Emigrant Lake – The Point RV Park

We stayed at Emigrant Lake – The Point RV Park in Ashland, Oregon. (Campground Reviews listing.)

A nice county campground, very convenient to Ashland.

Dates:

  • Check in: 2024-08-31
  • Check out: 2024-09-08
  • 8 nights

Weather:

  • Mostly sunny
  • High temps 79-100°F, lows 51-64°F
  • A little wind, gusts to 19 MPH

Noise:

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

Site:

  • #19, back-in, asphalt
  • Needed to disconnect toad, parked in front of coach
  • Somewhat unlevel site; high on back and driver side; used hydraulic leveling and extra blocks under the front
  • Asphalt driveway about 50 feet long by 15 feet wide
  • 18 feet to neighbor on driver side
  • No neighbor on passenger side
  • Picnic table
  • Fire pit
  • Some trees
  • Clean site

Utilities:

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

Internet (in usage priority order):

  • T-Mobile: 57 Mbps down, 11-18 Mbps up, 32 ms ping
  • AT&T: 35-72 Mbps down, 0.5 Mbps up, 100 ms ping
  • Verizon: 5-22 Mbps down, 14-22 Mbps up, 70 ms ping
  • Starlink: not used
  • Campground Wi-Fi: none

Amenities:

  • Garbage dumpsters
  • Lake

Our review on Campground Reviews:

Perfect park close to Ashland

This is a great spot to stay and explore Ashland and the local area. It’s a shame the lake is so low, but that’s just the reality of the West these days. We still enjoyed the view from our site, regardless. Access to the campground is a little dicey for big rigs, but it is doable. Just watch out for the final turn into the campground, where you have to navigate between a rock wall and a barbed wire fence that comes close to the road. Our site (19) had a terrific view of the lake, and I think the only better view would be from site 21 (a pull-through site), which sits at the bottom of the loop. We camped at Emigrant Lake – The Point RV Park in a Motorhome.

Tip for Other Campers: Ashland has one of the best dining scenes in the PNW, so be sure to explore some options (Cocorico was our favorite this time). Take in a show at the OSF, even if it’s just the Green Show, which is free. The Oregon Cabaret is a fun experience as well. And don’t forget to tour the many different wine trails in the area. We’re partial to the Applegate Valley…

Campground map:

Map

An interactive map:

Our site:

Our site

Our site

Our site

Our site

Our site

Utilities:

Utilities

Other sites:

Other sites

Other sites

Other sites

The very end of the point is site 21, a pull-through site; we would have preferred to have this site, but it wasn’t available:

Other sites

Other sites

Lake view from site 21:

Lake view from site 21

Campground entrance, with a tight corner:

Campground entrance

Bathrooms:

Bathrooms

A view of the lake from behind the bathrooms:

View now

From the website, much the same view from many years ago when the lake was full:

View then

Another view now:

View now

And the same view then:

View then

Some more years-ago views of the full lake:

View then

View then

View then

A similar view of the much lower lake now, from our site:

Lake view

More lake views from our site:

Lake view

Lake view

Lake view

Lake view

Sunset:

Sunset

A truck stuck in the mud (see a timelapse video of it getting stuck and unstuck):

A truck stuck in the mud

A truck stuck in the mud

A truck stuck in the mud

A couple of shots of the same part of the lake, where people enter it; the first one taken soon after arriving, and the second towards the end of our stay; if you look closely, you can see a significant drop in the water level:

Lake view

Lake view

And an animated GIF of the water level dropping:

Lake view

(Check out today’s timelapse video of the lake level dropping noticeably during our stay.)

A view from below our site, that should have been underwater if the lake were full:

Lake view

Looking back up at our site:

Our site

The very low water level was rather sad; the lake would have been much nicer if full. But still a nice place to stay.

We plan to stay here again next year. Hopefully in site 21 next time, but site 19 would be a good second choice.

Mt Hood Village RV & Camping Resort, yet again

We stayed at Mt Hood RV & Camping Resort in Welches, Oregon. (Campground Reviews listing.)

Our third visit to this nice Thousand Trails Encore park; we stayed here last year in September, and the previous year in late July.

