Holbrook-Petrified Forest KOA

Easy to get in and out of. Arrived late after spending the day in Petrified Forest, but the staff left us everything we needed for checkin. Park was quiet and clean. Only weird thing--had 4 bars of ATT coverage, but still somehow could barely send a text message or get google to load on my phone, not just at the KOA, but all over town. (Reminded me of being in college on football weekend when the networks would get overload with all the people coming to town.) Would definitely stay again when passing through on 40.

This is the closest KOA to the Petrified Forest but it is still a good 20+ miles away. The campsite was comfortable for one night. Bathrooms and showers clean and had cable hookup, Didn't use any other facilities and appreciated that we could walk to a decent restaurant in the area for dinner. Arrived via I-40 after seeing the Painted desert in the Petrified Forest and left via 180 to see the remaining part of the Rainbow forest.

To begin with, the staff ruin any positive experience about the campground with their rudeness. We had three different experiences with 2 different people and every experience was disappointing. They truly seem to think you are bothering them when you check in and need to purchase anything like ice. The woman who checked us in didn’t not even look up when I came through the door on arrival and I waited several minutes while she finished whatever she was writing and finally looked up at me and asked what I needed. Hmmmm, there is a big rig sitting right outside the door and you had to notice I came out of it….all right maybe they were all having a bad day. Second concern is we opted for the pet friendly spot with a little outside area for our pup. I have not reserved one of those before and will not ever do so again. It was dirty with ground in dog poop ( see pictures) and smelled awful right at our RV door. Our dog wanted nothing to do with it. On the positive side there was someone in a golf cart pulling trash and watering vegetation. The sites are level and the internet was strong. The cabins look nice with swings on their porch’s. The bathrooms are okay and the pool is lovely

Extremely convenient and close to I-40, easy to hop off and back on. Fuel station close by. Not much else around though. Some of the laundry appliances were out of order creating a crowding issue. Wi-fi wasn't great, cellular data service/speed was better. The dog area is just a dirt area at the edge of the campground. The playground could use some love too. Overall, this isn't a bad spot for a short stay, but for the price paid, I felt it was a little lacking. We'd probably try to find another place to stay if we were traveling through again in the future.

Campground was very clean and a good location for going to the Petrified Forest NP. However if it had rained it would have been a muddy mess. Our only complaint was checking in. We had already prepaid through the KOA app and only needed to know our site # and get a campground map. During COVID every campground we have been to is either contactless or happy to come outside so we don’t have to come in. The person at the desk got in a real huff about me not wanting to come in and said “if I was that scared of COVID I shouldn’t be traveling”. He finally came out behind the counter handing me the map without another word. One of the least friendly receptions of all the campgrounds we have checked into the last three years.

Wanted to visit Petrified Forest NP (for the 4th time) and do some “Off the beaten path” hiking. Not much available in the area for multi-day camping. So I settled on this KOA. Easy access coming from east. I had full hook up site in front near playground. Electric, water, sewer all OK. Sites a bit close to one another, but not intolerable, especially if you are going to be out doing things during the day. Showers OK. Biggest negitive was that their laundry facility in regards to the poor quality dryers. Spent lots of quarters. The lint filters dirty with black lint under the mesh so you could not get it out. Took about $2.25 to dry an average load. If you are staying a few days best to look for laundry mat in town.