Which Campground Will You Never Go Back To

Jellystone in North Hudson, NY. Dirty and unkempt. Management could care less. Enough said...

toedtoes wrote:
I live for several years across the street from a railroad switching yard - train noises don't bother me at all. That'd be a great sound with which to fall asleep. :)

Head to Williams, AZ. just off I-40 on route 66. You'll have 3 or 4 trains rumble by within a few feet depending on where you stay. Loud whistles about 4am-7am nightly. I agree with you, it's never bothered me.

J&H in Flagstaff. Decent looking park but odd owners with unusual rules.

Were told all outside lights should be off by 9pm. They wanted people inside before that. I've heard of quiet time at many parks which is not unusual but lights out and everyone inside by 9pm is odd.

Left an empty wine bottle on our table outside. The owner came by and pointed out the bottle and told us the park isn't the best choice for us if we drink and we should go elsewhere next time.

That said, its their park, their rules. They are right, doesn't work for us. Since then we've stayed in Williams area instead and enjoyed it far more.

KOA just outside Thunder Bay, Ontario. It's a stones throw from the Trans Canada Highway that runs across the top of Lake Superior. The only road and the one all the Transport trucks have to take. And the camp is at the bottom of a long descent down a hill....guess what the Transports use all night long? You guessed it....Air brakes. Take your ear plugs.

toed, if you like train watching, there is nothing like the Canadian Rockies -- lots of action, and the most wonderful scenery as a backdrop. Plus the spiral tunnel near Yoho.

I live for several years across the street from a railroad switching yard - train noises don't bother me at all. That'd be a great sound with which to fall asleep. :)

Butte MT KOA! Thank god it was an overnight. Pull in at 7pm and out by 7am.

My favorite "Train & Campground" story is a visit to the Trail of Tears State Park in Missouri (The Mississippi River campground). I was in site 7, and noticed shiny railroad tracks just behind the site, and a crossing just a short ways down from the site. I asked the host if the trains were a problem & he said no. Then he mentioned that he just took out his hearing aids before going to bed! Only a couple of trains at night, but boy those horns were loud!

By the way, it was also one of the few campgrounds I've been in that had GFCIs on the 30 amp receptacles.

Lake Louise in Canada. Very beautiful, well kept, well designed, great location, clean bathrooms, nice people, great weather.

But.

There is a grade crossing right next to the campground, and the freight trains are required to blast their horns as they approach the crossing, all night long, every few minutes. Earplugs, white noise machine, closed windows -- nothing helped. We got almost no sleep.

Many of the campgrounds in the Canadian Rockies are near the train tracks -- there is not that much level ground, and the parks were developed by the railroads (or with their assistance) in order to promote ridership. (And I am grateful to them for that!) The downside is that there is a lot of train noise in a lot of places. The other campgrounds were ok, but Lake Louise was in a class all by itself.

Thunder Mountain wrote:
Elk Meadow Estes Park Colorado. Over priced, not level, dusty, rodent infested...

Well, if that's you criteria for never going back.... The you won't be camping in NH, Maine, Vermont, Mass or just about any state on the east coast....

I did stay at Sam's Town in Las Vegas years ago. Now, that was flat, clean and cheap (I think it was almost free). However, the rodents were of another kind, not at all like we see here in NH.