I thought I'd post our experiences at the KOAs we stayed at on our trip West. All were adequate and clean, though the one in Tucumcari, NM was no what I would expect from one. It wasn't so much a single thing, but cumulative little things, that caused me to be displeased with it. First, and I think they were within their right to do so though I didn't like it, they wanted to charge us for another campsite if we wanted to plug in the B van so the fridge didn't run the house battery dead overnight. So we didn't plug it in, and sure enough, the battery was dead the next morning. Good thing I removed the perishables from it before we turned in the night before. Then, the manager didn't seem to know what sites he had that would handle the length of our rig (just the truck and Bertha), and insisted on dragging me all over the campground on a golf cart before I firmly informed him the very first one was fine, and please return me to my truck, or I would get out and walk. They also wanted to charge extra for Sophie (our 20 # dog), but (I think) they decided not to. At least, I didn't see the extra charge on our bill, though there was an additional "hotel/motel tax" on it.
The one in Arkansas was clean and well-run, and relatively wuiet, even though I could throw a rock and hit passing trucks on the Interstate.
The one in Flagstaff was clean and pleasant, though cramped. It seems to be one of the very first KOAs built, and the spaces were small, and the electric was marginal, with a dump station (no sewer on the site).
The one in Victorville is no longer a KOA, so I don't know if I should count it, but it was a typical KOA, near the Interstate, etc. It was not bad, but was also kind of tight-feeling.
[overlander63] The one in Victorville is no longer a KOA, so I don't know if I should count it, but it was a typical KOA, near the Interstate, etc. It was not bad, but was also kind of tight-feeling.[/quote]
Hi, I don't remember the name of this ex-KOA in Victorville, But this was our last stop before heading home to our cozy little parking space between my house and our neighbor's house. On one night stands we don't unhook our trailer from our tow vehicle. In our space #19 it was level in both directions so no adjustments were needed. The people were nice and the facilities were also nice. While we were there, they were removing dead trees. But there were still many shade trees in this camp ground. I think they were in the process of improveing the camp ground. We are new to WIFI and were pleased with the fastest internet service we have ever had to date. Note we are still on dial up at home. We don't have sewer access at home so we try to spend our last night at a camp ground, within a days drive of home, so we can do our last double tank flush before we head for home.
Bob
Good to see you and Lee made it home frm Albuquerque o.k. I will agree with you that for the most part the KOA's have really gone down hill, especially for the amount they charge. I have virtually given up staying in one. We did stay in the one in Sisters, Or. and found it adequate for what we needed. It is however adjacent to the fairgrounds and they rely upon a lot of traffic during rodeo/fair time. The one in Cortez, Co. has undergone 2 years of rebuilding by it's new owners and it would be tough to compare an ordinary KOA to it. We have membership in Good Sam's along with membership in Passport America and we usually get good rates with Passport America. The first 2 nights are usually 1/2 price and then the third night it goes to regular. I guess the Balloon Fiesta rate in Albuquerque was about $40 at Enchanted Trails and with our Passport we got it for $14 the first night and $34.95 the second night. Hope to see you and Lee down the line.
Bob and Lou
Member Four Corners Unit
WBCI # 10105
Air # 28748
I was a KOA member for quite a few years. I've stayed at the KOA near Yosemite (Mariposa?) and it was very pleasant.
Alamosa, CO was okay, however all we had was water and electric hookup...no biggie, we had the BlueBoy and dumped in the morning.
Zanesville, OH was one of the not-so-good experiences. We still had the '68 Streamline at the time and woke up to the horrible smell of sewage. The sewer lines had backed up all over the campground, after a fierce rain, and several sites had waste water as deep as 3" around the rigs. We later found out, after speaking with KOA's 1-800 number, that Zanesville had lost its charter. We informed them that they were still operating as a KOA.
Hagerstown, MD was a really nice place. Sharpsburg is close by, so you can visit the battlefield there (Yankees know it as the Battle of Antietam). The owners were extremely friendly.
There's a KOA in SoCal, I want to say Riverside, that was just massive. Rigs were parked within several feet of each other. It was okay with us, because we were taking the kids to Disneyland, and we only used the Sovereign for sleeping purposes.
In Cecil County, MD there was a former KOA, Ponderosa Pines RV Park, which was absolutely gorgeous, when it was a KOA. When the new owners bought the place, they ran it into the ground and then sold the property to developers. Real shame, because I remember it in its glory days, when I was a kid.
Marina Dunes KOA in Seaside (Monterey) CA is really nice. Yeah, it's a bit pricey, but what a great view. I lived in Monterey for 5 years, and we stopped there, while on vacation.
