In our travels we have resisted staying at KOA campgrounds. We have passed several that you can see the entire campground from the interstate, like the one in Lumberton NC. The cost for KOAs is usually high and it seems geared towards people with massive class A motorhomes and travel trailers. We were meeting friends in CArlsabad and our friends had one of those travel trailers so it was a good fit for them.
So I called the Carlsbad KOA for a site and the woman said she had the perfect spot for us. I had my doubts but made the reservation.
When we arrived I was glad that I could barely see the park from the road. Most of the campground was like I expected: Rows of drive through sites with a grass section in between. The grass was nice and there were trees. And friendly aliens to greet us.
Our site was off to the side with a shelter, water, power and even a light. They allowed us to drive past the small parking space so Sparty, our van, opened right into the shelter.
Clean showers, flush toilets, a rec room, pool and a large laundry room made this much more appealing than we expected.
Of course having good friends here made this a great place to camp, cook dinner outside and a few drinks by the fire.
There is one thing to be aware of though. In Carlsbad you are in oil country and there are oil pumps everywhere. And sometimes that oil smell drifts in.
