Thousand Trails Russian River — Hotel in Cloverdale

General Impression: Hilly campground with lots of twists and turns, and that’s not just the roads. Cost $0 as members, but $67.50 for non-members

Campsite: The area was quiet with no road or train noise. Asphalt at most of the campsites was damaged and crumbling and many had a steep trajectory with drag mark like scars showing the evidence of people attempting to park their rigs previously. Some campsites were incorrectly laid out for the one-way road so that you either backed all the way from the main road or would have to pull into a back-in site. All the sites marked for big rigs had a paper sign which made them look reserved making it even more confusing trying to locate a spot. Campsite # 20 Campsite Level: yes, without leveling blocks. Campsite Type: asphalt with dirt/mud surround. Back in. Full / Partial hookup: 30 amp with no sewer at any of the sites, and very slow trickling fresh water. Sites 19-21 marked for big rig did not have 50 amp and none of the sites on the map designated 50 amp sites. Picnic table at our site: yes – 3 picnic tables at our site Grill: yes Fire Ring: no Wifi: no Propane fill: yes Dump station: yes and apparently sewer honey truck that comes through twice a week for people staying longer. Amenities: Bathrooms: yes, but dirty with toilet paper and trash on the floors. Key code was required to enter. Showers: yes, but dirty and no running water. Dumpster easily located: yes, but some of them were full. Laundry: They had 1 washer and 1 dryer at multiple bathhouses, but none of the washers were working. $2.00 for wash and $2.00 for dryer. Pool: no Playground: yes Other facilities: Basketball court, tetherball, horseshoes, community picnic areas and 2 campfire pits. Dog friendly: Location and size of area: no off leash or designated walking areas. Pick up bags and trash can stations: yes, multiple. Camp store: Listed, but unknown because it was closed the whole time we were there. Camp staff interactions: None. We made our reservation online and there was no packet pickup waiting for us on arrival. No security at entrance of the park. Office was closed early for the holiday and no courtesy call was received. Additional info: Homeless living in pull outs near the entrance. No security or office workers monitoring who comes into the campground. Trash on ground around laundry area, dirty bathrooms with trash on floors, and no running showers. Trash in and around water fountain and overflowing dumpsters. Extremely difficult to navigate the campground in a big rig. Several very tight turns requiring you to navigate off the road into the dirt or soft gravel. Highly don’t recommend bringing in a big rig after a heavy rain as you will likely get stuck. Would also recommend bringing in your own water for showering and drinking since it appears the water is often an issue and bring empty grey/black tanks to your sites.

We are very thankful this was not our first Thousand Trails experience. We have heard that some of the campgrounds are hit or miss, this was definitely a...

I've quickly grown to love this park. While I don't believe they have any 50 amp sites (if so, you can bet they're occupied with "annual" members), 30 amp is no problem for our rig. Also, there is no sewer at the sites (except maybe where the "annuals" are located) so you need to plan for that, or use the dump station at the park. There are a bunch of sites here that I would hate to have to get into (it seems your rig would have to be part billy-goat to get into some spots)... but there are still plenty of other spots that are easy-in, easy-out, and pretty level. I can see where a lot of spots aren't that level, but those are usually in areas (on a hill) that I wouldn't take the Class A rig, or they're too small for my rig anyway). The entire park seems to be on a hill... so expect some up and down traveling. Again, there are plenty of level sites... but the roads between the areas is hilly. Great easy access to the Russian River. We've been down there many times, and most often there is no one else there -- so it's like we have the entire river to ourselves. The kids love it, and it's very refreshing when the weather is hot. The staff here are great -- super friendly and very helpful. The one thing I'm not thrilled about is that you can tell this is a "member fee" driven park, not a "pay to stay" commercial park. I say that because I noticed one RV site that was "out of order" due to maintenance... from MONTHS ago when we were there last. Also, the last I heard the internet "was down"... which is a common thing I hear at RV parks. They tell you "the router is down right now" as if it's a new development. What they don't tell you is that it's been "down" for months, and there is no hope of a fix in sight. That's why I carry a slew of cellular hotspots for work and personal use -- so I don't have to rely on park WiFi, which is rarely good anyway. That said -- seeing things "out of order" and not being fixed MONTHS later is not good. A commercial park with "pay to stay" customers wouldn't stand for this -- as it looks bad on the park, and it also eliminates a space someone could be using (and paying for). With a Thousand Trails park (which is what Russian River RV Campground is part of) all the members pay an annual due, and stay at any Thousand Trails they like -- so members have essentially pre-paid for service. This means that parks aren't as "under the gun" to perform repairs or invest a lot of money into upkeep like a commercial park would... because they don't see any direct relation to repairs and customer cash (since they already have the cash from your annual dues). That said, I've never had a problem finding a spot (even if one is out of order forever) and the location is great, cellular reception and data are good enough to conduct personal/work... and the...

The cabin I wanted to rent said no pets but service dogs were welcome. I called Russian river to verify this and was told it would be fine. When I arrived it was over 100 degrees. I was greeted with cobwebs hitting my face when I entered the bathroom. There were roaches coming out of the walls and my dog was chasing roaches on the floors. The AC in the bedroom did not work so I was unable to sleep in bedroom. I slept in the bunk bed room because it was cooler. The coffee pot did not work at all. The BBQ outside did not work. The sink handles in the kitchen leaked all over. The bathtub spout could be pulled out of the wall if you used the shower. The smoke alarm fell out of the ceiling when i tried to silence it when it went off when I was cooking. The floor under the bed had not been swept. I let the management know all the problems noted above. I told them I didn’t want to have to move and would live with all of the above (I’ve lived in worst) I got charged $95 for a cleaning fee. For what? For that horrible cabin experience that I went through? I called to ask why? They said that I smoked in the cabin and that I had a pet in the cabin. I do not smoke cigarettes and I do not have a pet I have a service dog. I got the bill on the 4th of July and was told I was wrong and would have to dispute it thru member services. I called member services and was told that Russian river has to deal with this because they charged me not member services. I called Russian river again and spoke to a Cathy who said she would look into it. She did not. I called again and asked to talk to the manager and was told she was unavailable to speak. I asked is she there? He said couldn't give me that info as though it was some secret like if though she was in the witness protection program or something. Should I call back today tomorrow when? He (didn’t get his name) said I could call back as many times as I want and he will just tell me the same thing. (very unprofessional) Was told he could take message and give it to her but he had no idea when she would be in. No one has called me back. I’ve called 3 times since to no avail.

All i want is my money refunded for something that I have been wrongly accused of. The people answering the phone are very rude and uncaring. I wrote member services 3 days ago asking for help and I get no replies. I'll keep trying to get a hold of...