SEQUIM ELKS LODGE, SEQUIM, WASHINGTON (OLYMPIC PENINSULA)

Our Opinion: Recommend.  Private; you must be an Elk to stay here.

Date of Stay: August 7 and 8, 2011.

Weather During Stay: Cool, gloomy, foggy mornings, sunny afternoons.

Sites: 20 RV sites are back to back in two long rows facing east and west on a large, grassy field.  All sites have 30 amp E and water.  There are a couple of trees, but most sites are the open.  Sites are suitable for big rigs, and wide enough for slides, awnings and parking a towed vehicle. 

Easy access through the lodge parking lot to the RV sites in back.  Lots of room for dry camping, or parking a cargo trailer or boat.  This is a quiet neighborhood with a rural feel.

Rate: $18/night for W/E.  No dump station available (we heard there is one nearby, but we didn’t need it).

Phone/radio/TV: Good Verizon phones and aircard signal.  No obstructions to block TV satellite dish in most sites.  We didn’t use our antenna.  Local NPR on 91.1 FM (and others).

Elevation/Landscape/Terrain:  This is a very level, flat, grassy area only slightly above sea level.  Views are of other rigs and the lodge, with forested mountains in the distance.  Pleasant neighborhood.

Lighting/Noise: Quiet at night; we weren't bothered by lights at night.

Favorite Sites: Not much difference between the sites, so pick according to whether you prefer to face east or west.

Hiking/Walking: There is a paved parcourse/walking trail less than ½ mile from the lodge.  Lots of hiking in Olympic National Park, or at nearby county parks.

Comments: We use this spacious park as a base for day trips into Olympic National Parks.  Easy in and out, spacious, quiet - works great for us. 

POINT HUDSON MARINA & RV PARK, PORT TOWNSEND, WA

Our Opinion: Neutral?  Recommend?  We have mixed feelings.  A somewhat scruffy campground – crowded when full - with good services, in a fabulous location.  The great weather was important for a fun stay.

Date of Stay: August 1-4, 2011

Weather During Stay:  Beautiful sunny days, or morning clouds and afternoon sunshine, occasional fog.  Highs around 70, lows around 50.

Site Description:   The site we reserved (340) was wide and level, with a front view out over the water towards Ft. Casey on Whidbey Island.  Too bad for us, the neighboring site (341) was quite narrow, so we had a VERY close neighbor for most of our stay.

The 46 sites are priced according to size and view.  Two sites are dry camping; the remaining 44 sites are level FHU (30 amps) on scruffy beach grass and/or gravel, with good cable TV and reasonably fast WiFi included in the fees.  Picnic tables are scattered around.  No fire rings.  Roads (paved) are very narrow, designed way before big rigs were invented!

Sites are either “on the point” (of the small peninsula where the park is located) or “in the loop”, two rows west of the point, and are priced according to location.  Sites 338 through 347 are in the front row of the Loop, with an unobstructed view; the view from the second row is blocked by those of us in the first row.  Seven of the 24 sites on the Point are designated “waterfront” and are parallel to the water; for those you pay a premium price.  The remaining sites on the point have somewhat obstructed views.  (Click here to see map.)

The campground is part of a much larger complex that includes a small marina, the port administration building, a couple of restaurants, etc., all in historic old wooden buildings.  It is an interesting and busy place, with open access to the public - people come to walk the beach, launch kayaks, bird watch, sit on benches watching the watercraft go by and generally enjoy the waterside ambiance.  Campsites are amongst it all.

Rate: $52/night for point waterfront sites.  $35/night for non-waterfront point sites and for the first row (waterfront) of the loop (this included our site).  $27/night for the second row of the loop.  2 weeks maximum stay.  Winter rates are lower ($35/$30/$27), with no stay limit (Oct-April).  The two dry camp sites are $20 year round.  Add a $7 reservation fee.

Phone/radio/TV: Good Verizon signal for phones and aircard.  We used their WiFi while here, and it was usually reasonably fast.  No obstacles for roof-mounted satellite TV dish, and they offered dozens of stations on cable TV.  NPR on 88.5 from Seattle.   

Elevation/Landscape/Terrain:  This is a sea-level park with a northern beach feel.  GREAT views of water and boats of all sizes.  We were blessed with sunshine, so could see massive, snow-covered Mt. Baker and Mt. Rainier, along with many peaks of the Cascade range, in the distance.  Our waterfront site was expansive; views from many of the other sites would be less appealing.

Lighting/Noise: Moderate night lighting, but our very nearby neighbor liked to leave his porch light on (20 feet from our bedroom). Very quiet at night except for the occasional foghorn or bell and raucous seagulls.  Quite a bit of daytime noise, human and vehicular.

