Gulf States

Alabama

Alabama

Payne’s RV Park, Theodore, AL

Don’t worry, there is no nepotism here. One of our friends pointed this park out to us and we knew we had to visit. Theodore is right outside of Mobile, and close to many activities. The Paynes have a large park with ample pull-thus on a gravel lot. There is also plenty of room to walk the dogs on an adjoining lot. Nice place with friendly people.

Florida

“Alligator Alley,” on SR 41, FL

This was one of our rare “pull in when you see the sign” stops, which is the reason we don’t know the real name. We aren’t park prudes, but we do like to know a little about the places we are going, especially after boondocking in the Everglades and in need of a shower, a hot meal and blessed air-conditioning. We were in this corner of the state to go kayaking in the Everglades, and it was either this place or paying $50 per night at a snooty RV resort in Naples. This place has a reptile museum as its main feature. The sites are grass with 30 amp and water under some nice swamp trees. The back part of the park appeared to be taken up with some Rebel South militia, so we just avoided that. The kayaking was great (see our photo gallery and blog), and if we are ever back in this part of the world, we’ll probably seek this place out again.

Flamingo Campground, Everglades National Park, FL

We spent Christmas 2006 boondocking in this park. It is a beautiful stretch of palm trees, swamps and the eastern tip of the Florida peninsula. There is ample camping with room to pull in very large-sized rigs, but no hookups. This was also one of the easier National Parks to drive around with our rig.

Key West KOA, Sugarloaf Key, FL

If you are going to take your RV down to the Keys, your choices in parks are not abundant. Anywhere you go you will have to pay an arm and a leg, and as you get closer to Key West they will ask for a few extra body parts as well. That being said, this is a nice park to pull into for awhile. We were meeting up with some of our friends in the Nittany Divers who were tent camping in the same park. The RV’s are shoe horned into mostly back-in sites, some of which looked too narrow to open slides on both sides of your rig. We lucked into a site near the entrance that was a bit more roomy and gave us some privacy. There is a beach for swimming, boat rentals and a nice road to walk down to a secluded edge of the Key. Across the highway there is a nice little restaurant and bar, and the park has food too, but for the best fish you have ever had try Fishcutters, a little shack on the Key where they drop off the fresh catch. I fell in love with there BLT, bacon, lobster and tomato, and fried cheesecake. The park runs a shuttle into Key West, or it is a quick drive into town.

Mill Creek RV Resort, Kissimmee FL*

Who can say what madness has overcome you, but you find yourself headed for Orlando. Well, there are plenty of parks around, but this is a good one out of the way of the traffic of the attractions, but close enough to go visit. There are a large number of mobile homes in this park, and a low nightly turnover. We got to amuse the locals with our lack of back-in skills, but fortunately the sites are spacious and forgiving. Nice paved interior roads and friendly people make this one we would go back to.

Sunset King Lake RV Resort, Defuniak Springs, FL*

When most people think of RVing in FL they think of Snowbirds. Well, this is a park especially designed for these refugees from the frost. It has several hundred spaces that are mostly taken up with monthly campers. Plenty of activities going on and a friendly staff. Sites vary a great deal. We were on a hard dirt site with lots of grass around. Nice areas for walking the dogs and plenty of restrooms and shower facilities sprinkled through the park. Not a bad spot for a night of a season.

Louisiana

Hidden Ponds RV Park, Sulphur, LA

Some towns are named in jest, like Green Tree, AZ, but Sulphur decided to go with truth in advertising. The main industry in town is a large oil refinery that makes the entire area smell. But this park is a nice oasis amid the regular oil town blight. They have several large ponds, stocked for fishing, and large facilities including laundry room, game room and bathhouses. There are also roving bands of geese that are not afraid of people, so watch your shins.

Mississippi

Holmes County State Park, Durant, MS

First I have to say we loved the state parks in Mississippi. They are well maintained, easy to navigate, and you can register on-line. And Holmes County is a great place to stop and rest for a spell, because there is nothing to do. The sites are mostly back-ins with electric and water. They have a nice bathhouse and dump station near the exit. These places go fast in the summer, probably because you can’t go camping cheaper.

