Bay Landing RV Campground - Thousand Trails

Spent the 4th of July weekend at Bay Landing RV Campground with our Thousand Trails pass. First campground we visited with our brand new trailer. Employees of campground are very helpful. Neighbors are friendly. Lots of activities planned for the weekend to keep my kids entertained and some adult activities too. Great pool... Lake looked nice but too many rocks for the kids. Lots of fun things such as mini golf, billiards and basketball. We had lots of fun. Sites are minimal and very little shade. Only 30 amp sites available with good water pressure.

Free with our Thousand Trails membership. The sites with sewer hookup closest to the lake are unfortunately mostly taken by permanent residents. The sites are all really long, but the lake access from them are not great. Most of the sites sit on a hill up off of the lake. Some of the sites were missing the site numbers so it made it very confusing. When we told the front office that the sites were missing numbers, they seemed very confused, and they never did put any numbers up during our 2 week stay. Also, some of the sites were littered with trash and remained that way through our stay. Being that there were no sites with sewer available, we had to pay for the honey wagon to come pump out the tanks. They did not come the day they said they would, but came 2 days later without even a phone call. Also, every drive in or out was a game of dodge the potholes. At one point during our stay, they actually came out and ripped up the road, then left it that way. When the next rain came, the road washed away in some places and made the potholes 10 times worse.

I had some hesitations about camping at Bay Landing from some of the previous reviews. We stayed at another Thousand Trails park a few weeks back and Bay Landing's overall rating was less that than park so I had low expectations.

I'm happy to say that I was surprised and liked Bay Landing better!

For the second time we did the Thousand Trails online check in process, which again, was a waste of time as you are forced to check in with the Ranger / Visitor Center. We got to the park at around 2:00PM on a Friday and there were plenty of nice spots to be had. As expected, as the weekend rolled along more people showed up.

The park is large and secluded. The access road to the campsites is nice, but, has about four sections where the pavement is in bad shape so watch out. All the campsites I saw were dirt / gravel and seemed to be pretty level. Some were more dirt than gravel so the overall condition of those spots were more mud than dirt. A number of campsites were out of order. There were also a number of vacant sites that had a sign indicating 'Persona Site' and we were advised by the Ranger that we could not occupy one of those sites.

There are three negatives, in my opinion, concerning Bay Landing. The first is the lack of natural shade compared to other Thousand Trails parks. There are some trees, but they are either on a 'Personal Site' or not big enough to give you any relief from the sun. The second is the lack of campsites with a sewer hookup. We knew going to Bay Landing the very few 30A (and 50A too) campsites had sewer. Not a problem for us since we were staying two nights but if we wanted to stay longer we would have to move the RV to dump or catch the Honey Wagon. Neither of those seems pleasurable. The third is that there is only one dump station in the entire park. We pulled out on Sunday about 10:30AM and when I got to the dump, there were three RVs in front of me waiting to dump. Most of the problem was an inconsiderate camper, but come on, if you're not having sites with sewer give us a couple of options to dump.

All that said, I would definitely go back to Bay Landing. We rode our bikes around the park and had a good, relaxing time. We look forward to returning again soon.

I held off on this review until I was no longer upset. I stayed during the end of covid. I am an emergency services member, staying a few days in between going home.
On my second day there I watched an individual torment an African American family with the Dixie horn. I was appalled at some of the activities around me but I realize that everyone else was there to party or spend lake time. I was in the middle of a pandemic and just wanted some time away from the highway.

On my second day there I heard a man being very loud at the trailer next to mine. He was talking about my horse trailer with living quarters. It was after dark. He was so loud and it was humiliating that he would go to the trailer next to me. I stepped out he told me I had a stock trailer and it wasn’t allowed to be here. That his boss would have a fit. I explained to him that I had to be at work the next morning in emergency services. After being insulted and having my trailer insulted. Being told to leave that late at night with no where to go. Being humiliated in front of people I didn’t even know. As I was packing up the lady next door was crying to her husband about how I was being treated. I moved in the middle of the night and luckily I knew another RV park nearby. I had to leave it unhooked and at risk due to not being able to see. As well as just hoping I had everything packed up right.

