Soledad Canyon RV Camping & Resort, Acton Califonia

      We got a late start in leaving Las Vegas and the temperature had climbed to an uncomfortable state. With the dash air conditioner not putting out the cool air that it should have been, the drive west to Soledad Canyon was less than comfortable. We stopped to pick up a custom fitted rock shield for our dinghy along the way. It was ready but needed to be customized further to fit around our hitch, which meant us sitting in the coach for two hours without any AC. When we finally got to the campground, it was after six. Soledad Canyon Campground & RV Park is a 1000 Trails park, so you have to drive around, find a vacant spot and then let the “Ranger” know which spot you picked. The ranger on duty was nice enough, but he failed to correctly mention how to identify which spots were which, so it was a guessing game. Unfortunately, with us being tired and hungry we didn’t detach the car and go find a spot, we decided to drive the coach around the campground to find one. The park is quite large and needs some general care. Tree branches were hanging over the roads and the sites weren't very well marked. Driving around a branch hit and broke the shroud to one of our AC units. The first site we picked, we stepped out find quite a colony of ants, so we moved on. Finally, we found a site with 50 amps and didn’t seem to have any other issues. However, it wasn’t a site that we wanted to set out the chairs and enjoy. Not a great first impression.

     In the morning, we went to the welcome center to say something about the low branches damaging our coach and the ranger was less than friendly but gave us a form. Later we took the dogs for a walk around the grounds. Actually, there are some nice features. The adult pool was about twice the size of most campgrounds pools and the family pool was probably three times the size of the adult pool and both pools are very well maintained. The adult lodge building was fine. There are two areas for horseshoes, a miniature golf course, nice tennis courts and a couple of basketball courts, these too were maintained. Also, there is quite a large grassy park with ponds. The grass was mowed, but outside of that, it looked as if it never got used and the buildings we in poor repair. When we did go up and use the pool, we had it all to ourselves. It was really nice, there is also a hot tub next to the pool large enough for fifteen people. I can’t say enough good things about the pool.

      Later, we got back to the welcome center with our form and both the on-duty ranger and the park manager were very helpful with our issue. The manager came to our site, climbed up on the roof and took pictures. So maybe the first ranger was just having a bad morning.

     The park is quite large, all sites are dirt and not well taken care of. There are lots and lots of ground squirrels everywhere and so there are holes everywhere. They are cute, but I think some of their tunnelings has lessened the integrity of the site we parked in. One of the pads folded when I put the jack down on top of it. We will probably visit the campground again in the future and hopefully find a better camping spot.

     Enjoy all the perks of a traditional campground with the added bonus of resort-style amenities at Soledad Canyon RV Resort. With a secluded location in the high desert country along the Santa Clara stream way, Soledad Canyon RV Resort features majestic scenery. Large picnic areas surround the largest swimming pool in the west, perfect for enjoying the California sunshine.

     This Los Angeles RV campground is just 15 minutes from major shopping centers and 1 hour from nearby attractions like Universal Studios Hollywood and Six Flags Magic Mountain. Don't miss out on a spectacular trip to Soledad Canyon RV Resort, where the weather is beautiful and recreation is always in season.

Skyline Mountain Resort, Fairview, Utah

    When we arrived at Skyline Mountain, we were directed to which campsite to park in.  As soon as we saw it, we realized that there was no way for us to fit.  Jackie walked back to the office and they assigned us another site.  There only three other campers in the whole campground.  Anyway, once we pulled in, I get into a conversation with the folks next door.  Unfortunately, I did this before I got things set up with our coach.  Needless to say, I was in the doghouse.  They did have nice grassy sights with gravel drives and a small concrete pad for a picnic table.  The campground features a nine-hole golf course and a driving range.  It has a nice pool with a long tube slide, from which I was told by another camper was only opened on weekends and was closed for the season when we got there in mid-November.  

     There are a couple of small towns nearby which are nice, but not really touristy.  While we were there we made a loop to the east up into the mountains into coal country.  On the drive, we found a museum in the town of Helper which gave us a nice history of the area's coal miners and railroaders.  While on our drive we reach a spot where the bones of a mammoth were discovered above 9000 feet.  The drive was scenic and worth the time, but outside of that we didn't find much else to do while we were there.

Type: Classic

Good Sam Rating: 6.5/9*/8.5

Address: 
22130 North 11750 East
Fairview, UT 84629

Phone: (435) 427-9590

Fax: (435) 427-9505

Reservations Phone: (435) 427-9590

Resort Information: 1,500 acres of mountain beauty next to Manti LaSalle National Forest. Waterslide and public pool available for fee. 9-hole golf course with cart rentals, pro shop, driving range.

