Plum Nelly RV Campground

Ellijay, GA

We have driven past Plum Nelly many times on our way up into the mountains, and honestly would never have stayed there, except for the weekend we planned to camp before other local campgrounds were open for the season. For RV camping, it was pretty much a fair price for not too bad of a site. For tent camping, well, that's another story. Biggest drawback was the bathroom. Yes, that was bathroom, singular. Need I elaborate?

Scoring:
Site: 4
Amenities: 1 (hot tub and trout pond advertised)
Bathrooms: 1 (one toilet/sink/shower combo. needed a good scrub. It was operational, at least.)
Overall: 6

Thousand Trails/Forest Lake

Advance, NC

We visited this campground on a "time-share" sort of deal: they gave us a free weekend in exchange for listening to their sales pitch. They bill themselves as a private resort, and there are many amenities: pools, mini-golf, lake with canoes and paddleboats, tennis and basketball courts, shuffleboard, cafe and game room, and planned activities during the season. We did not buy, for a number of reasons, including the fact that there are very few facility choices in our region, we don't appreciate their "scare tactics" in the sales pitch, and really for the amount of money they ask in "dues" I would think they could keep some of their facilities in better repair. All the outdoor courts/equipment were in serious need of upkeep/maintenance, as was the mini-golf course. But, most activities were free for guests/members.

Scoring:
Site: 3 (small with aging equipment)
Amenities: 4 (many options but not in good repair)
Bathrooms: 3 (roomy but aging, no fan or a/c, stuffy)
Overall: 10

Little Talbot Island State Park

Jacksonville, FL

Most sites are shady if a bit small. You almost can't see neighboring sites due to thick forestation. (Only one pull-thru that we could find, but most sites suitable for pop-ups and mid-size campers.) Campground is on the other side of A1A from the main park, which is where you find the ocean. The campground has access to the salt marsh. Not advisable to walk from campsite to beach. You can't swim at the south end of the island due to the nearness of the St Johns river, but you can swim at the north end. Boardwalks, bathrooms, showers, and covered picnic tables are well-maintained and available at both north and south beach access points. Our only complaint was the skeeters - big monster skeeter squadrons. Should've brought more bug spray!

Scoring:
Site: 5 (#31 - minus one point for huge monster skeeters!)
Amenities: 3 (playground, small boat dock, small laundry; no store)
Bathrooms: 4 (roomy and clean, but not enough hot water!)
Overall: 12

Amicalola Falls State Park

Dahlonega, GA

Very steep drive up to campground. Only 24 or 25 sites but they are all brand-new as of 2005. We were the first to ever use our grill in our site. The sites on the inside of the campground loop seemed to be kind of exposed, not a lot of privacy there; however the outside of the loop sites seemed more "private." Note that the camp store is in the visitor's center, at the bottom of the mountain. The nearby lodge has a restaurant and very small gift shop. The visitor's center has some very cool wildlife displays and a fun "hideout" for the kids, and a great playground. There is a wide, clear field behind the bath house - great for kickball or frisbee or whatever. Campground is near the top of the falls, you can walk there but it's steep in places.

Gravel pads, fire rings, grills, tables.

Scoring:
Site: 4 (#7)
Amenities: 3 (store, playground, and park activities available - but all are at bottom of mountain)
Bathrooms: 4 (brand new at our visit, but still a little small)
Overall: 12

Red Top Mountain State Park

Cartersville, GA

Most sites are shady and roomy enough that you don't feel like you are in a parking lot. You can walk to the lake easily but the campground is somewhat isolated from the rest of the park. Small playground semi-centrally located. Camp store is small but nearby. Campground has secure, gated entrance. The lodge has a restaurant, small gift shop and pool. Red Top has a lot of great stuff for the family - several walking trails, a beach on the lake, playgrounds, mini-golf, and we almost never fail to see deer all over the park. The park has great summer and weekend programs, some including pioneer skills, bluegrass concerts, and a cool iron-pour where you can see how iron is made.

Gravel pads, fire rings, tables.

Scoring:
Site: 4 (varies, but most are nice and roomy)
Amenities: 5
Bathrooms: 3 (clean but small and aging)
Overall: 12

Mammoth Cave National Park

Mammoth Cave, KY

Headquarters Campground: Very nice, level sites, spacious and beautifully shaded. Wildlife abounds - there was a fearless deer waiting for us in our site, plus we saw nice plump racoons who were clearly enjoying the campground lifestyle. No hookups again, but restrooms were convenient and clean - however, no soap is provided. We never set foot in the camp store, which was just outside the campground loop, but it appeared to be fairly large, and also had gas pumps. We were told the showers (behind the camp store) were coin-operated, but as we were heading to our own private baths at home after our one night in Mammoth, we decided to forgo the experience. (I think it was $2/10 minutes.) We had a picnic table and fire ring, a nice pull-through pad, and what a treat it was to sleep with the camper windows open and not freeze to death.

