After reading reviews here we lowered our expectations for our first visit to Lake Rudolph. We even considered leaving the kids' bikes at home so as to not worry about them being hit by reckless golf carts. But our stay here was a complete and pleasant surprise and we were very glad we took the kids' bikes! This is a family campground with tons of kids. It is not a quiet get-away. The golf cart issue deserves mention. Kids are NOT allowed to drive golf carts unless they have a valid state driver's license. We never saw youngsters driving carts; it was always an adult or older teen driving with a pack of kids riding along. There are security guards riding is red carts driving around to monitor things but we never saw a reckless driver or even bike-rider. All of the carts are electric so there is NO noise. At dusk the security guards send bike-riders with no lights back to their sites because they don't want to risk kids being hit by carts. Don't let the complaints here about the golf carts scare you away from this great park! Check in was a breeze. There are two lanes of check-ins at the entrance and although we were third in line to register our wait was only about 15 minutes. Their system is well-organized and everyone moves quickly. The attendants were very nice and offered us a golf-cart escort to our site, but the map is clear enough that we didn't need it. All the roads are paved and the drive to our site was no problem at all, despite some minor hills along the way. Golf carts share the roads so speeds are naturally kept low, which we were glad for. A few turns seemed tight but we had no issues even towing. I found our spot and, with a little forethought, was able to back in on the first attempt (and our MH turns like the Queen Mary). Our first night we stayed at site 37 in Dasher. It backs up to the woods and is nicely shaded until mid-afternoon (it faces west-southwest). It is a 50amp site with a level concrete pad. Our second day we had to move due to another camper reserving our site prior to us making reservations. I had scoped out our new site, number 31, prior to moving so I knew how I was going to get my 40' MH into it. I had no problems at all. Site 31 is wide open with no trees so it was hot during the day but would be perfect for MH's with a satellite dish (which we don't have). Space between sites was about 15' beyond our awning. It was 50amp with pad as well, with plenty of room to park my truck in front of the MH off the road. We walked all around the campground and made notes of sites we'll request in the future. There were many nice sites to choose from that we put on our list (and we're pretty picky). Both site 37 and 31 are about a two minute walk to the pool, which is very big and nicely heated. It is kept clean with salt, not chlorine, and it was very nice to not need a shower after swimming. There were always two lifeguards on duty. It appears all the sites in the Dasher area are, at most, a 5 minute walk from the pool. Next to the pool is the kitchen, which sells cold drinks, ice drinks, pizza, and about a dozen flavors of ice cream. Prices were very reasonable; a large pizza is $14, ice cream is $1.50 a single scoop, and ice drinks are $1.75. A refreshing stop after a hot day at the pool or amusement park. The shuttles to Holiday World run every 15 minutes starting about 9:00am and going until 8:00pm. They're air conditioned and most are packed standing-room only but they run frequently enough that no wait was too long. The walk from the Dasher area to the Camp Store is about 15 minutes up hill so we drove up instead. The store is overstocked with groceries, camp supplies, gifts, etc. and the prices were the same as at the grocery store across the street from the campground. At no time did we feel gouged by prices. Our kids enjoyed the game room once and said it was "fun". The lake is about 75 yards from the store. We were told, and saw for ourselves, that the lakefront sites are not big enough for our 40 footer. We did notice that the noise from Holiday World is slightly louder in the store area than the Dasher area where we camped. Fishing is allowed in the lake but we didn't have time (or energy) to fish. They say it's well-stocked. The rental campers are all up in the area north of the pool and there are tons of them. But we walked and rode the shuttle through the area and it appeared well-kept and very organized with lots of trees and shade. Management did a very good job of giving each renter a nice unit with lots of space between neighbors. The roads were always clear and no junk littered any of the campground. The grocery store across the street from the campground is, literally, 5 minutes away and is a typical IGA-type store. They had fresh corn and vegetables and prices for milk, juice, etc are the same as we pay at home in Ohio. Again, never did we feel gouged. The campground staff were all very, very nice with smiles, thank you's, and lots of "May I help you?". The security and maintenance people stopped to chat several times and asked how they could make our stay better, always with a smile and pleasant voices. We never once worried about the kids (ages 7 and 9) as they rode their bikes and they made friends quickly. Parents seem to look out for all the kids and even came by our site to ASK if it was OK for our kids to go for a cart ride. Overall, we were highly impressed with Lake Rudolph and we're already planning our trip back next year. The only negative I will state is that there is no cable TV so news-junkies like ourselves will have to go without unless you have satellite. There were four over-the-air channels (all digital) and none were worth watching. But we were so busy going to the park, or exhausted from it, that we didn't miss not having the tube on at all. Holiday World was the most clean, family-fun, "had an absolute ball" amusement/water park we've ever been to. And if you're going to stay close don't pass up the chance to stay at Lake Rudolph in your RV or rental. It is a gem of a place that we can't wait to return to. We camped here in a Motorhome.
We go here a couple of times a year. This is not a quiet campground. Most of the campers are there to go to Holiday World with their families. There are a lot of golf carts but that is part of the fun. If you are looking for a quiet, secluded campground with nobody around this will not be your cup of tea. If you want a fun place to take the family for a unique camping experience then this is the place. Your kids will love it. We camped here in a Fifth Wheel.
Just returned from this park. Despite reading many poor reviews, I really liked this park and had an enjoyable visit. The staff is very nice. Yes, there are golf carts, but it wasn't overwhelming. The park is very hilly so be aware of that. The shuttle to Holiday World is great, and the pool was nice. We were there for July 4th so it was full. There is a full grocery store across the street (Holiday Foods). We also visited the Lincoln Memorial. We really enjoyed the campground along with some great family fun at Holiday World! We camped here in a Travel Trailer.
