Grande Hot Springs Resort

We stayed at Grande Hot Springs Resort in La Grande, Oregon. (Campground Reviews listing.)

Our second visit to this resort; our first visit was in a rented trailer on the way to Yellowstone. This time we were also on our way to Yellowstone, via the Tetons, but in our motorhome.

Dates:

  • Check in: 2023-07-09
  • Check out: 2023-07-11
  • 2 nights

Weather:

  • Sunny, thunderstorm
  • High temps ranging between 84-92°F, lows around 51-59°F
  • Some evening wind, 20 MPH gusts

Noise:

  • No road noise
  • Rumbling train noise (no horns)
  • No neighbor noise

Site:

  • #31, pull-through, gravel
  • Didn’t need to disconnect toad; left it connected
  • Fairly level
  • Gravel about 90 feet long by about 11 feet wide
  • Grass between sites about 20 feet wide
  • Tiny picnic table on grass

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):

  • T-Mobile: 15 Mbps down, 8 Mbps up, 45 ms ping
  • Verizon: 13-27 Mbps down, 9-13 Mbps up, 36 ms ping
  • AT&T: 5 Mbps down, 0.5 Mbps up, 140 ms ping
  • Starlink: not used
  • Campground Wi-Fi: not used

Amenities:

  • Garbage dumpsters
  • Thermal pools

Our review on Campground Reviews:

Convenient spot to stop in Eastern Oregon

This was our second stay here, and it was just as nice as the first time. However, I didn’t remember feeling the earth move whenever one of the huge freight trains went by, which we definitely felt this time. If you’re a light sleeper, just be aware they go by all night. Our site was a decent-sized pull-through with the most ridiculously tiny picnic table I’ve ever seen. The hot springs soaking pools were nice after a long day of driving, but the mosquitoes put a damper on the experience. As did the loud, obnoxious group of partiers in one of the pools. Having said all that, though, we did enjoy our stay here as it’s a nice, convenient stop along I-84, and the grounds are very nice, with a small stream running through it. We camped at Grande Hot Springs Resort in a Motorhome.

The campground map:

Map

Interactive map:

Our site:

Our site

Our site

Our site

Our site

Tiny picnic table:

Tiny picnic table

Utilities:

Utilities

Our site:

Our site

We went for a dip in the big pool on our first evening, during the adults-only time after dark (which was not as pleasant as it could be, due to several very loud people, and mosquitos):

Pool area

Pools:

Pools

Pools

The entrance sign:

Entrance

Fountain in center of driveway:

Fountain in center of driveway

Fountain in center of driveway

Fountain in center of driveway

Office:

Office

Bridge over hot canal:

Bridge over hot canal

Canal

Canal

Tent sites beyond canal:

Tent sites beyond canal

Tent sites beyond canal

Open area:

Open area

Open area

Open area

Feral cat (notice the ear tip); probably staff:

Feral cat

Fire pit:

Fire pit

Group tent area:

Group tent area

Cabin:

Cabin

Yurts:

Yurts

Garbage and recycling:

Garbage and recycling

Other sites; the park was mostly empty:

Other sites

Other sites

Other sites

Other sites

Other sites

Neighboring hot lake:

Neighboring hot lake

Sunset:

Sunset

Travel from Welches to La Grande, Oregon

We drove our coach 262 miles, about four hours of driving, from Welches, Oregon to La Grande, Oregon.

Here’s the map route, heading east:

Route

Interactive map:

Preparing to toad up in the maintenance area:

Preparing to toad up

Mount Hood:

Mount Hood

Mount Hood

Mount Hood

Our tire pressure monitoring system (TPMS) reported a high temperature on the front passenger-side tire, which was concerning, but resolved itself (they normally run at less than 99°F):

TPMS high temperature

Columbia River:

Columbia River

A stop at a rest area:

Rest area

Paladin was enjoying sitting on the stacked dining chairs:

Paladin on dining chairs

Interesting overpass:

Interesting overpass

Dam:

Dam

Sternwheeler river boat:

Sternwheeler river boat

Bridge:

