite next to the bathrooms on level paved ground so it would be best for van or RV camping.
There is a trail that you can take straight to the main attraction of the park, the caves. They were absolutely stunning. It was so much fun to play in all the slots and explore on your own. They aren’t super long so it would take a lot to get lost. But be careful, it is crumbly and slippery in snow. I ended up hiking from the campground all the way up to Miller’s Point lookout and back in about an hour. It was a great spot to check out for sunset. I was solo out there so I was able to really appreciate the beauty of the park and the creation of the formations. You can see the rock formations in all stages of life. It’s a great spot to hike, bike, and play.
**Travellers Autobarn Kuga Campervan Review(Cooking): **While out volunteering over a week for the Audubon Bird Counts, I was able to evaluate the AWESOME Kuga campervan. Check it out: https://www.travellers-autobarnrv.com/campervan-rv-rentals/kuga-campervan/
Since I was gone for 7 days, I broke my evaluation up into sections where the most important features of the van were utilized. If you want to see the rest, check out my reviews for Pahranagat Wildlife Refuge, Cathedral Gorge State Park, Ash Meadows Wildlife Refuge, Desert Wildlife Refuge, and Big Dune Recreation Area.
This company is awesome, they come from Australia and New Zealand and we are super excited to have a truly affordable rental camper van in the United States! You can rent out different sizes and get an array of gear with them. This is perfect for music festivals, road trips, and for camping in extreme weather.
- Cooking: In order to cook in the van you will need to get out of the van and turn on the propane tank. It’s a good idea to leave the door to the tank open too for extra ventilation. This makes it a bit frustrating when you have to keep going in and out to open and shut the door/turn it on and off but that is campervan life. You will also need to open the top vent(and maybe even the fan) when you are cooking. When you get ready to take off, you will need to shut all the open doors and top vent so it doesn’t get caught on anything or taken in the wind. You will need to pay for the propane tank to be refilled or prepay for the tank before you leave.
- Water: There is a 14 gallon tank on board and I didn’t even come close to using it all on my 7 day trip. There is a switch you will need to turn on in order to activate the pump. Make sure you turn it off at night so the pump doesn’t freeze! There is not a garbage disposal in the sink so make sure your plates are scraped off before you wash them. Don’t put garbage down the sink. It is only cold water for dishes so you will need to boil some water and fill the sink in order to scrub dishes properly. I used the sink for storage of clean and drying dishes when I was travelling too. You will need to empty the tank when you are done. It is easy flip open of a toggle underneath the edge of the van.
- Food storage: There is plenty of counter space but no way to keep the food from moving around so with the cabinets filled with gear, I had to do some rearranging to get food stored in there too. The fridge was totally big enough for what I needed for my trip(lunch meat, cheese, dips, condiments, beer, and veggies). I even had some ice cream and whiskey in the freezer. It stayed nice and cold due to being run by the solar panels. The microwave is run off external power so you will need to be connected to an electrical outlet in order to use it. The cables are supplied in the van.
