KOA

[olfarmer]

Wow, one night at a KOA in Sioux Falls, South Dakota was $60, guess this is the last KOA I will stay at! Stayed in a nice campground near Mt. Rushmore for $40.
😞

[diveman52]

I'd stay at a walmart before being ripped off by KOA.
Over priced and old and outdated at at lest all the one's we have seen.

[pasusan]

We usually avoid KOAs - mostly because they're often very near a highway and we like the state park atmosphere.

But... There is one that we would definitely go to again - Fancy Gap KOA right off the Blue Ridge Parkway. Perfect place to stay while exploring the area - FHU and in the woods. 🙂

[Lauren]

We just stayed at the KOA in Carbondale, CO, Montrose, CO and now at the one in Ouray, CO....great and beautiful places.

[All58Parks]

jjjandrbaker wrote:

ChuckV1 wrote:
I agree with qcloss, we were going to Delaware to see the daughter but after looking at the price's per night we turned around in Ohio at a KOA which was $45 a night pull thought full hookups an headed back home ...

Am I interpreting this correctly? You planned a trip to visit your daughter in Delaware, got as far as Ohio, didn't like the campsite prices, so you called off the visit and headed back home? It sounds like you just hopped in the vehicle and took off without any kind of planning.

Sounds to me like they didn't really want to visit the daughter! LOL. Cancelling a visit to a family member, after you're already on the road, to save a couple bucks! My family would be furious with me if I pulled that!

[All58Parks]

ScottG wrote:
In the PNW, KOA's are generally dumps (there are exceptions). I know there are nice ones througout the country but they're just terrible around here and still expensive.
So we never stay at them anymore.

I guess everyone has there own ideas of what a "dump" is. My family has stayed in MANY KOA's in the PNW, and most of them were really nice. I would even classify myself as a picky person. However, the 2 or 3 closest to where you live are pretty bad. When you head east of the mountains, and all the way into Idaho, and south of Olympia, including past the Columbia River and into central Oregon, you will find lots of nice KOA's

[dons2346]

Stay at the fair grounds in Sioux Falls. 30 bux for full hookups, lots of sites

[Us_out_West]

Next week we go back to one of our favorite KOA's, Coleville/Walker KOA (formerly Meadowcliff Lodge & RV Resort).

Our latest Trip Journal Entry

[one_strange_tex]

jplante4 wrote:

Lauren wrote:
But I do my homework on RVPark Reviews (don't go back more than two years, toss out the high onw and low one, and look for at least 7.5 - which in some cases cannot be met for an area).

This is exactly what we do. On our retirement trip, we were never surprised. Not to say that we didn't stay at some turkeys, but we knew there were issues before we got there. 7.5 is our cutoff. The highest rating is probably the owner, the lowest probably the closest competitor.

Great minds must think alike! A 7.5+ average overall rating is also my target. Of course, if by necessity, none are available I go for the highest average rating reasonably close by. That is, after reading several of the recent reviews pretty carefully. I have stayed in several 7.0 parks that were quite adequate. They may not be as spiffy as the higher-rated parks, but meet my needs at the time

[donut_dave]

next time go to big Sioux recreational area (state of sd) just to the east of Sioux falls about $30

[Matt_Colie]

If you read my entry to worst experience camping and remembered that it was a KOA, that is a good measure of your memory. Being parked under an interstate grade is just not going to be a great night.

We have since stayed at a number or KOA, but usually as part of a rally. That does not count in my book. As we are travelers and not campers, what the campground (or crampground) has as amenities is not much of an issue. We don't carry a television, we don't need a game room and if there is a pool full of screaming unattended children, that is no value at all.

We had to have a place to spend the night once and I could not raise the office of where I had planned, so the KOA was next choice. We actually enjoyed it. There were kids in the pool - With Their Parents. There was a "No jumping after 6PM" rule too.

I could do that one again.

Matt

[dapperdan]

We don't typically stay at KOAs but we have on occasion. 3 or 4 years ago while in northern CA we decided to stay at the Petaluma KOA, one of the nicest campgrounds we've stayed at. The staff there was amazing, their SF city tour was awesome!

This last April we stayed at the KOA in Cedar Falls IA, very nice layout, easy to get in and out of and the only campground we've ever stayed at with a gas/diesel station on property! Their WIFI was great but it was early in the season so not too many people staying there. A bit pricey but like most of the others have stated, you usually get what you pay for. It's about choices, you have to stay where YOU'RE comfortable.

Dan

[jplante4]

Lauren wrote:
But I do my homework on RVPark Reviews (don't go back more than two years, toss out the high onw and low one, and look for at least 7.5 - which in some cases cannot be met for an area).

This is exactly what we do. On our retirement trip, we were never surprised. Not to say that we didn't stay at some turkeys, but we knew there were issues before we got there. 7.5 is our cutoff. The highest rating is probably the owner, the lowest probably the closest competitor.

[mileshuff]

Lauren wrote:
KOA generally has more amenities. Guess what, that costs them and it has to be passed on. You don't want or need them? Then go someplace else - if you find a place more meeting your wants /needs /not needs or whatever. Oh, no place near there for miles? Gee, think that has something to do with it? Or whatever - could go on and on.

I tend to agree with you for the most part but it depends on where you travel and what type of parks you stay at. I prefer the nicer parks, big wide spots that aren't crammed together, well maintained landscaping, maybe a nice clubhouse, pool, wide paved streets etc. Others prefer a campground style, dirt or gravel roads, minimal amenities, just need hookups.

I find KOA's are somewhere in the middle. I have never been to any KOA that I'd consider upscale. They're almost always cramped tight spots, more of a campground than a resort but have quite a few amenities geared mostly for families. Some are very nice, others are dumps but thats the same with any other RV park.

The San Diego KOA is very nice, tons of amenities and while expensive to other parts of the country, is a decent value compared with other parks in the area.

Spots are a bit tight but not bad. But they need to remove large trees from the corner of some sites which makes getting in and out of the spot difficult!

[Lauren]

Geez, not a serious KOA bashing thread in a long time. Amazing, in all the years I have been on here this type of posting is completely redundant. New names (sometimes), new places (sometimes) but the content is virtually identical.

KOA generally has more amenities. Guess what, that costs them and it has to be passed on. You don't want or need them? Then go someplace else - if you find a place more meeting your wants /needs /not needs or whatever. Oh, no place near there for miles? Gee, think that has something to do with it? Or whatever - could go on and on.

I spent a 32 year career in corporate marketing. Maybe I have a been understanding of places like KOA, Holiday Inn, etc. There are good and there are not so good - even with Marriott.

We have also spent 19 years part time rv'ing and have now been to 190 different rv parks so I think I can speak with some sort of experience.

I will never badmouth KOA - though not all experiences have been perfect they do their best to make things right. Not true of many independent parks. Our worst experiences have been with independents - generally lack of ethics and honesty.

But I do my homework on RVPark Reviews (don't go back more than two years, toss out the high onw and low one, and look for at least 7.5 - which in some cases cannot be met for an area).

My best friend from engineering school just passed on. He was 77 and always going to cut back on his business and so envied what we do. Did not get the chance.

Count your blessings - Barbara and I do. A less than perfect RV park is way down on the scale of important things in life.