Natchez State Park, Natchez MS

As we took the turn off to this park we got a little worried that we were driving onto the set of another “Deliverance” movie, but another turn took us away from the shanties and onto state park land. We stayed in Campground B which has spacious back ins with electric and water a modern restroom, dump station near the exit, and great views of the lake. Fishing is a big deal here, so I’m sure in season these spots go fast. There is another campground with full hook-ups and cabins for rent.

Texas

Abilene KOA, Abilene, TX

Pretty much what you would expect from a KOA: good facilities, clean park, and a high price tag. Located on the southern frontage road of I-20 it is a pain to do a quick overnight if you are headed west. We opted for a site with just water and electric here and they put us in an oversized tent site. Still it was comfortable for a few nights.

Big Bend / Rio Grand Village Campground, Big Bend National Park, TX

Big Bend is one of the few National Parks we have come across that offer a campground with FHU for RVs. But we did not stay at that campground, the one run by concessionaires, because they are charging around $40 per night. Instead we stayed in the National Park campground and boondocked for $8 per night. This was a nice park with spacious campsites, mostly back-in. The campground is divided into generator and non-generator sections. Both have plenty of bathrooms. You can walk out to the Rio Grand River from the park and there are nightly ranger talks in the amphitheater. Unfortunately you are no longer allowed to cross over to Mexico, so much of what campers used to do has been lost. And if they do build the border fence, it will wreck havoc on this beautiful wilderness.

Heart of Texas RV Park, Brady, TX*

This was not so much an RV park as it was a big field with hookups you back in to. At the far end of the field were five or six old mobile homes, one of which the manager and her son lived in. They only accepted cash, which we think she pocketed because she did not want us to fill out any paperwork. The site itself was a spacious grass area with FHU at the back. Good enough for one night.

Houston West RV Park, Brookshire, TX

This was a KOA park, but the owners did not like KOA dictating how much they should be charging. So they left the KOA umbrella and charge $10 less than they did before. Good gravel interior roads and FHU with cable at the sites. The park is located a good twenty miles to the west of Houston, so there is not much city around. We thought it was a good spot for a night, but they have plenty of snowbirds staying the winter too.

KOA near Fredericksburg, TX

Owned by fellow Penn Staters, this KOA is a neat and tidy place to stay in the Texas hill country. Sue believes the marketing materials that this is in Fredericksburg, but really it is closer to Luckenback, TX, where you can hang out with Willy and the boys. Good facilities, gravel sites and nice people.

Oak Forest RV Park, Austin, TX*

This place is a hidden gem in Austin. It has had a lot of renovations and additions in the past few years including new bathrooms, laundry facilities, a work out room, pool and hot tub. Next year when the guide books get updated, this place will be packed. It's already packed with people who stay on for several months at a time, but soon more will come. So if you get a chance, try it out while you can. UPDATE: we have come back to Oak Forest every year we visit my parents and it is still one of our favorites. It is getting harder to get reservations, so be sure to call ahead.

Parkview Riverside RV Park, Concan, TX*

Located southwest of San Antonio on the banks of the Frio River, this new park is already attracting some devoted visitors. There are both pull-thru and back-in sites. All are very spacious and have FHU and limited cable-tv. There is wi-fi for an extra fee. In several locations through the park you can walk down to the banks of the river. During warmer seasons this is a popular river to float and go swimming in.

Texas RV Park of Big Spring

What do you say about a place you pull into and they greet you kindly with a warning that it’s going to freeze tonight and if you use water from their pipes you will get a fine. Actually, freeze warnings aside, this was a nice park on the outskirts of true west Texas (translation: miles and miles of flat planes covered in cotton fields). They do try to take care of their guests with a free pancake breakfast each morning, clean bathroomsvand free cable TV. All in all we would probably stop there again.

West 40 RV Park

Another blast from the past along US-83, this roadside park stays in business with traffic from I-40. The park probably has not been updated in 20 years, but it has an endearing atmosphere and "J" the 90-something proprietor still checks everyone in.