Encore Sunshine Key RV Resort & Marina

We stayed at Encore Sunshine Key RV Resort & Marina, in Ohio Key, Florida. (Campground Reviews listing.)

A large park in the Florida Keys.

Dates:

  • Check in: 2024-02-04
  • Check out: 2024-02-18
  • 14 nights

Weather:

  • Partly cloudy; rainy in the first couple of days
  • High temps 66-76°F, lows around 61-74°F
  • Windy most days, gusts to 32 MPH

Noise:

  • Significant highway noise
  • No train noise
  • Negligible neighbor noise

Site:

  • #406, front in, gravel
  • Needed to disconnect toad, parked beside coach
  • Very level; used hydraulic leveling
  • Gravel site about 50 feet long by about 40 feet wide
  • Picnic table on gravel area
  • No fire pit
  • A bunch of small bottlecap-sized garbage on site

Utilities:

  • 50 amp power, inconveniently located on passenger side (when fronted in)
  • 35 PSI water, inconveniently located on passenger side
  • Loose sewer connection, somewhat conveniently located (2-3 10-foot pipes needed)

Internet (in usage priority order):

  • T-Mobile: 40-50 Mbps down, 40-50 Mbps up, 22 ms ping
  • AT&T: 830 Mbps down, 70 Mbps up, 25 ms ping
  • Verizon: 10 Mbps down, 1 Mbps up, 35 ms ping
  • Starlink: not used
  • Campground Wi-Fi: not used

Amenities:

  • Pool
  • Swimming beach
  • Marina with kayak etc rental
  • Package delivery to office
  • Garbage dumpsters
  • Frequent food trucks and other vendors onsite

Our review on Campground Reviews:

Waterfront and road noise

We have a Thousand Trails Adventure membership, but that did not help us get a reservation here at all. Considering how hard it is to get a reservation in the Keys, we bit the bullet and paid retail for a two-week stay in a waterfront site that was the most expensive site we’d ever booked. I should point out that site 406 really shouldn’t be considered a “Premium waterfront” site. There is a peep of the water through the mangroves, but nothing like a panoramic view. However, we enjoyed watching the water and the ibises hunting in the mangroves from our front window, so I’ll let it slide.

While the peek of the water was nice, the constant highway noise was not. No matter where you are in the park, there is a constant hum of the Overseas Highway, although it’s somewhat reduced on the far edge and towards the marina.

The park has definite drainage issues. We arrived after a major thunderstorm swept through the Keys and there was a large lake at the entrance and in several other places around the park, including the road our site was on. They had pumps going to try and divert the worst of it out to sea, but it took days to completely dry up.

They allow motorhomes to front-in at the waterfront sites, which is nice even though the hookups were then on the wrong side of the coach. Luckily, we have pretty long power cables and hoses, so we’re able to reach across the nice wide site.

One downside of the waterfront site is that people think it’s okay to walk through your site on their way to the beach. It is not.

There are lots of activities and a robust social scene if you’re into that. We liked that it was convenient to everything we wanted to do in the Keys, but $300/night would be a dealbreaker if we wanted to visit the Keys again. We camped at Encore Sunshine Key RV Resort & Marina in a Motorhome.

Campground map:

Map

An interactive map:

Our site:

Our site

Our site

Our site

Our site

Our site

Griddle

Our power and water hookups were on the passenger side, since we fronted in. Fortunately we have a long power cord and hoses, so it wasn’t a problem (I didn’t even need to use my power extension cord).

