Have you ever left a campground without setting up? We did tonight because the campground was so poor, and the staff so inconsiderate and un-caring.

What a way to ruin the last long weekend of the season.

Mike

I have only have had one bad experience, just recently, in a campground north of Shelby, Montana, just off the highway going up and into Canada. I cannot remember the name of the place but I asked for my money back because of the poor service, attitude, lack of internet access when they said it was available and at the sites. The Man had a horrible attitude. The only thing good about the site was that they billed themselves as having nice showers and they did. But, I paid a lot of money for that shower! Luckily it was the only bad experience on my last trip.

Once in Pennsylvania we left after one night after having planned to stay awhile. The desk clerk marked a map of their sites with a high-lighter and told us "Any of these are available. Make yourself at home and let me know where you ended up in the morning." We dropped anchor and set-up, wanting to be there for a few days while we explored Amish country by bike. Well, at about midnight some folks with a 5th wheel pulled up to our site, sat with their big diesel idling for several minutes and finally we heard a knock on the door. They'd reserved the site we were in and wanted it, NOW! I groggily replied that there must be some mistake and went back to bed.

Minutes later one of the owners of the campground was in our site, demanding that we move immediately and that if we didn't, he'd call the sheriff, hinting that the sheriff would surely side with a born-n-raised local. I produced the map that the desk clerk had given us, and showed him where she'd highlighted the available sites. He backed off then, but still insisted that we'd need to move in the morning.

We did. To another campground a few towns away. A nicer one I might add; less crowded, quieter and located right next to an Amish market that sold eggs laid that morning...and cobbler, and horseradish cheddar, and fresh-baked buttermilk bread...

I have been at ones that I wanted to. Usually, it was the condition of the bathrooms. Happily, now we have our bathroom working. I have been at one or two where I stayed inside the trailer.

CindyL

so whats the name of the good one near the amish? me and my wife like it down there and wanna take our uhaul next trip...thanks Bruce

My sister and I did once when tent camping... but it was because of a creepy guy hanging around our campsite. He said he was camped nearby but when we were exploring the area we saw him just sitting in his car, no camping gear. So we put the tent bag back in the car and left (and drove all night rather than camping- we were pretty young at the time but too smart to take a chance.)

Vacated a campground in Cannon Beach in the middle of a driving rainstorm at night to move north to near Astoria even LATER that night.

Yes a KOA in the Black hills .They put the camping trailers 2 feet apart in a dirt lot. We left after 1 night. NEVER again will I stay at that KOA NEVER.

Cascade Lake Campground in the Pisgah National Forest. It's not run by the Forest Service, but some private company for them. It's run like a prison. The campground is okay...not great. The problem was with the jerks running the place...little Nazis. We'll never go back.

yep.. drove through Del Norte Woods State Park in No. Cal, never even tried to stop at my site. I had reservations.. it was in the evening, but something made my skin crawl there. Can't say it was dirty, scary or any other clearly definable reason. It just didn't feel right. Instinct kicked in, I kept driving into Oregon.

not necessarily poor service...just the creeps. a little place after we disembarked from the ocracoke ferry from the outer banks. it felt like an advertisement for Deliverance! can't remember the name...got the info from a AAA campguide. scary place...just drove in...and then right out again. didn't stop, didn't ask any questions. just go the heck out of there.

everyone's expectations are different. dennis and i don't generally have alot of "must haves"...except i do appreciate a clean washroom and do expect hot water in my shower. what bothers some might not bother us....all depends on the circumstances.

Palliser Regional Park on Lake Diefenbaker, the camp sites are 12`X 12`and right next to each other, park entry fee, fire permit and camping came to $42 for one night, firewood was $5 and all it was milk crate half full of driftwood. The Nazis running this place were way out there, after setting up the tent I cracked a beer within 2 mins a truck pulled up and told me it was a dry camp and alcohol was not allowed (nothing was indicated before this). The wind was blowing sand around in a swirling motion as we sat around the small fire we managed to get going, every 15 mins the truck would come buy to make sure we we didn`t try to sneak another beer, the next Morning we packed up and left.

http://www.djshadyrest.com/

Quiet, shady. Bathrooms were a bit rustic but the staff is friendly and the location is ideal.

The campground is hidden in the trees beyond the alfalfa and farm house.

Vic

The church is within sight of the campground. The other was taken a few miles away.

..we have enjoyed many nights there. They put on excellent amphitheatre shows in the evenings....and the park is generally very busy and well patrolled. I've recommended this one quite a bit over the years.

For me at times, especially after a long stretch of driving my thinking is cloudy ..could that be the case perhaps? In younger days touring with my buddies, we could put away a 1000 miles in one day but couldn't make a group decision on where to stop for a meal...

Ooops, here's my no go

Coeur d' Alene KOA but I see it's been removed as a KOA....the sites were terraced on a slope built for mountain goats and the staff seemed disinterested and responded to your questions as if everything you asked for or inquired about they had already given you the answer a million times...

One we stayed at for only one night and would never go to again is the city owned fairgrounds park in Hope, Arkansas.

It was just electric and water in an open field. Quiet enough, except they lock up the showers and bathrooms from 5 PM to 8 AM and never tolds us.

Theresa P, that was probably the very same place my wife and I and 6-month-old son checked out but left without staying. Same plans: planned ahead and checked AAA, camp hand high ratings, took the ferry, sun just setting as we pulled into the camp. I have not seen the movie Deliverance but this place just did not feel right. Bathhouse was filthy and filled with huge insects flying around.

We were groggy at this point and really wanted to set up and relax but instinct prevailed and we left immediately. Drove several more hours to find another campground. The next morning when I took my shower I noticed a faint odor of sewer. Yep, next day I got sick.

