We stayed at Mitchell KOA Journey in Mitchell, South Dakota. (Campground Reviews listing.)

Another KOA Journey, with an interesting (and easy to navigate) layout.

Dates:

• Check in: 2024-07-26
• Check out: 2024-07-29
• 2 nights

Weather:

• Sunny
• High temps 91-95°F, lows 71-72°F
• A bunch of wind, gusts to 32 MPH

Noise:

• Some freeway noise
• Very occasional distant train horn noise
• Some neighbor noise

Site:

• #C-19, pull-through, gravel
• Didn’t need to disconnect toad, parked behind coach
• A little unlevel site, high on passenger side; used hydraulic leveling
• Gravel driveway about 110 feet long by 15 feet wide
• 10 feet to neighbor on driver side
• 75 feet to dump station on passenger side
• Two picnic tables
• Fire pit
• A couple of tall trees
• Clean site

Utilities:

• 50 amp power, very conveniently located
• 40 PSI water, fairly conveniently located
• Loose sewer connection, inconveniently located (3 10-foot pipes needed)

Internet (in usage priority order):

• T-Mobile: 11-14 Mbps down, 12 Mbps up, 50 ms ping
• AT&T: 29-32 Mbps down, 1 Mbps up, 120-160 ms ping
• Verizon: 27 Mbps down, 9 Mbps up, 70 ms ping
• Starlink: not used
• Campground Wi-Fi: not used

Amenities:

• Garbage dumpster
• Mini golf

Our review on Campground Reviews:

A nice oasis along I-90

This was a convenient place to stop along I-90 through South Dakota and to check out the Corn Palace and the Prehistoric Indian Village. There’s not much else to do in Mitchell, but this was a lovely shady place to camp to check them out. It’s reassuring/concerning that they have storm shelters scattered around the campground in case of emergency, but I’m just as glad we didn’t need them during our stay. Our site was very long and had a big grassy area on one side, but it was very close to the neighbors on the other. We camped at Mitchell KOA Journey in a Motorhome. 

Campground map:

An interactive map:

Our site:

Spacious on the passenger side, a bit too close on the driver side:

(I typically prefer more space on the driver side, since that means other campers aren’t hanging out right next to our coach. We tend not to sit outside much, so space on the passenger side isn’t as important to me.)

The utilities; a loose sewer connection, requiring three 10-foot hoses:

Other sites:

Cabin and playground:

Mini golf and playground:

Office:

Dump station:

Storm shelter (one of several); both reassuring and concerning to see:

Dog park:

Retention pond:

A windmill, which didn’t seem functional (it was very windy, but wasn’t spinning):

Entrance sign; want to buy a KOA?

We stayed at Minneapolis Northwest KOA Journey in Maple Grove, Minnesota. (Campground Reviews listing.)

Another KOA Journey, with a somewhat weird layout.

Dates:

• Check in: 2024-07-23
• Check out: 2024-07-26
• 3 nights

Weather:

• Partly cloudy
• High temps 76-83°F, lows 57-65°F
• Some wind, gusts to 18 MPH

Noise:

• Some road noise
• No train horn noise
• Helicopters going over occasionally
• A lot of neighbor noise (large family gatherings and yippy dogs)

Site:

• #30, pull-through, gravel
• Needed to disconnect toad, parked behind coach
• Rather unlevel site; needed to use extra blocks; used hydraulic leveling
• Gravel driveway about 60 feet long by 10 feet wide
• 20 feet to neighbors on both sides
• Picnic table
• Fire pit
• Tall trees nearby, but not on the site (so no shade)
• Clean site

Utilities:

• 50 amp power, fairly conveniently located
• 50 PSI water, somewhat conveniently located
• Good sewer connection, somewhat inconveniently located (2 10-foot pipes needed)

Internet (in usage priority order):

• T-Mobile: 48 Mbps down, 3-8 Mbps up, 25 ms ping
• Verizon: 17-23 Mbps down, 16 Mbps up, 56 ms ping
• AT&T: 28-39 Mbps down, 2 Mbps up, 70 ms ping
• Starlink: not used
• Campground Wi-Fi: not used

Amenities:

• Garbage dumpsters
• Pool

Our review on Campground Reviews:

Convenient to Minneapolis but needs updating

We stayed here because it was the best-looking option close enough to Minneapolis to take in a Twins game. The interior roads were a muddy, pot-holed mess our entire stay. Our site was pretty narrow and not very level. We were also lucky that the trailers parked opposite us left the morning we did, or it would have been difficult to navigate around all their vehicles when we pulled out. There’s also a weird separate powerbox for the 50A service that a staff member had to unlock for us when we pulled in, which was a new experience. We camped at Minneapolis Northwest KOA Journey in a Motorhome.

