Military Campgrounds (Lackland, Tinker, Corpus Christy)

[esox07]

I am taking a trip to Texas to visit relatives in a couple weeks. I will be staying overnight at the Oklahoma City, Tinker AFB overnight on the way. Then at the Lackland, AFB campground in San Antonio, TX for a few nights and then will be driving to Corpus Christy Naval Air Station, TX to stay at their campground (Sheilds Park) for a couple nights. I have never stayed at a military campground before and was wondering if anyone had any experience with either of these campgrounds or military campgrounds in general. I am towing a 19' TT and have never had FULL hookups which it seems these do for the most part. The prices seem really good too. The one drawback I see is that the sites are relatively close together which I guess is fine since we will be spending most of our time out with the relatives.
I am just looking for some opinion or advice regarding the campgrounds specifically or militarty base campgrounds in general.

http://www.militarycampgrounds.us/texas/lackland-afb-famcamp
http://www.militarycampgrounds.us/oklahoma/tinker-afb-famcamp
http://www.militarycampgrounds.us/texas/shields-park-nas-recreation-area

Thanks.

[Debbie]

mikensallyt wrote:
Corpus Christi is a great Navy air base and their campgrounds are really clean. Its real close to the ocean/bay (whatever). Just call in advance to reserve. Plus NAS Corpus is very close to Padre Island with a nice sea shore.

We spent a week at the Naval Base in Corpus. We have a 33 FW. They have easy wide back ins on the beach. Nice laundry. Commissary and BX that was nice. Also a great market and seafood store down the road off base. We made reservations ahead of time. It was over Memorial Weekend. We will definitely go back. We have stayed at a few FamCamps and have liked them. Pt. Cherry, Havelock, NC has a really nice one we stayed at last year. Ft. Fischer, NC campground is plain but you are walking distance to the beach so it makes up for it. The price is always good also. I would make reservations during popular seasons. No guns are allowed on base if you carry. Animals need papers. I.D. required for all members.

[esox07]

Yah, I was impressed with the three bases I stayed on in my trip. The full hookups are great with great facilities at awesome prices. If eligible, they are the way to go. Most of them don't seem to have a whole lot of recreation incorporated into them but since they are on military posts, you typically have access to the pools and other recreational facilities on the post.
They are great for overnighters due to the prices and they are great for more long term due to the fact that they seem to typically allow longer term stays before requiring you to pull out for at least a night or two. It looks to me like some of the campers were pretty entrenched. But still spaces available to the short termers. Also, the peace of mind of the added security is great. You can camp in the middle of San Antonio and not have to worry about personal safety or the security of your camper, vehicle and supplies. At least not like you would at at any other location within 10 miles of the base. I lived and was stationed there 5 years back in the 90's, I know how it can be just outside the base.

[GGeorge]

I have not stayed at the bases you have mentioned, but I have used FAMCAMPS. Wright-Pat in Dayton is great with full hookups at 95% of the sites. But it is way out away from the shopping. May 2015 was $25 FHU per night.

Charleston SC NWS was nice and at that time (2013) it was under renovation.

Beale, AFB in CA has a nice quiet FAMCAM, which is far from shopping,
and small sites, they do not enforce the 14 day rule unless ACTIVE DUTY need the sites.

I do not believe many of the bases will ask you to leave at your 14 day stay unless the sites are needed for AD>

GGeorge

[Roy_Lynne]

Glad you had fun.

[esox07]

Just wanted to update after my trip. I found all three military campgrounds to be great. I was impressed with the cleanliness and facilities of all three. Corpus Christy NAS was the best. Free showers, laundry and full hookups for $15 per night (30 amp service). And it was 100 yards from the water and had a great location for getting out to the various places to see while we were there. Lack of any shade was the only downside.
Lackland AFB was very nice as well, but getting to it was a bit confusing since they make you enter from a distant gate. The camp host was non-existent and it seems like the camp runs itself. Good enough. There was some good shade on many of the sites. The facilities were great and $20 a night is a bargain.
Tinker AFB was great too. They had a real nice pond with a fishing pier but required to many permission slips and licenses to make it worth while for a one day stay. No shade but a great camp host, facilities and sites. Parking is at a premium however. I don't see why they don't expand the park and include more space for parking and maneuvering. Still, for $18 a night with full hookups, clearly a bargain.

