Here and There

Scott and Jackie's Travels – Thousand Trails Reviews, Campground Reviews, Fulltime RVing, European Travel

Tag: Army Corps of Engineers

2018 – Seven Points CoE, Hermitage, TN

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Everything we read about Seven Points CoE campground on J. Percy Priest Reservoir at Hermitage, TN was positive, so we looked forward to this stay on the east side of Nashville. The campground lived up to its billing. The campground is in a beautiful wooded area along the big lake. The campsites are long and deep with large patio areas. If you want to stay more than a chance night or two (and even that won’t be possible on weekends) you’ll need to make reservations well in advance as this campground is very popular and it fills up night after night. Our stay was for a week and the “no vacancy” sign was up for our entire stay.

Seven Points is close to I40 but it feels farther than it is because you have to make several turns through residential streets to get to it. The roads are plenty wide enough for any RV, though, and not really a problem. Follow the directions on the campground website and you’ll be fine.

While all the sites are very nice the lakeside ones are something special. All of them feature long driveways off the road and great lakeside camping in the trees. The rest of the sites are nicely wooded and if not for comparing them to the premium lakeside spots they would be considered prime real estate in most campgrounds.

So, right off, you want a lakeside spot if you can get it (I reserved four months out and they were all taken). If you can’t get a lakeside site, there are a few on the inside loop that afford nice lake views. They are, I think, sites 26-30 and 38-44.

There are no sites with sewer, but all do have 50 amp electric and water. There is only one shower house and it is a bit of a walk from both the north and south opposite ends of the campground. I found it strange that there’s a nice gravel trail from the back of the shower house, through the woods to the opposite side of the campground. However, once you get there you find yourself in the back of someone’s campsite with no further trail. It seems like a lot of effort to service just two or three campsites.

The dump station was designed by someone who obviously never drove a larger RV. The turns are sharp and the roadway is narrow. You’ll likely end up with wheels “cutting the corner” but no worries, it’s obvious that it has happened many times before.

Satellite TV will be easy for people with portable domes and lakefront property. It will be considerably harder for those with rooftop units or who are camped on the inside loop. It will be impossible in several sites. I made it, but the window was very small. Our Verizon signal was decent.

The campground is close to some major shopping areas, especially at nearby Mt. Juliet. Also Andrew Jackson’s Hermitage is nearby. All the Opry-related attractions are less than 30 minutes away.

We most always like Corps of Engineers campgrounds and this is a great example of why. We hope to return the next time was come to the Nashville, TN area.


See individual photos with captions here.

2018 – Sightseeing the Pennsylvania Wilds

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The northwestern part of Pennsylvania is called the “Wilds” and we enjoyed touring a portion of this beautiful, mountainous country. We took a driving tour through Pennsylvania’s Elk Country. Our first stop was the Elk Country Visitor Center. To get there we drove State route 555. Although the highway was steep and twisty it was a pleasant day for a drive and we enjoyed seeing the many farms, houses and cabins along the way. Scott said he didn’t mind the mountain driving as long as he wasn’t towing the 5th wheel! We didn’t see any elk until we turned into the Visitors Center and we saw one in the trees along the road. The center itself has wide sidewalks bordering a viewing area. Inside the building there are interactive games and hands-on items that teach about the area and wildlife. Several dioramas display scenes from the wild. There’s a gift shop with many souvenirs and gift items. Outside we walked down a wide path to an overlook for elk viewing.

Another fun stop was Parker Dam State Park. We enjoyed seeing the swimming beach and the water running over the dam. Civilian Conservation Corps played a large part in building this park. Although the Lew and Helen Adams CCC Museum wasn’t open we enjoyed seeing a road grader and caterpillar that was used by the Corps.

We also visited Bilger’s Rocks. This unique area of huge rocks and trees has trails winding through them. We had a surprise. As we were walking Scott suddenly stepped backwards. I knew immediately there was a snake somewhere. Thankfully the snake just wanted to move on which was just fine with me.

This area has so much to offer. A few years ago we visited the Grand Canyon of Pennsylvania. We thoroughly enjoyed the “Wilds” and will look forward to exploring more in the future.


See individual photos with captions here.