Dates:

  • Check in: 2024-08-25
  • Check out: 2024-08-31
  • 6 nights

Weather:

  • Mostly sunny
  • High temps ranging between 64-88°F, lows around 43-61°F
  • Only a little wind (fairly sheltered); gusts to 20 MPH

Noise:

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

Site:

  • Hemlock Meadows #94, back in, gravel
  • Needed to disconnect toad; parked in front of coach (on gravel)
  • A little unlevel; high on passenger side and front; used hydraulic leveling
  • Gravel driveway about 50 feet long by about 22 feet wide, plus about 20 feet wide
  • 15 feet to neighbor on driver side
  • 18 feet to road on passenger side
  • Picnic table & fire pit
  • Somewhat clean

Utilities:

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

Internet (in usage priority order):

  • T-Mobile: 20-35 Mbps down, 15 Mbps up, 40 ms ping
  • Verizon: 1-5 Mbps down, 1-3 Mbps up, 100 ms ping
  • AT&T: 2-6 Mbps down, 0.05 Mbps up, 300-2,500 ms ping
  • Starlink: not used
  • Campground Wi-Fi: none

Amenities:

  • Garbage dumpsters
  • Indoor pool
  • Unfortunately the onsite restaurant has closed

Our review on Campground Reviews:

Same as it ever was, minus the restaurant

We stay here every year to do errands in the Portland Metro area. We requested a site in the newer Hemlock Meadows area so we could use our Starlink, but our original assignment was in the trees in a site that would’ve been too short for us as well. Since we’ve been here several times, we knew we needed to confirm these things at check-in, and they were able to move us to a more appropriate site. The newer Hemlock Meadows sites are more open than some of the other areas of the park, so there’s no separation between you and your neighbors…but if they keep letting the weeds grow unabated, they may eventually give you some privacy between sites. The biggest disappointment was that the onsite restaurant closed, and I had been looking forward to their eggs benedict. Alas. We camped at Mt Hood Village RV Resort in a Motorhome.

The campground map:

Map

Interactive map:

Our site:

Our site

Our site

Our site

Our site

Utilities:

Utilities

We were disappointed to discover that the Dragonfly Cafe & Bakery was closed down, having enjoyed their food during previous stays:

Dragonfly Cafe & Bakery

Tiny homes:

Tiny homes

Tiny homes

Other sites:

Other sites

Other sites

Other sites

Other sites

Other sites

Other sites

See our previous visit and the one before that for lots more pictures.

We enjoyed our stay here, and would definitely stay again in the future.

Our Washington home

We stayed at our official domicile, aka Mom’s house, in Shelton, Washington.

It was good to be home! An opportunity to catch up on dentists, doctors, optometrists, etc, and of course with family.

Dates:

  • Check in: 2024-08-03
  • Check out: 2024-08-25
  • 22 nights

Weather:

  • Partly cloudy, rain
  • High temps ranging between 68-88°F, lows around 52-60°F
  • Wind gusts to 20 MPH in the area, though much less when sheltered amongst trees

Noise:

  • No road noise
  • No train noise
  • Occasional neighbor noise

Site:

  • Front in, concrete in front, gravel in back
  • Disconnected toad; parked next to coach
  • Fairly level; high in front; used hydraulic leveling

Utilities:

  • 50 amp power, located on house in front of coach, used extension cord
  • 37 PSI water from the house
  • No sewer hookup; used tote or macerator and hose to dump into house septic system

Internet (in usage priority order):

  • Starlink: 11-18 Mbps down, 9-11 Mbps up, 45-65 ms ping
  • House Wi-Fi: 9-11 Mbps down, 0.5 Mbps up, 20 ms ping
  • Verizon: 3-5 Mbps down, 1 Mbps up, 45-75 ms ping
  • AT&T: 0.5 Mbps down, 0.01 Mbps up, 120 ms ping, negligible service
  • T-Mobile: no service

Amenities:

  • House

Our coach parked in front of the house:

Our coach by the house

Our coach by the house

Our coach by the house

Our coach by the house

We added an RV electrical outlet box on the house, so were able to have 50 amp power:

Electrical outlet

Starlink dish on a flagpole:

Starlink dish on flagpole

Nice to have full hookups at home. (I’ll have a blog post about the sewer options in a couple of weeks.)

