Convenient but not glamorous

Pros: easy to find, right off the highway, full hookups, open year round, big, same day reservations, friendly customer service

Cons: highway noise, not pretty / not in nature, close spots, no privacy

Quintessential KOA

Biggest KOA I’ve been to. 24 hr laundry, big camp store, office stays open later than other KOA’s. Convenient to the highway and easy to get to. Sites are well spaced. Hookups were well positioned. Walking trail starts at the campground. WiFi worked pretty well. Overall a great KOA.

Not bad for a free site

We ended up here because we couldn’t get a spot at any of the campgrounds nearby. Sounds like that’s a pretty common problem in the area, so I would recommend it in a pinch. PROS: free, plenty of space, overlooks a pretty meadow, nice trail CONS: next to the road, felt a little exposed, extremely buggy at dusk

Know before you go: this is not a campground. In the summer, back country ski / snow sport parking lots are open for free overnight parking. There are vault toilets bout they were closed due to COVID.

Beautiful camping above the Deschutes River

This was a gorgeous and peaceful stop on our trip around Oregon. All sites are first come first serve. We were there mid week and didn’t have trouble getting a spot, but it sounds like it’s busier on the weekends. We could not believe this beautiful and well kept park was completely free! We can’t wait to go back.

Best free camping on Hood!

One of our favorite free spots ever!! Incredible access to back country hiking at Mt. Hood! Know before you go: this is not a camp site - in the summer, parking lots near mount hood are free for car camping (in the winter they’re full with people driving in for skiing). This is a huge parking lot with 2 vault toilets. Anyone can park overnight for free (summer only). There were just a few other cars there. At night we had a great view of the Perseid Meteor Shower 💫 Highly recommend if you’re going on a trip where you just want to spend all day hiking and have a convenient spot to sleep.

Perfect gateway to the dunes!

The highlight for us was the beautiful trail to the dunes. We actually walked there twice it was so beautiful - once with the dog in the afternoon and then we went back for an incredible sunset. You’re close to the road but we couldn’t hear any traffic. The sites felt pretty private and were far enough apart. We saw a few other people who were all very nice. The camp was clean and well kept. And I was able to book same day. We’d definitely return!

Peaceful getaway

I highly recommend this campground! We car camped there in late December, which probably meant that it was quieter than it would be in the summer months. It was so peaceful and just a great escape. The camp host was also really nice and helpful. Our campsite was gorgeous and right on the river. Great walk to the ocean from the campsite. Downtown Gualala was cute too.

Popular dispsersed campground on the river
  • Plenty of space for lots of people while still spaced out
  • Dispersed, so you pick the spot you like best
  • Right next to a beautiful river - perfect for swimming or kayaking
  • it was windy and buggy the night we were there - not sure if that’s common
  • portapotties were a plus for those without campers
  • We car camped and didn’t have any problem getting to the spot. As a new RV’er I would have been a little uncomfortable trying to get there. But we saw lots of big tow behinds
Heart of the Smoky’s

Pros:

  • beautiful and scenic
  • Near great trails
  • lots of wildlife - saw a bear!
  • clean and quiet campground
  • camp store nearby
  • easy enough to get to with an RV
  • reserved same day

Cons:

  • campsites are kind of close to each other
  • no dogs allowed on trails (I know that’s pretty common for national parks, but it’s still something we look for)
Not the place for a peaceful getaway

Overall a decent spot if you’re just looking for a safe place to sleep right near I-40. But not recommended if you’re looking for a peaceful spot to enjoy a vacation.

Pros:

  • extremely easy to get to and right off I-40 so minimal added time to trip
  • full hookups and they were well situated on the pad
  • pretty level spot
  • KOA so you know what to expect, and the check in process is really easy - especially after hours
  • cable hookups - though we didn’t try it so not sure how good it is
  • WiFi - but pretty weak at least from site 14

Cons:

  • Extremely loud traffic noise - you really couldn’t get closer to the highway unless you were park on an on-ramp (see video if you don’t believe me 😉)
  • spots are very close together (but pretty typical for a KOA)
  • it was pretty full for a week night so it may be hard to book day of on the weekend
Good primitive stop for an I-80 trip

Good dispersed campsite, especially if you’re on a road trip along I-80 (which we were, evacuating from a wildfire in CA). There are no hookups or services. This is really just a spot of BLM land that has some fairly level sites cleared. Some sites probably required 4WD. Looks like it would be really fun for OHV’s. We were car camping, so didn’t have to worry to much about space. From what we could tell there were probably only a couple good spots for an RV or tow-behind. There are no reservations, just find a place where your car fits and park it.