2018 — Indian Creek CoE Campground – Morgan City, MO

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We really liked Indian Creek CoE Campground, located near Morgan City, MO (about 35 miles west of Hannibal). The campground has many great, wooded, paved sites with nice separation. This corps facility is on Mark Twain Lake, but none of the sites are actually on the lake. A few overlook the water down below but most are in the woods. The roads are excellent and the individual sites are a mixture of electric only and full hookups. I think all the sites offer up to 50 amp service. The sites are long and pretty level side to side but most have a slope front to back. To get level our 5th wheel was “kneeling down” significantly. In the Eastern Campground my Verizon 4G signal was very good.

There are a few things you might want to know. First this campground is out in the boonies. Once you leave Morgan City you are still about 15 miles out into the country to the campground, much of that on smooth, but speed limited roads. It is around 45 minutes to the closest Walmart in Hannibal. Second, we battled both ticks and swarming gnats. Third, if you want satellite, pick your campsite carefully. Generally, you want one on the north side of a road. Those on the west side of a road would be especially blocked from having an eye to the sky.
We almost always like the CoE campgrounds and this one is no exception. We give Indian Creek two thumbs up.


See individual photos with captions here.

2018 – Bucksaw CoE Campground – Clinton, MO

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We came to Bucksaw CoE Campground, near Clinton, MO because it gets good reviews and happens to be at about the right place for a few day’s stop as we begin to journey east and north across the country. This campground gets good reviews and is located on Truman Reservoir. It is a bit off the beaten track, especially for those traveling west to east. The north/south route into the area is more traveled and a better road. Clinton is close by; about 20 minutes.

There are many campsites at Bucksaw ranging from tent sites to water-electric to full hookup. Most of the FHU sites are in Loop C. If you want to be close to the lake, though, you might opt for electric only or water/electric sites in Loop B. Also several of the tent sites are close to the lake. When I was booking the site I specified FHU and noticed that one of the available sites was a pull through so I took it. There aren’t many pull through FHU sites (maybe just this one). When you reserve pay attention to site size. Not all sites will accommodate a larger RV. However, many of them will handle any sized rig. Also, the mixture of hookups is surprising – one side of the road, FHU – the other side, electric only. –Or- the section of FHU sites with just one W/E only pull through in the middle of them. The FHU sites were filled with reserved tags on them all the time we were at Bucksaw, so if you want one of these sites you might want to reserve one and not arrive assuming one will be available to you.

This campground is so big that several tenting loops are closed off. Really, I doubt that this place is ever full. Not only is it a big campground, but it is surrounded by lots of other campgrounds, both public and commercial.

The big draw here, is, of course, the lake which actually feels more like a river in the vicinity of the campground. In addition to all the fishing and boating opportunities (there’s a nearby marina) the campground has a nice swimming beach that, I think, is pretty popular. B Loop is in easy walking distance of the beach and A Loop isn’t much farther. C Loop isn’t as close but is a walkable distance.

One thing you might want to know is that Verizon cell service is poor. I ran my cell booster and managed to get a semi-usable data signal part of the time. Without it there was almost nothing. A lady told me that AT&T was better here. Satellite TV was fairly easy to get but, as it always is with satellite, campsite location does make or break it.

Aside from the sounds of kids having a wonderful time over the weekend, this is a very quiet, out of the way campground. We most always favor the CoE campgrounds and Bucksaw is a good example of why this is so: nice big sites, a well-kept campground, for an excellent price.


See individual photos with descriptions here.

2018 – Midway Park COE – Waco, TX

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This Corps park is on Lake Waco, on the west side of the city of Waco. It is just a few minutes west of I35. We always like the CoE parks and Midway Park CoE is no exception. Most of the sites in this smaller park are back-in, 30 amp, water/electric sites. Several offer nice views of the lake. Most are shady, with covered picnic tables. There are a few “double-wide” sites in which two RVs share a spot that has two electric/water hookups. Also, a few have fairly steep ramps. I don’t think we would have drug the back bumper in these, but it would have been close. Most of these sites, though, are very long – long enough for any RV.

There is one row of pull-through, 50 amp, full hookup sites. All of these have covered picnic tables. The sites are a bit closer together but not unreasonably so. Honestly, these aren’t the best sites in the park. The reason is that they are located along the Highway 6 frontage road. This is a busy expressway with lots of traffic. The road noise is pretty much constant, 24 hours a day. Also, people with really big rigs might want to know that making the turn to drive into these pull-throughs is rather tight.