Our site

I flew my drone for some aerial views; this first one is above our site:

Aerial view

Aerial view

Aerial view

Aerial view

Aerial view

Aerial view

Aerial view

Aerial view

Aerial view

Entrance sign:

Entrance sign

Direction sign:

Direction sign

Rental golf carts:

Rental golf carts

Rental Slingshot:

Rental Spyder

Mail room; quite well organized. People go in to claim their own packages:

Mail room

They regularly had food vendors onsite:

Food fair

Food fair

Food cart

Food cart

Birds in front of our site:

Birds in front of our site

Our coach next to a rental tiny home:

Our coach next to tiny home

More tiny homes:

More tiny homes

Rental trailers:

Rental trailers

Other sites:

Other sites

Other sites

Other sites

Other sites

Other sites

Other sites

Dog park:

Dog park

Swimming pool:

Swimming pool

Marina:

Marina

Marina

Fish in the marina:

Fish in the marina

Sunset Pier, with a swimming area and fishing:

Sunset Pier

Sunset Pier

People checking out a grounded boat:

People checking out a grounded boat

Beach access down from our site:

Beach access

Beach

An old bridge, now a walking path:

Bridge

Bridge

The old bridge next to the newer Overseas Highway bridge:

Bridges

Birds and rocks

A glimpse of our coach from the water:

A glimpse of our coach from the water

Waterfront sites

Waterfront

Picnic shelter

A large, nice RV park. It would have been nicer if we could have stayed for free via our Thousand Trails membership, but the premium site was nicer.

Sugarloaf Key / Key West KOA Resort

We stayed at Sugarloaf Key / Key West KOA Resort, in Sugarloaf Key, Florida. (Campground Reviews listing.)

A very nice resort, that actually lives up to the resort label. We wished we could have stayed longer.

Dates:

  • Check in: 2024-02-02
  • Check out: 2024-02-04
  • 2 nights

Weather:

  • Mostly clear
  • High temps 70°F, lows around 65°F
  • Little wind, gusts to 24 MPH

Noise:

  • Some highway noise
  • No train noise
  • Live music from pool area on the first night

Site:

  • #102, back in, gravel
  • Needed to disconnect toad, parked in front of coach
  • A little unlevel, high on left; used hydraulic leveling
  • Gravel driveway about 50 feet long by about 10 feet wide
  • Shrubs between sites
  • Picnic table and fire pit on gravel area
  • Clean site

Utilities:

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

Internet (in usage priority order):

  • T-Mobile: 52 Mbps down, 67 Mbps up, 37-437 ms ping
  • AT&T: 37-50 Mbps down, 0.2 Mbps up, 70 ms ping
  • Verizon: 25 Mbps down, 16 Mbps up, 30 ms ping
  • Starlink: not used
  • Campground Wi-Fi: not used

Amenities:

  • Garbage pickup from site
  • Pool
  • Pub and cafe

Our review on Campground Reviews:

Most resort-like KOA ever

This was a last-minute change as we had reservations at another place in the Keys, but needed to avoid a major storm and came down a couple of days earlier than planned. We only stayed two nights, but I wish we could’ve stayed for our entire trip in the Keys. We’ve stayed at lots of KOAs and lots of other so-called “resorts”, but this one felt the most like a true resort that we’ve ever stayed at. The pool and bar area were like something at a beachside resort in Cancun, with lush landscaping and attentive bartenders. It does get a bit loud in the evenings when they have live music, so if that’s not your scene, just be aware that you will hear it from your site.

We had a back-in along the perimeter, which we enjoyed. There is very nice landscaping between the sites, so it was relatively private. The site was just long enough for our 40′ motorhome, with our tow vehicle parked perpendicular at the front of the site. Since everyone does this, the road was a bit narrow when backing in and when we left, so make sure you have a reliable spotter.

The cost is a bit higher than we are used to, but it is what it is. It was cheaper than a less-fancy resort that was further away from Key West, so bear that in mind. We would definitely stay here again. We camped at Sugarloaf Key / Key West KOA Holiday in a Motorhome.