Bridge

Wind turbines:

Wind turbines

Another dam:

Dam

Bridge:

Bridge

Another rest area; we were amused by the motorhome towing a jet-ski:

Rest area

We ran the generator so we could use the ACs, but got a wiring status error; when I looked at the generator later, I noticed that the breaker was off; no doubt from when we got it serviced recently; I’m glad it wasn’t an actual fault:

Wiring status error

Solar farm:

Solar farm

A viewpoint stop:

Viewpoint

A sharp corner onto a dirt road towards our destination:

Sharp corner

Our destination:

Our destination

Mt Hood Village RV & Camping Resort, again

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

Our second visit to this nice Thousand Trails Encore park; we stayed here last year in late July.

Dates:

  • Check in: 2023-06-30
  • Check out: 2023-07-09
  • 9 nights

Weather:

  • Sunny
  • High temps ranging between 74-90°F, lows around 50-61°F
  • No significant wind

Noise:

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

Site:

  • Hemlock Meadows #97, back in, gravel
  • Needed to disconnect toad; parked beside coach (on gravel)
  • Unlevel; used blocks on the front jacks
  • Fairly large site: gravel about 50 feet long by about 22 feet wide, plus about 20 feet wide weedy bark area
  • Picnic table and fire pit on gravel

Utilities:

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

Internet (in usage priority order):

  • Starlink: 22-83 Mbps down, 5-11 Mbps up, 35-110 ms ping
  • T-Mobile: 11 Mbps down, 0.5 Mbps up, 70 ms ping
  • Verizon: 10-13 Mbps down, 5-8 Mbps up, 150 ms ping
  • AT&T: 6-8 Mbps down, 6 Mbps up, 90 ms ping
  • Campground Wi-Fi: none

Amenities:

  • Garbage dumpsters
  • Closed indoor pool
  • Onsite restaurant

Our review on Campground Reviews:

Excellent campground near Mt Hood

This was our second stay here, and still really love it. We were originally assigned a site in the Vine Maple Loop that would have been too small for us, so we asked if there were any open sites in the Hemlock Meadows section, which is a more open area with bigger sites. The helpful staff member at the front gate gave us a couple of choices and told us to let her know which one we picked. Seeing as it was the weekend of the 4th of July, we were so relieved that there was availability. We picked site 97, which was on a corner and gave us a large living area backing onto trees, with a good view of the sky for the Starlink. On a side note: We had dinner at the Dragonfly Cafe, which has really good food, but they seemed to be having some massive staffing issues. It took nearly 2 hours from ordering to checkout, and I’m pretty sure the one and only waitress walked off the job while we were eating as the one and only cook had to act as cashier. We never went back, fearing a repeat, which is a shame because I’d been dreaming of their eggs benedict for the past year. We camped at Mt Hood Village RV Resort in a Motorhome.

The campground map:

Map

Interactive map:

Our site was nice and spacious, and we made use of our new flagpole for the Starlink dish (and you may notice something different about our truck; more on that on Monday):

Our site

Our site

Our site

Our site

Steak and potato salad, watching a Mariners baseball game on the outside TV from the tent:

Steam, potato salad, watching TV

Our site

Our site

Our site

 

Our site

Unlike normal Thousand Trails parks, Encore ones assign sites. We had originally been assigned a different site, but asked when checking in if they had other options, since we thought this wouldn’t fit us; they agreed it wouldn’t be a good fit.

Looking at it later (the left one in the following picture), we were definitely right to change; it was narrow and very sloped:

Original site

Original site

The main plaza area, with the (closed) indoor pool, rec center, offices, and cafe:

Plaza

We enjoy when there’s an onsite restaurant; this campground has the Dragonfly Cafe:

Dragonfly Cafe

Dragonfly Cafe

Dragonfly Cafe

Dragonfly Cafe menu

Dragonfly Cafe menu

Dragonfly Cafe menu

We went there for dinner on our first evening (always nice not having to cook on a travel day). Which was a rather drama-filled experience; we waited over an hour for our food, then the server walked out partway through, and the cook had to come out and accept payment from us and others. It was tasty, though; burger for me:

Dragonfly Cafe food

Prime rib for Jenn:

Dragonfly Cafe food

Laundry:

Laundry

Other sites in the Hemlock Meadows loop:

Other sites

Other sites

Other sites

Other sites

Other sites

Other sites

Other sites

Other sites

See our previous visit for lots more pictures of other loops.