Favorite Sites:  We liked the sites in the front row of the loop - great views, and most were reasonably wide.  Our favorites were 338, 339, 344, 345, 346 and 347.  If you don’t mind paying more, the seven premium “point” sites run parallel to the water, so have a neighbor on just one side… but for $52?  Too steep for us.

Hiking/Walking:  Great.  Walk the rocky beach (clear to Ft. Worden State Park, possibly) or anywhere in Port Townsend.

Comments: This campground is all about location, location, location.  Great waterfront access and views, on the far end of the charming town of Port Townsend at the tip of the Olympic Peninsula.  The park itself, though, is nothing special; narrow roads, some crowding, and lots of road and foot traffic.  With the lovely weather we had during our stay, I really enjoyed the park.  Bad weather would be a really disappointment, because the view is what makes this park worth the price.  I would return for the view and easy access to Port Townsend; Odel preferred the Port Townsend Elks Lodge or the Escapee Park in Chimacum, 6 or 8 miles away.

STAYSAIL RV PARK, OAK HARBOR, WA

Our Opinion: Recommend - a very reasonable price for a great central location.

Date of Stay: July 18-31, 2011 (we came for 5 days, ended up staying for 2 weeks).

Weather During Stay:  All the locals bemoan the “missing summer”, as it has been cool and mostly cloudy much of the time with frequent showers and intermittent sunny days.  With most of the rest of the country setting heat records, we’re happy with our cool temperatures.

Site Description:   56 FHU sites (30 amps) are arranged in the shape of an L, with one road running north/south, the other east/west.  Roads are asphalt, all sites are level gravel back-ins, and each site has a substantial picnic table.

On the N/S leg (photo above), sites are arranged in two rows that face each other across the access road; on the E/W leg (photo below), sites back up to each other within the loop access road.  Though the campground wasn’t built for big rigs, we all managed to squeeze ourselves in comfortably.

The campground (Staysail RV Park) is part of - and immediately adjacent to - Windjammer Park, an Oak Harbor city park.  Though the campsites are close together (large enough for slides and awnings), the views across green grass lawns and out to the water provide a feeling of spaciousness.

Rate: $20/night for FHU (30 amps), a very good price for this area, where many RV parks charge in excess of $30/night this time of year.  First come, first served.  No reservations taken.  Self pay at the kiosk at the south end of the N/S road.   Tent sites can be used for overflow ($12/night) only if all the FHU sites are filled.  Thirty day stay limit - don’t know if/how it is enforced.

Phone/radio/TV: Good Verizon signal for phones and aircard.   Roof mounted satellite TV dish will work in the spaces on the N/S road, but probably not on the E/W loop, where big trees to the south are likely to block the signal.  We didn’t try the air antenna.  NPR from Seattle on 88.5.  No park-provided WiFi.   

Elevation/Landscape/Terrain:  This is a flat park at sea level.  Lots of green space and paved walking paths through the adjacent city park.  Views are of neighboring rigs, trees, grassy expanses and the waters of Penn Cove.  Families picnicking, sailboats sailing by, kids skateboarding, dogs walking, kites in the air - the public aspect of the city park offers a lot of action.

Lighting/Noise:  Though there is quite a bit of daytime activity - and attendant noise - during the day, our site was very quiet at night.  We appreciated our blackout shades here.  

Favorite Sites: We were in site 16, which seemed to us to be one of the nicest in the park, situated at the south end of the row with an expansive view of the park rather than other rigs.  On the other hand, we were just across from the dump station and self-pay kiosk and facing the Windjammer park parking lot, so it was exceptionally busy in our area.  Most of the bigger rigs were in the N/S row, probably for satellite TV reception.

Hiking/Walking:  A walking trail runs from Windjammer Park for 3 miles, out to a point across the water, a 6 mile round trip.  Since the park is IN the small city of Oak Harbor, you can walk to grocery stores, downtown, all sorts of services.

Comments:  We love first-come, first-served parks and decided to stay longer than anticipated as soon as we settled into our site.  Because the campground is part of a city day-use park, there are a lot of people in the area, coming and going.  We felt secure here, but didn’t feel it was a good idea to leave anything temptingly loose outside the rig overnight (like the grill).

Oak Harbor is in a central location on Whidbey Island, with easy access to several state parks and trails, to the ferry to downtown Port Townsend on the Olympic Peninsula, to Anacortes and the ferries to the San Juan Islands, to great eating in Coupeville, to charming La Conner… LOTS to explore from here. 

HOWARD MILLER STEELHEAD PARK, ROCKPORT, WA

Our Opinion: Rave, if you don‘t mind partial hookups.

Date of Stay: July 13-17, 2011

Weather During Stay:  Cool and damp.  Frequent rain, showers or downpours.  Limited sunshine.  Photos were taken during the short periods of sunshine.

