Fairways RV Resort

This is an RV camp located at Port Hueneme Naval Base and requires proper military ID to enter. Access to Port Hueneme Naval Base is harder than it should be as GPS tries to take you to a closed gate. There are two gates in operation, one is only during regular operating hours M-F. The staff is okay when you can find them. We had to extend our stay for a couple of days and it took me 4 trips to the office to finally find someone.

There are two bath/shower/laundry buildings and only one near the office is properly maintained. The other, which we were near, had a fire alarm continually beep during our stay because it needed a new battery. The showers in the second building quickly ran out of hot water, at times where you could actually get hot water. Another guest told me it was probably because most guests are parked near the second building and do their laundry there and likely use up the hot water. I find that hard to believe, unless they have a garbage hot water heater, which they probably do. The hand dryer does not work in the mens room, nor the shower heaters (they did work in the main building).

There is no kids playground, nor a decent place for kids to play safely. The dog runs are a joke (tiny) and it seems few people pick up after their pets so we stayed away from them. You really need a decent size dog run that gets watered down every few days or at least once a week otherwise they begin to smell like an alley behind a bar. They also did not provide any doggie dodo bags but they had lots of dispensers around the camp.

The spaces are pull through and roughly level. By that each driveway seems to be made of about three sections with the front and back sections slightly sloped for drainage. We did not need leveling blocks.

Landscaping is fine, but minimal. Spaces are decorated with crushed rock which is appropriate for a more desert climate like they have. Hookups worked fine and did not have any issues. Some of the machines in the laundry room were not working, but enough to get laundry done.

Finally, my biggest gripe is the price. You might think after reading the above that I'm complaining a lot about a little. Fair enough, but when you charge $65 a night (I pay $5 more as a retired DOD civilian) I at least, expect everything to work. A lot of military RV campgrounds are also using the RV revenue as a "bill payer" for other MWR activities which I personally think is inappropriate. I worked acquisition in the Pentagon for 20 years and I can guarantee you there is some loose change that could be found to properly fund MWR without placing that burden on RV campers. So It is one thing to charge $65/night when you are sold out most of the time or at least mostly full, but this place was 80 percent EMPTY!

Most military campgrounds charge between $15 and $40 a night, so if you are going to charge at lest 50-percent more, you better have a pristine sight where everything works. As an example, the California National Guard Camp at San Luis Obispo charged us $30 a night, had decent sites, a pristine bath house, and is 10 minutes from Morro Bay and beaches. Davis-Monthan AFB in Tucson is $15 a night or less for dry camping, and (I think) it is about $30 to $35 a night for hookups (I'll update once we stay there next week).

Individual ratings: Access/Location is mostly straightforward but I dinged the sight location as it is a long drive from the freeway to the base and sometimes the gates are not opened as scheduled if they are having an exercise or drill. If that happens (which they did while we were there) and you have to drive all the way around the other side of the base and find the open gate to get in. Also, the RV park is not anywhere near the water/beach. Cleanliness is more about the dog runs, but the second bath house could use some maintenance and better water drainage in the showers. Also the showers need to update the soap holders. None of the holders have drains so you are essentially placing your soap, razor, etc. in a cup of water. Site Quality refers to the individual campsite only, not the overall park. Noise - It's a military base, so you just deal with it.

My overall feel for this place is poor leadership and management, disconnected staff, and a general "could care less" vibe permeates everywhere.

We are now staying at Camp Pendleton San Onofre Beach RV park and the rate is the same, the showers are actually worse than Port Hueneme (despite outward appearances, the bathhouse is actually open to the elements with clever privacy walls but it is cold as heck in the winter), BUT we have a direct view of the ocean, the staff is always on-hand if you have a question, and the place is about 75 to 80 percent full if not more.

Unfortunately camping or even overnight RV parking is difficult to find in the Port Hueneme area, so this may be your only option. There is another RV park / Navy Lodge in nearby Point Mugu NAS, we drove by and will likely try that next time as it is located directly on the beach.

Arrival - Easy to book over the phone. Not sure all the rules for folks who aren't active duty or retired; I'm sure they're posted on https://www.militarycampgrounds.us.

Tips - If you're coming in via the 405 and 101 expect traffic and crazy California drivers who have no concept of what it takes to stop our rigs; we were cut off more times than I care to remember. If you're coming in via the 1, be aware there are some white knuckle areas for the bigger rigs and those towing the big 5vers.

Favorites - Location is very close to the Channel Islands National Park visitors center and the boats to get you over to the islands. Good commissary, NEX, and diesel on station. Sites are concrete pads with new rock on either side; utilities look newer as well. No obstructions for StarLink.

Negatives - Shorter than expected sites, 42' and above fifth wheels will probably have to park their tow vehicles in the provided off pad parking areas; same goes for the big class A's. Getting into base was a little more difficult than hoped; pay close attention to the driving directions posted on the Military Campgrounds site provided above. Water pressure was less than 40psi.

No longer bargain priced at $50/day but try getting full hookups in proximity to a beach anywhere in CA during the summer for anywhere close. Prefer this over Point Mugu to the south for its better facilities and less chaotic (though literally overlooking the beach) serenity. Mostly quiet owing to the military and retired only clientele. Access to commissary/exchange facilities and cheap(er) gas a big plus. Weather sublime (70s) during our July/August stay. Free laundry with several broken machines. No issues with the staff. Expansion efforts nearly finished. Can stay up to 90 days. Will be back next summer.