RV destinations from Fort worth area - Montana Owners Club

Superdave · 11-30-2009, 07:11 AM

We're located just south of Fort Worth in Burleson, getting our new 3455 SA ready for a maiden voyage. Can anybody suggest their favorite spots in that area we might consider?

Waynem · 11-30-2009, 12:17 PM

Are you talking about RV parks, or sight seeing.

RV Ranch RV Park (is real nice.)
2301 S I35 W
Burleson, TX 76028-6177
(817) 426-5037

Superdave · 11-30-2009, 12:48 PM

Probably parks right now, we wouldn't know a nice one from a bad one- if there is such a thing. Something within 100 miles while we're sorting things out. It's the wrong time of the year to get too adventurous.

stiles watson · 11-30-2009, 01:16 PM

You might consider some around Texarkana or around Waco. If you are new to RVing, you might want to consider getting a Woodalls or Trailer Life campground directory. They have a rating system along with last years pricing. Another purchase to consider is Passport America or Happy Camper. These two are discount clubs allowing you to stay for 1/2 price for a day or two. My counsel is if you pull into a campground and you are not comfortable with what you are seeing, leave.

Our home base is just south of you, about 10 miles west Off I 45 down Hwy 7 near Centerville.

If you have a GPS, many of them have "Points of Interest". Under that tab, you can click on "camping" or whatever GPS calls it. Often you can find CGs near by.

Waynem · 11-30-2009, 03:40 PM

Open up your web browser and type in:

maps.live.com

It will bring up a merged web site belonging to Bing.com.

In the map pane type in Fort Worth, TX

When Fort Worth come up, then in the map pane type in the word campground. The map will be populated with campgrounds. Try it with different key words, like RV Park or RV Resort. What you see may not always be a campground, but the majority will be. You can then open another browser pane and type in the name and city of the campground, or go to the web site, RF PARK REVIEWS and see what is being said about any specific campground.

Passport America is a good half price membership that only cost $44 a year. You get your money back at half price rates in 4 or 5 nights. I'd give you my PA membership number but someone else has already suggested it and they should get the membership credit if you join.

Happy trails.

padredw · 11-30-2009, 03:43 PM

I'm not sure how close to home you want to stay for your "maiden voyage", but here are some possibilities:

Tyler State Park, just off I-20 about 10 miles north of the city. A great state park which has many full hookup sites.

Lake Whitney State Park. I don't know whether they have full hookups or not.

Really close to you would be Cedar Hill State Park on Joe Pool Lake. We have stayed there a couple of times for visits in the Ft. Worth area.

If you prefer a private park, Shallowford Creek is just off I-20 near Gladewater, Texas. It has a full service golf course.

I have just been reading about a new RV park near Athens, Texas named "Windor Place RV Estates". While this is a development with sites for sale, they have plenty of room for short term RVers and it really sounds nice.

Finally, I will mention that there are some really nice Corps parks on Lake o' The Pines near where we live: Brushy Creek and Buckhorn. These are between Longview and Jefferson, Texas.

Art-n-Marge · 11-30-2009, 04:25 PM

Btw - I checked out Waynem's information and those are cool tools to use if you like doing things via the internet.

However, use campgroundreviews.com (not "RF" Park Reviews) for the RV park reviews. Good stuff in there, but being a .com it might not be as impartial as you'd like, or as comprehensive. But a good site nevertheless. It might take just a little bit of time to get familiar with it, and I was able to spend only a few minutes in there and got lots of info on the Fort Worth area that I know nothing about RVing there. Hopefully Waynem will be back shortly and fix his typo.

You can start by getting reviews on some of the recommendations provided by Padredw by searching for the specific campground names using their campground search option.

Thanks Waynem and Padredw!

SuperDave! As you begin your maiden voyage make sure you crack the champagne bottle on the metal pin, and not the fiberglass nosecap of your new rig. Sure it's messy but at least your nosecap won't have a dent! Better yet, use the front bumper of your TV and use a wash basin to catch all the debris. Bon Voyage!

adelmoll · 12-01-2009, 12:41 AM

If you don't want to travel real far, the RV County park in Grapevine is beautiful.

