Park Review – The Hill Top

Rating: 
Location: Brenham, TX
Type: Commercial
Check-in/Check-out times: 1:00/11:00
Site Quality / Amenities: Asphalt roads with concrete pads. Propane is available on site. There’s also a pool, exercise room and clubhouse.
Access: From TX-36 take a right on north Park street then left at the first street.
Staff: Very friendly and super helpful.
Cellular/WiFi: Cellular service was strong and fast. The park had WiFi but we did not try it.
Restaurants:
Nearby parks: We didn’t look at nearby parks.
What we liked: Nice friendly park near town and great central point for all the nearby attractions.
What we didn’t like: Road noise on SH-36 is very loud if staying in the Southern most sites on the west side of the park. Sites farther north (at least 1/2 way down) should be much better.
Verdict: This is definitely a great place for longer stays in the Brenham area.

Harry S Truman Visitor Center – Pioneer Village Area

Warsaw

Park Review – Bucksaw Campground

Rating: 
Location: Clinton, MO
Type: COE
Check-in/Check-out times: 6:00/6:00
Site Quality / Amenities: Gravel pads and roads. Each site has a picnic table and a fire ring.
Access: Off MO-7 east of Clinton, MO then south on SE Highway U to the entrance of the park.
Staff: We had no interaction with staff.
Cellular/WiFi: Cellular was a bit marginal, luckily we had Starlink and could get a clear enough view of the sky for decent signal.
Verdict: Nice park to explore with decent campsites.

Park Review – Ozarks Landing RV Resort

Rating: 
Location: Lake Ozark, MO
Type: Commercial
Check-in/Check-out times: 1:00/11:00
Site Quality / Amenities: Gravel roads and pads with a picnic table and fire ring at each site.
Access: Easy access from US-54 in Lake Ozark.
Restaurants: Baxter’s Lakeside Grill was a great place for a birthday dinner.
What we liked: Nice pond behind most sites. Lake of the Ozarks area is pretty but right around the lake is very built out.
What we didn’t like: Sites were a bit tight and difficult to get into.
Verdict: If we were in this area again I think we’d try someplace else just to get another point of view.

Hermann Missouri

Hannibal Missouri – Home of Mark Twain

Park Review – Lazy Day Campground

Rating: 1/2
Location: Danville, MO
Type: Commercial
Check-in/Check-out times: 12:00/11:00
Site Quality / Amenities: Gravel roads and pads.
Access: From I-70 take State Highway J south to the park entrance.
Staff: Friendly family run park.
What we liked: Nice trail in the park and lots of wood carvings throughout the park. There is a pool but we didn’t use it. Day trips to Hermann and Hannibal.
Verdict: This park is sort of in the middle of nowhere but it’s close enough for some fun day trips to the German settlement of Hermann and to Mark Twain’s home of Hannibal.

Lincoln Home in Springfield Illinois

Lincoln Burial

Park Review – Double J Campground and RV Park

Rating: 
Location: Chatham, IL
Type: Commercial
Check-in/Check-out times: 1:00/12:00
Site Quality / Amenities: Roads and sites were gravel. Each site had a picnic table and a fire ring. There was a walking trail but we never walked it.
Access: Adjacent to I-55 on Palm Rd.
Staff: This is a friendly family run campground.
What we liked: Decent park that was close to Anna’s brother in Springfield, IL. It was also interesting visiting the historical areas for Abraham Lincoln.
Verdict: Nice area to visit with lots of historical areas related to Abraham Lincoln.

Fisher Cave

Park Review – Meramec State Park

Rating: 
Location: Sullivan, MO
Type: State Park
Check-in/Check-out times: 3:00/2:00
Site Quality / Amenities: Asphalt roads and sand/gravel sites. Each site had a picnic table and a fire pit. There is a lot of wildlife in the park to watch. The river provides an opportunity to swim or wade and there is a cave in the park near the campground that can be explored with a guide.
Access: From I-44 near Sullivan take MO-185 east to the park entrance.
What we liked: During the weekend the park was quite full but during the week it really emptied out. Then it was very quiet and we were able to relax and enjoy the peace and quiet of nature while looking for wildlife. It was fun exploring Fisher cave to and enjoying the cooler temperatures underground.
Verdict: Nice State Park with lots of stuff to do to keep busy.