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

Travel from Buxton to Welches, Oregon

We drove our coach 77 miles, about two hours of driving, from Buxton, Oregon to Welches, Oregon.

This is the start of our eastern migration, as we head from the west coast toward the east coast, ending the year in Florida.

Here’s the map route, heading east:

Route

Interactive map (no stops):

We drove our coach and truck separately to the welcome center, as a convenient place to toad up:

Connected truck to coach

Toaded up

Leaving the state park:

Leaving state park

Roadworks, replacing a bridge:

Roadworks

Heavy traffic near the Vista Ridge tunnel, as usual:

Heavy traffic

Traffic map

Freeway tunnel

Freeway tunnel

Freeway tunnel

A bike and pedestrian bridge over the Willamette River:

Bike and pedestrian bridge over Willamette River

Jenn driving, with a glimpse of downtown Portland beyond:

Jenn driving with Portland beyond

Portland downtown:

Portland downtown

Overpasses:

Overpasses

Freeway with the convention center towers in the background:

Freeway with convention center in the background

Bridge:

Bridge

MAX light rail station:

MAX light rail station

A water tower and a glimpse of Mt Hood:

Water tower and glimpse of Mt Hood

A plane coming in for a landing, and Mt Hood:

Plane and Mt Hood

We took NE 238th Drive, which used to be unsuitable for RVs and trucks, but was widened a few years ago:

NE 238th Drive

Some somewhat close trees:

Trees

Our RV GPS kept warning of 40 foot length limits, which no longer applied since the road was improved. It’s a nice feature when up-to-date, though:

40 foot length limit message

Totally fine, though:

NE 238th Drive

Turning on to Burnside Road (with some roadworks; good thing we didn’t want to go straight):

Turning on to Burnside Road

US-26 highway:

US-26 highway

US-26 highway

Downtown Sandy:

Downtown Sandy

Our homestead was somewhat near Sandy (25 minutes away, but it was where we went shopping). But we never made it to the rather distinctive Joes Donut Shop:

Joes Donut Shop

Mt Hood Pet Resort was where we took our dog for playtime and boarding, often grabbing a coffee at Mountain Moka Cafe next door:

Mt Hood Pet Resort and Mountain Moka Cafe

Interesting structure:

Interesting structure

A glimpse of Mt Hood:

Glimpse of Mt Hood

Glimpse of Mt Hood

Glimpse of Mt Hood

Motorcycles:

Motorcycles

Our destination, Mt Hood Village:

Mt Hood Village

Mt Hood Village

Driving to our site:

Driving to our site

Our site before parking:

Our site before parking

Our site before parking

Our site before parking

When we get into a site, we are always careful when opening cupboards and the fridge for the first time, as things can shift. On this occasion, our fridge was rather full, and an expensive bottle of bubbly, some juice, and some food fell down; if we had just pulled the fridge door open without being careful, they would have smashed on the floor, and we would have been very sad:

Fallen items in fridge

LL Stub Stewart State Park, Dairy Creek East

We stayed in the Dairy Creek East campground of LL Stub Stewart State Park in Buxton, Oregon. (Campground Reviews listing.)

We stayed here last year in the west loop, and really enjoyed it. So we decided to stay again this year, this time in the east loop.

Unfortunately it was a relatively late change to our plans, so we weren’t able to get a more private site on the outside of the loop, but we still enjoyed our stay.

