Monday, September 13, 2010

RV PARK REVIEW: Lighthouse Resort and Marina in Isleton, California

This is another of our ROD member parks (Resorts of Distinction) and we chose to try this park to see if we’d want to return in December.  It is located in the Sacramento Delta Region between San Francisco and Lodi.  Lodi is just north of Stockton. 

The Lighthouse Resort and Marina is located just 3 miles off of CA Hwy. 12.  You follow the levee road until you get to the park on the right.  The address is 151 Brannan Island Road, Isleton. 

                                            The road follows the Mokolumne River on the Delta Loop.DSCF6571

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                                            Entry road and guardhouse for check-in.DSCF6580

We were met at the gate by a very friendly woman who had our reservation in her computer and after the usual check-in procedures we were allowed to drive in and select our own site.  There were two 50 amp. sites left and several 30 amp. sites.  We drove to the 50 amp. area and selected one of those. 

The full hook-up sites here are all on grass and are still fairly close together.  They are level back-in sites and we were into our selected site easily.  While Bruce got things organized, I drove back up to the guardhouse to report our site number to the woman there.

                                            Long sites for big rigs, but still a bit close together.DSCF6572 

When I got to the guardhouse the woman was no longer there and a man was present.  I gave him our site number and he said, “Did she tell you there was a $4.00 per night charge for the 50 amp sites?”  I told him that she had forgotten to mention that but it was no problem.  He must have apologized about 6 times for the woman forgetting to tell us that.  She was a lunch time fill-in and did not normally do the guardhouse job.  Then he proceeded to tell us that they only get $13.00 per night from ROD so they have to charge the electric fee.  I assured him that it was no problem and that it was common practice for all the ROD parks to impose a little surcharge.  Still, he must have apologized for the whole deal about 4 more times.  What a difference in approach from the guy up in Klamath!  This guy couldn’t have been nicer or more friendly.

I drove back to the motorhome to help with the set-up and to get things inside organized for our 2-night stay.  After doing that, I took the camera for a walk to take a few photos.  There is a mini-golf game, horseshoe pits, basketball court and a pool here.  There was a sign posted by the pool announcing that they will be building a brand new pool area soon.  (When?  I don’t know….but soon)

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                                            Current pool which was small but sparkly clean.DSCF6585

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Some of the sites are fully into the shade.  When we arrived there were some tents in that area, which must be nice for them since they are not air conditioned like RV’s.  You can still park RV’s in this area, but satellite dishes may be a problem here.  The next morning when I took the photo of this area, the tenters were all gone.

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                                            RV sites across the street from our space.DSCF6586

I checked out the ladies restroom and found it to be very clean.  They even had a small stool in front of one of the sinks for kids to use.  I thought that was a nice touch.

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Across the street from the entrance to the RV Resort is the Lighthouse Marina and Restaurant.  It looked very nice and it has live entertainment on weekends.  Bruce checked out the menu and they had steak dinners for under $20.00, and some seafood choices, plus a variety of sandwiches and hamburgers.  They allow well behaved dogs to join you at your table if you sit in the outdoor seating area.

                                  Restaurant’s outdoor seating area with views of the river and marina.DSCF6578 

One of our neighbors left Monday morning so we now have a bit more room, that is until a new neighbor checks in.  Right now the park is only about 25% filled.  Summer vacations are over for the family guests and it’s just us “old folks” here now.

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Overall the park is great.  The interior roads are either paved or dirt/gravel and are in good condition.  The areas we checked out were clean and appeared to be well maintained.  If you have a boat you can launch it across the street by the marina and leave your boat trailer parked here in the resort. 

The resort is open year-round for members or affiliate members only.  No general public sites are available.  In additional to ROD, they accept Coast to Coast and RPI (Resort Parks International).  We paid nothing for our site except the $4.00 per day electric surcharge.  We stayed here on September 12 and 13th.

They have 120 full hook-up sites and 56 partial hook-up sites.  There is a laundry on the grounds, but I did not see it for inspection.  There is a small store which was fairly well stocked with the usual supplies of groceries and RV needs. 

Our AT&T was extremely sluggish here.  We asked about the WiFi, which is not the park’s system, but it was $9.95 PER DAY.  No thanks.  After I write this we’re going up to the McDonald’s in Rio Vista to get online. 

We were impressed enough to be planning a return visit here in December when we make our snowbird trip down to Pismo Beach for January and February.  That’s the plan today….we always reserve the right to change our minds, as we often do.

Our rating, based upon 5 star system:  ***

                                            Sunrise over the river this morning.DSCF6576

Until next time…..so long for now!

18 comments:

Sam&Donna Weibel said...

That is really a nice park and the price is great, Going to MacDonalds that's what I do in Fort Madison IA and the Wi-FI is blazing fast I always hit 54mbitsec in there. and the Live Writer publishes in a hurry.I usually get a coffee if it's morning, or an iced tea if it's in the afternoon, that's a lot cheaper than $9.95, and if you want you can sit on the parking lot and still get reception.Hope you guys have a great stay. Be safe out there. Sam & Donna.

Dennis and Donna said...

Looks like you found a nice place to stay for a couple nights....The rates don't seem too bad, either. I prefer bigger spaces, but you can't always get that. As long as our neighbors are not Neanderthals it is never a problem...Stay safe.

Cindy said...

It looks like a great place to stay!! Have fun!!

Cindy and Walker

Sue and Doug said...

what a great park!!..lucky you!!..have a nice stay!!

Rick said...

Another great review of what looks like a very nice RV Park. That wifi fee of $9.95 a day is the highest I've ever heard of. I wonder what's up with that?

Glad to hear the reception was nicer than the Klamath!

Happytrails said...

Looks like a really nice resort you and Bruce found. After the previous campground, I bet it was nice to be treated like a guest and not a bother.
I like the idea of using the wi-fi at McDonalds, in fact we have done so too.

Miss-Fit said...

What a HUGE contrast to your last RV park! This one sounds like a gem, and from the looks of your photos, the folks running the place care about what they do. So glad you had a positive experience there.

Travels with Emma said...

If it's for members only, that leaves me out. :(

pidge said...

Leaves me out too, but what a nice park. And your review is great. Do you ever leave reviews on rvreviews.com? We need you on there....

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Nancy White said...

Thanks for the review! It has inspired me to spend some time there! We've been members since 2005 and, I'm sorry to say, have never stayed at the resort - lots of feeble excuses....We've lived within 2 hours - or much less - of the resort for most of that time. Every time we take a drive and stop by, we keep saying we'll come back for a stay - but then we never seem to get around to it. It seems like a very pleasant place and then there's fishing in the Delta!!