Web Site: skylinemountain.com

EMail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Full Sites: 22

Partial Sites: 10

Pull-through Sites: 3

Check-In/Check-Out Times: 2 p.m. - 5 p.m./ 11:00 a.m.

RV Site Minimum Stay: 1 night

Open: May 1 to Oct 31

Maximum Electrical Service: 30 amps

WiFi Available: No

Maximum RV Length: 40 feet

Elevation: 6100

Amenities: BBQ grills on site, basketball, dump station, fire rings, outdoor pool with a water slide (pay-per-use), snack bar (golf shop & pool snack bar), horseshoe, tennis, playground, golf available (9-hole pay-per-use) , driving range (pay-per-use), putting green, handicap access, Clean restrooms with hot showers (closed after office hours please check out a restroom card with office need a $20.00 or Driver License for deposit), ice available ($1.50 a bag 8lb), meeting room, pavilion (pay-per-use if available), picnic area, pull-through sites, tenting, volleyball, winter sports nearby (snowmobiling). Nearby fishing, hiking, rock climbing, ATV trails, drive-in movie theater, restaurants, scenic views, museums, shopping, horse arena. Maps available in the office (ATV & Hiking).

RV Notes: Rate includes 1 RV, 1 vehicle, 4 people, 2 pets, 30 amp. Additional charges: Extra adult $3/night, extra child $1/night, 50 amp $3/night, late check-out early check-in $5 plus tax, utility fee $3.50/night, pets over 25 lbs $3/night. Pool fee $5 swim & $7 swim/slide. Water shut off in Oct. Limited winter facilities. Mail accepted please use 22130 N 11750 E SMR RV Spot # Fairview, UT 84629.

Rental Notes: Rental units available. Trip Points not accepted. Contact the resort directly.

Restrictions:

Accepts Pets: Yes

Pet Restrictions: Animals are only allowed if leashed at all times. Clean after pets. No animals around the pool area. Cabin #1 pet-friendly only.

Visitor Mail Accepted: Yes

Silver Falls State Park

     Silver Falls State Park is another park that I've visited several times over the years to hike it's miles of trails and have never camped here.  I've been missing out.  There are two loops to the campground.  An older loop in which the trees are tall and numerous almost blocking the sun from hitting the campground, while the new loop has more open sites with smaller trees and lots of grass.  Both are great.  The campground also has several cabins as well.

        Our visit to the park started on a very rainy Friday morning.  On the way, we stopped and replace the deep cycle batteries in our coach.  Then headed up a windy twisty road to the campground.  We set up camp in the rain, not a big deal with our RV.  On our first walk around the park with the dogs, Jackie noticed a young woman struggling to set up a large tent in the rain.  She offered to help and the three of us got her set up.  She had a friend showing up several hours later and I guess, setting up camp was up to her.  Saturday after walking the dogs we went to town to find a bakery.  No luck, but we had a great lunch at Mac's in Silverton.

     Sunday it was lightly raining but decided to go hiking the falls trails anyway.  The weather cleared up some and we had a great hike. However, shortly after we ate dinner on Sunday night it started to rain, and rain hard all night.

      We returned to the campground a couple of years later.  This time, we volunteered to camp host for a month.  It was April and the first two weeks was rain and more rain, but the second couple of weeks the weather was better.  Camp hosting turned out to be a lot of fun and we wound up volunteering for another couple of months at another Oregon State Park.  As hosts, we were tasked with cleaning sites after people leave and before the next folks arrived.  I wish that all campgrounds took the time to prepare sites.  I can't say enough good things about state parks.  We've had similar experiences at state parks all across the country.

Sherwood Forest RV Resort

     Sherwood Forest was the second half of our Disney visit.  It is located a little more than a mile up the road from Tropical Palms.  We switched parks early on a Sunday morning and we were assigned a nice pull-through site across from the pool.   The resort has most of the standard amenities, pool, hot tub, put-put golf, shuffleboard courts and so on.  I do have to say that it has by far the nicest miniature golf course that I've seen, only I never did get the chance to play it as Disney was our main reason for being there.  The resort is great and the people are friendly.  The office opened a half an hour early to let us in.  Also, our neighbors were very nice as well.  Jackie and I were sitting outside playing cribbage watching three other couples across the road barbecuing and enjoying a lively conversation.  Then the guy doing the barbecuing walked over and gave us a plate of prime rib and bread.  After the group broke up we walked over to say thank you and wound up being invited for more barbecue and libation.  A few minutes later, one of the other couples returned and it became a party.  I know that I've said this several times, but this is really the best part of the RV life, meeting new friends.