Thousand Trails Crescent Bar

We stayed at Thousand Trails Crescent Bar in Quincy, Washington. (Campground Reviews listing.)

A Thousand Trails campground overlooking the Columbia River.

Dates:

  • Check in: 2024-08-02
  • Check out: 2024-08-03
  • 1 night
  • We had booked two nights, but decided to leave after one, since it was so hot, and we just wanted to get home

Weather:

  • Partly cloudy
  • High temp 102°F, low 71°F
  • Little wind, gusts to 17 MPH

Noise:

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

Site:

  • #81, back-in, sandy gravel
  • Needed to disconnect toad
  • Fairly level site; a little high at the back; used air leveling, since only one night
  • Sandy gravel driveway about 55 feet long by 12 feet wide
  • 15 feet to neighbors on both sides
  • Picnic table
  • Fire pit
  • A tall tree
  • Somewhat clean site (some paper trash)

Utilities:

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

Internet (in usage priority order):

  • T-Mobile: 15 Mbps down, 5-12 Mbps up, 108 ms ping
  • AT&T: 230 Mbps down, 28 Mbps up, 160 ms ping
  • Verizon: 12-18 Mbps down, 3 Mbps up, 45 ms ping
  • Starlink: not used
  • Campground Wi-Fi: not used

Amenities:

  • Garbage dumpsters
  • Pool

Our review on Campground Reviews:

Typical older TT, but killer views

This park is typical of an older Thousand Trails park and needs some TLC. As usual, it’s first come, first served, which is not our favorite. We were lucky to find a 50A site that was 1) in working condition, 2) large enough for our 40′ motorhome, and 3) had a peek of the Gorge. All the best sites with views of the Gorge seem to be taken up by seasonals, but it was nice to see what we could between them. All the short-term sites are a bit run down, with sparse landscaping. We camped at Thousand Trails Crescent Bar in a Motorhome.

Campground map:

Map

An interactive map:

Our site:

Our site

Our site

Our site

Utilities:

Utilities

Utilities

There’s a clip for the tag, but it’s broken, so they’ve replaced it with shoelaces, rather than replacing the clip; really says something about Thousand Trails maintenance:

Shoelose to attach tag

Other sites:

Other sites

Other sites

Gorge view:

Gorge view

Gorge view

Gorge view

Sunset:

Sunset

Sunset

Sunset

Sunset

A campground in a nice location, though the access road is rather steep. But we’d be happy to stay here again.

Jim & Mary’s RV Park

We stayed at Jim & Mary’s RV Park in Missoula, Montana. (Campground Reviews listing.)

That name may ring a bell, as this is actually our third stay here; our first time with a trailer on our Yellowstone trip, and in our coach the following year.

Dates:

  • Check in: 2024-08-01
  • Check out: 2024-08-02
  • 1 night

Weather:

  • Sunny
  • High temp 93°F, low 61°F
  • Little wind, gusts to 11 MPH

Noise:

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

Site:

  • #A8, pull-through, gravel
  • Didn’t need to disconnect toad, and didn’t, since only one night
  • Perfectly level site; used air leveling, since only one night
  • Gravel driveway about 72 feet long by 15 feet wide
  • 20 feet to neighbors on both sides
  • Picnic table
  • One small tree
  • Clean site

Utilities:

  • 50 amp power, somewhat inconveniently located
  • 65 PSI water, somewhat inconveniently located
  • Didn’t connect sewer until departure; good sewer connection, a little inconveniently located (2 10-foot pipes needed)

Internet (in usage priority order):

  • Campground Wi-Fi: 33-37 Mbps down, 3-13 Mbps up, 10 ms ping
  • Verizon: 13-18 Mbps down, 12 Mbps up, 55 ms ping
  • AT&T: 55 Mbps down, 1 Mbps up, 150 ms ping
  • T-Mobile: 4-5 Mbps down, 1 Mbps up, 60 ms ping, unreliable
  • Starlink: not used

Amenities:

  • Garbage dumpsters
  • Gardens

Our review on Campground Reviews:

Third time, still a charm

This was the third time we’ve stayed here, as it’s convenient along I-90. We’d be happy to drive further afield because it’s so lovely; the landscaping brightens things up after a long day of travel. Our site was on the exit row, so it was easy to get in and out. It was also perfectly level, and the utilities all worked well, but they were a little far back with our tow vehicle attached. We camped at Jim & Mary’s RV Park in a Motorhome.