Campground map:

Map

An interactive map:

Our site:

Our site

Our site

Our site

Our site

Our site

Office:

Office

This KOA is different in that it has a couple of hotel buildings for non-RVers:

Hotel

Hotel

Other sites:

Other sites

Other sites

Other sites

Other sites

Other sites

Other sites

Other sites

Other sites

Other sites

Other sites

Other sites

Other sites

Dog park:

Dog park

They have nice paths in the middle of rows, so people aren’t tempted to cut through unoccupied (or occupied!) sites:

Path

Sothernmost KOA:

Sothernmost KOA

Marina:

Marina

Marina

Marina

Rentals:

Rentals

Boat ramp:

Boat ramp

Hammock:

Hammock

Pools:

Pools

Pool

Always nice when there’s food onsite. They have a poolside pub:

Pub

Menus:

Menu

Menu

Menu

We tried some beverages:

Beverage

Beverage

Bar

Sandwiches and fries:

Sandwiches and fries

Second round:

Beverage

Beverage

The next day, more beverages:

Beverages

And pizzas:

Pizzas

Pools

Cafe and store:

Cafe and store

Store

A path to a “beach”:

Path

Bridge:

Bridge

Mangroves:

Mangroves

“Beach”:

Beach

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

Long Pine Key Campground, Everglades National Park

We stayed at Long Pine Key Campground within Everglades National Park, in Homestead, Florida. (Campground Reviews listing.)

A basic no-hookups campground within the national park. A little short for our coach, but we made it work.

Dates:

  • Check in: 2024-01-21
  • Check out: 2024-02-02
  • 12 nights
  • We were going to stay 14 nights, but left early to avoid some nasty travel day weather

Weather:

  • Mostly cloudy
  • High temps ranging between 69-84°F, lows around 48-70°F
  • Little wind, gusts to 23 MPH, fairly sheltered by trees

Noise:

  • No road noise
  • No train noise
  • Negligible neighbor noise
  • Generators during the day

Site:

  • #6, back in, asphalt
  • Needed to disconnect toad, parked in front of coach
  • A little unlevel, high on right and front; used hydraulic leveling
  • Asphalt driveway about 36 feet long by about 10 feet wide; had to back into shrubs
  • Passenger side grass to hedge of trees between site about 30 feet
  • Driver side grass to road wedge-shaped, maximum about 30 feet
  • Picnic table
  • Fire pit
  • Clean site

Utilities:

  • No hookups
  • Used generator and solar for power
  • Used water bladder and pump to refill fresh water tank
  • Used dump tote and macerator to empty gray and black tanks

Internet (in usage priority order):

  • Starlink: 45-60 Mbps down, 16-22 Mbps up, 30 ms ping
  • AT&T: 145 Mbps down, 7 Mbps up, 30 ms ping
  • Verizon: 25-41 Mbps down, 20-27 Mbps up, 30 ms ping
  • T-Mobile: 3 Mbps down, 35 Mbps up, 37-437 ms ping
  • Campground Wi-Fi: none

Amenities:

  • Garbage dumpsters
  • In Everglades National Park

Our review on Campground Reviews:

Basic campground in the heart of Everglades NP

Pros: Beautiful, large, private sites within the national park.

Cons: Most sites much shorter than listed and facing the wrong way depending on your configuration (motorhome or trailer) so you have to think creatively to get orientated.

Neutral: No hookups of any kind, so be prepared. We camped at Long Pine Key Campground in a Motorhome.

Campground map:

Campground map

An interactive map:

Our site:

Our site

Our site

Our site

Our site

Not really long enough for our coach:

Our site

I got my bike out, for the first time in months (we sold Jenn’s a while ago):

Our site

Our site

Our site

A path to the nearby bathroom block:

Bathroom

Dish washing sink:

Bathroom

Inside the men’s bathroom:

Bathroom

We were staying inside Everglades National Park, and did a sailing trip in Biscayne National Park (posts coming on those in the next couple of days), so we added those stickers to our coach:

National Park stickers

A snake on the road:

Snake

Snake

Entrance and dumpsters:

Entrance and dumpsters

Info sign:

Info sign

There were some solar-heated showers:

Solar showers

Solar shower

An interesting way to park a coach; perhaps a bit against the rules, but a good solution to cope with the sites being too short for big motorhomes:

Other sites

Other sites:

Other sites

Other sites

Other sites

Other sites

Other sites

Other sites

Other sites

Tent sites:

Tent sites

The campground had a path to an amphitheater, where they did ranger talks (with my bike in the foreground):

Amphitheater

The Long Pine Key lake:

Lake

Lake

Lake

Lake

A nice campground, despite the lack of hookups. We’d be happy to stay here again.

