The hubby has been working on a huge project as I have discussed before. This has limited our trips to 2-3 day trips. Last weekend we drove three hours to Eastern Washington and tried out Sun Lakes State Park, which happens to be right beside Sun Lakes Resort. It really doesn't matter which side you stay on as you can utilize both areas equally. We choose to stay in the State Park** which is nestled down in a deep valley.
I would not recommend tent camping in the State park as it is really nothing more than tent after tent on the dirt. One is not allowed to put a tent up on the grassy areas (I suppose to keep the grass as lush and green as it is?), so essentially you are camped in a parking lot.
The rv sites however are a different story! There is plenty of room no matter which site you are in, although the ones along the back area of the park (sites 75-83 in particular) have nice spacious side yards on each side and back up onto fields that are grassy and unused. In the early evening, be prepared for a wildlife show! We had a flock of quail and wild turkeys come through our camp in the early evening, as well as a couple of whitetail doe's with their fawns come through at dusk!
In late August it is still warm, but the breeze keeps you from getting hot and uncomfortable. The downside to this time of year is that there is usually a burn ban due to the preceding months of lack of rain, and so a campfire is a big no no. Which means no s'mores. But another rv camper had a gas fire pit and we actually walked over to their camp to let them know that there is a huge fine for having a fire this time of year - it looked so real! (Yes, we will be getting one!).
There are bathrooms and showers (50 cents for a 3 minute shower!) that are very clean. A sign on the main door to the bathrooms warns you of the wildlife around "Please close the door to keep out snakes, bats, raccoons and other animals". Gotta love camping in nature!
There are plenty of hiking trails to explore, along with several lakes that one can swim and fish at. A short 4-5 minute walk away is the Sun Lakes Resort. Here one can rent peddle boats ($10 for an hour!), kayaks, and aqua bikes. If you forget some item or other you can go to the general store located at the resort and be prepared for NO sticker shock! Quite reasonable (prices comparable to any big grocery store!) and stocked with a wide variety of items. There is a gift shop (again, reasonable priced. Hubby packed ONE shirt - don't ask! and so we went here and were able to get three shirts for $25), and a little cantina - again, not expensive and a very large menu - that serves ice cream, soda, Italian soda, and burger and fry type menu items. There is also a mini golf ($4 a person) on the resort and it is a fun and cheap way to entertain the kids. Just make sure to go in the morning or early evening on as there is no shade and gets quite hot midday (when we decided to go!).
If you choose to tent camp or rv at the resort, it is wall to wall with very little space (practically non existent in the RV areas) between campers. I highly recommend rv'ing at the State park and using the amenities of the resort!
We LOVED this park! Weather was perfect and there were so many activities to choose from. It was also fun to just sit at the site in our camp chairs and enjoy the panoramic views that the valley walls provided. At night, the moon seemed to be magic. Because the valley walls tower above you, the moon is not there one minute and BOOM, there the next (as it rises up over the walls). Quite a sight to behold! We loved this park so much that we are booking our site for 9 days next summer! It is close enough to home that the trip there is not endless, and far enough away that we really feel like we are on vacation. The balmy weather (warm with a warm yet cooling breeze) makes you feel like you just might have parked your rv in a tropical locale!
We had adopted a kitten just a few weeks before this trip (which had been booked for months) and we did not want to leave him with the other two cats on his own just yet. So we took him. Camping. In the rv. He LOVED it and our dog did so much better with a camping buddy that we are now going to make the cat a part of our trips, just as we do our dog (yorkie). Nothing makes an rv really feel like 'home' like having your kids and a couple of pets! Since we've been home, I have found a cat scratching 'post' that hangs on a door knob instead of being free standing - which makes it a perfect space saver! I have also found a very compact, covered (with a swinging door!) litter box, also a very space friendly size. So don't ever doubt that you can accommodate a pet in an rv. All it takes is a little mad shopping skills to find space friendly items, and pets that will actually enjoy the drive and the rv and are able to make the rv their second home (keep in mind, some pets do NOT like vehicle rides. If your pet doesn't like to go 20 minutes to the groomers in your car, they will not be impressed with a three hour trip in a vehicle and then being put into the rv environment).
This will be the first park that I give a full five RV's to! So many good things about it...
Happy Camping!
**We choose to stay in the State Park because it is free for us (If you have someone in your family who has been determined by their doctor to be 'permanently' disabled, you are able to stay in areas managed by The Forest Service, the National Park Service, Fish and Wildlife Service, Bureau of Land Management, and Bureau of Reclamation for free). Although, even if we were not eligible for the Access Pass, we would stay in State Parks. Who wouldn't want to support their States parks and recreational areas?