Dates:

  • Check in: 2023-06-25
  • Check out: 2023-06-30
  • 5 nights

Weather:

  • Mostly sunny
  • High temps ranging between 73-79°F, lows around 46-50°F
  • Fairly negligible wind, up to 23 MPH gusts

Noise:

  • No road noise
  • No train noise
  • Quite a lot of neighbor noise (kids playing)

Site:

  • #81, back in, gravel
  • Needed to disconnect toad; parked in front of coach
  • Unlevel; used blocks on the front jacks
  • Large site: about 28 feet long asphalt driveway, plus about 40 feet long and 35 feet wide gravel area
  • Grass between sites, about 25 feet space between sites, about 75 feet behind
  • Picnic table and fire pit on gravel

Utilities:

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

Internet (in usage priority order):

  • T-Mobile: 8-11 Mbps down, 12-18 Mbps up, 28-90 ms ping
  • AT&T: 105 Mbps down, 5 Mbps up, 32 ms ping
  • Verizon: 25-42 Mbps down, 3 Mbps up, 30-140 ms ping
  • Starlink: not used
  • Campground Wi-Fi: none

Amenities:

  • Garbage compactor and recycling outside campground entrance
  • No pool

Our review on Campground Reviews:

Nice state park in the Coast Range

This was our second time staying here, and have enjoyed it both times. Last year, we stayed in the West Loop and enjoyed the trees. This year, because it was a last-minute plan, we got a site on the inside of the East Loop. I would have preferred an outside site on the East Loop, as the inner sites have no trees or shade and back up onto a large grassy area where people play loud field games. Still, the sites in both loops are large, with plenty of room for our 40′ motorhome and tow vehicle, a screen tent, a fire pit, and a picnic table. We would definitely stay again and make sure to plan in advance to get a site on the outside of the loop. We camped at L.L. Stub Stewart Memorial State Park in a Motorhome.

The RV park map:

Map

An embedded map, that you can zoom and scroll around:

Our site:

Our site

Our site

Our site

Our site

Our site

Even though we only stayed five nights, we set up the CLAM tent, in part to help discourage people from taking a shortcut through our site, since we were next to a path leading to the bathroom block:

Our site

Our site

Our site

We both worked outside in the tent at various times:

Our site

The aforementioned path, with our coach visible in the background:

Path

At the other end of the path, the bathrooms:

Bathrooms

Other sites:

Other sites

Other sites

Other sites

Other sites

Other sites

Other sites

Other sites

A camp host ran after this T@B trailer to tell them that their tongue jack was still down; oops (T@B trailers are cute; this is a slightly larger one than the one Jenn’s father has):

T@B trailer

Earlier in the week there were a lot of empty sites:

Empty sites

Central grassy area, with the playground in the background:

Playground

Playground

Playground

We would have preferred a site on the outside of the loop, but we still really like this campground, despite all the kids. We generally like state park campgrounds a lot.

Travel from Shelton, Washington to Buxton, Oregon

We drove our coach 180+ miles, about three hours of driving, from our home base in Shelton, Washington to Buxton, Oregon.

Here’s the map route, heading south (exact origin omitted for privacy):

Route

Interactive map, with potential stops:

We were “moochdocking” at our home base, with 15 amp electric, water, and no sewer. We had showers and most bathroom usage in the house, while sleeping in our coach. But our grey and black tanks still reached about half full over the two weeks we were there. We dumped them at our destination:

Tank levels

Paladin on passenger chair prior to departure; he would probably have preferred to stay there, but sorry, I need that chair:

Paladin on passenger chair

When you come to a fork in the road, take it:

When you come to a fork in the road, take it

US-101 South:

US-101 South

Heading to I-5 South:

Heading to I-5 South

A motorhome towing a boat; we wondered if they had another vehicle to put the boat in the water, or had just bought it and were transporting it somewhere, or something:

Motorhome towing a boat

We stopped at a Love’s for fuel, with an extra long truck and trailers going out the entrance:

Extra long truck and trailers going out the entrance

Fuel stop

Fuel stop

80 gallons of diesel; our first fuel stop since Eugene:

80 gallons of diesel

Bridge:

Bridge

Paladin wasn’t having a good time; sometimes he forgets about travel days:

Paladin

I-5 and Columbia River:

