Beautiful COE park. Ants were a HUGE problem. Was going to stay for three nights, only stayed one. Was advised to make sure all electric cords and water lines were not in contact with ground and to spray around all wheels and jacks to avoid ants getting in motorhome. Did not work! Also, ants were crawling on everything placed outside, including chairs. Forget anything on the picnic table. Five rating for a real nice park with nice waterfront sites, but ants drove us out of there and we will not be back. I can't believe COE is doing nothing about this pest control problem. We camped here in a Motorhome.
This campground is very spacious, but not very private. There are three loops available. Loop A contains a couple pull through spots (#6 and #14) with level gravel pads and fire rings, not much shade though. Loop B is near the shower houses. These sites are like parking at a curb. I'm not sure if these spots had fire rings. The biggest benefit of this section is being near the restrooms as all other sites were a good walk away. We stayed in loop C, site #24. This site is a pull through (along with #36 and #21). Most, if not all, the sites in this loop have concrete pads for parking with gravel pads attached with grill and fire ring. The inner sites are partially shaded with pine trees. The view of this site is outstanding with the lake outside your door. The gravel pad is 17 paces deep and about the same wide. There is also a big green space for the kids to play between the camper and lake. The volleyball, tetherball and shuffleboard area was run down and could use new equipment. We camped here in a Travel Trailer.
This park's address is 153 East Bank Road, Bainbridge, GA 39819 but it is accessed through Chattahoochee, FL. This is everything a park should be. Paved access roads, large level well separated gravel sites are easy to get into and have a large gravel space for good picnic tables, our favorite low round fire rings, and a charcoal grill. Most sites have lake view and many are waterfront sites. Campground hosts are excellent, organized a Christmas pot luck dinner. Although most things are in working order, funding appears to have suffered under the Bush administration. The heated restrooms and showers were not cleaned well or often. Galvanized pipe grab bars in the shower haven't been painted for a long time and are beginning to rust. There are two bath houses. One has been closed for 3 months because of foundation problems which have made the walls unstable and unsafe. Plans are to tear it down and eventually replace the two with a larger facility. The remaining bath house has one washer and one dryer. ANTS We were here about 3 years ago; there were hordes of tiny Argentine ants which we successfully managed by placing granular ant bait on ant hills, by spraying the utility post, and by keeping hose and power cable off the ground in addition to my usual ant immunization which is described later. We were warned by the RV Park Reviews site and also by campground host over the phone before arrival in mid-December--"The drought and mild weather have made them worse than ever." When asked how campers deal with the problem they said that some use a garden hose insecticide sprayer to treat the site with Spectracide before parking, some spread Comet or borax around wheels & jacks, some put Vaseline on 18 inches of hose and cable--"They won't cross it." Another person said spreading granular fire ant bait all over the site before parking is effective. We arrived fully armed, inspected our site before parking, saw no ants--not even one! Someone before us must have treated the site. But then we didn't see anyone else having ant problems either; hosts said they didn't understand it, but a spell of cool weather might have reduced the ant problem. We didn't see a single ant-not one-at our site during a 10 day stay. Hooray! :-) We would mention ant problems but not down rate a park because of it. If the bathrooms were in better order we would rate this park a 10. Visitors should make up their own minds how distressed they would be and act accordingly. My routine ant immunization procedures: Spectracide, a clear liquid, seems to work well. I spray all over under the trailer where ants can crawl from the ground. Tires, wheels, springs, jacks & stabilizers, sewer pipe, and especially the longitudinal support girders and pipes that the ants use as highways. A half gallon of spray did the job and it didn’t even smell bad. It lasted for years. Spreading Comet on the ground or trying to seal them out doesn't work. Keeping hoses and electric lines off the ground helps. Fire ants are a separate problem; they sting, so it’s a good idea to wear socks when they are present—Texas natives recommend ANDRO ant bait (from Wal-Mart) placed on mounds. We camped here in a Fifth Wheel.
Very pretty as are most COE parks. Bathhouses are not close to campsites at all. And then there are the ants. Not fire ants but little sugar ants. They can and will invade your RV. I was briefed on this when we checked in. We had to put Comet around every item that touched the ground. What a pain. I will never be back here for that reason. Way more trouble than it's worth. We camped here in a Fifth Wheel.
I have read the other reviews on this park and they are right. This is one nice park to stay. The one thing that has been over looked is "ANTS" and that is a under statement. If they could ever get them under control this would be a ideal place. The town of Chattahoochee is a small town and very pretty and they have some good places to eat. We have stayed here several times and we enjoy it very much except for the problem with the ants. We camped here in a Motorhome.
Review Rating
[ 7 / 10 ]
December 2005
$16
Nice park on Lake Seminole with both trees and open grassy areas. Sites were level concrete and spaced pretty well, roads in and around park are fine. We have a 30 ft class A. Bathhouses were older and not in perfect repair but they were clean. One of the showerhouses had a double with two shower heads in one open room and a separate dressing area, another had a shared dressing area but two private showers. There is a laundry with one washer and one dryer. We initally passed the road off US 90 leading to the campground because the street signs are rather suble; look for street names on the white posts on the street corners. Bolivar Street also has a stop light. This is a nice COE park and we would stay here again. We camped here in a Motorhome.