Thousand Trails Orlando RV Resort

We stayed at Thousand Trails Orlando RV Resort in Clermont, Florida. (Campground Reviews listing.)

TTO (as it’s commonly called) is the flagship Thousand Trails park, with over a thousand sites.

Dates:

  • Check in: 2024-01-07
  • Check out: 2024-01-21
  • 14 nights

Weather:

  • Mostly cloudy, some rain, mostly drizzle
  • High temps ranging between 63-80°F, lows around 35-65°F
  • A little wind, gusts to 38 MPH

Noise:

  • No road noise
  • No train noise
  • Some neighbor noise, dogs and kids
  • Distant fireworks from Disney some evenings

Site:

  • #178, back in, asphalt
  • Needed to disconnect toad, parked beside coach
  • Rather unlevel, high on right and front; used hydraulic leveling
  • Asphalt driveway about 50 feet long by about 18 feet wide
  • Passenger side to next site’s driveway about 10 feet
  • Driver side to next site’s driveway about 20 feet
  • No picnic table (but apparently available upon request)
  • No fire pit
  • Steep drop-off next to rear of site
  • Mostly clean site

Utilities:

  • 50 amp power, very inconveniently located; needed to use my extension cord
  • 75 PSI water, inconveniently located
  • Loose sewer connection, inconveniently located (2 10-foot pipes needed)

Internet (in usage priority order):

  • Starlink: 47 Mbps down, 6-14 Mbps up, 50 ms ping
  • T-Mobile: 24-30 Mbps down, 0.5 Mbps up, 60 ms ping
  • AT&T: 1 Mbps down, 2 Mbps up, 80 ms ping
  • Verizon: 2 Mbps down, 10 Mbps up, 40 ms ping
  • Campground Wi-Fi: none

Amenities:

  • Garbage dumpsters only in a central location
  • Package delivery to office, for $5 per package (we got a local mailbox)

Our review on Campground Reviews:

The flagship Thousand Trails park

It’s good to know what’s what before showing up at TTO. Half the park is older, with rundown pads and a kind of state park feel, and half the park is newer, like a perfectly manicured RV resort. And if you’re used to the usual Thousand Trails “first come first served” rigamarole, you might be confused by how they do things here. I prefer the orderly check-in process with the rangers knowing what sites are available and guiding you to what’s there. This place is so huge, that you’d be crawling the lanes for hours before finding one on your own. I hate having to find a place at other TT parks. Our site was on the “older” side of the park, backed up to some trees, which was nice. There was a bit of a drop-off at the end of our pad, but it was long enough for our 40′ coach, and we were able to park our truck on the grass alongside it. It was kind of downhill in a hollow, so cell reception was not great but Starlink was just fine. We camped at Thousand Trails Orlando RV Resort in a Motorhome.

Campground map:

Map

An interactive map:

Our site:

Our site

Our site

Our site

Our site

Our site

Our site

Our site

A rather steep drop-off:

Our site

I needed to use my power extension cord for the first time ever (other than at Mom’s):

Power extension cord

I had fun tossing a ball for this very good boy whenever I went to top up our water tank or dump our waste tanks:

Dog

The nearby bathrooms were closed the entire time, but they had portapotties for the few people who needed them (and I did use one once, as we sanitized our fresh water tank while here):

Bathrooms

There were a few big storms that rolled through; here are a couple of screenshots of one (with a potential tornado southwest of us!):

Storm screenshot

Storm screenshot

Big checkers board:

Big checkers board

Rec center:

Rec center

Rec center

Mail info; they charge $5 per package, and suggest alternatives:

Mail info

Group fire pit:

Group fire pit

Mini golf:

Mini golf

Pickleball courts:

Pickleball courts

Boat launch:

Boat launch

Hibiscus flower:

Flower

Tortoise:

Tortoise

Grasshopper:

Grasshopper

A large crane-like bird:

Bird

There were several that roamed the grounds:

Birds

Other sites:

Other sites

Other sites

Other sites

Bathrooms

Other sites

Other sites

Other sites

Other sites

Other sites

Other sites

Other sites

One section has buddy sites:

Buddy sites

A massive campground. We’ve already been back again since this, and no doubt will be back more times in the future.