I-5 and Columbia River

Another bridge:

Bridge

Nice day for a Classic Beetle convertible:

Classic Beetle convertible

A pickup with oversized tires crossed the median barrier and got stuck, causing miles of slow traffic in both directions:

Pickup stuck on median barrier

Pickup stuck on median barrier

Rough concrete roads almost worthy of California in southern Washington:

Roads worthy of California

Interstate bridge:

Interstate bridge

Entering Oregon:

Entering Oregon

Entering Portland:

Entering Portland

Exit to west:

Exit to west

Fremont Bridge:

Fremont Bridge

A glimpse of downtown Portland from the bridge:

Downtown Portland

Fremont Bridge

Downtown Portland

Freeway tunnel:

Freeway tunnel

Paladin hadn’t been using the steps, so I closed the step cover, and re-introduced him to his safe space next to the passenger chair; he was happier there:

Paladin back in his safe space

Arriving at our destination, Stub Stewart State Park:

Stub Stewart State Park

Stub Stewart State Park

Stub Stewart State Park

Untoading at the welcome center:

Untoading at welcome center

Welcome center

Untoading at welcome center

I followed our coach to our site:

Following coach

Following coach

I parked the truck by the bathroom, and took the path to our site:

Parked truck by bathroom

Our site before parking:

Our site before parking

Preparing to back into our site:

Preparing to back into our site

Travel from Ocean City to Shelton, Washington

We drove our coach 80+ miles, about two hours of driving, from Ocean City, Washington to our home base in Shelton, Washington.

Here’s the map route, heading north (exact destination omitted for privacy):

Route

Interactive map (to Shelton instead of our actual destination):

We had no sewer at the campground, and hadn’t been particularly careful, so our grey and black tanks were both very full, as indicated on the main control panel:

Control panel with full grey and black tanks

We dumped the tanks on the way out (I didn’t get any photos of that, as there was a line).

But before that, here’s our coach preparing to leave; if you look closely, you’ll see the step partway closed; I had just closed the door, as water was dripping from the slide topper:

Our coach preparijng to leave

A closer view of the dripping water; that always happens after it has rained:

Dripping water from slide topper

On our way, with a curvy road (kinda looks like the Sinclair Trails logo!):

Curvy road

Chehalis River delta:

Chehalis River delta

Paladin watching my iPad:

Paladin watching iPad

Hoquiam:

Hoquiam

Hoquiam

A rather narrow bridge; we drove down the center of the two lanes:

Narrow bridge

Narrow bridge

Artwork:

Artwork

International Mermaid Museum:

International Mermaid Museum

Mural:

Mural

More bridges:

Bridge

Bridge

A fiver pulled over after a tire blowout:

Fiver with a tire blowout

The Elma rest area, with four lanes of dump stations:

Rest area with dump stations

A very spacious rest area:

Spacious rest area

Bear artwork:

Bear artwork

Entering Mason County, our home county:

Entering Mason County

Exit to Shelton:

Exit to Shelton

Shelton

We’re not a fan of this narrow bridge, but it’s doable:

Narrow bridge

Rail bridge work:

Rail bridge work

Bay:

Bay

Thousand Trails Oceana RV & Camping Resort

We stayed at Thousand Trails Oceana RV & Camping Resort in Ocean City, Washington. (Campground Reviews listing.)

Another Thousand Trails park, with a path to the beach. Quite nice, other than only being 30 amp and no sewer.

Dates:

  • Check in: 2023-06-04
  • Check out: 2023-06-11
  • 7 nights

Weather:

  • Partly cloudy
  • High temps ranging between 58-66°F, lows around 47-53°F
  • 37 gusts on first day, less on subsequent days

Noise:

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

Site:

  • #C31, back in, gravel
  • Needed to disconnect toad; parked next to coach
  • A little unlevel, but not too bad
  • Medium site: about 50 feet long by about 40 feet wide
  • Picnic table on gravel
  • Tall trees
  • (This site is planned for a cabin, but they haven’t installed it yet)

Utilities:

