As previously stated, this is a parking lot, not what you'd expect at a national park. You are kind of stuck with it since it's the only game in town to explore this off the beaten track gem of a park. I don't understand why there isn't a NPS campground at Carlsbad Caverns - it gets far more visitors. We stayed in space #26, a pull through on the end. I don't know why the park service elected to design the campground in this fashion, because it really sucks. If the rig next to you has slideouts on both sides, you are incredibly close to one another...I've had more space around me at a busy Wal-mart parking lot. They are obviously catering to tent/car campers at this park...some of the tent sites are beautifully situated. There is water with a threaded connection located in front of the pay station next to the restrooms to fill up your freshwater tank. No dump station (another bent toward tent/car campers). Generator hours 8 to 8. Clear views of the southern sky for sat. Verizon cell service very marginal here w/ dropped calls...no air card service. One plus is you walk out the door of the RV and you are at the main trail head which splits off in several directions. The hike to the "Bowl", a loop hike, is strenuous but worth the 10-mile effort. Drive to Carlsbad Caverns takes about 50 minutes. Another alternative if you're just stopping briefly at the park are the two nearby roadside picnic areas which allow overnight parking...free.

This small park was a very pleasant surprise. We normally do not stay in commercial campgrounds, not to mention ones in the center of town. We were skeptical when we rolled in, but soon realized this was definitely a good choice. It is surprisingly quiet and is not located on a busy thoroughfare...We camped in a 33-foot 5th wheel and they found us a pull-through when we called 5 minutes before arriving. It was site #6, which was against a fence and required some vigilance when getting the rig into position to avoid running into a big tree. This was the only negative to our whole experience, but we've had much more challenging parking experiences...it only make you a better RVer, driver, etc., right? The free wi-fi was superb at our site, and fast! No cable TV, but was able to set up Dish Network no problem. The bathhouse appears to have been recently remodeled and tiled very tastefully, good water pressure and strong 30-amp power. The park hosts were exceptionally friendly, as was just about everyone in this great little town. Leave your car or truck at the park and walk 5 minutes to Bullard St (historic downtown), where there are lots of unpretentious mom and pop stores, and galleries (the antithesis of Santa Fe or Sedona in my opinion). We would stay here again. The park is well shaded with paved main road and everything else gravel, so no mud. Very clean park.

As someone else mentioned, Verizon cell reception and broadband access is excellent. The environment here is sage and juniper, so don't expect camping in a forest. What a stupid place to site a campground, don't know what National Park Service was thinking, on the inside of the switchback of the main road, a good amount of road noise as many of the sites are in proximity to the road. The road is on an incline so you get racing engines one way and Jake brakes from trucks the other. Now the good stuff: The campground is in a very good location to explore the north part of the park. We are here the end of September beginning of October and there are a ton of elk around with the bulls bugling like crazy. You can take a short hike from the campground amphitheater and be at the village in about 10 minutes (a good climb). A great hike nearby is Bunsen Peak, fantastic 360 degree views. No dump station, good spacing of water spigots with threaded connections. If you need to dump, there are two parks in nearby Gardiner (about 6 miles away). Grocery store, propane, gas and diesel are available in Gardiner.

There are only 6 sites for trailers/motorhomes 30 feet or longer. Our fifth wheel is 33 feet long and we felt very fortunate to find a site. We arrived around 1 p.m. I would not recommend a big rig coming in here. Some of the turns are tight. There are threaded water connections to fill up your water tank, but no water at the site. Beautifully situated along the Gibbon River, Loop A is probably the most scenic as it is close to the river. Bison near the campground. Hiking trail right out of the campground. Museum of the National Park Ranger. Only a mile to all the trails through Norris Geyser Basin. Centrally located. Heavily forested with lodgepole pine, we lucked out and were able to get a sat signal through a gap in the trees. No dump station. Madison CG is the closest place to dump as there is no dump station at Mammoth either (what's the deal here?). Generators allowed (8 am to 8 pm).

What a fantastic State Park! One of the best we've ever been to. A 25 minute drive to Savannah's historic district. A major grocery store only a couple miles away. Sites are all pull-throughs (semicircular) that accommodated our 33' trailer without problem. The cable TV is limited to about 10 channels (no complaint). Sites are spaced very well with a lot of privacy. Very quiet in the off season. Inexpensive laundry, too. Great nature trails, though can be wet and you might have to turn back or take your shoes off. Live oaks throughout campground drip with the Spanish moss. There is construction on Waters Ave. at the time of this writing, so drive by Waters and take the Truman parkway south to Hwy 204, where the parkway ends and you take a left to get to the park - this snafu combined with really poor detour signage cost us about 1/2 hour of time...found out about Truman parkway after the fact...not sure why the State Park's website directions take you down Waters Ave. to begin with as Truman parkway is much easier for RVs.

We made a reservation earlier in the day with the Passport America discount program. After being checked in, we proceeded to our assigned site while navigating a seemingly endless minefield of potholes. Low and behold, the site was much too short for our trailer and the lady at the desk offered us two other sites, but said we would have to pay an extra $5 per night because they were full hookup sites. We didn't like being treated this way...the lady making reservations made a mistake and we felt we should have offered the other site(s) at the same price. We didn't like the hassle and treatment we received and left - Oak Plantation Campground (4 miles closer to Charleston) is much nicer anyhow we found.

Great wooded and spacious sites making for easy parking and privacy. Roads were potholed - was informed by park staff that they will be paving the main campground roads (but not sites) very soon. Very narrow beach, but beautiful. Enjoyed a walk around Atalaya Mansion and running around the park on the boardwalks through the salt marsh and nature trail to Sandpiper pond (an interdune pond). It was rainy while we were there, but still got out and enjoyed nature's bounty. Great place to view egrets, though missed out on the gators.

Fantastic dry camping spot right behind the dunes on the Outer Banks (Hatteras Nat'l Rec Area). Listened to the surf as we drifted off to a restful sleep. Steps to a gorgeous wide beach. Relatively few campers this time of year...the campground was closing in a few days - this one stays open the longest off all the NPS campgrounds at Hatteras. Skeeters were quite bad - a lot of souvenirs (bug bites) to take home. Also, watch out for jellyfish - saw a number washed up on the beach. Oh well, that's camping. Only 3 +/- miles to great town of Ocracoke for some cheap eats and good company at Howard's pub and Jason's Restaurant across the street. Dump station right across Hwy 12 from the campground. Also, can take on potable water here for your RV. Friendly rangers also, they accept credit cards.