Lavaland RV Park

Older park in desperate need of some financial TLC.

We escaped the heat of southern New Mexico and landed here awaiting our next reservation. The park is older with some permanent residents. Everyone is perfectly nice that is a permanent resident, sure some of the trailers are older but with one exception they are all cared for and respectable looking.

The park needs some love however. There are picnic benches in disrepair that would be better served if they were simply removed from the park altogether. The water hookups all leak which the birds appreciate but doesn't make for the most pleasant experience. 30 and 50 amp sites are intermixed throughout the park and unless you specify you want 50amp you are presumed to need only 30amp.

The road noise is awful as the weather gets cooler overnight. Completely understand why and it's expected but don't expect silence if you want to sleep with your windows open in the cooler weather. The park is right off I-40 and there is an Eastbound off-ramp directly in front of the park that truckers readily pull off on at night and catch some sleep. It is LOUD when they use their air brakes and idle for any length of time.

The provided dog run is not a dog run, it is a small pen suitable only for small dogs. The waste receptacle next to the dog run has been full since our arrival and has not been emptied once.

Now for the good. You can get your mailed delivered to the front desk. We had a business and Amazon delivery directly to The Gump by FedEx and UPS. The park wifi was available even at the farthest point from the front office, although it isn't fast. The cell reception was good. There is a Walmart on the other side of the freeway if you need to stock up.

Decided to stop and see El Malpais National Monument and Lavaland is across the street from the visitors center. It's next to I-40, but we had very little road noise. Small pines between each dirt site. We had 50 amp FHUs and an easy-to-level space. It would be tight if the park were full, but we had lots of room for our stay. Very nice owner, great rate, quiet, safe and clean.

Nothing pretty about the park, but for visiting the two national monuments in the area it was perfect. New Walmart across the freeway, several decent restaurants, easy access fuel locations - Grants is a small town with nice people.

The KOA further west is not nearly as nice, and they charge $47/night. Definitely stay here if you're in the area. Park WiFi weak.