Campground map:

An interactive map:

Our site:

The utilities were somewhat unusual; our site and our driver-side neighbor shared a pedestal, with only 30 amp in the main box, and 50 amp for us on an accessory box; obviously a later retrofit:

The breaker for the 50 amp was in another box on the back of the pedestal, locked with a padlock (that they unlocked for us when guiding us to our site):

Two sewer hoses needed:

Minnesota is our last new state for the year, as we head back west. Our states map is looking mostly filled in; just missing a few northeast states, and of course Alaska and Hawaii:

From further back, showing the Sinclair Trails logo, map, QR code, URL, and social handle:

A large noisy gathering in the buddy sites across from us:

Other sites:

We stayed at Oakdale KOA Journey in Oakdale, Wisconsin. (Campground Reviews listing.)

A pretty typical KOA Journey, with easy access near the freeway.

Dates:

• Check in: 2024-07-22
• Check out: 2024-07-21
• 1 night

Weather:

• Partly cloudy
• High temp 82°F, low 64°F
• Negligible wind, gusts to 7 MPH

Noise:

• Nearby freeway noise
• Occasional train horn noise
• Negligible neighbor noise

Site:

• #8, pull-through, gravel
• Didn’t need to disconnect toad, and didn’t since just overnight
• Fairly level site; used air leveling since just overnight
• Gravel driveway about 67 feet long by 9 feet wide
• 15 feet to neighbors on both sides
• Picnic table
• Fire pit
• Tall trees near site
• Clean site

Utilities:

• 50 amp power, conveniently located
• Didn’t connect water, but conveniently located
• Didn’t connect sewer, but two available, conveniently located

Internet (in usage priority order):

• T-Mobile: 16-51 Mbps down, 6-9 Mbps up, 45 ms ping
• AT&T: 127-167 Mbps down, 7-13 Mbps up, 70 ms ping
• Verizon: 10 Mbps down, 1 Mbps up, 99 ms ping
• Starlink: not used
• Campground Wi-Fi: not used

Amenities:

• Garbage pickup from site
• Pool

Our review on Campground Reviews:

Great place to stop off I-90

We stayed one night on our way along I-90, and this campground was perfect. It has nice, clean, level sites, a convenient location, and is easy to get in and out of. Even though it’s close to the interstate, it was surprisingly quiet. The staff were all very friendly and helpful. We’d definitely stay here again when our travels take us this way. We camped at Oakdale KOA Journey in a Motorhome.

Campground map (and a pack of playing cards gifted on check-in):

An interactive map:

Our site:

Other sites:

Wisconsin cheesehead:

We stayed at Riverview Ridge Campground in Cascade, Iowa. (Campground Reviews listing.)

A good base for visiting the Field of Dreams movie site.

Dates:

• Check in: 2024-07-18
• Check out: 2024-07-22
• 4 nights

Weather:

• Mostly cloudy
• High temps 76-80°F, lows 56-62°F
• Negligible wind, gusts to 9 MPH

Noise:

• No road noise
• No train horn noise
• Some neighbor noise

Site:

• #39, back-in, grass
• Needed to disconnect toad, parked in front of coach
• Fairly level site; high on passenger side; used hydraulic leveling
• Grass driveway about 70 feet long by 8 feet wide
• 28 feet to neighbors on both sides
• Picnic table
• Fire pit
• No trees
• Mostly clean site

Utilities:

• 50 & 30 amp power, conveniently located
• 40 PSI water, conveniently located
• Good sewer connection, conveniently located (1 10-foot pipe needed)
• When we arrived, the 50 amp power didn’t work, so we used 30 amp overnight, and got it fixed the next morning

Internet (in usage priority order):

• T-Mobile: 60-70 Mbps down, 11-19 Mbps up, 40 ms ping
• AT&T: 64 Mbps down, 7 Mbps up, 50 ms ping
• Verizon: 1 Mbps down, 5-9 Mbps up, 50-120 ms ping
• Starlink: not used
• Campground Wi-Fi: not used