Ho-Hum RV Park

We stayed at Ho-Hum RV Park in Carrabelle, Florida. (Campground Reviews listing.)

A nice casual RV park, with the gulf literally feet from our front door.

Dates:

  • Check in: 2023-12-17
  • Check out: 2024-01-07
  • 21 nights

Weather:

  • Mostly sunny, some cloud and rain
  • High temps ranging between 52-67°F, lows around 33-60°F
  • A little wind, gusts to 42 MPH

Noise:

  • Highway noise
  • No train noise
  • Some neighbor noise, dogs, but few kids

Site:

  • #48A, pull in, gravel
  • Needed to disconnect toad, parked behind coach
  • Rather unlevel, high on left and front; used hydraulic leveling
  • Gravel site about 50 feet long by about 30 feet wide
  • Picnic table on gravel
  • No fire pit
  • Clean site
  • Waterfront, facing the water

Utilities:

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

Internet (in usage priority order):

  • T-Mobile: 50 Mbps down, 8 Mbps up, 48 ms ping
  • AT&T: 57 Mbps down, 2 Mbps up, 60 ms ping
  • Verizon: 26-42 Mbps down, 26 Mbps up, 160 ms ping
  • Starlink: not used
  • Campground Wi-Fi: not used

Amenities:

  • Garbage dumpster
  • Waterfront (gulf)
  • Package delivery to office

Our review on Campground Reviews:

Nothing ho-hum here

We spent three weeks here over the holidays and loved the laid-back vibe and beachfront views. Watching the birds along the shore right from the window of our motorhome was wonderfully relaxing. There is some road noise from the highway, but it is pretty nonexistent at night. Some of the waterfront sites are a bit sloped and could be problematic for larger rigs, but ours was fine enough that our leveling system could cope. The staff were all friendly and helpful and the amenities were well-kept. We loved our stay so much that we booked our stay for the end of 2024 before we left. We camped at Ho-Hum RV Park in a Motorhome.

Campground map:

Map

An interactive map:

Our waterfront site:

Our site

Our site

Our site

Our site

Our site

Our site

Our site

Our site

Our site

Our site

Our site

Our site

Our site

Our site

It’s been ages since I flew my drone, but this seemed a perfect place to get some aerial photos:

Aerial

Aerial

Aerial

Aerial

Aerial

Aerial

Aerial

Aerial

Aerial

Aerial

Aerial

Aerial

Aerial

Aerial

Aerial

Aerial

Aerial

Aerial

Aerial

Aerial

Aerial

Aerial

Now that we’d made it to Florida, it was time to add its sticker to our coach:

Florida sticker

We stayed here over the holidays, so of course we did our 20th annual The Lord of the Rings movie marathon, watching the extended editions of all three movies (though like last year, we split it over two days; not quite as much a marathon, but more relaxed):

The Lord of the Rings

One of the other guests dropped off a little Christmas gift:

Christmas gift

We really enjoyed having the beach right in front of our site:

Beach

Beach

Beach

Beach

A fishing pier:

Beach

Fishing pier

Fishing pier

Fishing pier

Fishing pier

Fishing pier

Fishing pier

Fishing pier

Fishing pier

Fishing pier

Fishing pier

Beach

Water

Waves

Fishing pier

Birds

Bird

Bird

Bird

Bird

Birds

Waves

Waves

Waves

Waves

Waves

Waves

As you can see, there was quite a difference between low and high tides; I liked to watch the tide charts; fascinating how the two tides (from the moon and sun) merge and split to create single bigger tides or two smaller tides:

Tide charts

Tide charts

Our neighbor moved from a oceanfront site to one further back:

Neighboring site

Other site

Most of the RVs on the oceanfront were motorhomes, fronted in, but there were a few trailers, backed in:

Other sites

I’m glad we didn’t have a trailer next to us, with their door facing ours:

Trailers

Other sites:

Other sites

Other sites

Other sites

Other sites

Other sites

We’re planning to stay here again for the next holidays; this is the site we’ve already reserved for next time:

Other sites

Other sites

Other sites

Other sites

Other sites

Beach area:

Beach area

Dog park:

Dog park

Rec room:

Rec room

Rec room

Entrance and office:

Office

We enjoyed our stay here, and are looking forwarding to returning at the end of the year!