Park Review – Silver Springs RV Park

Rating: 
Location: West Plains, MO
Type: Commercial
Site Quality / Amenities: Gravel pads and roads. Basic site with no amenities other than a green space area at one end of the park with some picnic tables and a few grills. There was an onsite swimming pool but we didn’t use it.
Access: Easy access from US 63 in West Plains then NW 462 to the park entrance.
Staff: Very nice and accommodating.
What we liked: Convenient to West Plains and Dora where Anna’s mother grew up on a farm.
What we didn’t like: A lot of people in the park were obviously down on their luck but that was expected in this part of the country. We never felt unsafe, however, and most people there were very friendly.
Verdict: This is a decent park for this area with several things to see and do nearby.

Mirror Lake

Blanchard Springs Cavern

Historic Swinging Bridge over Sylamore Creek

City Rock Bluff

Park Review – White River Campground and Cabins

Rating: 1/2
Location: Flippin, AR
Type: Commercial
Check-in/Check-out times: 3:00/11:00
Site Quality / Amenities: Gravel roads and sites that were level. We had a picnic table and fire ring.
Access: Easy access from US-412 to Business 62 toward Cotter then exit onto White River Trail.
Staff: We had limited interactions with the owners.On arrival they directed me the wrong way to the site given our size and we had to circle around and go back to the site the way I expected I’d need to.
What we liked: Our site backed up to the White River with views of the railroad trestle and the old Cotter bridge. Because the water was cold coming off the bottom of Bull Shoals lake it helped moderate the summer temperatures. Ideal park for fishing.
What we didn’t like: Black Widow spider in the men’s bathroom.
Verdict: This is a nice park to relax along the White River as well as to explore the surrounding area.

Bull Shoals Lake Tour

Buffalo Point River Access

Rush Ghost Town

Jacob Wolf House

Gaston’s Resort

Park Review – Bull Shoals – White River State Park

Rating: 
Location: Bull Shoals, AR
Type: State Park
Check-in/Check-out times: 3:00/3:00
Site Quality / Amenities: We stayed in site 27 which was very nice with lots of room. The downside of the sites in that loop is that they are further from the river. I believe they may be the only sites with 50 amps and full hookups though. The other sites are along the river but they are typically shorter sites.
Access: We came up SH126 from Gassville up to Midway and then west on SH178 to the park rather than taking SH178 through Flippin on the west side because the west route is a bit more difficult for a larger trailer.
Staff: We had limited interaction with the staff.
Restaurants: Gaston’s White River Resort has a great restaurant with a view of the White River downstream of the lake. Mountain Home nearby has a lot of restaurants and stores.
What we liked: We visited during the heat of the summer and the water in the river is cold which was very nice!
Verdict: Beautiful park with lots of wildlife and cooler temperatures near the river. Definitely a great place to visit.

Park Review – We RV Champions of La Veta

Rating: 1/2
Location: La Veta, CO
Type: Commercial
Check-in/Check-out times: 12:00/11:00
Site Quality / Amenities:
Access: The park is a bit off the beaten path but overall it was an easy drive from I-25 through Walsenburg and west to La Vita.
Staff: Staff was friendly but we have very little interaction with them. We visited the first year they stayed open during winter and they were only maybe 10% full.
What we liked: Very pretty area in a nice small town. The town of Cuchara up in the mountains a bit south of La Vita was very cool.
What we didn’t like: Not a fault of the park but out here you are pretty far from anything. While we were there we had a capacitor fail on one of our AC units but luckily I had a spare one and was able to fix it before we got into the warmer temperatures in Texas. We also had to do some work on a slide and had to drive into Pueblo (~1 hour away) to go to a Home Depot for parts.
Verdict: Very nice park and area to stay for a week or so.