First visit: August 2018
Length of stay: 2 nights
Location: Bridgeport, TX
We had heard some pretty bad things about this campground, so we were worried about staying here for an extended period of time. So we decided to split up our trip back to Lake Whitney as it was about halfway between Whitney and Texoma.
The entrance coming in looked nice enough. Doug Smith had been transferred here and had been in the park for a little while before us. So there was some light joking upon our arrival courtesy of him. Ha! the road coming into was over a mile long and could have used some repair, as here were numerous potholes (but manageable so long as you kept your speed down). We were able to secure a 50 Amp FHU spot located right across the street from the activity center. The site didn't have any shade on it, but was more than long enough for Gertrude and the car.
We had arrived in time for an ice cream social/root beer floats at the activity center. All of the staff were VERY friendly and super helpful during our stay. There is a decently sized town very nearby where there was a large grocery store, several fast food restaurants, as well as some great mom & pop restaurants in the downtown area.
We drove around the park to check it out and noticed something surprising. This park is great! I found that it is laid out quite nicely. There are not a lot of 50 Amp FHU sites, but if you're patient and willing to move when one comes available then you can usually get one for your stay. There are several 30 Amp sites in a larger area of the park. We didn't get in the lake while we stayed here, but Kyle did enjoy his morning walks around the park. There are cabins located lakeside in another part of the park somewhat away from the RV sites. The sales offices and member lounge are in their own building closer to the cabins. They have a great mini-golf course here with the cutest decorations throughout. There is a large pavilion near the lake that can be used for reunions or other large gatherings.
The pool was small but nice. We tried out the "hot tub" but found it just to be a smaller somewhat warm tub instead. There is no lifeguard on duty, but it was a nice area to cook off on a hot Texas summer day!
On the weekends during their peak season, they have meals in the activity center/cafe. Everything was VERY reasonable priced and delicious! We played cards several times throughout our multiple stays in this park. It was also only 45 minutes from where our daughter was living at the time, so we could have her out to visit and participate in activities with us, as well. the recreation director at the time we were there was Jonathon and he was a great guy to hang out with and enjoy what the park had to offer us. When we first did our drive through, they were in the process of a Safari themed weekend with a hayride throughout the park. We drove through a wooded area and giggled to see stuffed animals nestled within the trees (lemurs, monkeys, lions). The ladies at the entrance of the path said they had to scare off the deer a couple of times as they were trying to make off with some of the stuffed animals. Ha!
In the end, we wondered if it was a reverse smear campaign at this park. Perhaps the poor reviews are to keep people out. Hmmm? We would definitely visit this park again if in the area. now that I have a kayak I'd love to get out on the lake and explore some more on my own! Have you been to this park? What did you think of it?
Happy adventuring friends! Hope to see you on the road!
First visit: August 2018
Length of stay: 2 weeks
Location: Gordonville, TX
We made our way from Lake Whitney North a bit to Lake Texoma Thousand Trails. There is a Walmart about 30 minutes away, near the Oklahoma/Texas border. About 20 minutes away is a small Brookshire Brothers grocery store. There weren't a lot of choices for dining out in the immediate area, but we DID find a great place for breakfast and lunch located inside a gas station Lucky Truck Stop & Cafe. All the food here was fresh and homemade, reasonably priced and super yummy! We had breakfast there one day, and lunch on our way out.
When we first arrived at this location we checked in at the Welcome Center, as we'd done at many previous locations. They informed us that we could go to a parking lot inside the park to unhook the toad (the car we tow behind the motorhome). We proceeded to do so and before we'd begun the process to unhook, we were greeted by a friendly fellow on a golf cart that asked if we needed any help. He introduced himself as Doug Smith (you'll recognize the name from a previous post). He pointed us towards the optimal sites for shade, cell signal, and overall environment. The park provided WiFi was less than workable, so we just decided to hoist our cell signal booster antenna and rely on that for our internet needs.
The park operates on an interesting concept, it is first come first serve, as many Thousand Trails parks are in our experience. If you need a 50 Amp site, you find your site and then a representative of the park comes out and unlocks the power pole for you to hook up. Again, Doug helped us out and we were all set and ready to go in a FHU site. We were in a little cove of an area with about a dozen sites or so in a semi-circle off to one side of the park. There were several annual siteholders and a few transients around us. Everyone was very friendly and welcoming to their new temporary neighbors. The site itself was well shaded, mostly level, and roomy enough that we could put the slide out and our awning out without feeling like we were encroaching on our neighbors. Backing into the site wasn't too difficult, either.
The park had a weekend breakfast cafe open for part of the time we were there that we enjoyed quite a bit. Part of our time here they had some pretty major power issues and a large section of the park was shut down from power. We managed it alright and didn't need to shorten our stay. We were invited to play cards (we learned Hand and Foot from Doug and his lovely wife, Lily) multiple nights. We ended up making quick friends with Doug and even meeting a few other couples during our visit here.
They have an adult pool/hot tub as well as a family pool here. Due to the power concerns, the pools were shut down during part of our stay. If it had not been for this fact, I don't know if we would have ventured down to the beautiful lake that was accessible from one end of the park. The lake turned out to be very refreshing and a lovely break from the summer Texas heat. An evening activity we really enjoyed was going to the adult lounge and sitting on the rockers while taking in the sites and sounds around us.
Overall, I'd come back to this park if we were in the area again. Even with the power issues the park had, we were always treated with the upmost respect and helped at every turn by the staff working here. Below are some pictures we took during our stay here.
Happy adventuring friends!! Hope to see you on the road!