Meaher State Park

We stayed at Meaher State Park in Spanish Fort, Alabama. (Campground Reviews listing.)

A delightful state park with spacious sites and lots of wildlife. The I-10 freeway across the water isn’t ideal, but not too bad.

Dates:

  • Check in: 2023-12-03
  • Check out: 2023-12-17
  • 14 nights

Weather:

  • Partly cloudy, some rain
  • High temps ranging between 57-72°F, lows around 39-59°F
  • A little wind, gusts to 28 MPH

Noise:

  • Freeway noise across the bay
  • No train noise
  • Negligible neighbor noise, other than kids on weekends

Site:

  • #54, back in, asphalt
  • Needed to disconnect toad, parked in front of coach
  • Fairly level; used hydraulic leveling
  • Asphalt driveway about 55 feet long by about 12 feet wide
  • Grass between sites about 52 feet wide
  • Picnic table on asphalt patio about 18 by 14 feet
  • No fire pit
  • Clean site
  • Waterfront, though with the back of our coach facing the water

Utilities:

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

Internet (in usage priority order):

  • T-Mobile: 20 Mbps down, 4-9 Mbps up, 45 ms ping
  • AT&T: 180-395 Mbps down, 4 Mbps up, 22 ms ping
  • Verizon: 5 Mbps down, 9-12 Mbps up, 120 ms ping
  • Starlink: not used
  • Campground Wi-Fi: not used

Amenities:

  • Garbage dumpster
  • Waterfront (bay)
  • Walking paths

Our review on Campground Reviews:

Gorgeous sunsets, distant hum of I-10

This is a lovely state park along the Alabama Gulf Coast. Gorgeous views of the water, and various shorebirds. I-10 is visible, but the hum is distant and pretty much just background white noise. There are many nice walking trails in the park, including a boardwalk through the wetlands. Sites were large and nicely spread out. We’d definitely stay here again. We camped at Meaher State Park in a Motorhome.

Campground map:

Map

An interactive map:

Our site, backing onto the water:

Our site

Our site

Our site

Our site

Our site

Our site

Utilities:

Utilities

Shortly before we left, I got out my telescoping ladder to clear off a bunch of large pinecones that had fallen on our coach:

Ladder on our coach

Pinecones

Not too bad, though (a rare look at our roof; I’ve still never been on it, and this was only the second time I’ve used the ladder to clear stuff off it):

Roof

Behind our site:

Behind our site

Behind our site

“Do not feed or harass the alligators” — we didn’t see any, but they’re probably all brumating by this time:

Behind our site

We were warned that there were invasive ants in the area, and advised to sprinkle borax around the coach (which we did). We saw some ants, but none near our coach:

Ants

Ants

Other sites:

Other sites

Other sites

Other sites

Other sites

Other sites

Other sites

Other sites

Cabins:

Cabins

Tents:

Tents

The entrance station:

Entrance

Baby turtle crossing:

Baby turtle crossing

Fungus:

Mushrooms

Fungus

Bathrooms:

Bathrooms

Other bathrooms:

Bathrooms

Bathrooms

Picnic shelter:

Picnic shelter

Boat ramp area:

Boat ramp area

Kayaks etc:

Kayaks etc

Boat ramps and dock:

Boat ramps and dock

Dock

Kayak dock:

Kayak dock

Kayak dock

There were lots of birds in the area:

Bird

Birds

Birds

Birds

Birds

Birds

Birds

Some bees:

Bees

Bees

A small beach, popular for fishing:

Beach

Beach

A nice delta boardwalk:

