Pilot Knob RV Resort

We decided ro boondock tonight at Pilot Knob BLM. We got our rv stuck in the sand about a mile and a half down before we even got to it. I had vetted it very well and everyone said it was big rig friendly. We barely got it out. Our motorhome is now covered in dust and we cannot even see our car. We just checked in to Pilot Knob RV resort which is the newest Encore park. The ladies felt so sorry for us… and had many stories of people getting stuck out there. So we got a great deal and we are now relaxing with air, and drinks. What a narrowly averted disaster. Also, this is a great little park for an overnight stay near Yuma!

First and foremost the staff is delightful! The park was acquired last year by Encore and they are working hard on updates and improvements

Pros:
- the staff!
- well maintained and clean
- nice heated pool and hot tub. (They aren’t huge but are nice, they will be updating them this year)
- many activities
- the park itself is quiet as in no rowdiness/annoying neighbors
- it is basically surrounded by BLM land to walk dogs or ride ATVs
- FHU
- nice laundry $4/load to wash and dry
- close to Yuma for shopping
- Pilot Knob is a fun hike to the top
- pretty desert landscaping

Cons:
- quite a bit of traffic noise from the highway and aircrafts
- not a ton to do in the area (not the parks fault just a heads up for trip planning)
- sites are a little awkward to pull into but we did fine with our 43’ fifth wheel

Where to start? I passed by this place many times the previous year camping on the BLM land further on. I thought it looked expensive. At the end of October I got in trouble and they let me in a little early. I had a small concrete pad, water, electricity, trash dumpster and company if I wanted it. It was alright.
A basic no frills little campsite cut out of the desert.
There are only 2 problems here. First the price. I have a 12' x 6' converted enclosed cargo trailer. So I am small. It was $350 a month and I ended up staying all winter 5 months total (late Oct 21 thru March 22). During the last month of my stay (March 2022) the place was sold to the Thousand Trails company. When I left I said goodbye and asked what it would be for Nov 2022. It was $850.
THAT IS INSANE!
The second problem is why the price is insane. You are hard up against Interstate 8. The noise from trucks and traffic is non stop. 24/7. As if that is not enough it is constantly being flown over at low levels by helicopters and planes. They make an enormous amount of noise.
The only 'store' around is the Chevron gas station on Sidewinder Rd. Nice people but their prices are through the roof. Yuma is fine, lots of stores and much cheaper gas. Don't bother with the Yuma prison attraction it is an expensive waste of time. If you are going into Mexico for dental work be aware you are rolling the dice. 50/50 that things go according to plan. I speak for several people including myself.
Overall Pilot Knob RV 'Resort' is not a bad site. However with the more than doubling of the price for a noisy isolated sand patch be assured I won't be staying there again. I dread to think what they would charge a big class A. I think the Thousand Trails people didn't realize what they had bought because the price hike is madness.

The park was easy to find. It is located just off of I-8. There is pavement all the way until you arrive at the park. Signage is adequate. Check in was efficient and friendly. The rules are basic.

Our site, 206, was a pull through just long enough for our 28 foot Coach and Towed two door Wrangler. Services (30 amp, water and sewer) were to the left side. Distancing is very close. If the park were full it would be slide touching awning. There is no room for a vegetation barrier between sites. Each site in our area has a concrete patio, NO table and NO fire pit. Our site was a gravel pad flat and even. Overall the park was well maintained. There are options available that allow for larger sites that can accommodate almost any size of RV. Be aware, this park is not far from I-8. You will hear some highway traffic.

There is no park provided wifi. Our Verizon Mifi and Cell were only able to get two bars. There is NO Cable TV but we did find a few OTA TV. Satellite would not be difficult. We did not use the washrooms or free showers but we checked and found them clean. There is a pool and spa available with restrictions in place for children. The on-site laundromat was clean and up to date.

There is a very small store a short distance up the road at the Chevron Service Station but we found their prices to be quite high. Yuma is only about 15 minutes away with all services available

We paid $25.00 per night and we feel we received fair value. We will be back if in the area again. Be advised, this is usually a very popular park. Booking a reservation is recommended.