Amenities:

• Garbage dumpsters
• River tubing etc

Our review on Campground Reviews:

Picture postcard Iowa

Close your eyes and picture “Iowa” based on what you know from popular media, and this campground is pretty much what you’d see. Rolling fields of corn, a meandering river, close to a cute little town, it was all very picturesque. The campground is a good size and sits along the North Fork Maquoketa River, and they offer various rentals to enjoy the river if that’s your thing. Our site was a very long back-in up a slope but was reasonably flat at the top. The 50A connection wasn’t working when we got there, but as soon as we alerted them to the issue, someone came out to fix it, and we had no further problems during our stay. We camped at Riverview Ridge Campground in a Motorhome.

Tip for Other Campers: The Field of Dreams Movie Site is everything we’d hoped it would be. I highly recommend going on one of the “Ghost Game” days during the summer; it made the whole thing even more special. We also drove to Cedar Rapids to see a Kernels (high-A affiliate of the Minnesota Twins) game, which was also good fun….

Campground map:

An interactive map:

Our site:

When I plugged in the electrical Watchdog smart surge protector, it reported an error:

The app explained the error:

It was late, so we used the 30 amp socket overnight, then I went to the office to report it in the morning, and the owner came by minutes later to fix the electrical panel. It was more complex than expected, but he patched together a fix, so we were able to use the 50 amp socket:

Cornfields next to the campground:

Unusually, parallel parking sites:

Other sites:

Clubhouse:

Fire pit:

Steep road to the river:

People enjoying floating in the river:

A nice campground. We’d be happy to stay here again.

We stayed at Springfield KOA Journey in Rochester, Illinois. (Campground Reviews listing.)

A nice quiet KOA, a bit off the beaten path.

Dates:

• Check in: 2024-07-16
• Check out: 2024-07-18
• 2 nights

Weather:

• Mostly cloudy, some rain
• High temps 78-84°F, lows 59-71°F
• Negligible wind, gusts to 15 MPH

Noise:

• No road noise
• No train horn noise
• No neighbor noise

Site:

• #43, pull-through, gravel
• Didn’t need to disconnect toad, parked behind coach
• Fairly level site, a little high on the passenger side; used hydraulic leveling
• Gravel driveway about 70 feet long by 9 feet wide
• 18 feet to neighbors on both sides
• Picnic table
• Fire pit
• No trees
• Clean site

Utilities:

• 50 amp power, conveniently located
• 50 PSI water, conveniently located
• Good sewer connection, conveniently located (1 10-foot pipe needed)

Internet (in usage priority order):

• Verizon: 12-19 Mbps down, 2 Mbps up, 70 ms ping
• AT&T: 3-8 Mbps down, 0.8 Mbps up, 110 ms ping
• T-Mobile: 22-35 Mbps down, 0.03-0.5 Mbps up, 80-800 ms ping, unreliable
• Starlink: not used
• Campground Wi-Fi: not currently available

Amenities:

• Garbage dumpsters
• Pool
• Mini golf

Our review on Campground Reviews:

Nice KOA tucked away

Most KOA Journeys are right off the main road/highway/interstate and are pretty noisy because of this. On the other hand, the Springfield KOA Journey is tucked away in the country (over the river and through the woods…literally) and was absolutely quiet and lovely. Our site was nice and long, so we didn’t need to disconnect our tow vehicle, even though we did so we could check out the Abraham Lincoln Home NHS in Springfield. We camped at Springfield KOA Journey in a Motorhome.

Campground map:

An interactive map:

Our site:

Utilities:

Other sites:

Office:

Playground:

The mini golf seems to be undergoing repairs, or something:

Swimming pool:

We’d be happy to stay here again.

We stayed at Meramec State Park in Sullivan, Missouri. (Campground Reviews listing.)

An hour out of St. Louis, with a very long road to the campground, and bad cell reception.

