Washington State Park — Attraction in Bonne Terre

We stayed at Washington State Park (8/22 check in), and had many issues with the cabin we stayed in.

Here are the list of that we encountered during our 24-hour stay at Washington State Park (8/22 check in):

We trapped a live mouse inside the utility room because it was running around the cabin in the middle of the night. Roaches in drawers and kitchen cabinets. There were a dozen in one drawer alone. Brown recluse spider in the bed. Mice feces in kitchen cabinets and on the floors. Dead bugs on the floors. Emergency phone number--unresponsive. Never received a call-back from concessionaire, Doyle. The shower was clogged, so my dad pulled out a wad of hair (we shouldn't have to do that) and it still clogged to where we couldn't take showers. The pots and pans had food caked on them; that was what the roaches were feeding on. There were 3 bowls and 3 forks for 4 adults and 2 children. Both bedroom doors wouldn't shut. One bedroom doorknob was falling out of the hole in the door. The bathroom doorknob didn't work. Our son got locked in. Even the adults had a really hard time getting out, so someone else would have to come open the door from the outside. Everything was really dirty. Everyone was coughing the next morning, so there's some kind of allergen in the air ducts. Windows dirty. Kitchen curtains had something splattered on them. Fly paper hanging from ceiling. A gap under the front door where the weather-stripping is coming off. This is where the critters are coming in. We never actually spoke to the concessionaire, Doyle (in person or on the phone) the whole time we were having the following issues, even though we wanted to discuss the problems with him. We specifically asked Jane, the manager, if we could speak with him a few different times:

1. The morning of 8/23 when we went to the office to report the problems
2. When Jane came to the cabin to inspect our concerns we asked for her to call Doyle to come talk with us
3. When we were leaving we asked Jane if we could talk with Doyle and she told us he was busy

Each time, Jane assured us that Doyle would "take care of the refund", but he never contacted us. I finally called him 2 days later on 8/25.

We were willing to overlook the dirtiness, the broken doors/doorknobs, clogged shower, even the lack of response on the emergency phone number. But the roaches, brown recluse, and mouse was unacceptable, especially because we had two small children (ages 1 and 6) staying with us.

Because we considered the cabin a health hazard, we refused to stay there a second night. My aunt and uncle, in the next cabin over, weren't going to stay because the whole point was for us to have a family vacation together. We live four hours away, so we only see them 1-2 times per year. After many attempts at a refund without any type of resolution, we reported Missouri Park Adventures to the Health Department in Washington County. They found the cabin to be in violation with...

So far this has been a 5-star "camping" trip. Our cabin is nice, clean and well-provisioned with amenities and facilities that take the rough out of roughing it. LOL I know I know--going to a state park and staying in a cabin is hardly roughing it. But in my defense I am without both cable TV and Internet while the StL Blues are playing for the Stanley Cup. I mean... history is being made and I am cut off from it! But I digress. Beautiful weather, beautiful country, river access and a nice pool; Petroglyphs, a scenic lookout spot that gives a cool up-high view of the scenery... I think missing a hockey game, no matter how historical--and important--- is a negligible sacrifice. To sum it up: Clean cabins, nice pool for civilized swimming, excellent river spot for adventure swimming (there's a decent current that can be easily avoided or played in, whichever suits you.) The "beach" is rocky (smaller river-type rocks that don't destroy bare feet) but there are clean, Sandy areas for playing or setting up a spot. Parking areas and restroom facilities are well maintained, too. And in a beautiful Ozark setting that goes easy on the senses--just right for a family outing or weekend with friends. I'm very happy that we found this place. Does not disappoint on any level from what I have experienced this far. Granted, maybe we should look into state funding for a big screen TV site for emergencies, but other than that, the only reason I need my cell phone is to take pictures and post stuff like this. (I pick up a pretty normal cell phone signal everywhere we've been so far). Haven't seen any down sides to report, so no reason not to give Washington State Park top ratings. We'll come back...

This place is absolutely gorgeous. But I didn't get to spend long enough there at all. Once we got there, we learned out hotel was over booked. So we had literally NO where to stay. And every hotel in the state was booked up. I was sitting there in my car, calling all these hotels and a guy pulls up with his kids. Sweet. I'm a mom so I always love seeing parents interacting with their kids. Well I guess I was parked in his way. Because when he goes to leave he honks honks honks and screams at me that I am blocking the entrance. MIND you I am in a small car, and I was parked in a parking spot. My bad BRO didn't know you were the king of the mountain. I truly hope he somehow sees this. I didn't respond respond you because I was already on fire and I did not want to flio the h*ll out i n front of your kids. But CHILL DUDE. or maybe learn how to backup your vehicle. You had plenty of room. Lol and then drives back by as I sit there still calling hotels. And blared your horn at me. I'm just baffled at the audacity of people. Yes this post is petty but I drove HOURS to get there today. Then my rooms gone and I just drove hours back home. I'm not a...