COTA Camping

Ok I've seen two types of reviews for this. I want to clarify..

Camping at COTA is the RV park down the back straight. They are amazing. I have stayed here many nights. You are probably 50 ft away from racing standing at the fence. Car racing noises happen. I love it. Apparently some do not.

If you are on this app and it's an international race weekend you will not be booking here. CAC is Very very VIP for GP and F1. The rest of the time you can usually get spots. The facilities are excellent and well maintained.

I've also seen camping on the hill reviews. This is not Camp at COTA. This is putting as many people in a field as they can fit. It's primitive camping and you're there for an international race weekend. Just enjoy it.

If it rains it RAINS and everything will be soaked. If it's windy, anything not secured can be picked up in San Antonio after the weekend.

Back to the RV lot. Indoor showers are nice. Laundry mat is clean but I've never used it. Pool looks nice but I've not swam in it. People are amazing. Car noises happen. Cheap food all up and down Elroy. And if you are far enough away from the generators, you can hear mariachi and dogs bark all night. *I won't speculate

Level, paved FHU site on the back straight, pull in with picnic table on pavers next to you. Close to other sites but that is function of being designed for watching races. We were NOT there during a large event week or weekend. We did wake up each morning to the sound of a few Ferraris participating in a driving school event. We like that, but it’s not for everyone. Very nice staff, clean pool and coin laundry. Our dog enjoyed the dog park. They were installing a sprinkler system in the dog park to help the grass grow. Being in site 75, we were further from the dog park than I would’ve liked but this also meant we were further away from the long term campers (i.e. work trucks leaving early in the morning). We participated in the Bike the Track on Tuesday evening. Turn 1 is steep! It was a great way to see the track. Food trucks available after the bike ride. Did use toll road 130 to get there (we have TX Tag so can just roll through), but to get around Austin, we used FM812 to 183 North and avoided the toll in the Toad. The airport is close and there are planes periodically overhead although it did lessen overnight. With the AC running, this was not a problem in the RV.

I was there for the Austin F1 Grand Prix, 2021. Like a lot of people, I spent a fair amount of time driving around the lot looking for a good place to park. I got there right after they opened, but the place had already started filling up, so the gate time is more or less a suggestion. Get there early.

Like everything else about this place, the camping is on the side of a hill. When you drive up, they point you in the direction and tell you to find a spot. I would have preferred something up on the hill with a good view, but those were all taken. I parked in a spot that looked good, chocked my wheels, drove onto the leveling pads, got out and they had essentially sunk completely into the ground. That's not going to work. I moved off that spot, dug the pads out of the ground with a screwdriver, and moved to a spot facing a wide, dirt parking area, which ended up being great since there were no other campers directly in front of me.

I expected the campers to get crazy at night, but that didn't happen. I was able to take my rzr all around the outside, fenced part of the track - literally drove completely around it twice - and found a few really good vantage points here and there (besides my seats). Also used that to shuttle over to the nearby Exxon for supplies several times.

Only downside was, on Monday morning, it was so damp outside that the dirt had turned to mud. It was everywhere. I can't imagine possibly camping here when it rains. If I go back and it rains, despite the $600 cost, I would pull up and move out. Overall it was a great experience but I'll look at the premium lots next year.