Helen

Superdave · 12-01-2009, 04:03 AM

Wow , a lot of great ideas here and good tips ! Having lived in Daingerfield Tx , just north of Longview for 25 years, we 're pretty knowledgeable about the East Texas area. BTW Daingerfield State park is absolutely gorgeous and undergoing extensive renovation to facilities and services. Our home was about 5 miles west of the entrance and we even have a good friend who's a Park Ranger there. Texas Monthly has it in top 10 most beautiful parks in Texas.

thanks for all the replies. What a great tool this website is for this newbie..

Waynem · 12-01-2009, 05:30 AM

Check out Ft. Richardson State park in Jacksboro, TX. (230 miles from you) They have about 12 full hook-up sites, some with cabana, and a ton of W/E sites. Almost all back-in, but real long cement sites.

OK! So my fat fingers got in the way. RV PARK REVIEWS is what I meant to say. I should go back and edit it. (Nah!)

Also, the map trick will work on Yahoo maps and Google maps as well. Just remember that you are at the mercy of the search engines. Some information that pops up will not be a campground, but a community park that somehow has a search "key" that the search engines recongnize. So, verify the information by searching specifically for a CG that you find using the map find option. It can be verified by searching for the CG and going to their web site, or looking them up in the RV Parks Review.

Do remember that when you read the reviews you are looking at what one individual/family has posted. I have read some really bad reviews, only to find out when I visited that CG that what was posted was not what I found. It goes both ways, good and bad. A lot of reviews are from people that go in with a bad attitude and get a bad attitude back. I walk in with a smile and good humor. I find it works wonderful.

While I'm on the soap box; many of the discount clubs, like Passport America, Good Sam's, Etc. are rationed by the campground. They don't make a lot of money off of the discounted rate, so they will set aside a percentage of their sites for discounts. That is one reason why in Passport America listings it states, in some cases, to "Call ahead for availability." What was described to me by one CG that stopped discounting was that people would pull up without reservations, and then expect a discounted site. When they are told that there are no sites available, they become indignant because they saw empty spaces. So the CG stopped discounting. (I was told this by the manager of a CG that stopped discounting.) So, call ahead, and ask for a discount for the program you are associated with. If they say they are full, ask if they have a non-discounted site - if you really want to stop at that CG. Explain that you know they may set aside a percentage of sites for discounts and you don't mind paying the full price if they are full up on the discounted sites.

For what it's worth.

padredw · 12-01-2009, 05:40 AM

"SuperDave", I should have mentioned Daingerfield State Park. It is so close to us that we have never stayed there, (therefore didn't think about it) though I've been going there since boyhood. Our home is in Ore City, just 17 miles north of Daingerfield.

The Weekenders · 12-01-2009, 01:19 PM

I am not familiar with Texas, but a buddy of mine on RV.Net, "Bearnkat", has some rallies at the RV Ranch which I believe is not too far from Ft. Worth. Check out the link to his travel story there.

http://www.web-connection.org/pilgrim/rvranch_0406.htm

tjuhl · 12-03-2009, 09:39 AM

If you're willing to go a little over 200 miles, try Fredericksburg west of Austin in the hill country, a popular destination. Several nice private and a county RV park.

alandaudrey · 12-04-2009, 02:36 PM

Dave and Shirley,
I always enjoy staying at the KOA in Abilene. It's a good RV park with lots of activities.

May I suggest if you don't have a Golden Age Passport issued by the National Parks Service, get one. They are good for half price camping at all National Parks and Monuments, National Forests CG's as well as all Army Corp of Engineer Parks which Texas, Oklahoma and Arkansas have a ton of them. The passport also gives you free or reduced admission to all of the mentioned facilities. I believe the Passport is still $10.00. It's a real value. You will get lots of use from it if you enjoy our National Parks and Monuments.

sreigle · 02-02-2010, 09:03 AM

Fredericksburg is one of our favorite places, too. If you want to peruse the link below ("our rv travels"), scan down the index on the left for each year and you'll find several things to do in that area.

In any case, enjoy that new Montana!

Allan and Audrey, yes, it's still $10. I got mine last year.

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