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Sugarite State Park – NM

Location & Map

  • When – June, 2019
  • Weather – Nice! – Shower in the evening knocked down some dust

Facilities

  • Notes:
    • Full service campsites in the Alice Lake area.
    • Gravel drives – dusty no hard pack pads
    • Nice camp host!
    • It seems to have a lot of ‘perma-campers’
  • Park Map
  • Showers
    • Only showers at visitor center with 7a-7p hrs.

What we liked / disliked

  • †Wildlife
    • Bears were active and bear boxes were recommended for non-hard-side campers and tents.
    • Deer were at the camp site
    • Hummingbirds everywhere
  • Media
    • No TV and No cell service

Photos

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Bear Creek State Park – CO

Location & Map

  • When – June, 2019
  • Weather – Excellent

Facilities

  • Notes:
    • After hrs entry requires a phone call prior to 3pm. This information is only posted on their web site. Not the reservation email!!!
    • Enter via Morrison Road
    • Great camp host who was very helpful.
    • This park is tucked against foothills and a a great launching point into the city or the mountains.
    • Only 47 camp sites in a huge park… however, no shaded slots.
    • Beautiful area and quiet.
    • Great walking and biking trails. Paved and dirt for miles!
    • Pay showers
    • Bring bug spray
  • Park Map

What we liked / disliked

  • Notes:
    • Small campsites with gravel base and close to neighbors
  • Wildlife
    • Limited, but found a gopher snake!
  • Media
    • Full TV and Excellent cell service

Photos

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Custer State Park – SD

Location & Map

  • When – June, 2019
  • Weather – Generally good! Rain in the evening

Facilities

  • Notes:
    • We stayed in the Sylvan Lake area, (note map below)
    • This camp area has a narrow one-way drive with limited maneuvering room.
    • It has a fairly new and clean restroom building, However hot water was variable. We spoke to the camp host and they indicated repairs are due the day we left!
    • There is a nice walking trail to Sylvan lake and the general store. The trail is off the road and safe.
    • Easy mountain drives to Mt Rushmore and Crazy Horse memorials.
    • One dump station in entire state park by the Visitor Center!
    • The Wildlife loop had nice scenery.
  • Park Maps (Custer State Park and Wind Cave National Park)

What we liked / disliked

  • Notes
    • ONE dump station in the entire park!
    • Water not on site, only community spigots.
    • The parking pads are not level. Or only small portion of our assigned pad was level for the trailer.
    • No trash receptacle at dump station.
    • As mentioned, big rigs will have a problem in the narrow one-way drive in this camp ground.
    • The General Store is limited in product selection and pricey… more like what you would expect in a tourist destination than a State Park.
  • Wildlife
    • Yes! Marmot, Bison, Big Horn Sheep, Mountain Goat, Deer…
  • Media
    • No TV and NO cell service

Photos

Badlands Photos

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Chadron State Park – NE

Location & Map

  • When – June, 2019
  • Weather – Beautiful!

Facilities

  • Notes
    • Hiking trails available throughout the park.
    • Clean restrooms and showers.
    • Cabins are available if you are not in a travel trailer, RV or tent.
    • A lot of amenities: swimming pool; disc golf; tennis courts; horse stables and more.
    • The park hosts were great!
    • Sites are large. Although pads are shorter than some camp areas we have visited.
    • Really quiet! Just off the highway but the trees provide a nice buffer.
    • This park is a hidden gem in the NE state park system
  • Park Map

What we liked / disliked

  • Notes
    • Water not at every site so you need to fill before parking.
  • Wildlife
    • Deer and turkeys everywhere!
  • Media
    • Better bring a movie for the evening!
    • Cell service was limited

Photos

  • Shower building
  • Turkeys
  • playground
  • Beautiful!
  • Cabins
  • Nice Trails
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Windmill State Park – NE

Location & Map

  • When – June, 2019
  • Weather – Very pleasant!