  • Only 30 amp power, somewhat conveniently located
  • 40 PSI water, very inconveniently located
  • No sewer

Internet (in usage priority order):

  • T-Mobile: 5-7 Mbps down, 1-5 Mbps up, 50 ms ping
  • AT&T: 9 Mbps down, 2 Mbps up, 30-130 ms ping
  • Verizon: 6 Mbps down, 1 Mbps up, 40 ms ping
  • Starlink: not used
  • Campground Wi-Fi: not used

Amenities:

  • Dumpsters
  • No pool
  • Path to beach

Our review on Campground Reviews:

30A, no sewer, still loved it

Thousand Trails parks are a study in compromise. We could have had a 30A FHU site at the front of the park by the main road but opted for a larger site without sewer, away from the noise. There are minimal 50A sites, and they were all taken; they also have no sewer. So we watched our power consumption and our tank levels while still thoroughly enjoying our location. The staff were all very friendly and helpful, but the pathway to the beach absolutely made this park a favorite. The mosquitoes do get a bit ravenous, so make sure to pack your repellent. We camped at Thousand Trails Oceana RV Campground in a Motorhome.

Tip for Other Campers: There are several units of Olympic National Park nearby that make for excellent day trips. Be prepared for a gnarly wait if you go to Hoh Rainforest.

Interactive map (zoom out a bit to see how close it is to the beach):

Campground map; the three circled sites were apparently the only 50 amp ones:

Map

Our site:

Our site

Our site

Our site

Our site

Our site

The water tap wasn’t very close; technically in a tent site that isn’t on the map:

Water

Only 30 amp power available:

30 amp power

So I used a “dogbone” plug adapter to connect our 50 amp surge protector and cord:

Power

The power, water softener, and water filter:

Power and water

Entrance:

Entrance

Dump station:

Dump station

Other sites:

Other sites

Other sites

Other sites

Other sites

Other sites

Other sites

Long-term sites:

Long-term sites

Tent sites:

Tent sites

Bridge:

Bridge

Bridge

Bridge

Games:

Games

Playground:

Playground

Path to the beach:

Path to the beach

Path to the beach

Path to the beach

Path to the beach

Travel from Seaside, Oregon to Ocean City, Washington

We drove our coach 119 miles, about three hours of driving, from Seaside, Oregon to Ocean City, Washington.

Here’s the map route, heading north:

Route

Interactive map, with potential stops marked; we didn’t stop at any:

We drove to an open area to hook up our truck to our coach:

Leaving campground

Toading up

Another RV toading up; they started before us, and finished after us; with our weekly practice, it doesn’t take us long to do:

Another RV toading up

Leaving the campground:

Leaving campground

Crossing the Astoria-Megler Bridge from Oregon to Washington; a little nerve-wracking, with a curved approach and high bridge, but it was fine:

Astoria-Megler Bridge

Astoria-Megler Bridge

Astoria-Megler Bridge

Astoria-Megler Bridge

Astoria-Megler Bridge

Astoria

Astoria-Megler Bridge

Low tide exposing the sandbar:

Low tide

Entering Washington state:

Entering Washington

We could have gone left or right, but I had decided on left to avoid some roadworks (planning the route pays off):

Turning left

Lighthouse:

Lighthouse

Tunnel:

Tunnel

Tunnel

Another bridge:

Another bridge

Aaaargh! COFFEE!

Aaaargh! COFFEE!

Artwork in Raymond:

Artwork

Artwork

An advantage of a motorhome is I can get up and use the bathroom while Jenn is driving — a very rare occurrence, since there is some risk in moving about while in motion, and we prefer to take rest stops so we can both take a pee break, but on this occasion Jenn didn’t need to stop:

Inside while driving

Pilings:

Pilings

Rusty building and structures in Aberdeen (a rather ugly city):

Rusty building and structures

A mural helps a little:

Mural

Rusty bridge:

Rusty bridge

We paused in a slow vehicle turnout to let other vehicles pass:

Slow vehicle turnout

Slow vehicle turnout

Bridge:

Bridge

Our destination, Thousand Trails Oceana:

Our destination

Checking in:

Checking in

Our coach in front of our site, preparing to back in:

Our coach in front of our site

Thousand Trails Seaside

We stayed at Thousand Trails Seaside in Seaside, Oregon. (Campground Reviews listing.)

