First experience with a KOA

[overlander64]

I have been utilizing KOAs since 1978 . . . in fact, my 1978 vacation was in excess of 30-nights covering 15 states and I only utilized KOAs. Maybe I have just been very fortunate, but I have never been disappointed in any of the KOAs that I have visited. Some of my favorites have included:

• Mitchell, SD KOA
• Kingman, AZ KOA
• Route 66 KOA, Seligman, AZ
• Delta KOA, Stockton, CA
• Needles CA KOA
• Limon, CO KOA
• Colorado Springs, CO KOA
• Mountain Home, ID KOA

Kevin

[TBRich]

KOAs have been around for a while, and some of them show their age...but many of them have new owners who are truly upgrading the sites and grounds and trying to give their customers a pleasant experience. We don't stay at KOAs often but we are not afraid to stay at them, either, especially if we are looking for an overnight situation... Like pmclemore, we stayed at the Bernalillo, NM, KOA and were totally delighted...kind of a nostagic feel to it with white-washed rocks lining the roads and sites, and a homey atmosphere. We got there late, tired from a long day, no reservations and asked, "Is there room in the inn for the night?"...and they said, "Sure, come on in!" They led us to a nice spot at the end of a row of sites, didn't even bother checkng us in... "Just come on by the office in the morning before you leave and we'll settle up then. And don't forget our free pancake breakfast!" We would have stayed there longer but we were en route ... but we'd stay there again in a heart-beat. In fact, we might even PLAN to stay there for a few days and explore the area more.

[Mike Leary]

Being related to two couples having two KOA Kamps, we know it's pricey to keep the franchise. So in the lean years, a lot of owners take on "extended campers", which creates problems with travelers who thought they were in a safe, quiet site. We've been there, and bailed. If any of you have problems with a KOA site, send them a e-mail and complain. They should adjust your billing. I am not a rep, but a fan of well-run camps.
Camping, Campsites and Campgrounds | KOA Campgrounds

[Bill M.]

We have stayed in a fair number of KOA's. A few I would not go back to and a few exceptional ones. One thing for us is they are easy to find when we are traveling. We usually pick one as a last resort backup plan to stop at that night if we do not find something else that we like by stopping time. I find KOA's to be generally clean. I used to need wi fi, but now can do it on the phone most places. Getting 14 or so MPG pulling it is sometimes cheaper to stay in a campground close to the path than to divert 20 or so miles each way up a bad road to find a forest service campground or state park. I also belong to Passport America and sometimes Good Sam. Like the Good Sam parks lots of times, but sometimes harder to locate one with a vacancy. Passport America added so many restrictions on nights, etc. that they were not very useful while we were traveling to the southwest for the caravan last year. We sometimes have a unit rally at a local KOA. Campgrounds are sorta like motels. Whatever the local market on that corner will bear.

[Silverbee]

[QUOTE=
The permanent resident campgrounds in NC tend to be a lot cheaper - but in a word, "Keep on paddling... I hear banjos!"

Paula[/QUOTE]

C'mon now Paula--We love Virginia almost as much as NC--matter of fact, going to stay a week at KOA in Fredericksburg in Oct.

Tom and Deb
Fuquay Varina, NC

[Rust]

Just some feed back about KOA
Over the years we have camped at a few while traveling. But in the last few we have discovered that the price you pay is not that out of line for what you get.
Some parks are higher priced and offer no more, and some are far from being better.
Traveling out east and down I75 we have found a few nice KOA camp grounds that have been great.
But most recently we have found one in Brighton Ontario that is excellent and we really enjoy the park.
They are close to the highway but with little sound from it, close to shopping in a couple of close by communities.
They have large well laid out site, clean dog run as well as some nice walking paths to enjoy.
They also offer a well stocked store and clean washrooms.
If you are in the area check them out, very nice staff.