Delta boardwalk

Delta boardwalk

Delta boardwalk

Delta boardwalk

Delta boardwalk

Delta boardwalk

Delta boardwalk

Delta boardwalk

Delta boardwalk

Delta boardwalk

Delta boardwalk

Delta boardwalk

Delta boardwalk

Delta boardwalk

A fishing pier:

Fishing pier

Fishing pier

Fishing pier

Fishing pier

Fishing pier

Fishing pier

One evening I went for a walk to the fishing pier shortly before the sun set, and enjoyed watching the sunset and hundreds of birds:

Sunset from fishing pier

Sunset from fishing pier

Sunset from fishing pier

Sunset from fishing pier

Sunset from fishing pier

Sunset from fishing pier

Back to our coach:

Sunset from fishing pier

Another day, another sunset behind our site:

Sunset behind our site

Sunset behind our site

Sunset behind our site

Sunset behind our site

Sunset behind our site

A very nice state park. We’d definitely stay here again.

New Orleans RV Resort & Marina

We stayed at New Orleans RV Resort & Marina in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Campground Reviews listing.)

A canal-front site close to the attractions of NOLA.

Dates:

  • Check in: 2023-11-19
  • Check out: 2023-12-03
  • 14 nights

Weather:

  • Partly cloudy, some rain
  • High temps ranging between 54-77°F, lows around 50-62°F
  • A little wind, gusts to 24 MPH

Noise:

  • Some road noise
  • Distant train noise
  • Plane noise from local airport
  • Occasional boat and jetski noise in the canal
  • Little neighbor noise

Site:

  • #7, front in, gravel
  • Needed to disconnect toad, parked behind coach
  • Fairly level; used hydraulic leveling
  • Gravel driveway about 50 feet long by about 20 feet wide
  • Bark between sites about 6 feet wide
  • Picnic table on grass
  • No fire pit
  • A bunch of small garbage and dog poop
  • Waterfront!

Utilities:

  • 50 amp power, very conveniently located
  • 35 PSI water, very conveniently located
  • Very loose sewer connection (the screw part wasn’t connected to the pipe), conveniently located (1 10-foot pipe needed)

Internet (in usage priority order):

  • T-Mobile: 55 Mbps down, 32 Mbps up, 54 ms ping
  • AT&T: 7 Mbps down, 20 Mbps up, 52 ms ping
  • Verizon: 9-13 Mbps down, 7 Mbps up, 135 ms ping
  • Starlink: not used
  • Campground Wi-Fi: not used

Amenities:

  • Garbage pickup from site
  • Package delivery to office
  • Onsite restaurant
  • Waterfront (canal)

Our review on Campground Reviews:

Industrial shipyards and pelicans

Don’t let the sketchy-looking area fool you as you drive in. This is a very nice resort close to everything you’d want to do in NOLA. We had a waterfront site and loved watching the birds skimming over the water and the parade of fishing boats going between the lake and the river. Our site was pretty short, just long enough for our 40′ motorhome, with barely enough space to park our tow vehicle alongside, but being able to face over the water was very nice.

The resort has a nice restaurant and bar onsite for when you don’t feel like going into the city itself. All the touristy stuff you’d want to do is conveniently close and parking in the French Quarter was not as scary as I thought it would be. We camped at New Orleans RV Resort & Marina in a Motorhome.

Campground map:

Map

An interactive map:

Our canal-front site:

Our site

Our site

Our site

Our site

Our site

Our site

Our site

Our site

Our site

Views from our site:

View

View

View

View

View

A rail drawbridge, sticking up in the open state:

View

And closed:

View

A barge waiting for the drawbridge to open:

View

View

View

Lots of pelicans:

View

View

View

View

View

Moon

The City of New Orleans arriving for servicing:

View

View

View

View

View

View

View

View

Some rainy days:

Rain

Rain

And thunderstorms:

Thunderstorms

The sewer connection was super loose:

Loose sewer

The site wasn’t very clean; this is the trash I picked up on arrival:

Trash

We could fill a gap in our states map (but yes, by the time you read this, Florida will also be there):

