Kerr Lake State Recreation Area — Attraction in Henderson

I was at the park this past weekend with a camping group I am a part of, Our Journey Camping Experience. This was our 2nd time at the park. Last year at our 2023 event we had a wonderful time and was so excited for this year's event but unfortunately the Superintendent attempted to kick our group out of the park. Over 80 people that traveled from all over, bringing their kids, parents, friends. We even had the leader of the group bring her 82 year old mother and it was her first time camping in a tent and she was so excited. We were told there was complaints of noise (loud music, which was off at 10:02) then wanted to add that alcohol was the reason and the Park Ranger wanted to check our coolers, tents and RVs. Walking around the camp site shinning flashlights. I had noticed that every hour or two they were coming to "empty" the trash or would just sit in the trucks in front of our camp site. None of that took place last year. We had no problems last year at our 2023 event. Superintendent Bill Stanley came to the site Saturday, gave us no warning and told us we ALL had to leave in 3 hours and if we didn't we would be trespassing. Gave the leader of the group a citation for over $200 and stated he was going to cancel our reservation and if we were not gone we would be trespassing. How do you just go from 0 to 100. No warning, no corrective measure, just get out. We all knew the real reason for this. We were being targeted. It's sad that still in the year 2024 we still have to fight for our rights. Some individuals did end up leaving because it was so upsetting how we were being treated but the rest of us came together as a Community and we needed answers and a better explanation for wanting to kick us out. Superintendent Stanley ended up letting us stay after about a good hour of trying to communicate our concerns, him answering our questions and him going back to look at the footage from Friday night that he said he had not even looked at yet but it should not ever have gotten to that extreme. For the ones of us that stayed we were disheartened by the way we were treated and tried to make the best of the rest of the weekend. Needless to say our camping group will NEVER return to Kerr Lake State...

This is a large park with nine campgrounds. We had booked our waterfront site online and were looking forward to watching the sunset over there lake. My low rating is due to staff unresponsiveness. The park itself appeared to be beautiful although sites are snug and even crowded in some parts. When we arrived after eleven hours on the road, we were told we weren't at the right campground and would have to drive another half hour. We asked if our reservation could simply be moved to the park we had arrived at and although there were available sites we were told that she couldn't change reservations from campground to campground, that only the main office could and they were closed. She told us that we could just book a new campsite with her though, paying twice. When asked about a refund for our first reservation she shrugged and said she didn't think we could get one. So we drove the half hour to find that our campground was closed due to flooding. The both attendant there did however change our reservation to the park we had first been at. So, after another half hour waiting for him to do that, we drove back only to be told that there was no reservation in our name. She calls the other park and no one picks up. She then calls the main office, the one she had told us was closed. As we waited, she told us that three other campgrounds had also been closed due to flooding so she must have known that the one we had booked our reservation at was closed too when she went sent up there. Another hour later, we had the reservation switched and got parked and hooked up just before it got dark. We were not given a waterfront site, although she had said there were some that hadn't been flooded. In the morning, I walk around to see beautiful spacious waterfront campsites sitting vacant. I met another couple who had had a similar experience with the both attendant that we had. She simply wasn't inclined to attend to us or serve...

I've camped all over the country...48 states. The customer service at this park is my worst experience ever! We arrived at 3 pm which is 1 hour before checkin time which is 4 pm. We had been driving in a terrible storm all day. When we arrived at the checkin point, we were informed that we could not check in until 4 pm. I told them that we were traveling in a group and all 5 of us were there together (5 trucks pulling 5 RV's). We had reservations for a full week. Asked if the sites were open and they said they were open. So I pressed them as to why we couldn't get in. They said the ranger wouldn't allow it. Their ranger showed up and said we couldn't even stay in the park to wait and suggested we drive back in town to Walmart (5 to 10 miles away) and wait. When I asked why in the world he thought this was a good policy, he said that if I didn't like it, we could all pay for another day (FOR ONE HOUR IN EMPTYSITES THAT WE WERE RENTING FOR THE WEEK!). He said that if I didn't pay for another day than I was trying to get something for nothing and accused me of trying to steal. Gave a stupid example that hotels don't let you checkin early...I said I had done it at many hotels...LOL. Asked him if I could speak to his supervisor and he said yes but he feels the same way...was hoping I was dealing with Barney Fife and just needed to get to Andy. He got on his radio and said he needed him to come speak to me. Then he said to his supervisor...it's not criminal yet...LOL. I said no not criminal...just common sense. At the point I knew I was dealing with people who didn't care about customer service and gave up. We all drove to Walmart...waited until 4 and drove back. What...