We stayed at Marathon Motel & RV Park in Marathon, Texas. (Campground Reviews listing.)
Dates:
- Check in: 2024-11-17
- Check out: 2024-11-30
- 13 nights
Weather:
- Mostly sunny
- High temps 61-80°F, lows 32-46°F
- Some wind, gusts to 23 MPH
Noise:
- Little road noise
- Loud train horn noise right out front of the campground, about once an hour, generally between 10:00 and 22:00, though occasionally one or two overnight
- Significant neighbor noise for a few days (big family on driver side), otherwise not much
Site:
- #4, pull-through, gravel
- Didn’t need to disconnect toad, parked in front of coach
- Mostly level site; a little high in front; used hydraulic leveling
- Gravel driveway about 80 feet long by 18 feet wide
- 10 feet to neighbors on both sides
- Separation between sites: just grass
- Picnic table
- A couple of tall trees
- Mostly clean site
- Elevation 4,060 feet
Utilities:
- 50 amp power, conveniently located
- 60 PSI water, conveniently located
- Good sewer connection, a little inconveniently located (2 10-foot pipes needed)
Internet (in usage priority order):
- T-Mobile: 130-180 Mbps down, 30-40 Mbps up, 45 ms ping
- AT&T: 53-70 Mbps down, 12 Mbps up, 60 ms ping
- Verizon: 5 Mbps down, 25 Mbps up, 50 ms ping
- Starlink: not used
- Campground Wi-Fi: not used
Amenities:
- Garbage dumpsters
- Star parties
- Package delivery to office
- Chickens!
Our review on Campground Reviews:
High desert delight
This was our second time staying here, and we enjoyed it just as much as our first trip. The only downside is the freight train that runs through town with its horn blaring because of the uncontrolled crossings. Luckily, it didn’t tend to go through after 11pm or too early in the morning. Otherwise, this is a peaceful corner of West Texas, and Marathon remains a cute little town. The campground is delightful, with a cactus garden and a chicken run to enjoy. The sites in the 50A section are conveniently situated east/west to mitigate the worst effects of the famous wind. We camped at Marathon Motel and RV Park in a Motorhome.
Campground map:
An interactive map:
Our site:
Utilities:
A resident cat sitting on one of our chairs:
Another resident cat:
A short-term neighbor brought their outdoor cat, which got into fights with the resident cats, and hid in our engine bay:
GIF of wild javelinas (aka peccaries) walking through our site:
Aerial views of our site and the RV park:
This park is in a dark skies area, so there were lots of stars visible (I’ll have another post later with more aerial photos and star pics):
A tiny home and covered RV across the road from the campground; if we ever buy land again, we might do something like this:
Other sites:
Laundromat:
Outdoor showers and kitchen:
Restroom:
Bathrooms and motel room:
More motel rooms:
Historic signs:
The train track is across the road from the RV park, with an uncontrolled crossing right there, so the trains honk their horns several times:
A nice courtyard:
Rita’s Cantina, which was closed last time and is still closed; they just can’t get the staff to open it:
An RV park resident hosts star parties a few times each week:
A desert garden area:
I enjoyed hanging out with the resident chickens:
Despite the train noise, we still enjoy this RV park and town, and no doubt will be back again in the future.