      On our second day there, Jackie's best friend flew in from Washington State to join us for a few days.  That night we checked out Disney Springs.  The next two days Jackie and DeeAnne visited two parks a day while I joined them for one each day.  (upgrading to a park-hopper pass was $80)  So I did Epcot and the Animal Kingdom a second time while Jackie did all four again.  I can't say enough how impressed I was with the Animal Kingdom enough.  Not only were the animals great, but I took more time to look at the details that they put into creating Pandora and this huge living tree. 

An RV resort in Kissimmee with location, location, location!

Want to be close to everything while surrounded by pure nature? Sherwood Forest RV Resort in Kissimmee is the place for you. This beautiful RV resort is just four miles from Walt Disney World and 12 miles from Universal Studios. For the ultimate shopping experience, enjoy your proximity to six major malls and outlets, all within 10 miles of the resort.

Sherwood Forest RV Resort is a beautiful RV resort in Kissimmee offering an abundance of amenities and activities. Concerts, dinners, dances, dance lessons, bingo, card nights, board game nights, crafting, quilting, ice cream socials, and cookouts are just a few of the popular activities at Sherwood Forest RV Resort.

We have a variety of RV and tent sites as well as park model rental cottages to meet your needs at this beautiful RV resort in Kissimmee. We have 531 sites and 457 offer full hook-ups. Come see us at Sherwood Forest RV Resort!

Seven Feathers Casino, Canyonville, Oregon

      Seven Feathers Casino has a beautiful campground, we didn't go there.  Instead, we opted to dry camp in a parking lot that the casino has set aside for that purpose.  The parking lot has several spaces for pull-thru camping, only, they are a little too short.  I'm guessing in the fifty-foot neighborhood.  They also have an equal number of back-in spaces that are less than forty feet, however, the grass field behind the spaces allows for RV to hangover the parking lot.  The other option (which we took) was to take up several of the back-in spaces and make them pull-thrus.  Several people were doing this so it looked like the norm.  We also noticed in other parking lots around the casino there were several RV's parking at a distance from the building.  The casino features a $9.99 buffet at 4 pm and a steak and eggs breakfast for $2.99 for truck drivers (anyone one with a CDL)  It was our first experience in a parking lot and it was good.  Other campers were friendly and we felt pretty secure.  We will definitely, use the casino in the future as a stop-over while driving I-5.  The lot is located north of the casino just east of the Burger King.  Generators are permitted to be ran from 7 am until 10 pm.

     Check out the casino's website for more information, if you're a veteran, Tuesdays are when you want to visit.  https://www.sevenfeathers.com/

Seaside RV Resort (1000 Trails)

        Our weekend in Seaside was really great!  Fifty degrees and sunny at the Oregon Beach in January, how cool is that?  The photo is Jackie and me on the beach.  We spent the weekend with my mother, my sister and her husband, (Sandy  Charles), and my other sister and her boyfriend (Sherry & Raf).  The campground is within walking distance of the tourist activities in Seaside.  Which made it probably the best reason for a non-member to stay at the campground.  For that reason, I'm sure that we will visit the campground again.
       Seaside RV Resort is two campgrounds in one. One side, with the indoor swimming pool, spa, and tennis courts is for the 1000 Trails members, while the other campground with a separate entrance is the "Retail Side" with a laundry mat and showers for non-members.  Both sides have quite the security.  The campground is surrounded by a tall fence and the both gates are manned during the day with a security code for campers to enter after hours.  The security was such that when my sister who was staying in town stopped by to pick up my mother, the security at the gate told her that it would be $20 to drive in.  She asked if it would be okay to park outside and walk in, still $20.  Finally, she was allowed to drive in, but only for fifteen minutes.  
      On a previous visit to the resort, just to check it out, we did the whole 1000 trails tour with a host.  If you're interested membership, it sounds like a pretty good deal, but not being full-timers yet, it wasn't for us right now.