Scoring:
Site: 4 (no hookups)
Amenities: 5
Bathrooms: 3 (showers unknown)
Overall: 12

Granite City KOA

Granite City, IL (St Louis)

A very nice campground, again run by very nice people. All in all, we've had very nice experiences at most KOAs. The location of this campground seemed a bit scary - a very industrial area. But the campground itself is well shielded by many trees, which not only completely blocks the less-than-savory surroundings, but provides lots of shade. Nicely kept pool and playground; we had a full hookup, but had some trouble with a loose electrical connection. Clean restrooms and showers, but the showers were the spitty, sting-y kind (not my favorite!). This KOA is just across the river from St. Louis and is closer to the downtown riverfront area than most Missouri campgrounds.

Scoring:
Site: 4
Amenities: 4
Bathrooms: 2 (dark, not to mention the spitty showers)
Overall: 10

Goodland KOA

Goodland, KS

A nice enough property, for being in Kansas. Hookups were provided but Martin shocked himself when he tried to plug in. (We didn't hook up our electricity at this site.) Owners are very nice, just took over a couple of months ago and did not seem to agree with the previous owner's selection of tchotchky's in the camp store, so we got some bargain trinkets. Free coffee, and not too bad coffee at that. There was mini-golf but we didn't stay long enough to play; the campgrounds biggest drawback was that it was in west Kansas, where everything smells like a stockyard. Also, while their KOA blurb indicated they were away from the interstate noise, it mentioned nothing about the US Highway 24 noise going right past the campground all night.

Scoring:
Site: 1
Amenities: 4
Bathrooms: 3 (but honestly I do not remember!)
Overall: 8

Dinosaurland KOA

Vernal, UT

Probably the nicest KOA we've yet stayed at. Shady sites, roomier than many "park and sleep" campgrounds. Picnic tables but no grills; swimming pool was clean but apparently "solar" heated. Plenty of clean showers and a well-stocked camp store, plus a very inexpensive laundry ($1.75/load wash and dry). Also mini-golf, $2/hour and a playground and large open area for tents and playing.

Scoring:
Site: 4
Amenities: 4
Bathrooms: 5
Overall: 13

Portal RV Park

Moab, UT

A nice place to stay. Full hookups, each site is right next to each other but fine for just parking and sleeping. This park is very popular with larger RVs - most of the other campers around us were Class A or Class C or large 5th wheels. Free showers, reasonably priced laundry ($3/load wash and dry), modestly outfitted camp store with just the necessities. Internet connection available, most tent sites have shelters, all sites have tables and grills. Bathrooms are clean and convenient, and the campground has a large pavillion for groups, an old fasioned "swimmin' hole" pond for swimming and a separate pond stocked for fishing. Conveniently located at the north end of Moab, almost right across the street from the water park (not that anything is really more than 10 minutes away in Moab). This campground is also popular with off-roaders.

Scoring:
Site: 3 (small)
Amenities: 4
Bathrooms: 5
Overall: 12

Bryce Canyon National Park

Bryce Canyon, UT

Like most National Parks, there are no hookups for trailers here, but the bathrooms are conveniently spaced, clean, and importantly, heated. Bryce is 8000 or 9000 feet above sea level, and our camper's propane heater refused to stay lit at this altitude. We were COLD, COLD, and COLD at night, but very comfortable, cool even, during the day. Our pull-through was right on the road, which was not ideal, but our picnic table and fire ring were on a lower level on the side of the hill. This level was nice and flat, and while it sloped away a bit down the hill, the kids found plenty to explore around the trees down there. Showers and laundry were coin-operated. The camp store the showers attached to was well-stocked with both gifts and necessities. Campground hosts were present, though perhaps not as helpful as they might have been. There was no formal check-in or check-out process. Lots of wildlife - mule deer, prairie dogs, and we also saw many jays, a type of black and blue bird fearless of campers, but not annoying.