Rumor has it there’s a neat stream nearby, but we didn’t get a chance to check it out.

Full service getaway in Monument Valley

The perfect place to fill up during a Utah adventure. Great location, clean and well kept, and had everything we could think of: full hookups, good WiFi, on site laundry, a camp store, restaurant, and gas station. We had done 4 nights off grid in dispersed sites before this, so it was great to empty our tanks and fill up on water. We arrived after dark but it wasn’t too hard to navigate. I went over to the camp store and found a number to call for after hours registration. Within a few minutes security came by in a car and gave us all the info we needed for our site. We really appreciated that he was wearing a mask. MUST SEE: In the morning we did a short hike/walk to The Arch which I highly recommend!! It was about .5 miles from our site and absolutely stunning. NOTE that the road to Monument Valley is closed as are all parks / destinations in the Navajo Nation (due to COVID).

Perfect for family fun

This seems like a perfect spot for a family! Right on the lake, lots of activities to do and trails for hiking. Dog friendly. Easy enough to access with our 30 ft RV. Very level site (loop A site 4) with full hookups. Friendly folks too! I’m giving this 4 stars because as a couple without kids we prefer to be a bit farther out in nature and more separated from our neighbors, but there was enough space and privacy at this park. I couldn’t make a day-of reservation online so I called and they said we could just show up and pick a spot (it was a Monday night). Make sure you put the visitor center in on Google maps and stop there first to check in. They’ll let you know which sites are open.

Incredible!!

Absolutely beautiful park!! We stayed at the beginning of the pandemic and only people with campground reservations were allowed in the park. This made it really peaceful and we only saw a couple other people on the trails.

Good overnight waypoint - windy!

This was a good spot to stop on our road trip - easy to navigate to, easy to reserve, very level spots, hookups. But we probably won’t return. It was very windy, so I wouldn’t really want to tent camp here. The lake looked nice but it’s very flat so not as geologically interesting as our recent stops on Utah and New Mexico. Could smell the oil/gas industrial sites nearby at times, but overall I wouldn’t say it was a deal breaker.

Locals Gem of Oklahoma

Absolutely wonderful camping and hiking!! Lots of camping spots - and most were well distanced for plenty of privacy. Due to COVID all spots require pre-registration online and only self contained vehicles are permitted (all bathrooms are closed). There is no service in the park, but about 2 bars next to the Visitor’s center (which is also closed), so be sure to reserve a spot before you get close to the park. Some sites are dry and some have electric hookups. No water available due to an ongoing E. Coli issue. The camp host was really nice and stopped by both nights we were there. There were lots of hikes and we are looking forward to coming back for an extended stay. For hiking, we loved 40 foot hole (nice waterfall) and Little Baldy for sunset. Wish we had been here a couple weeks earlier because I bet the trees would have been at peak fall foliage color. We saw long horns and bison several times, but unfortunately didn’t see any prairie dogs. We heard this park is mostly used by locals (~80 miles from Oklahoma City), and not many long distance travelers hear about it. Also heard there are great mountain biking trails.

Peaceful and quiet but accessible

This was a lovely stop on our trip from CA to CT. We walked to the top of the adjacent hill for sunset which was very nice. After traveling through Utah we weren’t as impressed by the landscape but it is definitely a nice getaway with good views and a natural setting. Pretty level spots and had no trouble getting there with our 30 ft RV. I think we got the last spot (all first come first serve) and we arrived around 4:30 on a Thursday. Would definitely come back if we’re passing through the area again but won’t plan a trip around it (like we plan to with some of the sites in Utah).

Beautiful dispersed campground with views and hikes!

A perfect dispersed campsite. We stayed here with our 30 ft RV. The road to the camp sites was a bit bumpy but we managed to park just fine even arriving after dark. It’s not too close to the highway and the road next to the campground is pretty quiet. There were about 5 other vehicles when we arrived on Saturday night - just 1 other on Sunday night. Sunset from atop the memorial rock formation was gorgeous. There are Joshua trees as far as the eye can see, and a descent fire scar of scorched brush from the wildfire earlier in the year.

Teutonia Peak Trailhead is right next to the camping sites and was an incredible hike. We didn’t have any service at the campsite (AT&T and Google Fi) but did on the trail and down the road. We can wait to go back!