There’s a small, but nice playground and big boat ramp. The roads are excellent. There are many restaurants and stores within minutes of the campground. Our Verizon had a solid 4G signal and I had no problem getting my TV satellite signal. That might not be true in some of the more wooded sites.

I think we liked the nearby Airport COE campground just a little better than this one, but we would happily return here for a future stay.



See individual photos with notes here.

2017 – Coon Creek Cove Campground – Kaw City, OK

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Coon Creek Cove Campground is a Corps of Engineers campground located on Kaw Lake, just east of Ponca City, OK. The campground is situated on a finger of land, affording water views to nearly every campsite. Several have water access. The campground roads are paved and the sites are gravel. Each site has a covered picnic table and fire pit. They are reasonably level, mostly with shade, and 30 amp electric and water. There are no full hookup spots. We arrived on a weekend and the place was nearly full with lots of people fishing, boating, and jet skiing. Several children were playing in the water. By Sunday night most everyone had left and there were lots of prime sites available to travelers. Generally speaking, the sites looking out over the lake itself are on a bluff. Those on the cove are closer to water level. We were mildly disappointed that the weeds between us and the lake on our bluff side spot were tall enough to obstruct what would have been great lake views.

I had no problem getting satellite TV and my Verizon 4G was weak but usable.

Probably the biggest negative to this campground is getting to it. It is about 30 miles from I35 and the roads get increasingly rough, narrow, and hilly as you travel. Whether or not traveling these roads is worthwhile for you depends on how long you plan to stay and how much you enjoy a lakeside campground.


See individual photos with captions here.

2017 – Shortstop: Gunter Hill Park – Montgomery, AL

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We’ve come to love Army Corps of Engineers campgrounds. There is always a lake nearby, the sites are spacious, and the price is right (especially using our half price America the Beautiful pass). Not all Corps campgrounds have sewer hookups, but when we come across one with full hookups we feel like we’ve hit the jackpot.

Gunter Hill Campground, near Montgomery, AL, is all the above. It’s in a beautiful setting with really nice, paved and large sites. With the state capitol nearby, there are plenty of local attractions. The only negatives are a poor Verizon signal, a neighboring race track that can be noisy at times, and getting a satellite signal from some sites is impossible. This is a popular campground and reservations, especially on weekends, is a good idea.

2015 – Reflections on our 2015 Adventure

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We enjoyed our 2015 Adventure very much! It took us to the northern Midwest with an emphasis on Wisconsin and Michigan and included some great stops along the way, both coming and going.

In 2015 we decided to try out volunteering at the San Jacinto Monument Texas State Historical park in the Houston, TX area. We spent the first months of the year there, helping out at both the Monument and on the Battleship Texas which is on the same property. In return for volunteering 25 hours a week we were given “free parking” there. We enjoyed the experience enough that we signed up for another stay in the new year. For us, this is a great win: it is interesting and fun, close to family and many friends, and a real money saver. We also enjoyed being part of the community of volunteers and staff. That’s not to say there are no negatives, but overall, it’s a positive experience.

As you can see we had a good 2015 Adventure and, yes, we’re already working on the 2016 Adventure. We plan to head for the Rocky Mountains – Colorado, Wyoming, Montana, and then across to the Black Hills of South Dakota!

2015 – Shortstop: Twin Dikes Park, Lake Sam Rayburn – Jasper, TX

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We always like Corps of Engineers campgrounds and Twin Dikes Park on Sam Rayburn Reservoir near Jasper, TX is no exception. This is a great campground. There are a variety of spacious well-laid-out campsites ranging from full hookups with screened shelters (even running water in the sink) down to nice tent sites nearer the lake. The full hookup loop has 30 amp electric while the water/electric sites have 50 amp service. The park is clean with wide paved roads and paved campsites. This is a first rate campground in a pretty setting. I was able to get two of my three Dish satellites for TV and our Verizon 4G signal was very good. This is a popular campground that stays busy, especially on weekends so reservations are highly recommended. The next time we come this way we’ll plan on a longer stay.