Dates:

• Check in: 2024-07-13
• Check out: 2024-07-16
• 3 nights
• We were originally going to stay 4 nights, but left a day early as the cell coverage was very bad

Weather:

• Partly cloudy, some overnight rain
• High temps 90-96°F, lows 71-76°F
• Some wind, gusts to 24 MPH

Noise:

• No road noise
• No train horn noise
• Lots of neighbor noise on weekend, fairly quiet during the week

Site:

• #2, back-in, asphalt
• Needed to disconnect toad, parked in front of coach
• Unlevel site, high on passenger side and front; used hydraulic leveling
• Asphalt driveway about 70 feet long by 12 feet wide
• 40 feet to neighbors on both sides
• Picnic table
• Fire pit
• Tall trees
• Somewhat clean site; some small trash

Utilities:

• 50 amp power, conveniently located
• 60 PSI water, inconveniently located
• Loose sewer connection, inconveniently located (2 10-foot pipes needed)

Internet (in usage priority order):

• Verizon: 18 Mbps down, 0.5 Mbps up, 60 ms ping (okay the first couple of days, then got unreliable)
• T-Mobile: 4-13 Mbps down, 0.01-0.3 Mbps up, 60-700 ms ping (unreliable)
• AT&T: negligible service
• Starlink: not used, too many trees to see the sky
• Campground Wi-Fi: none

Amenities:

• Garbage dumpsters

Our review on Campground Reviews:

Beautiful state park, busy on weekends

This is a beautiful park with lots of trees and green spaces. The two major downsides for us were 1) the access road inside the park was long and twisty and uncomfortable for a big rig to navigate, and 2) the cell coverage was spotty at best, and we work remotely. None of the 3 major carriers got decent speeds, and all the trees made Starlink impossible. Our site was flat, and the hookups were decent, so that was fine. Be prepared for the campground to be party central on the weekend. We camped at Meramec State Park in a Motorhome.

Campground map:

An interactive map:

Our site:

Entrance:

Deer:

Other sites:

We wouldn’t mind staying here again, but the lack of decent cell reception is problematic for us.

We stayed at Miles Landing Campground in Elberfeld, Indiana. (Campground Reviews listing.)

A one night stop on our journey home, but we would have been happy to stay here longer.

Dates:

• Check in: 2024-07-12
• Check out: 2024-07-13
• 1 night

Weather:

• Cloudy, light rain
• High temp 89°F, low 70°F
• Negligible wind, gusts to 11 MPH

Noise:

• No road noise
• No train horn noise
• No neighbor noise

Site:

• #4, pull-through, gravel
• Didn’t need to disconnect toad, and didn’t
• Mostly level site, a little high in the front; used air leveling, since only one night
• Gravel driveway about 70 feet long by 15 feet wide
• 20 feet to neighbor on passenger side; about 50 to neighbor on driver side
• Picnic table
• Fire pit
• Some small trees
• Clean site

Utilities:

• 50 amp power, conveniently located
• 60 PSI water, conveniently located
• Didn’t use sewer connection, but conveniently located (1 10-foot pipe would be needed)

Internet (in usage priority order):

• T-Mobile: 60 Mbps down, 50 Mbps up, 70 ms ping
• AT&T: 160 Mbps down, 60 Mbps up, 90 ms ping
• Verizon: 11-70 Mbps down, 2-25 Mbps up, 30 ms ping
• Starlink: not used
• Campground Wi-Fi: none?

Amenities:

• Garbage dumpsters

Our review on Campground Reviews:

Lovely spot for a quick stop

This is a nice campground not far from the interstate but far enough away that you don’t hear it. Our pull-through site was long enough that we didn’t need to disconnect our tow vehicle, which was very convenient for a short stay. We also enjoyed the nice view of the pond and wetlands below the campground. We camped at Miles Landing Campground in a Motorhome.

Tip for Other Campers: Your GPS will lie to you about the road leading to the campground and where to turn….

Campground map:

An interactive map:

Our site:

Other sites:

Pond view:

A nice campground; we would be happy to stay again, and for longer.

We stayed at Thousand Trails Diamond Caverns RV & Golf Resort in Park City, Kentucky. (Campground Reviews listing.)

Convenient to Mammoth Cave National Park, and free with our membership, but rather unlevel.

Dates:

• Check in: 2024-07-07
• Check out: 2024-07-12
• 5 nights

Weather:

• Partly cloudy, some rain
• High temps 82-90°F, lows 66-71°F
• Little wind, gusts to 19 MPH

Noise:

• No road noise
• Occasional distant train horn noise
• Minimal neighbor noise

Site:

• #503, back-in, gravel
• Needed to disconnect toad, parked in front of coach
• Rather unlevel site; high in front and passenger side; back wheels would be off the ground, so used air leveling
• Gravel driveway about 65 feet long by 22 feet wide
• Immediate neighbor on passenger side; 50 feet to neighbor on driver side
• Picnic table
• No trees
• Unclean site; cigarette butts, bottle caps, etc.