Campground map:

Map

An interactive map:

Our site:

Our site

Our site

Our site

Our site

Utilities:

Utilities

Other sites:

Other sites

Other sites

See our previous visit for more photos. We still like this RV park, and will likely stay here yet again in the future.

Love’s RV Stop – Hardin, Montana

We stayed at a Love’s RV Stop in Hardin, Montana. (Campground Reviews listing.)

An easy one-night stop; our first stay at a Love’s RV Stop.

Dates:

  • Check in: 2024-07-31
  • Check out: 2024-08-01
  • 1 night

Weather:

  • Sunny
  • High temp 89°F, low 59°F
  • Negligible wind, gusts to 11 MPH

Noise:

  • Some road noise
  • No train horn noise
  • No immediate neighbor noise, but noise from the adjacent Loves truck stop

Site:

  • #40, pull-through, gravel
  • Didn’t need to disconnect toad, parked behind coach
  • Fairly level site; a little high in the back; used air leveling, since only one night
  • Gravel driveway about 65 feet long by 10 feet wide
  • 14 feet to neighbors on both sides
  • Picnic table on grass
  • No trees
  • Clean site

Utilities:

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

Internet (in usage priority order):

  • T-Mobile: 20 Mbps down, 20 Mbps up, 100 ms ping
  • AT&T: 50 Mbps down, 14 Mbps up, 160 ms ping
  • Verizon: 10 Mbps down, 4 Mbps up, 60 ms ping
  • Starlink: not used
  • Campground Wi-Fi: not used

Amenities:

  • Truck stop next door

Our review on Campground Reviews:

You can check out, but you can never leave

This was our first stay at a Love’s RV Stop, and it will not be our last. It was convenient on/off the interstate and the self-service check-in went without an issue. As some other folks have mentioned, the sewer hookup is a bit far back (we had to use 3x 10-foot hoses, which is more than most people would have), but the other utilities were convenient and worked well. The only issue we had was when we went to leave. The automatic exit gate refused to acknowledge our presence, and since we had our tow vehicle hooked up, we couldn’t back up and try it again unless we unhooked, which is a bit of a hassle. However, I called the help number, and someone came right over to let us out. He also mentioned that they were working on this issue, so it may not still be a concern. We camped at Love’s RV Stop – Hardin MT 679 in a Motorhome.

Tip for Other Campers: Excellent Indian Tacos at Custer Battlefield Trading Post & Cafe, across the street from Little Big Horn Battlefield National Monument, which is also worth visiting….

Campground map:

Map

An interactive map:

Our site:

Our site

Our site

Our site

Our site

I didn’t hook up the sewer until the next morning. Some reviews complained that it was too far back on the site, and yes, it is a bit; I needed three 10 foot sewer hoses, which is more than the usual one or two (and more than many people would have), but certainly not the worst I’ve ever experienced:

Sewer pipes

The other utilities; the electric had to be enabled via a link we received via email:

Electrical

A notice on the faucet:

Water notice

Utilities

Other sites:

Other sites

Other sites

Other sites

Other sites

One major hassle: we exited just fine in our truck, but when we tried to leave with our coach, the exit gate wouldn’t open:

Exit gate

We called the Love’s store (using the number in the text we received to check in), and someone came over on a golf cart to open it for us. He said that the sensor under the concrete is calibrated badly, so if you go too slow it doesn’t trigger. He said they’ll have someone recalibrate it soon. It’s a brand-new park, so I’m willing to cut them some slack for teething issues. Still, super annoying for us, since we can’t reverse to try again with our truck hooked up; we would have had to untoad and re-toad.

An easy one-night stop; we would be happy to stay here again, especially for a one-night stay. And hopefully they’ll fix the exit gate before that!

Legion Lake Campground in Custer State Park

We stayed at Legion Lake Campground in Custer State Park, South Dakota. (Campground Reviews listing.)