[esox07]

No biggy, I just wanted to let you know that I did my homework prior to starting the thread.

It has been a great thread for me. I learned a lot.

[realladyat57]

Oops. Memo to self: read the posts more carefully. 🙂

[esox07]

realladyat57: I personally posted three links to the at website in my original post.

[realladyat57]

I'm surprised no one has mentioned the www.militarycampgrounds.us
website. It's run by a civilian (who does it for free) and who has been doing it for years. It's free, although you can purchase a download that you can use on your computer when you don't have Internet access.

Here you will find more complete information about military cg than I've found at any other site. There are also reviews of the campgrounds from people who have stayed there. You'll also find information on cost, restrictions (if any) and directions that will tell you which gate you have to use.

A few of the CG are off base in recreation areas but most give you the security of a "gated community. 🙂 We have stayed in these CG from Alaska to Key West and Boston to Seal Beach, CA and found them to be a great deal. Some are nicer than others but for the most part the benefits outweigh the negatives. We'll be staying at Joint Base Andrews and Fort Meade during our visit to DC in a couple of weeks and you can't beat the price and location.

Hope this helps.

[wxtoad]

Roy&Lynne wrote:
Has anyone stayed at Beale AFB, Edwards AFB or Holloman AFB. Those are 3 we have on our route.

We haven't stayed at Beale but did visit Holloman back the fall of 2013. Here are some pix and comments.

There are some other nice FAMCAMPS in NM:

Kirtland AFB

White Sands Missile Range

And I have one more recommendation for NM, although it is not military:

Valley of Fires BLM Campground

As others have noted, although FAMCAMPS generally offer good facilities at good prices, there are often even better deals to be found. Especially if you have the federal Senior Pass, Corps of Engineers and US Forest Service locations often provide nicer, cheaper facilities. Also, don't discount local city and county parks.
We've discovered lots of them using The Ultimate Public Campground Project.

WxToad

[LowRyter]

W4RLR wrote:

RoyB wrote:
I agree they are not in the best of shape... Some are very nice more based on where they are. Several are connected with nice lakes and such...

The ACTIVE DUTY military has priority over any stay. It is very rare but some DOD Civilians, retired civilians, or other approved non active duty types have had to leave to make room for the active military. It is very rare however but can happen...

The same goes with the MILITARY Hotels/BOQs etc...

The Lake Martin Recreation Area, for Maxwell AFB, AL. is an excellent place to stay. Sheppard AFB Recreation Annex at Lake Texoma in North Texas is another great place.

I guess anyone with a current CAC card can gain access to these type of places....

I am a DOD Retired Civilian and got my CAC card through the NAVAL BASE I retired from. When I visit these places I always have the utmost respect for the active military there. It is actually their Recreation areas...

Roy Ken

I am curious as to how you can still have a CAC card and be retired. When I retired, I had to surrender my CAC card for a DD2AF Uniformed Services Retired Card.

As for Lackland, little shade, no full hookups (just water, electric and a dump station) but you are close to the club and to the exchange and commissary. My wife and I stayed there a couple of years ago and found it clean and well operated. They did allow for longer stays but did rotate people out after a certain time to discourage homesteading.

Enjoy.

actually, if it's like mine, it's a CAC picture ID card that scripted with "Civilian Retiree" with grade and expiration date. can't recall using mine other than attending a retirement ceremony at my old office. But I'd like to try a Fam Camp.

[jnharley]

Retired civilian employees can now get a CAC issued. I have one even though I do not need it.

[rbtglove]

Have stayed at all three, all are decent, Holloman is pretty new and has added sites, Close to White Sands and a nice new Space Museum. Been along time since Beale and don't remember much about it. We prefer fam camps and have stayed at many over the las 25 years.

[Roy_Lynne]

Has anyone stayed at Beale AFB, Edwards AFB or Holloman AFB. Those are 3 we have on our route.