States map

We were sandwiched between two “Presidential” sites, with covered kitchens and hot tubs. We wouldn’t have preferred such a site, though, as the roof would have impeded our view:

Other sites

The neighboring hot tub kept blowing open in the wind:

Hot tub

Other sites:

Other sites

Other sites

Other sites

Other sites

Other sites

Other sites

Other sites

Other sites

Other sites

Cabins:

Cabin

Cabin

The office:

Office

Office

Office

They allowed package delivery for guests, with a large pile in the front of the office (not very secure; people just come grab their packages; I prefer it when they have a mail room to keep packages more secure, though of course that is more staff burden):

Packages

There is a shuttle to downtown, though we didn’t use it, preferring to drive and park; plenty of paid parking available:

Shuttle info

Pool:

Pool

Pool

Pool

Dog park:

Dog park

There are two marinas; this is the smaller one behind the office:

Marina

The larger one opposite a boat repair yard:

Marina

Marina

Marina

Marina

Marina

Marina

A nice thing about this resort is an onsite restaurant, The LightHouse Bar:

The LightHouse Bar

Menu:

Menu

Menu

Specials

The LightHouse Bar

The LightHouse Bar

We went there several evenings; here are a sampling of our food and beverages:

Drinks

Food

Food

Food

Food

Food

Food

Food

Food

Food

A nice resort; we’d be happy to stay here again.

Meridian East / Toomsuba KOA Journey

We stayed at Meridian East / Toomsuba KOA Journey in Toomsuba, Mississippi. (Campground Reviews listing.)

Just a one night stay to break up an otherwise too-long drive.

Dates:

  • Check in: 2023-11-18
  • Check out: 2023-11-19
  • 1 night

Weather:

  • Partly cloudy
  • High temp 70°F, low 42°F
  • Negligible wind

Noise:

  • A little local road noise, no freeway noise
  • Occasional train noise
  • Negligible neighbor noise

Site:

  • #45, pull-through, gravel
  • Didn’t need to disconnect toad, and didn’t
  • Level; used air leveling, since only one night
  • Gravel driveway about 70 feet long by about 12 feet wide
  • Grass between sites about 12 feet wide
  • Picnic table on grass
  • No fire pit
  • Clean site

Utilities:

  • 50 amp power, conveniently located
  • Didn’t use water or sewer, but conveniently located

Internet (in usage priority order):

  • Campground Wi-Fi: 22-27 Mbps down, 11-23 Mbps up, 65 ms ping
  • T-Mobile: 2-5 Mbps down, 1 Mbps up, 90 ms ping
  • AT&T: 16-20 Mbps down, 1 Mbps up, 50 ms ping
  • Verizon: 3-8 Mbps down, 0.5 Mbps up, 125 ms ping
  • Starlink: not used

Amenities:

  • Garbage dumpster
  • Seasonally closed pool and water slide

Our review on Campground Reviews:

Sketchy road, nice trees

This campground is conveniently located off I-20, just far enough away that you don’t get road from the Interstate. Still, there are downsides: 1) the narrow country road to get there is very narrow with lots of low-hanging trees, 2) the “recycling” yard you drive by does not give a great impression, and 3) the local residents go way too fast down this road, and there is a lot of local road noise. The park roads are also a bit narrow, with some tight turns. We had a pull-through site that was just long enough for our 40′ motorhome and tow vehicle. We didn’t have to disconnect, but we took up pretty much the entire length. If the 5th wheel next to us hadn’t left before we did, I wasn’t sure if we would’ve had enough room to turn onto the road. But the site was clean and the trees were pleasant, so this was a good spot for a one-night stay. We camped at Meridian East / Toomsuba KOA Journey in a Motorhome.

Campground map:

Map

An interactive map:

Our site:

Our site

Our site

Our site

Our site

Other nearby sites:

Other sites

Other sites

The office:

Office

Inside, a piano:

Piano

This was a perfectly fine place to stay for a night, though the road to it was a bit narrow, so we’d probably look for somewhere more convenient if we come this way again in the future.