Utilities:

• 50 amp power, conveniently located
• 60 PSI water, conveniently located
• Good sewer connection, conveniently located (1 10-foot pipe needed)

Internet (in usage priority order):

• T-Mobile: 15 Mbps down, 1 Mbps up, 35 ms ping
• Verizon: 10 Mbps down, 5 Mbps up, 45 ms ping
• AT&T: 2 Mbps down, 0.01 Mbps up, 200 ms ping; unreliable
• Starlink: not used
• Campground Wi-Fi: paid, not used

Amenities:

• Garbage dumpsters
• Pool

Our review on Campground Reviews:

Close to Mammoth Cave NP

This is an older Thousand Trails campground, and like most of the older ones, it needs some serious TLC. Most sites are seasonal/annual so there were only a handful of sites available when we arrived, with most of them being either too short or on a really egregious slope (or both). We found the one site that would fit us (503) but it was so unlevel we couldn’t use our hydraulic levelers and had to use the air leveling, which is less preferred. They obviously had some serious rain recently because there were a couple of sites showing extreme erosion and I worried about the stability of the terrace they were on. But for a short stay to visit Mammoth Cave, it was serviceable. We camped at Thousand Trails Diamond Caverns RV & Golf Resort in a Motorhome.

Tip for Other Campers: There’s a new Buc-ee’s not far away and Bowling Green has pretty much everything you could want….

Campground map:

An interactive map:

Our site:

Utilities:

Air leveling, with the rear wheels raised as high as they can go (and jacks up):

Other sites:

Swimming pool:

Playground:

Mini golf:

Clubhouse and quiet room:

We probably won’t stay here again, though it’s hard to argue with free.

We stayed at Little Beaver State Park in Beaver, West Virginia. (Campground Reviews listing.)

A nice state park near New River Gorge National Park.

Dates:

• Check in: 2024-06-23
• Check out: 2024-06-30
• 7 nights

Weather:

• Partly cloudy, some rain
• High temps 77-88°F, lows 55-64°F
• Little wind wind, gusts to 21 MPH, sheltered by trees

Noise:

• No road noise
• No train horn noise
• Negligible neighbor noise

Site:

• #19, pull-through, gravel
• Didn’t need to disconnect toad, parked behind and in front of coach
• Somewhat unlevel site, high in front and driver side; used hydraulic leveling
• Gravel driveway about 100 feet long by 10 feet wide
• 20 feet to neighbor on front/passenger side; 30 feet to road on driver side
• Picnic table
• Fire pit
• Tall trees
• Clean site

Utilities:

• 50 amp power, very conveniently located
• 80 PSI water, conveniently located
• No sewer

Internet (in usage priority order):

• T-Mobile: 6 Mbps down, 12 Mbps up, 60 ms ping
• AT&T: 1 Mbps down, 0.1 Mbps up, 90 ms ping
• Verizon: 15 Mbps down, 4-6 Mbps up, 38 ms ping
• Starlink: not used
• Campground Wi-Fi: none

Amenities:

• Garbage dumpsters
• Dump station

Our review on Campground Reviews:

Good base for New River Gorge

This is a nice state park conveniently located near New River Gorge National Park and not far from the freeway. A word of caution, however: the road to get to the park and the roads in the park are not for the faint of heart, whether you have a small or big rig. The way in from the north is slightly less heart-stopping but still not ideal. Site 19 was a pull-through with a steep driveway and a relatively flat area about halfway, which was just perfect for our 40′ motorhome and tons of room to park our tow vehicle either in front or behind. We camped at Little Beaver State Park in a Motorhome.

Park campground and trail map:

An interactive map:

Our site:

Completed another row of National Park stickers:

A lightning storm during our stay:

This site didn’t have any sewer connection. After a week, our gray tank was at 71%, and black tank at 63%:

Squirrel:

White-Marked Tussock Moth caterpillar:

Other sites:

Office:

Registered campers only:

Playground:

Cabin:

Bathrooms:

We’d be happy to stay here again.