Site Description:   Forty-five or so RV sites in a beautiful green park adjacent to the Skagit River.  Thirty of the sites are arranged in circular groups of ten, like spokes on a wheel, on mostly level graveled pads, with large expenses of grass surrounding each circle.  Other sites (paved) are near the river, including the 7 pull-through sites.  Most sites are suitable for big rigs.

All the RV sites have at least 30 amps and water; sites 40-49 have 50 amps as well as 30 amps.  All sites have a substantial picnic table and a fire ring. 

Two restrooms with showers; dump station; separate tent sites alongside the river; a covered pavilion for groups; a couple camping shelters that look like they are used by bicyclers; a boat launch area; a day use area with interesting historic information.

Rate: $26/night for 30 amps; $28/night for 50 amps. 

Phone/radio/TV: Good Verizon signal for phones and aircard.   Roof mounted satellite TV dish will work in most sites, though perhaps not those closest to the river.  We didn’t try the air antenna.  No local NPR station.  No park-provided WiFi.   

Elevation/Landscape/Terrain:  BEAUTIFUL park, extremely well maintained, 240 feet elevation.  Though most of the countryside around here is thickly forested, the park has been cleared - very welcome in the drizzly weather we encountered.  Lots of grass, lots of planted deciduous trees, with evergreen forest borders.  Views are of other rigs, grass, trees… and the river if you have one of the adjacent sites.

Lighting/Noise: Very quiet and dark at night.  Most of the park is unlit or has low lighting; lights on the restrooms are on all night long. 

Favorite Sites: Any of the sites in the circles (20-49), big, level gravel sites.  Sites 8 and 10 are our favorites of the riverside sites.  16-19 were the least appealing to us (on sloped grass), can be difficult to access and are the last to fill.

Hiking/Walking:  Great walking west of the park on a mowed grass trail through a wild area.  You can walk for miles from the park (trailhead well marked on the west end).

Comments: Howard Miller Steelhead County Park is a beautiful park in a very small town.  Reservations RECOMMENDED if you want to stay on a weekend - two rallies were going on over the weekend we were here, though parking was wide open during the week.  Park staff is particularly helpful; knowing we wanted to stay over the weekend, they kept us in the loop for cancellations.  Though we had to move to another site, we were able to stay.  We found this to be a good, lower elevation campground to explore North Cascades National Park.

RIVERBEND RV PARK, TWISP, WA

Our Opinion: Recommend - EXCEPT FOR THE MOSQUITOS!

Date of Stay: July 9-12 , 2011

Weather During Stay:  Pleasant, mild, mostly sunny; clouded up and sprinkled the last day.

Site Description:  This grassy riverside park has a wide variety of sites: 53 FHU with 20/30/50 amps (21 of them facing the river); 8 riverside W/E sites; and a nice tent area.  Each site has a substantial picnic table and campfire ring. 

Roads are paved, pads are gravel.  Lots of trees and grass throughout the campground. We had site 13, one of the 21 level pull-in sites facing the Methow River.  How nice it is to find a site designed for a motor home to take advantage of the view!  Some sites have park models on them, and a few mobile homes are in the row nearest the road.

Rate: With a Good Sam discount (even though our membership had expired) and including tax, we paid $31.90 per night. 

Phone/radio/TV: Good Verizon signal for phone and aircard.  The park offers free Wifi, but we didn’t try it.  We had asked for, and were given, a site with southern exposure for our roof mounted TV satellite dish.  Five or six snowy analog TV stations available on the air antenna, including a PBS station.  We didn’t pick up any digital TV stations.  NPR on 91.9. 

Elevation/Landscape/Terrain:  Located in a canyon on a level property between the road and the Methow River at 1700 feet elevation, the riverfront sites offer an appealing view of the river, its grassy banks, and the trees and hills beyond.  The overall feel is cool and green.

Lighting/Noise: Quiet and dark at night.  Though adjacent to the road, there is very little nighttime traffic.

Favorite Sites: We were in site 13, very appealing.  These pull-in/back-out sites are great for motor homes.

Hiking/Walking: Nothing special here in the park, but we did a couple great hikes in the surrounding wilderness areas while here.

Comments: This park has a lot to love (pretty, well maintained, friendly management), but our stay was marred by the mosquitos.  RV’ing friends told us they left after one night; we probably would have cut our stay in half had we realized that we were “confined to quarters” morning and evening by the miserable bloodsuckers.  The morning the grass was mowed, we had dozens of mosquitos clinging to our window screens, and we had to go on a search and destroy mission each time we came into the motor home.  No outdoor grilling, no outdoor relaxing.  Its not the park’s fault, but if you plan to make a reservation here, you might want to ask about the mosquito population.  Very unfortunate.