Though we may not understand the details and origin of our instincts, they are usually valid.

Craig T.

Del Norte is an acclaimed campground and it was actually OK looking. BUT... the vibe at the time was all wrong. It could have been being road worn, but it is doubtful as I only drove a couple hours that day. (I continued to drive to north of Brookings without feeling tired after that)

Could have been anything from feeling somewhat claustrophobic in the canyon its in, to having the deliverance people somewhere in there sending out bad signals.. I don't know.

I am not a scared little rabbit and have stayed at some dicey campgrounds before, but I do listen to my instinct. Since I am fairly logical and calm most of the time, when the alarm goes off, I am confident it means something and I act, or in this case, don't act accordingly.

Yes I have - and here's the story.

The year was about 1980. We were traveling from northern Maine to Colorado via Canada. Campground was in Quebec or possibly Ontario, way off the beaten path. Our camper was a bare bones Starcraft pop-up with no appliances, essentially a tent on a box. The campground was bare bones too. It was near a river and mostly sand.

Pulled into the campground about 6pm. Guy behind the counter said it was $10 per night and included use of the bath house. He also told me there were no utilities at the sites. No registration forms, just hand over a ten spot. He told me to pick a site and set up. We just needed a place to sleep for the night so thought that would be fine since we wouldn't be needing any utilities and had a porta-potty. About 9:30, after the kids went to bed we decided to take a shower. Bath house was locked. Bathrooms were locked. Went to the office. It was locked. Sign on the door said he'd be back at 7am. By that time I was so mad I went back to the trailer, folded everything up and headed for the gate. Got stuck in the sand while heading for the gate. Gate was locked too! Disconnected Starcraft from the Volvo and dug out the tow chain. Unlocked the gate. OK, removed the gate. Re-connected the trailer and left. Three other campers left right behind me. They weren't willing to open the gate but were happy to leave. I left a note on the gate alluding to the attendant's ancestry. Spent the next three days watching the rear view mirror for flashing lights. Never saw any.

I'll bet they don't get many repeat customers. I know I'll never be back. That's probably a good thing. Did I mention that I was reeeealllllllly mad.

The rest of the trip through Canada was enjoyable. That night wasn't.

My sentiments exactly. When that alarm goes off, heed it! Especially women traveling alone, but probably good for everyone. You can't always pinpoint what it is but something has caught your mind and is telling you to be careful.

I had friends who aborted a backpacking trip in the 70s when a strange guy driving a VW bug followed them to the trail-head off Stevens Pass (after telling them he was headed for Canada). They bypassed the trail-head and went to a nearby cafe, same guy came in. So they turned around and went back to Seattle. Some time later the guy was identified as Ted Bundy.

Bobbie

I hope that's the one by the heads ( totally crowded, completely insane place) and NOT the one in Spearfish. I thought the Spearfish one was great.

ahh thats just the secret service doing its security detail for the former home of president clinton which Hope is famous for

Sandy and I stayed at the Salem KOA earlier this year on our way from Tacoma, WA to the Great Oregon Gathering at Bullard's Beach. We were unssure of how long it would take to drive all the way in one day, and we have relatives in Salem we had not seen for some time, and someone had told us that the Salem KOA was great....NOT SO!

There was only one person at the check-in booth, and he was both taking personal calls and handling telephone reservations, while we stood around waiting.

As others have mentioned, the sites were crammed together, rough uneven gravel, and the restrooms were old and dirty, but the showers were so worn out and moldy that we stayed the night, got up early, no showers, no breakfast, and left shortly after dawn. Altogether, an very bad experience!

mike and sandy

Click to view attachment
It looks like the folks in the sites in the foreground are there permanently! LOL

I think you are right.

Those are long-termers. That section is very quiet (except for Halloween night ) but there are no hook-ups.

Trying to get a campsite at a California State Park can really be an exercise in patience, they seem to go out of their way to make it hard to get into them without a reservation. I hate having reservation, takes all the spontaneity out of travel. Some were worse than others as I remember.

Yes, have left a couple of campgrounds that we had reservation at but not unlike leaving a few Hotel/motels over all the years of travel. I am super picky! I can not/will not deal with filth! So I have pulled out of a few. Never to the extent of Orlen's....... LOL


I hate reservation but know that they are sometimes necessary. One in Astoria Oregon gave me the willy's the minute we drove in, we had reservations I told Dh to keep on driving I wouldn't stay there if it was the last campground on earth! We ended up driving back to Portland because we couldn't find any availabilty other than the creepy, filthy, overgrown, nasty, junk yard that they called a campground. I personally believe if they can't take care of their grounds, how well are they gonna take care of me the guest? Nothing like back tracking, but actually turned out to be a great time exploring Portland for a few days.



Having owned and worked in campground/rvpark I always am aware that the guest pulling in can/could/most likely will be crabby (lol) It's like I told my workcampers, sometimes you have to give a guest a few minutes to de-compress from their travles and 98% will be great. But having had experience being on the other side of the front desk, I can't not understand why front desk or anyone working in a hospitality industry have to be such cranks, rude, totally clueless, mean, etc. I am of the thought process of if you don't like your job, GET A NEW ONE! I understand that there may have been a guest ahead of me that was a cranky thing, but your in the hospitality business, move on and take care of your other guest! Of course there were people who put me over the edge, but I didn't let that effect the service to other guest. I can/could put a "bad guest in his or her place" and move on to service the other guest in the blink of an eye! I always say, some people should not be working with the public! It's a love/hate relationship and a lot of people can't handle it!

We have stopped at campgrounds and been denied a site because we had no reservations.
We simply went back to the TV and called in for a reservation. This has worked for us more than once!