Facilities

  • Notes
    • This is a huge camping area, clean and grassy.
    • Clean shower and restrooms centered in the camping area.
    • Plenty of room for tent or screen room use at every site.
    • Nice fire pits, (even a little wood dumped at our site.
    • Many partially shaded sites, but you would need to drive the area to choose an available site first.
    • Reservations required for multiple nights on the Nebraska State Parks web site.
    • Walking paths to the lakes, windmill and gazebo Handicap accessible.
  • Park Map

What we liked / disliked

  • Notes
    • No water at individual sites, only community spigots.
    • Not easily accessed during construction through the end of 2019!! Eastbound I-80 access forces you to go 5 miles further east and return on the westbound side. This was NOT noted on the state parks website.
    • A constant noise of I-80 traffic and trains.
  • Wildlife
    • Turkeys seemed to have a run of the place! 🙂
  • Media
    • Some TV and good cell service

Photos

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Lake Thunderbird State Park – OK

  • Small Signage!
  • Google will get you there!

Location & Map

  • When – June, 2019
  • Weather – generally pleasant

Facilities

  • Notes:
    • Lots of tent areas and picnic areas in this park.
    • A nice playground and swimming area with lifejackets available for use.
    • The pads are level but close together. During peak season and weekends, it will be noisy.
    • Dump staton is a single use station so be patient on the weekends.
    • This too is a quiet park… save the power boats… two or more boats were so loud you could hear them even after they had crossed the lake!
  • Our Site

Park Map

What we liked / disliked

  • Notes
    • Paid shower in new building
      • Cold shower in old buildings… a good incentive to pay for the showers!
    • Laundry… unfortunately it was out of order.
    • No trails in this park.
  • Wildlife
    • Geese everywhere
  • Media
    • Limited TV but good cell service

Photos

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Ray Roberts Lake State Park – Isle du Bois

Location & Map

  • When – June 2019
  • Weather – Warm and humid

Facilities

  • Notes:
  • We were in the Ray Roberts Lake State Park – Isle du Bois area which had some partial flooding and a few closed camp sites. One of the other campground areas was also closed due to flooding.
  • Because the staff had not been out to the sites, there were unaware of mud filled sites… and unfortunately we were assigned one of these sites! A trip back to the office solved the problem with a move to another available slot.
  • We did not see a single park patrol… and it showed from the above point.
  • The parking pads are not too level so be prepared to spend some quality time with your blocks! 🙂

Park Map

What we liked / disliked

  • Notes:
    • The Showers are adequate but in need of an update.
    • There are walking trails to / from a playground and it appears to be a family friendly area.
    • This a a very quiet park and very peaceful in the evenings.
  • Our Site
  • Dry… but we moved!
  • Wildlife
    • We had deer everywhere and geese… watch where you step!
  • Media
    • Limited TV access, good cell service.

Photos

  • Flooding from recent rain
  • A little water in this site!
  • Across from our site
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Osage Hills State Park

Location & Map

  • When – April, 2019
  • Weather – Comfortable 70’s and cool evenings in the 50’s

Facilities

  • Notes
    • This is a quiet park! The camping area is in a bit of a hollow and surrounded by trees.
    • The office closes at 5PM and the gate at 10PM so the traffic is minimal.
    • We’re certain the noise and activity will pick up during the ‘camping season’ and on weekends in the summer.
    • The area has some nice trails to and around Sand Creek
    • The spaces are primarily ‘back-in’ with a chart that shows the max length for the pad chosen.
    • Two bathhouses and one handicap accessible.
      • The bathhouses and shower areas were kept clean!

What we liked / disliked

  • Notes
    • The park trail maps need to be repainted.
    • All the trails were clean and walkable.
    • The waterfall area is scenic, although it may be very popular in the peak of the summer season.
  • Wildlife
    • We saw one beaver rustling through the brush, he/she was not bothered by us!
    • Birds were limited for this time of the year, a few Cardinals and a few Grebes.
    • It was probably too early for other birds.
  • Media
    • Four local channels, (two Christian Broadcast, one Spanish language and one ??

Photos

  • One of the Bathhouses
  • Old water tank and Observation Tower
  • Group Picnic Area
  • Playground
  • Trail Map
  • Our Space
  • The RV Area

Park images

  • Sand Creek
  • Trails
  • Trails
  • Rock Outcropping
  • View from the Observation Tower
  • Sand Creek Waterfall
  • Side Creek
  • Sand Creek
  • Sand Creek
  • Sand Creek
  • Sand Creek
  • Sand Creek
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Reference Links

Here are a few links to some great resources on the web, we will try to keep this updated and fresh!

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Travel and RVing