GEO

[Florida 55]

Our first night in a KOA was at the KOA Bar Harbour Oceanside in Maine. While my family had camped in both SOB trailers and a motorhome when I was growing up, my dear wife had never spent the night in a recreational vehicle. We were considering the purchase of an Airstream but before making a significant financial investment I wanted to give her the experience of spending a couple of nights in an RV. Fortunately, Airstream and KOA teamed up a few years ago to seed some special "KOA" 25' Airstreams with the front bedroom model at select KOA's. When we learned of the opportunity to rent an Airstream for an overnight stay we tried the Key West location. It was completely booked up for the summer but we found space at the Bar Harbour Oceanside KOA in Maine. This was in the summer of 2010.

The location was beautiful. The Airstream we stayed in was well maintained. The campground was well cared for. The laundry facilities were clean and the staff was very friendly. The spaces were more than adequate in size and amenities. After two nights in the rental Airstream we knew we wanted to find one of our own and we did. Since then we have not stayed in any KOA's but I'm sure we will from time to time. We definitely want to take our 27FB Safari back to the Bar Harbour Oceanside location where we began our Airstream adventure.

Pictures from that trip appear below. DW is the happy camper. The four KOA Airstreams are lined up in a row. Finally the chairs, fire pit, table, and grill at our unit. Kudos to KOA and Airstream.

[Ag&Au]

Originally Posted by Silver Otter

Great to see this thread about KOAs. Our one and only experience was horrible. We could *not* go any further one day and stopped at a KOA in Green River, Wyo. Merely a large gravel truck stop like parking lot with a grumpy attendant. Only one night and never again.

We made that same mistake several years ago. Now we make sure to stop before or after Green River.

We have been using KOA's off and on for nearly 15 years. 10 years ago you were 95% certain of getting a nice place if you chose a KOA. Starting 10 years ago they seemed to start to decline in average quality. Also we found that some of our reliable KOAs had dropped out of the KOA system. When asked why, they said KOA had raised their affiliation fees so much it was no longer worth it to them. Now our first choice is likely a Good Sam park. We use Trailer Life/Good Sam's Directory. They have a good rating system that works well for us. They appear to fairly rate both Good Sam and other parks.

This is what we do when traveling cross country with no prearranged stops. Using the directory, we narrow it down to two or three possibilities. We usually have Internet coverage while driving. The one who is not driving tries to get an idea of what the park and surrounding area looks like using Google street view. When we reach a decision, we call ahead and check availability, and make a reservation.

Back to the original subject, there are still many nice KOAs around, but you can't count on one being nice like you used to be able to.

Ken

[StreamRollin]

It seems like we have stayed at so many KOA's over the years, that we decided to get the card. KOA's are as diverse as each of us posting here ... but we have our good old stand-by's for getting TO our final destinations.
We think these are all nice, but then we might not have the same standards:

Pueblo KOA, was awesome (I wrote something in the TAC newsletter about that trip). It's kind of barren, but many trails, great thunderstorms, and close enough to town ... and the staff couldn't have been any nicer!
Salina KS & Topeka KS are both good, but tend to have mosquitoe issues. Duh, it's Kansas.
Steamboat Springs, CO - nice.
Canon City, CO - also nice.
KOA in Larkspur, CO is now a Jellystone, very nice!
Las Vegas, NM - nice.
I swear we stayed in a KOA in Ruidoso NM, but can't find it ...

In our upcoming trip to the south, we'll be staying at 2 KOA's during our road travels: Onalaska (Lake Livingston TX), Baton Rouge , LA and probably another on the way back, but who knows where. We'll be doing the same as w7ts ... googleing

For a safe, clean one-night-stop, we think they are reliable ... Wendy

[Ag&Au]

Originally Posted by StreamRollin

It seems like we have stayed at so many KOA's over the years, that we decided to get the card. KOA's are as diverse as each of us posting here ... but we have our good old stand-by's for getting TO our final destinations.
We think these are all nice, but then we might not have the same standards:

Pueblo KOA, was awesome (I wrote something in the TAC newsletter about that trip). It's kind of barren, but many trails, great thunderstorms, and close enough to town ... and the staff couldn't have been any nicer!
Salina KS & Topeka KS are both good, but tend to have mosquitoe issues. Duh, it's Kansas.
Steamboat Springs, CO - nice.
Canon City, CO - also nice.
KOA in Larkspur, CO is now a Jellystone, very nice!
Las Vegas, NM - nice.
I swear we stayed in a KOA in Ruidoso NM, but can't find it ...