Basic RV older very well cared for RV park. Laundry, shuffle board, bocchi ball, horse shoes, pool, laundry, library, billards room and access to open desert at end of driveway for atv/side by sides. all gravel with "concrete site" outline strips with concrete patio's. Extra large drive ways and full hookups, no problem with water or power. Trash dumpsters at front of park. Museum just across freeway. 15 mins to Yuma down town. Staff was easy to work with and extended our stay 2 times for 3 weeks.... thank you staff!!! No problem with 10 year rule and guided us to our spot. A lot cheaper than any of the parks in Yuma and just as nice. $35 per night or $210 per week.

This is your basic gravel-lot RV park (not a "resort") but very good value for a full hookup pull-through site right off of I-8. We did not reserve online as there appeared to be lots of availability in this shoulder season so we saved the $5 fee, but as noted by another reviewer the office closes at 4:00. Office gal was very friendly. They have a small pool and spa but they were not open.

If you show up after 4 pm, the office is closed. We paid online. No box to pick up site number, where to park, nothing. We bumped into another camper and they told us we had to just park in front of the office. We plugged in for electric but no other amenities since we had no site. We pulled out at 9 am and never saw a soul. Just weird. It wasn’t even late- 6:00pm.

We booked a site here after about 2 weeks of boondocking because we fell sick with the flu... We wanted FHU and easy parking. Electric IS included on all stays (even monthly stays).

Most of the sites are big. Ours was huge! We have a 42ft 5er, a Ford F350 dually, a Ford Raptor and a RZR and we managed to fit all of it in our space with room left! We were happy (sick) campers! No extra fee either.
The only con about the site was the hookups were far back - bring extra sewer hoses!

We were able to get mail here and send mail - the front office will send your mail for you.

Laundry facility only has a couple machines which made laundry a pain in the you know what when it got busy. They give quarters at the front desk though.

Noise was pretty loud - you can hear the train every time it goes by and the highway noise (and we stayed along the back row...). If silence is what you seek, this is not the park for you.

Access was good - its right off the highway. 20 mins to Yuma which has everything you could need.

AT&T signal is great (50 down / 26 upload). Verizon was decent (23 down / 7 up)

We stayed for a whole month because we weren't finished with the sand dunes! You can get to the dunes from the park with a 4x4 if you wanted to.

Overall, decent park. Good location for duning. Staff is super friendly. We liked it enough to stay a whole month lol

Side note: I'm pretty sure that this is one of the only parks near Yuma that includes electric on their monthly stays. That, in our opinion, is the main reason we would stay at this park in the future. $450 a month including electric?! Or $400 a month, and you pay electric? We're electric hogs, so we'll take it!

An older park showing some signs of wear, but has some definite advantages over the more modern RV resorts in Yuma. Location outside of the metro area ( 10 miles west of the main shopping in Yuma) affords a much quieter experience. Being a older park, its layout is considerably more spread out with decent space between rigs (unlike the cookie cutter resorts found in town where you are crammed like sardines) Sites are level each with a concrete patio. Full hookups are to the rear, somewhat older electric terminal but reliable power. Bathhouse is toward the front of the park adjacent to the office and rec center. Facility was older but clean and decent hot showers. Laundry is clean and functional slightly expensive ($4/load for washer and dryer). Neighbors many of whom are seasonal snowbirds were all very friendly and social. Quite a number of onsite activities. Nice Christmas day dinner. Club house offers billiards and games, a nice library and hosted events throughout the week. Small pool and hot tub looked clean and serviceable, but we do not use these amenities. Office staff and hosts are all welcoming and helpful and will accommodate special needs of the traveler. Great surrounding areas for off leash dog walking in the desert. Nearest shopping to the east in Yuma is about 10 miles away. The Chevron station at the corner is overpriced and a complete rip off (charging $4.59/gal of gas when price in town was $2.69 and 5 bucks for a bag of ice) – go into town for your needs. Overall an older but nice respite in the desert. Rate reflects total nightly cost. Only downside was persistent highway noise.