We stayed at Encore Pilot Knob RV Resort in Winterhaven, California. (Campground Reviews listing.)

Across the road from the Center of the World, but kinda in the middle of nowhere. Except lots of freeway and train noise.

This is probably a popular place for snowbirds (people who travel south for the winter) in December and January, but was mostly empty while we were here at the end of October and into the start of November.

Dates:

• Check in: 2024-10-27
• Check out: 2024-11-03
• 7 nights

Weather:

• Mostly sunny
• High temps 72-94°F, lows 49-61°F
• One day of high wind, gusts to 46 MPH

Noise:

• Loud freeway noise
• Train horn noise
• Military helicopters flying over daily
• Negligible neighbor noise

Site:

• #13, back-in, gravel
• Needed to disconnect toad, parked beside coach
• Mostly level site; a little high on passenger side; used hydraulic leveling
• Gravel driveway about 50 feet long by 28 feet wide
• Concrete patio about 20 feet long by 6 feet wide (plus bonus pavers on this site)
• No picnic table (which is fine, we never use it anyway)
• Some trees and shrubs
• Somewhat clean site
• Non-invasive ants

Utilities:

• 50 amp power, conveniently located
• 50 PSI water, a little inconveniently located behind site
• Loose sewer connection, inconveniently located under coach (1.5 10-foot pipes needed)

Internet (in usage priority order):

• T-Mobile: 65-85 Mbps down, 16-60 Mbps up, 30 ms ping
• AT&T: 77 Mbps down, 35 Mbps up, 32-100 ms ping
• Verizon: 4 Mbps down, 1 Mbps up, 38 ms ping
• Starlink: not used
• Campground Wi-Fi: not used

Amenities:

• Garbage dumpsters by entrance
• Pool

Our review on Campground Reviews:

Decent desert destination

If you want to be close to Yuma but with a bit more rustic vibe, this might be someplace you’d enjoy. The noise from I-8 and the freight trains is unavoidable, but for the most part, this was a good place to stop. Our back-in FHU site was spacious and had a nice little patio area with a palo verde tree and bougainvillea shrubbery. It was pretty empty when we were there, as it was a bit early for the snowbirds, and we enjoyed the laid-back atmosphere. We camped at Encore Pilot Knob RV Resort in a Motorhome.

Campground map:

An interactive map:

Our site:

The sewer connection was under our coach (which also limited how far back we could go), and power and water behind the site. Which is fine for us, but might be inconvenient for some:

Extra big paved area and some nice flowering shrubs on this site; it was probably occupied by a long-term resident many years ago:

The entrance, with the I-8 freeway in front:

Pool and clubhouse area:

Other sites, mostly empty:

Military helicopters went over pretty much daily:

Garden area in the center of the campground:

BLM land with boondockers surrounds the campground:

Not a bad campground; we wouldn’t mind staying here again, though probably not for more than a few days; too noisy.

We stayed at Thousand Trails Palm Springs in Palm Desert, California. (Campground Reviews listing.)

Our third stay here. It can be tricky to get positioned, with lots of palm trees and other obstacles, but it was a little easier this time, as it was much less busy; lots of vacant sites to choose from (first come first served). Though the first site we tried the power didn’t work, an issue that affects many of the sites.

Dates:

• Check in: 2024-10-13
• Check out: 2024-10-27
• 14 nights

Weather:

• Sunny
• High temps 81-97°F, lows 58-67°F (it was a high of 109°F the week before!)
• Little wind, gusts to 16 MPH

Noise:

• Some freeway road noise
• Some train noise, but no horns most of the time
• Negligible neighbor noise

Site:

• #242, back-in, sand
• Needed to disconnect toad, parked beside coach
• Somewhat level site; a little high on driver front side; used hydraulic leveling
• Sand site about 45 feet long by 25 feet wide, including patio
• Zero feet to neighbors on both sides (neighbors patio was under our driver-side slide-out, fortunately the site was empty)
• Picnic table on 12×6 concrete patio
• Tall palm trees
• Mostly clean site
• Some noninvasive ants

Utilities:

• 50 amp power, a little inconveniently located behind site
• 60 PSI water, inconveniently located behind site
• Loose sewer connection, very conveniently located (less than 1 10-foot pipe needed)

Internet (in usage priority order):

• T-Mobile: 150-250 Mbps down, 40 Mbps up, 30-50 ms ping, unreliable
• AT&T: 350-450 Mbps down, 35 Mbps up, 55 ms ping
• Verizon: 5 Mbps down, 5 Mbps up, 35 ms ping
• Starlink: not used
• Campground Wi-Fi: none

Amenities:

• Garbage dumpsters
• Pool
• They no longer allow package delivery to site, boo

Our review on Campground Reviews:

Gone downhill, but still decent

This was our third time and the earliest in the season we’ve stayed here. It was interesting (and a nice change) to have so many empty sites to choose from, but the fact that half the pedestals seem to be out of service isn’t great. The power was out at the first site we tried and most of the row opposite us were also out of order. On the plus side, it meant we didn’t have any immediate neighbors during our two-week stay. The other change for the worse is that they no longer accept mail and package deliveries. You used to be able to get Amazon/UPS/FedEx directly to your site, but couriers are no longer allowed in the park, so you have to get General Delivery at the Thousand Palms post office or use Amazon lockers, which isn’t as convenient. If you’re into social things, they have a lot of activities and events. We tend to avoid such things like the plague, but to each their own. It’s still a good option if you want to stay in the Palm Springs area with a Thousand Trails membership. I would choose other options if I were a retail customer. We camped at Thousand Trails Palm Springs in a Motorhome.

Campground map:

An interactive map:

Our site:

It’s always a challenge getting positioned here, fitting around the palm trees:

The sewer is very conveniently located, but the water and power are behind the site (which is fine for us):

We got out the griddle, and had several griddled dinners:

Sand gets everywhere in the desert, including in the wheels:

Industrious ants excavating a nest (fortunately they kept to themselves, rather than invading our coach):

We used to be able to get packages delivered to our site in this campground, but they don’t allow that anymore, unfortunately. So we used a nearby Amazon locker and General Delivery to a post office:

We originally pulled into this site, #240:

But when I tried to hook up the power, I couldn’t turn it on; the electrical box was busted (and very sketchy-looking):

So we moved a couple of sites over, after checking its power; site #242 has a newer pedestal. This issue affected a lot of the sites here; many are blocked off or marked as only having 30 amp power, despite having 50 amp plugs.

The site next to us had such a sign, plus a rope blocking it, probably being a seasonal site; it was nice not having anyone next to us on both sides:

A windy sunset:

And day:

Our row was mostly empty most of the time:

Other sites:

Despite the challenges of the palm trees and other obstacles, and the dodgy power, this is still one of our favorite Thousand Trails parks, if only for its proximity to Joshua Tree National Park (though still over an hour away), and us just liking the Palm Springs area. No doubt we’ll be back again (planning to come again next year).