I was going to just let it go. However I have an important job. Having a place to sleep during the pandemic seemed like a priority to me. I guess drunk kids in Grandpa’s RV and the drunk guy torturing the other family is more of this campground’s style.
The reason I am writing the review now, is because I’ve been sitting on hold for 20 minutes. I was charged by this company after asking to have my membership canceled. Why would I pay a membership if I can’t stay there? Also because when I got home I received a bill showing I didn’t show up for my reservation. Not even sure how that happens. I’ve been billed by thousand trails for “not being there” due to this campground. I am not allowed to use my membership anywhere else until I pay for “not being there” 🤦🏽‍♀️ Now I am being billed by them and I will obviously it be putting myself through that torment again.

Yay!!! Sometimes being out on hold forever gives people time to address issues. Since it’s obviously not a priority to take care of customers.

This campground is near the Dallas Fort Worth metro area which makes it convenient to visit museums, zoos, theme parks, sporting events and more. Most sites are just grass you park on. Some have gravel pads, picnic tables, and concrete patios but sites vary widely. The unfortunate situation with this campground is that there are a high number of sites that are occupied by permanent/annual rver's. This means that a very high percentage (probably 80 to 90%) of the premium sites with full hook ups or 50 amp service are not available to those just there for a short period. Very few sites with sewer. They do offer a honey wagon service at $10 per visit. Staff here is friendly and bathrooms and laundry rooms are kept clean.

My camping cost was $0 due to Thousand Trails mem. I really wanted to rate this campground higher but the campground is in need of a makeover. The main road after you pass the ranger station has serious pot holes. The bath house was clean but tired looking and dated. Water pressure at the bath house was not good. Finding a site was challenging. Not all sites are well marked and inconsistent. Some had a concrete patio, picnic table and grill and others nothing. The water and electric hookups on the East side are located close to the ground and at the rear of the site. After I attached my surge protector the electric cord was laying on the ground. I had to use and cord extension and hose extension to reach my trailer so I could utilize the small concrete patio. There are many low hanging tree limbs that could be in the way when backing into a site. My site was not difficult to level. Some sites back up to the lake and have 50 amp service. These are an extra cost if you are a TT member. I had spotty over-the-air TV coverage.

This is the 6th Thousand Trails campsite we have stayed in because of a free membership. It has sadly ruined us from the on the road RV experience. With the exception of two properties, these places represent the 50 year old company—old and dilapidated. The truth about these properties is that they are a permanent trailer park. The last place we stayed had 12, I repeat 12 sites that were available for reservations. The others are annual lessees who have built decks, set out trashy lawn decorations, and simply look trashy! Oh and if you are on a lake, those are all taken by these “annuals”. The rest of us bake in the center of the park with few to zero shade trees. Every site has picnic tables falling apart and this place had shore power so close to the ground that our safety box had to touch the ground. Oh and speaking of grounds, ours had an open ground, and faulted our system!!

Please don’t spend good money on this membership. Don’t trust the brochures. The pictures are outdated and don’t tell the story. How in the world people rank this property a 4 is beyond me.

We had the good fortune to have a waterside site with sunset views over Lake Bridgeport. The sites on the east side of the cove do not have sewer hookups but were more spacious than the full hook up sites on the west side of the cove. The lack of sewer hook up was not much of an inconvenience though as the park offers a honeypot service three days a week. There are clubhouses and pools for families and for adults as well as the normal recreational amenities like mini golf and playground. More details in blog post at https://ourepicfieldtrip.wpcomstaging.com/2018/11/30/campground-reviews-thousand-trails-bay-landing-bridgeport-tx/