Seaport RV Resort & Campground, Old Mystic, Connecticut

      Not having any 'free' campgrounds in Connecticut that would fit our coach, we opted for a "Good Neighbor Park" These parks give Coast to Coast members a discount on camping fees.  Seaport gave a discount from $68 per night to $51 but required us to stay two nights.  The campground was nice with lots of grass and large camping sites.  However, it did lack septic at the campsites.  I understand that they provide a free pump out after three nights.  The facilities were nice and well maintained.  My biggest issue with the campground was that they wouldn't let us choose the site so we wound up facing the sun with no shade trees while there were plenty of nicer sites left empty.  

      While we were there we decided to drive to Gillette Castle.  It was the former home of William Gillette, now a Connecticut State Park.  Gillette was an early 20th-century playwright and actor who is most famous for his role as Sherlock Holmes.  He designed and had a castle built to live in.  From the outside it looks like an old stone European castle, however, on the inside, it was the coolest home I have ever been in.  The most impressive thing was the woodwork, especially the doors.  My description or even photos wouldn't do it justice.  It cost just six dollars to do a walkthrough.  Once inside there are park rangers to explain and tell the history of every room and of Gillette.  The castle sits on a hill overlooking the Connecticut River.  We were fortunate enough to have taken the ferry across the river, so our first view of the castle was from the water.  We would have missed it, if not for our love of taking ferries.  

      We also took some time to explore the town of Mystic.  We took photos of the Mystic Pizza parlor but didn't go in because we had already eaten lunch.  From what we were told at the park, the town has quite a maritime museum and with our gate pass, we could get 50% off admission.  We didn't have time, so we missed it.

Type: GNP - Good Neighbor Park

Good Sam Rating: 9/10*/9

Address: 
45 Campground Rd
Old Mystic, CT 06372

Phone: (248) 234-6027

Reservations Phone: (248) 234-6027

Resort Information: Seaport Campground is close to everything you love about Mystic and the Connecticut shoreline. Located in the phenomenal vacation destination of Old Mystic, CT, Seaport offers an East Coast retreat that you won’t soon forget. It’s no wonder families bring their RVs to Seaport – this resort is a camper’s paradise with large sites, fantastic amenities and a great variety of local attractions.

Directions: From Jct of I-95 & Allyn St/Cow Hill Rd (Ex 89): N 1.3 mi on Allyn St/Cow Hill Rd to Gold Star Rd/SR 184, turn E (R), park on L in 1.5 mi.

Web Site: sunrvresorts.com

Partial Sites: 102

Pull-through Sites: 25

Dry Sites: 12

Check-In/Check-Out Times: 2:00 p.m./ 11:00 a.m.

Rental Types: Economy RV Site, 4675 Points  

RV Site Minimum Stay: 2 nights (with our membership discount)

Rental Unit Minimum Stay: 1 night

Open: Apr 15 to Oct 14

Maximum Electrical Service: 50 amps

WiFi Available: Yes

Maximum RV Length: 45 feet

Elevation: 0

Amenities: Game room, mini golf, fitness center, laser tag, group activities, pavilion, heated outdoor pool, playground, horseshoes, cable TV, dump station, firewood, ice available, picnic tables, fishing available, laundry, fire rings, grocery, propane, hot showers, honeywagon.

RV Notes: Special discount rate for Coast members. Site includes water, electric, no sewer. Additional charges: 50 amp $3/night, $20 early check-in and late check-out. Drive-ups not accepted.

Accepts Pets: Yes

Pet Restrictions: Yes

Visitor Mail Accepted: No

Sea Pines RV Resort & Campground, Swainton, New Jersey

     We arrived at Sea Pines on a Friday afternoon before the 4th of July for a ten-day stay.  We were able to leave the coach just inside the gate and search for a site.  We were given a map with all the available spaces highlighted in yellow and were told that only certain sites had a septic connect, however they do provide a free pump service twice a week.  The sites with septics were located in with the annual sites.  Sea Pines is definitely a campground.  The roads and sites are all dirt and a little gravel.  On the plus side most all of the sites are very large and could easily be two if not three sites.  Also, all of the sites are in the trees. (not pine trees like the name would imply)  We found a great end site and a couple hours later great people took the site next door.  With every campground, there are pros and cons.  On the negative side was the number of annual sites vs. camping sites.  The other Thousand Trails campground down the road (Lake & Shore) gave us a map when stopped in for a visit showing close to 80% annual sites and referred to the other sites as 'transient' sites.  We purchased a campground membership to camp in campgrounds not to fill the gaps in trailer parks.  Sea Pines also needs to work on enforcing their rules especial the speed limit with the number kids and the level of dust, there are way too many fast drivers, the biggest violators being golf carts.  On the positive side, there is a great swimming pond.  Never been big on swimming in ponds, but this one was really nice.  There is also a pool, but it's too small to just float and relax.  With the trees, large sites, pond, and great neighbors the campground is worth a return visit.  