In our upcoming trip to the south, we'll be staying at 2 KOA's during our road travels: Onalaska (Lake Livingston TX), Baton Rouge , LA and probably another on the way back, but who knows where. We'll be doing the same as w7ts ... googleing

For a safe, clean one-night-stop, we think they are reliable ... Wendy

Thanks for all the good info. I will keep that list.
Which Pueblo KOA are you talking about? The one north of Pueblo or the one south of Pueblo? We stayed at the one to the north, but I wasn't aware of the one to the south until I looked it up just now.

Ken

[StreamRollin]

Ken, the north side of Pueblo, we went last year for the State Fair ... We also have the Good Sam guide, and when not staying in State or National Parks we'll choose a KOA or a Good Sam camping place. We have learned that the internet lies ... big time, and photo's are not reliable ... err El Paso TX comes to mind ... most hideous campground ever, don't remember the name - it was private and an asphalt parking lot on a highway off-ramp not even remotely 'like' the website indicated.

[StreamRollin]

oh, yeah ... then there was the Propane Fillin' Station between Salina & Wichita ... electric only - free gas smell all night - I thought we were gonna die ... they never cashed our check either, just as well - worst $7 we ever spent ROFL.

We'll stick to KOA's and Good sam's till we 'get there', wherever that is ...

That being said, there are some beautiful private camps in the mountains of Colorado, we stayed a super nice one years ago along the Crystal River ... I should go back through our ancient travel diaries and write about them ... hmmmm

[Protagonist]

Originally Posted by StreamRollin

Pueblo KOA, was awesome (I wrote something in the TAC newslettte about that trip). It's kind of barren, but many trails, great thunderstorms, and close enough to town.

Great thunderstorms? You mean like far off in the distance, fun to watch thunderstorms? Or scary, flash-bang, electrocuting-trees-right-outside-your-door thunderstorms?

[mgriffrus]

Originally Posted by Protagonist

Great thunderstorms? You mean like far off in the distance, fun to watch thunderstorms? Or scary, flash-bang, electrocuting-trees-right-outside-your-door thunderstorms?

Hey, we took the kids to Ft Wilderness and Disney World last spring (our last hurrah in our Coleman pop-up) and I swear it rained sideways every day we were there. Trees were down all over the campground and one missed a tent next door by less than six feet. They packed up and left......there was a hand-wringing Disney Rep there, though. I bet that family got upgraded.

[StreamRollin]

Originally Posted by Protagonist

Great thunderstorms? You mean like far off in the distance, fun to watch thunderstorms? Or scary, flash-bang, electrocuting-trees-right-outside-your-door thunderstorms?

Cool fun to watch in the distance thunderstorms, they did rumble over in the night, but had petered out ... I personally like a good storm and train whistles ... oooh best train whistle: Thermopolis WY, echoes around the canyon walls. That night we camped under a motel sign that had a short - bzzz, bzzz LOL. Jim and I have more fun on the road .... can't wait to hit it again at the end of the month.

[StreamRollin]

... sorry, I think I hijacked the thread, I'll be quiet now Wendy

[Protagonist]

Originally Posted by StreamRollin

... sorry, I think I hijacked the thread, I'll be quiet now Wendy

Me, too. Wasn't only your fault it went off the rails.

[Mike Leary]

If you like the sounds of trains all night long, the KOA in the Columbia River Gorge off I-84 on the Oregon side is made for you.

[mgriffrus]

Originally Posted by StreamRollin

... sorry, I think I hijacked the thread, I'll be quiet now Wendy

Guilty also. Oops

[Mike Leary]

Originally Posted by mgriffrus

Guilty also. Oops

I, for one, have no problem with threads going east, west, north or south, makes for much more interesting reading.