Patterson Lake Rec Area

Nice park. We stayed in primitive camping. Picnic table, fire ring and outhouses. No water or electric in primitive. Bushes separate camping sites. Lots of open sites. Trains went by 3 times at midnight and blew there horns. Nice beach area. Frisbee golf. Boat landing. They do have electrical sites near showers and flush toilets for additional fees.

Very small campground at the end of a residential street. Check in is a little confusing since the hut is past the campground entrance and the pull off for RVs is at the gate. We had to park and then walk down to the hut. The sites are all in one row with vegetation in between them and wedged between the railroad tracks and the lake. The railroad track is only a couple hundred yards away and they run 24/7, blowing the horn at all hours of the day and night, so we did not get a lot of sleep the week we were here. The dump station is located right at the doors of the bath house and on the wrong side, so we had to turn around at the entrance to access it. Verizon did well for work and AT&T was good enough to stream. Because of the train noise, we do not plan to return.

Plus side: Playground on site, boating and swimming (no lifeguard. Fine for an overnight if you are not too picky. RV Sites do have shrubs between them which is very nice for privacy as they are close together. Location is right by the train tracks which has its charm but also train horn noise. Electric only. Water and dump on site. Minus side: Bathrooms need attention as do camp sites. Be aware that the grassy area right by entrance shack has tons of small cactus that you, your child or step on before you see them. Check in staff was less than welcoming

This could have been a good experience if it were not for how disorganized the administration of the campground is. We arrived in the evening after the kiosk had closed but we had a confirmed and paid reservation along with a site number so we were not worried. We proceeded to our site only to find that it was occupied. It was very windy and ready to rain and we did not want to take an empty spot since we were concerned that others might arrive after we had. The campground does not place reserved tags on the posts at the site nor is there any other indication that a site has been reserved ahead of time, so there was no way for us to tell. The after hours number is the sheriff’s office number which I called. Turns out that our site had been “given to someone else” by the campground office without contacting us. We had been moved to another site but we did not know this even though they had our contact information. Finally, the friendly and helpful camp host came and helped us sort this out. I talked to the office the next day about the site change and our frustration and was told, “We do this all the time.”

There is no indication on the website that senior pass holders receive a discount. Turns out that if you enter your birthday on the customer profile in the reservation system, you will receive half off the price. Here again no indication of said discount.

The two sites at each end of the campground have 50 amp (sites 1, 2 and 21, 22); the others are 30 amp. There is water at each site plus a dump station next to the bathhouse/restroom. Site 22 has the best views of the lake. The campground is adjacent to the park which has walking trails, a beach area, etc.

Be aware that the loud sounds of trains can be heard at all hours.

Dont go to address on GTA Drive. Use 3753 114th ave sw. There is no access off GTA drive. Still off-season, one other Rv came in after we did. Sites are close together but private with thick bushes between. Railroad train goes through every 3 or 4 hours. Showers are clean, water was hot, what more could you ask for? Map and access were a little confusing. Pay hut is set up for lake access, not camping, so once you pay continue towards the lake and loop around to come out next to the hut again. Campground is set up slightly to the right and straight ahead once you are near the pay hut again.

This campground is close to I-94. There are only 20 or so Back-in spots, all seem to have a nice tall hedge between them. The site was level with elec and water close. The bathrooms / showers were close and large but could have used a little cleaning. There were nice paved trails. The campground is very close to the train tracks. They did not seem to blow the horns after midnight.

Got here after dark on a Saturday evening and there were still a few sites left. All sites to the west have water and electric with 5 sites having 50A. Dumpstation near bathrooms, fill up water at the campsite. Did not go to the east side/primitive area since we found a spot. Many families here for the Labor Day weekend, but quiet at night. Except for trains: 3 times between midnight and 6 AM and they do blow their horn when they go by. Great cell service. 50% discount with Golden Age/Access pass.

This was one of the best stops on this trip. Dickinson has a nice dinosaur museum and a great old fashioned 80 plus year in business barbershop worth a cut if you need one.

Sites are all back ins on gravel. East end sites have shade and nice hedges between the sites. Bathrooms/showers are clean. Park is quiet during the week.

$26 for EW (20/30/50) and $18 for dry camping. Dry sites are on the east end, EW on the west.

Verizon was solid at 4 bars LTE 20.16/22.87 mbps down/up

Only down side was the occasional coal train but they were pretty infrequent.