    Part of our reason for choosing this location was its proximity to Atlantic City (about a 40-minute drive).  I had been there as a kid in the early seventies (before gambling was legal) and was excited about returning.  Well, I was disappointed to see that the city is dying.  Driving into town was sad, we could barely make out the skyline through the haze of the heat and pollution.  When we got into the city, we found it dirty with closed up buildings and businesses everywhere, including on the boardwalk.  We landed in a parking garage between Bally's and Ceasar's.  Both casinos were nice, but nothing like Vegas.  On the boardwalk, there were few people.  There also was quite a bit of dune between the boardwalk and the beach, I don't remember that, but it's been 45 years. I'm guessing that there are other parts of the city that aren't as dead as where we were.  There are several large casinos not on the boardwalk.  It's too bad that the city is so run down.

     On another day while were we camping here we decided to take the seventy-mile drive northeast to Philidelphia.  It was worth it, but we didn't have enough time to see everything that we wanted to see.  We decided to park free at a casino (Sugar House).  We played a bit and then made the half hour trek in the 95-degree sun to the historic part of the city.  We walked around and saw most of the historic sites that you'd expect to see and even did a tour of Independence Hall (the Pennsylvania State House)  We found a fun way to check out the city.  There are 13 story-telling benches throughout the city.  At each bench, there is someone there telling five-minute stories about the history of the place.  The storytellers are very animated and fun, but it was mostly geared toward children.  Just the same we visited several and listened to some fun stories, but we ran out of time before we got to them all.  It was a good way to find most of the historic sights of the city. Philidelphia is a beautiful city, but it doesn't smell very good.  We will have to go back and get more of the history in the future.

South Jersey Shore getaway at this Cape May RV campground
      Book a trip at Sea Pines RV Resort and have all the pleasures of a quiet campground plus the excitement of Atlantic City wrapped into one. Our easy-access wooded sites and comfortable rental accommodations make for the perfect home-away-from-home at this Cape May RV campground. Once settled, you will find that our campground offers much to do and see. Off-site, go sightseeing to appreciate the beauty of the old Victorian homes of Cape May, walk on the beach or stroll along the boardwalk. Back at the resort, hang out poolside, test your skill at mini golf or relax under the sun.

     This area offers a great selection of things to do while vacationing. Try your luck at deep sea fishing, dine at gourmet restaurants, go whale and dolphin watching or even take a day trip to the free public zoo. However you define vacation fun, you’ll find many options available at Cape May’s Sea Pines RV Resort.

San Benito RV & Camping Resort, Paicines, California

     We arrived here at San Benito on a Sunday morning after a very twisty drive from Coalinga. (west on CA-198 and then north on CA-25) The road was in good repair but has absolutely no shoulder and some of the sharpest corners that I’ve driven the coach around.  The campground is tucked in behind a huge farm and is a few miles off the highway.  Once there we found a quite large campground with a good mixture of open space and treed areas.  We paid an extra $5 a night for 50 amps, but then really didn’t need it as the weather had cooled.  The campground has the normal amenities that you would expect to find in a Thousand Trails park like a family pool and an adult pool, a family lodge and an adult lodge (which is in poor repair), a dog walk area, volleyball court, miniature golf, horseshoes, and more.   We enjoyed how large the campground is (walking the circumference is about two and a half miles) and the wildlife there.  Every day we saw a dozen plus deer, squirrels, and quails by the hundreds.  One morning we watched a family of six bobcats playing in the sun next to the dog park.  Apparently, a common occurrence here, as none of the cats paid Jackie, the dogs, or I any attention.  We were told at the gate when we came in that we may see lots of tarantulas in the campground as it was mating season but only saw one in the park and one up hiking in the Pinnacle Mountains nearby. 

      There are a couple of natural negatives about the campground to be aware of.  Poison oak is very abundant outside the campground which kept our hiking to the road and then there are small stickers all over the ground (goat heads) which stick into everything.  I can’t tell you how many we and the dogs stepped on, the problem is bad enough that we had to take time to pull them out of your shoes every time we went inside and we didn’t use our bikes for fear of flat tires.  There are also some not so natural issues as well.  Be sure to have your vehicles registered and insured.  The campground rangers did have friends across from us leave because their registration was expired and only gave them two hours to get out.  This was after they had been in the campground a couple of days.  (The campground has a fenced in area for RV storage, but also allows some RVs to be stored around the park and we noted that most of them had expired registrations some as old as seven years expired.)  The park advertises its want of “annuals” to live here full time.  Because the park is open to the public, it has non-members who live here month to month spread out through the campground, which to me, takes away from the campground feel that we like.

