Cal Expo RV Park — Hotel in Sacramento

I stayed here for a month, mid-January to mid-February, while in Sacramento for work and was extremely pleased with the experience. Right next to the property is a huge area for walking, running, horseback riding, and cycling - so my dog was very happy. The property is comprised of two lots: a front, paved lot with the office, laundry, and showers, and a back all-gravel lot. The front lot has more back-in sites and some central pull-throughs while the back lot seems to be mainly pull-throughs with very few back-in sites along the far fence.

The front lot is paved, and almost every site is flat, but almost no site is level due to the lot being on a large, gradual slope. Shorter rigs seem to stay in the front lot, but I saw larger, longer RVs there as a pull-through site opened up for the occasional overnight. Every site has full hookups, and it seems to be normal practice to book two sites for one group, at least along the edge of the property with the back-in-only sites, so everyone has room to park tow vehicles. Pictured is the back-in lots along the outer fence, next to where I had parked, and the back-ins along the inner fence (picture with the blue bins). It's worth noting that the back-ins along the inner fence are less wide and shorter. I only saw one rig there for a brief overnight, and waaay in the back corner. Along the outer fence, the lots comfortably fit a 19' travel trailer with room to park a Toyota Highlander either in front or alongside (as long as you don't put out the awning). Pull-through lots in the center were a little bigger.

The gravel back lot (I didn't get pictures, sorry) is all flat and almost entirely level. Every site has full hookups. Here it seems more common to just be one site per group, which made parking look a little cramped. This lot is where longer, larger rigs were parked, seemingly for both overnights and longer stays.

Kind of adjacent to both lots, with an access gate for each, is the dog park and separate grassy picnic/shade area. I spent a lot of time here, so I have a few pictures. It's decently sized for a husky to zoom around in, and has a trash barrel for waste disposal, as well as a provided scoop and rake if poo bags aren't your speed. Small dog owners almost never picked up after the pups, so every time I was in there with my husky I'd do a clean up walk.

There is another, much smaller dog area along the outer fence of the front lot. It is all-gravel, but also has a trash barrel. Same story with the poop here. It also always reeks of pee, which is! Unfortunate.

There are two trash dumps (the pictured blue tubs) in the front lot and I think just the one at the entrance to the back lot.

Wifi access was very spotty. I had to use my Winegard to get service out along the back fence where I was parked - otherwise I could not get anything on any of my devices due to weak signal. Access up by the office, naturally, was better.

Surrounding area has a lot of restaurants and shopping via Arden Fair Mall and the Howe offshoot. It's very convenient for gas, too, with multiple Chevrons, Arcos, and 7-Eleven gas stations all within a mile i.e. less than 5 minute drive. Freeway access is the same.

Overall, my only complaint was the 30-day limit. It would have been much easier, cheaper and more comfortable to just stay here for my 6 weeks....

Plusses:||-- Good central location||-- Adjacent to American River Parkway with scenic bike/walking paths||-- Quiet, well away from traffic noise||-- Some shaded and paved spaces||-- Sizable space with adequate parking||-- RV's only; no mobile homes||-- Large dog park||-- Electric is included, not metered||-- Patrolled frequently by CalExpo Police||-- Friendly office staff||||Minuses:||-- Somewhat pricey||-- Needs better maintenance||-- 30-day maximum stay||-- No clubhouse or community activities||-- Wifi only accessible in the office||||Despite the name, CalExpo RV Park is a campground rather than a mobile home park that also takes RV's. It's intended for short term stays, up to a month, and doesn't allow older RV's without approval. As a result, guests tend to be friendly travelers.||||Maintenance is the park's greatest weakness. Since it is operated by CalExpo, the state fairgrounds, it depends on CalExpo's maintenance department. Bathrooms/showers are kept stocked with soap, paper towels and TP, but could use some deep cleaning, paint and better lighting. ||||The sizable dog park has two large shade trees, two benches that need varnish, and water. About a third of the dog park is grass (that gets mowed infrequently) while the rest is dirt and weeds. An hour a week of attention from a landscaper could turn this into a really nice dog park. Since the vast majority of guests have dogs, this area is quite well used.||||Nestled behind the fairgrounds, the RV park is away from through traffic. Next to the park is the American River Parkway, a scenic preserve and flood control area. Paved pathways extending for miles draw a considerable number of cyclists for both exercise and commuting. Joggers and walkers also frequent the paths. Homeless people camp in the woods but mostly stay out of sight and don't seem to bother anyone.||||Because of its location, the RV park fills up during the state fair and some other events, so reservations are advisable. The park does have a liberal change/cancellation policy. It is within walking distance of a variety of restaurants and shopping, as well as being about a half mile from a regional shopping mall.||||CalExpo is one of only two RV campgrounds I could find in Sacramento (the other is the more expensive Sac-West RV Park & Campground). An internet search turns up lots of "RV parks" in Sacramento but after visiting a number, I realized they tend to be older mobile home parks that will rent vacant spaces to RV's on a daily, weekly or monthly basis but cater to long-term residents rather than travelers. In contrast, CalExpo is much nicer.||||For someone who doesn't need urban proximity, there are some state park campgrounds with full hookups around Folsom Lake, about 20 miles away, as well as other campgrounds further away in the Gold Country foothills. For travelers visiting family in Sacramento, taking part in the state fair or other in-town events, or traveling for business in the city, CalExpo is a...

💥💥CHANGE OF HEART 💥💥Well let me first start off by saying that my 1st visit was good. Met a great couple there. The front office regular person Linda was kind with her wisdom as I said in a earlier review and gave her flowers when I left. On my second stay while in the restroom/shower room (the ones I raved about in my first review) I received a phone call letting me know that my sister (who's back east) was in the hospital and wasn't given long to live. This was a HUGE surprise and devistating to say the least and of course started to cry. Rite before getting into the shower someone knocked on my door and asked if I was hurt or needed help. I responded "no thank you I am ok." They asked what site was I from and I didn't remember and was then asked for my name. I gave it and then the regular office person Linda addressed me by my name asked me what was wrong and I told her about my sister I also said that I was sorry for crying and I would be quite. She responded with " that's ok your fine and sent her best wishes. The next night early @ 4 am I went to the shower for a few hours just to try and get everything off of me and stand in the water cry sighlentlly and gather my thoughts. Being 4am and no one else is sight awake I felt it was a reasonable time to do this. Well the security guard was leaving his shift and notified Linda (who's on site) that a woman has been in the bathroom for a very long time and should do a well check . So this is what she told me when she knocked on my door asking who I was and if I was ok. I opened the door because I was on my way out and I told her that I was just shaking everything off of me . Her response was that the bathrooms weren't built for hanging out in so I reminded her of my sister's unexpected short time to live and she said yes yes and basically walk away. Now I've said all this to say that 2 days ago I called looking to reserve a spot for the 25th and the new lady gave me the dates available and then noticed my profile had been flagged and she needs to call Linda to see what needs to be done and call me back. 20 mins later she calls telling me that she is sorry but she was told that they can NOT accommodate me . I said I would like to know what was said, she responsed with " yes I know you would but we just can not accommodate you I'm sorry, good luck and good bye and hung up. Woooow I can't believe that just happened. Thank God the place I am at now has openings. I'll never go back to Cal Expo RV park again!!!!!!!...