Thousand Trails Reviews Please

For those that use the Pacific Northwest parks, which ones are great? I see LaConnor mentioned a lot, it's close to us. We are thinking about this and am wondering about the rest of the parks in WA and OR. I also like full hookups (sewer) and don't see much info about that.

LaunchnRetrieve wrote:

autorot8 wrote:

LaunchnRetrieve wrote:

rv2go wrote:
I assume that by mentioning "giving it a try for a year", that you are referring to a Zone Pass. I think TT has a 2 for 1 special going on now for $545.
I am a full TT member, but have met lot of Zone pass holder. All seem to like it. Especially those that stay at the TT Yosemite Lakes park while visiting Yosemite. The Zone pass fee almost offsets the cost of staying in a commercial CG for a week.
Granted, some of the northern California parks gets mixed reviews. I guess some of us have mixed opinions on about every thing.

If your travel palms warrant it, I would also pick the Zone Pass for Washington and Oregon. Lots of nice TT Parks there. We really like the Park in Seaside, OR.

The Zone Pass is the current special Since it includes 2 for the price of one I might as well include Oregon. Yosemite Lakes is one of campgrounds of interest. I wonder why they call it Yosemite Lakes. I guess I'll have to zoom in on the map in their area, maybe that will explain it.

I don't remember ever seeing a lake there. I have only been there once, was not one of our favorites. Be aware that from the campground it is still an hour to Yosemite Village. We frequent LOTS and San Benito. San Benito had gone down hill for a while but the new manager is really making a push to improve the property back to what it used to be. I have been going to TT preserves since early 80s. Most went downhill for a while but seem to be improving. Only downside is they have become more crowded, especially on holiday weekends. Russian River is also not a favorite because the sites are old and small so we have a hard time finding a spot we can fit into. Most of the Oregon and Washington preserves are nice, but it has been several years since we've been to those.

OK, took a look at the map. The Hetch Hetchy is an hour away and Cherry Lake and Lake Eleanor are about an hour and a half away. I guess that counts as Yosemite Lakes Campground. Sort of.

There used to be small lakes at Yosemite Lakes. The main one is filled with sand that has been washed in for several years making it basically a waist high wide river to the dam. In the summer they dam up a section of the river making a small lake. What is nice is you can camp next to the Tuolumne River and there is good trout fishing also.

I believe the Zone Pass gives you a 90 day Reservation window...plan accordingly and you will not have an issue at getting into most if not all CG's. I use it quite a bit in the summer in Ca..no problem. I can address the 50 amp issue also....many of the TT Park's are upgrading to at least some 50 amp sites, for instance, a very popular Wilderness Lakes has upgraded several sites with NO additional charge. These upgrades were made on the most popular sites too(Canal side). I use to think I couldn't live without 50 amp in the Ca summer until I ran both 15,000 BTU air's on a TT 30 amp site with weather close to 100 degree's and that was at a Park with older wiring.

Seems like the zone membership might be a great deal for folks looking for a basic place to use their rigs cheaply assuming they are close by to some TT parks. What I haven't seen addressed yet is wether or not all of these parks have availability in the summer and other peak times. Here in California, the state parks (and Yosemite/Sequoias) are all booked up in seconds when they open booking for the summer. Is it the same case with TT? Will one have difficulty getting into parks in peak times?

I'm a full member and we enjoy it whenever we go. You're in Butte county, just go to LOTS for a weekend and pay the full price, about $45/night, and see if you like it. You're also close to 3 other of their parks up north so you'd get good use out of your zone membership. If you want a full service resort, look elsewhere but if you want some dirt, trees, and rustic camping I think you'll enjoy it. For $500 + -, you should try it for a year. If you like it you can buy a used membership for other states pretty reasonably.

If you think it might be for you, buy one of those zone passes and pay special attention to the little things like are they keeping up with the current trends like 50 amp sites. Is there any deferred maintance and is the work they are doing actual improvements or are they just lipsticking the pig? What I have heard is the parks as a whole are regressing and if that is true, you should run away. But you need to be the judge and jury.

autorot8 wrote:

LaunchnRetrieve wrote:

rv2go wrote:
I assume that by mentioning "giving it a try for a year", that you are referring to a Zone Pass. I think TT has a 2 for 1 special going on now for $545.
I am a full TT member, but have met lot of Zone pass holder. All seem to like it. Especially those that stay at the TT Yosemite Lakes park while visiting Yosemite. The Zone pass fee almost offsets the cost of staying in a commercial CG for a week.
Granted, some of the northern California parks gets mixed reviews. I guess some of us have mixed opinions on about every thing.

If your travel palms warrant it, I would also pick the Zone Pass for Washington and Oregon. Lots of nice TT Parks there. We really like the Park in Seaside, OR.

The Zone Pass is the current special Since it includes 2 for the price of one I might as well include Oregon. Yosemite Lakes is one of campgrounds of interest. I wonder why they call it Yosemite Lakes. I guess I'll have to zoom in on the map in their area, maybe that will explain it.

I don't remember ever seeing a lake there. I have only been there once, was not one of our favorites. Be aware that from the campground it is still an hour to Yosemite Village. We frequent LOTS and San Benito. San Benito had gone down hill for a while but the new manager is really making a push to improve the property back to what it used to be. I have been going to TT preserves since early 80s. Most went downhill for a while but seem to be improving. Only downside is they have become more crowded, especially on holiday weekends. Russian River is also not a favorite because the sites are old and small so we have a hard time finding a spot we can fit into. Most of the Oregon and Washington preserves are nice, but it has been several years since we've been to those.

OK, took a look at the map. The Hetch Hetchy is an hour away and Cherry Lake and Lake Eleanor are about an hour and a half away. I guess that counts as Yosemite Lakes Campground. Sort of.

All these great responses. Exactly what I was hoping for, some reality mixed in with TT's sales pitch. It's good to see some pros and cons in this thread. Very helpful. I want to thank everyone for your feedback.

I have stayed at La Conner TT Parks for two weeks each time for 15 straight years and never seen sites as you describe. Always there in July or Aug. Not saying it has never been that way, just that never any time we have been there in over 210 days/night. I have spent time in the Mount Vernon Park when you could not get into sites after a heavy rain

samsontdog wrote:
I find the Tt Parks at South Jetty {Florence Or} very nice and private, same for
Pacific City, love the nice clean Parks in Wash , expecially La Conner. I have never in 34 years as a member of TT been to TT parks described by ScottG.

Apparently you haven't been to the parks I have except for Laconner, Which you should try after it has rainded a couple of days. It was the muddiest pig sty I have ever camped in. Only twice in 30 years of RV'ing have I had to use 4WD to get in and out of a space. They haven't invested in any gravel or even filled the pot holes there in way too long. The rest rooms were dirty and full of mud too.
So we each have our opinions - mine are based on my experiences.