A nice Thousand Trails park.

Dates:

  • Check in: 2023-05-28
  • Check out: 2023-06-04
  • 7 nights

Weather:

  • Partly cloudy
  • High temps ranging between 58-65°F, lows around 46-51°F
  • A little wind

Noise:

  • No road noise
  • No train noise
  • A little neighbor noise

Site:

  • #158, back in, gravel
  • Needed to disconnect toad; parked in front of coach
  • Rather unlevel; took us a few tries, and needed blocks under the front jacks
  • Medium site: about 50 feet long by about 40 feet wide
  • Picnic table and fire pit on grass

Utilities:

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

Internet (in usage priority order):

  • T-Mobile: 25-29 Mbps down, 4-10 Mbps up, 40 ms ping
  • AT&T: 4 Mbps down, 2 Mbps up, 70 ms ping
  • Verizon: 4 Mbps down, 6 Mbps up, 30 ms ping
  • Starlink: not used
  • Campground Wi-Fi: not used

Amenities:

  • Dumpsters only by entrance
  • Indoor pool

Our review on Campground Reviews:

Large, busy park

First, a very important tip, especially when staying at a Thousand Trails or other first-come park: Do not arrive on the Sunday of a three-day weekend. We forgot about Memorial Day when we planned our route, and trying to find an open 50A site was diabolical on Sunday afternoon. Another rig that pulled in behind us was faster unhooking their toad and zipped ahead of us to take the last available site. Rude. So we drove around the north section (where the 50A sites are) for quite a while with no joy. Fortunately, a seasonal resident was just about to move from their temporary site to their permanent one and flagged us down. We waited while they packed up and moved, then we were able to pull into a nice end site near the bathroom block. Normally, I don’t like being so close to the bathrooms, but we needed to sanitize our water system, so it was very convenient. The site itself was incredibly unlevel and it took us quite a while to get as close to level as possible but never got completely there. Once we got situated, it wasn’t a bad place to stay, however. We camped at Thousand Trails Seaside in a Motorhome.

Tip for Other Campers: Pizza delivery from Angelina’s right to your site. Drive up to Washington and check out the Cape Disappointment lighthouse. Dinner at Mo’s and a walk along the promenade are great ways to spend an evening.

Interactive map:

The map, with all available north-side sites when we checked in circled:

Map

Our arrival experience wasn’t ideal, but mostly on us: we foolishly arrived on Sunday of Memorial weekend, when almost all sites were occupied. The only vacant sites were reserved for seasonal sites. But the people that had reserved one of those directed us to the site they were moving from, which was quite a nice location, albeit not very level:

Our site

Our site

Our site

Our site

Our site

Painted rocks left on the picnic table by the previous occupants:

Painted rocks

Utilities:

Utilities

Utilities

A large grassy area next to our site; not having a neighbor on the driver side was nice:

Grass next to our site

Another nice thing is Angelina’s Pizza delivery on travel day:

Angelina's Pizza delivery

Angelina's Pizza delivery

Other sites:

Other sites

Other sites

Other sites

Other sites

Other sites

Other sites

Other sites

Cabins:

Cabins

Tent sites:

Tent sites

Oops, a trailer took a corner too sharply and hit a rock (with a loud crunch):

Trailer hit rock

Tennis courts:

Tennis courts

Indoor pool:

Indoor pool

Indoor pool

Clubhouse:

Clubhouse

Playground:

Playground

Bathrooms across the grassy area from our site — we usually don’t use campground bathrooms, but this time having them nearby was helpful, as we sanitized our fresh water tanks, which means not using our own bathrooms for several hours:

Bathrooms

Bathrooms

Bathrooms

Pet exercise area:

Pet exercise area

Pet exercise area

Pet exercise area

Pet exercise area