      We came this far north this late in the year to meet up with friends here despite it may get a little colder than we prefer, it was certainly worth it.  With friends camping next door and meeting a few new friends while here, it made up for the campgrounds faults, as well as its lack of phone service and poor internet.  Only Verizon works in the campground.  There is an internet provider here and we paid $20 for the two weeks that we stayed here.  The $20 covered Internet for only one device at a time and sharing a hotspot it with other campers left us with very slow speeds and some evenings, not enough speed to use at all.  We wound up buying a Verizon prepaid phone and plan so that we weren’t totally unreachable by family and friends.  Overall, the park has more positives than negatives and I’m sure that we will return here in the future, hopefully with friends again. 

See wildlife & natural attractions from a Monterey Bay RV campground

     California is a fantastic state for camping. That's why Thousand Trails offers a variety of California campgrounds. San Benito RV & Camping Resort is particularly special since it offers all the beauty you’d expect in a Monterey Bay RV campground, but also an impressive array of amenities.

     With comfortable year-round temperatures and a pristine location just 14 miles south of Hollister, California, San Benito RV Resort provides plenty to do and see. Explore bike trails, cast a line, take a dip in the pool and enjoy our variety of planned activities. Off-site adventures are easy to come by with a visit to the famous Monterey Bay Aquarium. Plan your stay at this beautiful Monterey Bay RV campground. Our modern facilities and accommodating staff will ensure a memorable trip.

Sam Houston Jones State Park

     Sam Houston Jones State Park, was just a one night stay over, but after going there, I wish we would have stayed longer. The park is beautiful with swamps and a river, cabins, RV, and tent camping. The campground is wooded with mostly paved sites. Most are a bit tight for bigger rigs, but we managed to fit. Walking around the park we saw that the swamp directly across from the campground had been drained. (to restore some of the forest)  As we followed the road we found a large picnic area with plenty of tables along the river bank. There is a boat ramp and we saw someone out in a kayak paddling up and down the river. There is a boat ramp with a warning sign not to swim and a possibility of alligators. Further along the road was several very nice cabins to rent. There was a second swamp, this one not drained with a large wooden bridge crossing it. In the middle of the bridge was an amphitheater. From the bridge looking down into the swamp, we saw dozens of turtles swimming about. (I took pictures, but you need to zoom in to see their heads poking out of the water and their bodies under the surface) As we passed the cabins along our walk around the park we discovered a full 18-hole disc golf course. Had we more time, we would have grabbed our discs and tried it out. Alongside the road, we could see that water had recently receded from there and discovered what we later found to be mounds of mud with holes in them made by crawfish digging into the ground as the water evaporated. Being from the Northwest, this was new. Later we searched You-tube and watched a video of someone pushing his arm (up to his shoulder) in a hole and pulling out a crawfish. A second video showed him using a trap in a creek using dry dog food as bait and catching them by the dozen.

     Overall, we really liked the park, we met some great people there and would recommend two nights if you’re using it as a stopover on your way down the road. It was $39 and some change per night.

      Originally named for the Texas folk hero who traveled extensively in the western reaches of Louisiana, Sam Houston Jones was given its current name in honor of the state's 46th governor, who was instrumental in setting aside this tract of land for the public to enjoy for both day-use and overnight visitors.

     Because the caretakers of this 1,087-acre park have worked to keep the land in its natural state, abundant wildlife inhabits the area. Tree-filled lagoons and a mixed pine and hardwood forest combine to create a unique natural environment. The park is located just north of the most productive birding region of Louisiana. The bird watching is always excellent, but at certain times of the year, nearly 200 species of birds can be seen at or within 30 miles of the site.

     The numerous waterways in this area make water sports a natural highlight at the park. Two boat launches are conveniently located on the West Fork of the Calcasieu River, providing access to Calcasieu Lake, about 20 miles away. But it's not necessary to fish to enjoy the water. Rental boats are available those who simply wish to take in the serene beauty of the park's ponds. (No-Wake Zone Advisory)

     The three hiking trails winding through this beautiful park make strolling or serious hiking, pleasurable. Particularly interesting is the old stagecoach road, which hikers may travel to explore the park and the banks of the various tributaries to the Calcasieu River.