Custer State Park is perhaps our all-time favorite state park. We enjoyed staying in the park, though the lack of water and sewer was inconvenient. Especially since we hadn’t noticed that it didn’t have water, and only arrived with a half-full tank.

We do have a water bladder to fetch water, and a tote to dump waste, but coped without using them, since only three nights. The lack of a dump station in the campground would be very inconvenient for a longer stay, though.

Dates:

  • Check in: 2024-07-28
  • Check out: 2024-07-31
  • 3 nights

Weather:

  • Partly cloudy, a little drizzle
  • High temps 82-92°F, lows 59-64°F
  • Little wind, gusts to 16 MPH

Noise:

  • Nearby road noise
  • No train horn noise
  • Little neighbor noise

Site:

  • #01E, back-in, asphalt
  • Needed to disconnect toad, parked in front of coach
  • Unlevel site; high in front and passenger side; used hydraulic leveling
  • Asphalt driveway about 70 feet long by 14 feet wide
  • 12-50 feet to neighbor on passenger side
  • 110 feet to footpath on driver side
  • Picnic table
  • Fire pit
  • Tall trees
  • Clean site

Utilities:

  • 50 amp power, very conveniently located
  • No water; water spigot at bathhouse
  • No sewer; no dump station in this campground

Internet (in usage priority order):

  • T-Mobile: 22 Mbps down, 20 Mbps up, 60 ms ping
  • AT&T: 160 Mbps down, 7 Mbps up, 90-110 ms ping
  • Verizon: 26 Mbps down, 10 Mbps up, 75 ms ping
  • Starlink: not used
  • Campground Wi-Fi: none

Amenities:

  • Garbage dumpster
  • Nearby lodge restaurant

Our review on Campground Reviews:

In the middle of everything

Custer State Park is one of our favorite places. The scenery, wildlife, and general ambiance are magical, and staying inside the park makes it even more special. All the sites are electric-only, and that’s okay as it’s the hookup we rely on most (especially when it’s warm). There is a water spigot by the bathrooms if you need to fill up, but the nearest dump station inside the park is in a different campground halfway across the park. The site was a bit unlevel, but not so much that our hydraulic levelers couldn’t cope. A nice view of the lake across the road and a tree-filled hillside behind our site made for a picturesque stay. We camped at Custer State Park – Legion Lake Campground in a Motorhome.

Campground map:

Legion Lake map

An interactive map:

Our site:

Our site

Our site

Our site

Our site

Only an electrical hookup:

Only electrical hookup

Our coach from across the road:

Our coach from across the road

Elevation 5,010 feet:

Elevation 5,010 feet

Paladin was most fascinated by a taunty chipmunk that hung out around our site:

Paladin

Chipmunk

Entrance sign:

Entrance sign

Path to the lake area:

Path to lake area

Other sites:

Other sites

Other sites

Other sites

Other sites

Other sites

Other sites

(We wondered how they got the left-hand trailer into that position.)

Bathroom:

Bathroom

Info sign:

Info sign

Campground map

We are currently planning to visit this area again next year. But we’ll probably stay outside the park, so we can have full hookups, and explore other areas.

Mitchell KOA Journey

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, back-in/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:

Map

An interactive map:

Our site:

Our site

Our site

Our site

Our site

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

Our site

(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:

Utilities

Other sites:

Other sites

Other sites

Other sites

Other sites

Other sites

Cabin and playground:

Cabin and playground

Mini golf and playground:

Mini golf and playground

Office:

Office

Dump station:

Dump station

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

Storm shelter (one of several)

Dog park:

Dog park

Retention pond:

Pond

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

Windmill

Entrance sign; want to buy a KOA?

Entrance sign

Minneapolis Northwest KOA Journey

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:

Map

An interactive map:

Our site:

Our site

Our site

Our site

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:

Utilities

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):

Utilities

Two sewer hoses needed:

Utilities

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:

States map

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

States map etc

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

Large gathering

Other sites:

Other sites

Other sites

Other sites

Other sites

Other sites

Oakdale KOA Journey

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):

Campground map

An interactive map:

Our site:

Our site

Our site

Our site

Our site

Other sites:

Other sites

Other sites

Other sites

Other sites

Other sites

Other sites

Wisconsin cheesehead:

Wisconsin cheesehead