Wednesday, October 21, 2015

Mountain Gate RV Park (Redding, CA)

We checked out the offerings in Redding....decided we didn't want to pay $30 a night for a spot to park with no bathrooms....and settled on Mountain Gate RV Park.  Having stayed the past 12 days in state parks and knowing our next 9 days are at a fair ground, we decided to splurge for this travel night.  The  price is $37+ tax (if your rig is over 22 ft)....when we checked in a $2 per extra person ("kid tax")  was added as well as a $1 fee for Yuuki... our total was $47.70 for one night.  Our initial reaction was a dislike at being "nickel and dimed." Just quote us $50 a night if that's the price. ::wink::  They do offer a Triple A and Good Sam's discount of 10%. No military discount is offered. This is a "Top 100 Good Sam Park."  Weekly and monthly fees available.

 
We were pleasantly surprised, as we dove into  Mountain Gate RV Park, by the landscaping - GREEN grass, mature shade trees, a very clean park. The sites are a bit tight - but we had no trouble fitting into ours with our 31 ft trailer (the van was parked across the street).  The upkeep on the grounds are immaculate. No chipped paint or mold and dirt in the corners in the restrooms. There is a welcoming sense of community at this park - as opposed to other parks where the extended residents sometimes make travelers feel like intruders.  Mountain Gate also boasts a laundry room, pool, hot tub (with adult hours),  continental breakfast, electric car charging station, cabins, small store, propane for sale, DVD/game lending library, free Wi-Fi, club rooms, BBQ areas,  and a book swap. If you stay for a while there are other activities available.

 
The kids loved the pool, we enjoyed the hot tub. The continental breakfast was a plus on a travel morning. Our favorite aspect of this visit, however, has to be visiting with the owner and gleaning his advice and tips about buying and operating an RV Park/Campground.  It was really interesting to get his input on this industry.

I often hear parks with a "kid tax" are not "family friendly." We found the owners and other campers to be quite friendly with our children. Having spent the past two months amongst RVing families - I must admit some simply do not watch their children,  nor respect the  privacy of others or the facilities where they are staying. Just thinking the issue through. I don't ENJOY paying $6 extra dollars a night - and my kids didn't leave a big mess for others to clean up, disturb other campers, plug up the toilets etc - but I have witnessed that far too often.

Marco - POLO!
 
Mountain Gate RV Park is conveniently located off I5 and yet would make a nice location to launch out to explore Mount Shasta, Shasta Lake/Dam, Redding, Lassen Volcanic National Park, Lake Shasta Caverns National Natural Monument, Whiskeytown National Recreation Area, Burney Falls State Park and Sundial Bridge and Turtle Bay Exploration Park.

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