Scoring:
Site: 4 (no hookups)
Amenities: 5
Bathrooms: 3 (coin-op shower)
Overall: 12

Grand Canyon National Park

Grand Canyon, AZ

Mather Campground: The pull-throughs were narrow here but there was plenty of running-around room and a picnic table and firepit. However, while we were there they did not allow campfires because of the extremely high danger of wildfires. Bathrooms are cold-water only, and showers, ice, and laundry is all coin-operated (showers are $1.50 for 5 minutes, ice is $1.65/bag). Nice and shady, we had our own wildlife visitors again, including a coyote not the least bit afraid of wandering within a few feet of our son, who was sitting sleepily in our campsite. A couple other things to note: Grand Canyon dirt is very fine, gray stuff that once attached to your belongings will not easily detach itself. Not that it stains, this is not the problem. It just won't be swept away. Also, the campground (and the South Rim, for that matter) are at about 7000 feet above sea level. This means it will be cool during the day (I don't think the mercury got above 78 while we were there) but more importantly, COLD at night; and the Mather campground has no hookups.

Scoring:
Site: 3 (level, roomy, no hookups)
Amenities: 5
Bathrooms: 3 (showers are coin-operated, cold-water only restrooms)
Overall: 11

Holbrook KOA

Holbrook, AZ

Clean with a great playground, nice showers, laundry, convenient to the interstate. Dull as dirt to look at - no grass, only gravel and barren flat landscape as far as the eye can see; but nice folks running the place. By the way, watch out for Arizona time in the summer, when the rest of the country is on Daylight Savings. We apparently were up well before 5 am and had to wait until 7 or whenever the office opened to check in/out.

Scoring:
Site: 1 (basically a parking lot)
Amenities: 4 (everything your typical KOA offers)
Bathrooms: 5 (clean and well kept)
Overall: 10

Palo Duro Canyon State Park

Canyon, TX (near Amarillo)

About 30 miles south of Amarillo, along the flattest, straightest, longest roads you may ever see, Palo Duro Canyon appears out of nowhere. A pretty, well-maintained state park, the campsites have water, picnic tables, and fire rings. Showers and flush toilets are a short walk. Lots of wildlife, including wild turkeys with no fear of humans who will wander through any and all campsites, and mule deer who are a bit shyer. The canyon itself is gorgeous, and if you can keep it straight that the Texas parks' assertion that this is a "little Grand Canyon" is like saying your backyard stream is a "little Mississippi River", you can thoroughly enjoy the area.

Scoring:
Site: 4 (level but crowded)
Amenities: 3 (trails, park activities, unknown if store is on-site)
Bathrooms: 4 (large but filled with texas-sized bugs)
Overall: 11

Toad Suck Ferry/ACOE

Toad Suck, AR (near Conway)

Our campsite was literally a stone's throw from the Arkansas River. It was a beautiful, peaceful, delightfully shady campground. Cozy sites, without being too close to each other, with covered picnic tables, water/electric hookups, showers and flush toilets. The campground also offered a playground, boat dock, and yes, there were lots of toads in the area. The menfolk were not too happy about the shower, but the ladies' shower was fine - hot and with plenty of pressure. It was a push-button shower, and apparently the men's shower required constant pressing, while the ladies' could get a complete shower with maybe two or three presses.

Scoring:
Site: 5 (#7)
Amenities: 3 (playground, floating dock, no store)
Bathrooms: 3 (aging but clean)
Overall: 11

Doll Mountain/ACOE

Carter's Lake, Ellijay, GA

Many sites here are suitable only for tent camping. Pull-thru sites seem to be pretty well packed in next to each other, without a lot of room to spread out. Large, 50Amp sites available on concrete pads, with much more of a "parking lot" feel to my mind. Drive to the campground is very winding, very sharp curves. The campground serves mostly boating and fishing types - there is a boat ramp but no trails (not officially maintained trails, anyway.) Playground and boat ramp. Gravel pads with fire rings and tables. Steep descents all around to the lake.

Scoring:
Site - 4 (#39 or 40)
Amenities - 2 (small playground, no store)
Bathrooms - 4
Overall: 10

Van Hook Glade/USFS

Highlands, NC

Beautiful, wooded area. Most sites are shady and secluded from one another. Some are walk-up only. Several are very roomy, some have access to a nearby creek. 1-mile or so hiking trail leads to a road going up to a small lake.

The campground hosts during our visit were terrific - very friendly and helpful! But there are no hookups and no showers! Campers are allowed to use showers at the community center in Highlands, and cold-water showers are available at the nearby lake.

Scoring:
Site - 4 (no hookups)
Amenities - 0 (no store, but firewood may be available to buy from hosts)
Bathrooms - 3 (no showers)
Overall: 7