I don't remember there being a KOA in Moss Landing, only the Moss Landing RV Resort, which opened sometime in 2002. One of the most frightening experiences of my life. Some guy on crystal meth freaked out in the middle of the night and came into the RV park banging on every RV threatening to kill everyone. He pounded on our Class C motorhome (1973 Fireball) so hard, he broke the rear bathroom window. Cops were called and the guy ended up dying while he was in custody. That was Moss Landing RV Park's grand opening weekend. Never went there again.
The one near Washington DC is okay too, but pricey. I don't really remember much about it, because I was busy looking for a house to buy, but I do remember seeing a beautiful triple axle Classic there...first Airstream I ever saw in red trim.
I've stayed at many others, and my experiences were good. The Texarkana KOA sticks out in my mind as a pretty nice one too.
__________________ SFC Frederic Lynes 1971 Sovereign International 2004 F-350 King Ranch EX-WBCCI # 8371 AIR # 8239
The one in Flagstaff was clean and pleasant, though cramped. It seems to be one of the very first KOAs built, and the spaces were small, and the electric was marginal, with a dump station (no sewer on the site)..
We stay at the Flag KOA every year & enjoy it. Yes, it was one of the first
built, but it's quiet and well-run. They are upgrading the power, has TV &
wi-fi. Not sure where on the site you stayed, but they do have full hook-ups
in the upper area. Here's a winter morning from Flag KOA.
We stayed in the KOA in Petoskey, Mi. last month, was not impressed, they advertised level sites...saw some motorhomes that had their front wheels completely off the ground to get level, pull through sites had the sewer hookup where the front of your tow vehicle would be instead of where the rear of the AS would be parked.. I'm in no hurry to try another one right away.. Just my $.02 worth..Over priced and overated
On our recent trip to the Oregon and N. California coast, we stayed at several KOA's. I can't remember specifics, but some general impressions are they are positioned at the upper middle of campgrounds. I can't remember any KOA horror stories. Other campgrounds provided those—not horror, but problems— for us.
We choose campgrounds based on our needs of that day—some space between RV's, price, TV, internet wireless, location and whether we can find it (campground books often have terrible directions, AAA being a bit better). Amongst a group of campgrounds in an area we were traveling to, KOA's usually had the most of these. Any campground with fees for internet usually were rejected as a place that will nickel and dime customers.
My guess from what I've read in this thread is that the national franchiser does not keep a good watch on their franchisees. It looks like a KOA campground can go bad for quite a while before they get caught and lose their franchise.
i am staying at the koa south for one nite in beaufort south carolina on my way to fort wilderness for thanksgiving.choose this site since my sister lives near this koa in south carolina and thought i could visit with her on my way to fla.anybody have any experience with this koa?
We hardly ever stay in one unless were are trying to cover a bunch of miles in a short time (for us) or needing to do laundry. We've found them to be varied as far as cond. and personel. Guess that is the same with all RV parks. It seems like they are higher priced though.
Does anybody know what the franchise fee is? One of the nicest KOA's in the west was the Durango North on the Animas River. Property was sold and the new owner paid a penalty to drop the franchise. Property has been completely redone with new electrical, sewer and water hook-ups. Now called the Durango River Resort.
My subjective memory is that KOA's are more expensive. Some have nuisance fees. The one in Fruita, Colorado, charged around $6/day for wireless, so we didn't buy it. Their propane costs were very high. One the other hand, the one in Green River, Utah, was ok and the owners were very nice. They charged extra for cable TV, but I think those were the only spaces open in November. The other RV campground in town, cheaper and having most of the same amenities, didn't have full hookups in November through to Spring. The KOA shut a lot of that off in December. Since we were going to boondock for several days, we needed to make sure our grey water tank was empty and the fresh water full, so we paid the extra amount.
I think KOA's are more likely to have extra fees, but there are other campgrounds that do too. Some non-KOA's are very expensive—these are usually those with "resort" in the name.
Our experience is that KOA's often have what we want that day and we'd probably do better if we get the KOA discount card. All things being equal, we'd avoid KOA's because they seem to be more expensive, but things are usually not equal. There just aren't that many campgrounds in a lot of places (maybe this is a western thing) to give much of a choice.
Thanks, Gene
That's exactly the information I was looking for. We're considering selling the ranch and hitting the road fulltime. Are you happy with your 25-footer?
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Hi, I don't remember the name of this ex-KOA in Victorville, But this was our last stop before heading home to our cozy little parking space between my house and our neighbor's house. On one night stands we don't unhook our trailer from our tow vehicle. In our space #19 it was level in both directions so no adjustments were needed. The people were nice and the facilities were also nice. While we were there, they were removing dead trees. But there were still many shade trees in this camp ground. I think they were in the process of improveing the camp ground. We are new to WIFI and were pleased with the fastest internet service we have ever had to date. Note we are still on dial up at home. We don't have sewer access at home so we try to spend our last night at a camp ground, within a days drive of home, so we can do our last double tank flush before we head for home.
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