Terrible experience. We DID NOT stay here. Was there for 30 minutes and left. The staff was not helpful at all. We were given a site that had broken tree limbs hanging over the site. I asked to move to another site and it had limbs hanging and could not get our 37' 5th wheel in the site. Was put on hold for 26 minutes only to get very upset and leave. We camped here in a Fifth Wheel.
Very clean and well maintained campground. We stayed here in September so there were only a few units in the campground. Many full hookup sites with concrete pads. We thoroughly enjoyed our evening and night and would definitely stay here again. We camped here in a Fifth Wheel.
This is possibly the nicest park we have ever stayed in. It rivals Disney. The staff was outstanding, and the facilities were awesome. Not to mention that Holiday World is one of the neatest theme parks I have been to. We camped here in a Fifth Wheel.
Wow, this is a very difficult campground to rate. If you like staying in a theme park, or during spring break at Pompano Beach, with all of the the noise and teenage hi-jinx that this implies, then you might like this campground. There are clearly people who do like it a lot, and maybe in my 20's without kids and a desire to sleep at night I might have liked it also. It is huge, which doesn't explain a dismal number of showers (3) in the bath house by the pool, packed up on the women's side by teenagers and 40 year old wanna-be's getting ready for cruising. The amber flashing light of the security golf carts lit up the area in the evening, punctuated by the muttering of a gaggle of teen-age girls complaining about being busted for racing around too fast. It is hard to be negative about the actual facilities because the sites were level, the campground had enough woods to give shade, the pool was large with lifeguards (but absolutely packed), and the kids' play area was modern and nice. But the overall experience is poor if you have young kids and you are terrified that they will be mowed down by a golf cart, or will simply get lost in the maze of streets. Oh, and it helps to have a noisy AC unit that you can use to try and drown out the noisy revelers. We camped here in a Travel Trailer.
Sites are not very wide and are somewhat difficult to back into. Great pool and bathhouse.You can't beat the location if you are visiting Holiday World but otherwise not much to do. Great for me since my wife and kid can visit the park and I can hang out and fish in their pond! We camped here in a Tent Trailer.
Rate varies by site. We paid $40 (midweek) for 30amp with concrete pad. Price goes up to $45 for 50amp and down to $35 for 30amp gravel. Prices increase by $5 for weekend and holidays. Roads are good, but a bit narrow, which makes for some precision backing. Lots of golf carts running around, but you cannot bring your own. You have to rent theirs if you want one. Most of the campground is shaded except for a handful near the pool. WiFi worked great. I would have given a little higher rating, but I think this place is a bit overpriced. I guess they can get awaywith that since they are the only camprgound here and right nest to HolidayWorld amusement park. We camped here in a Fifth Wheel.
We just stayed here for 4 days and 3 nights. The park is very clean and very family-oriented. We liked that security constantly drove through the park. The camp store was nice and well-stocked and the bathrooms were always clean. I would recommend renting a golf cart because the campground is large and it can be far from one place to another. The site we had was tight and not too level, but we reserved at the last minute. There were lots of better sites. The park is right next to Holiday World amusement park and is the real reason to go. It is really geared towards families. There really isn't much else in Santa Claus. Shuttles go back and forth to the park all day. We did drive down to Lincoln's childhood home which was about 5 miles away and the kids really liked the working farm there. We will definitely go back. We camped here in a Tent Trailer.
Very, very large campground is well staffed and maintained. They have as many rental RVs and cabins as sites, large pool with lifeguards, rental golf carts, rental boats, and frequent free shuttles to Holiday World. The roads are somewhat narrow and there are too many dangerous, unsigned intersections that make it unfriendly for kids on bikes/scooters (my main reason for a 9 rating). Go ahead and rent a cart as soon as you arrive or you will never survive the walk from the camp store/game room/lake to the pool! We camped here in a Motorhome.
I was disappointed in this campground. It seemed unkept to me, and very over-crowded. There were golf carts buzzing around the campground at all hours of the night and someone actually flipped one over close to our site. Too big and too busy for us to consider this a relaxing getaway. We camped here in a Motorhome.
Sites are small and not very well maintained. Restrooms were not attended to and showers were backed up. Water connection at the site had a leak at the faucet and ran downhill into our site and ended up a muddy mess. We camped here in a Tent Trailer.
We were there in Nov. We had virtually the entire park to ourselves. The park itself was very nice, although they had a lot of golf carts for rent. I don't know how that might go during the busy season. Everything on the Internet about the city is exaggerated. The WiFi didn't work during our visit. Connection to water might be too far for some at some sites. We carry extra lengths on everything and had no problem. The RV park staff couldn't possibly have been nicer. We enjoyed our "RV Park" visit, but the city has virtually nothing to offer at this time. We were told they are trying to work on that. We camped here in a Motorhome.
This is a wonderful place. We stayed on one of their deluxe sites. It was a big site with full hookups. There are lots of things for children to do at the campground and there is an amusement park almost next door. It's clean and picturesque. Easy to get into and out of. We had a great time and would recommend this campground to others. We already made reservations for 2007. We camped here in a Fifth Wheel.
We have camped here for the past 5 years. And this will be our last year camping here. This camp ground has gone down hill they are not taking care of the grounds very dirty. Teenagers running this place. Oh and 1 more thing the golf carts are totally out of control. Walking with our 4 year old daughter she almost got hit by a boy driving a golf cart not paying attention. They just don't care anymore it's a shame this used to be a nice campground. We camped here in a Travel Trailer.
The rave reviews that I had been given about this park were a little over rated. There was a fair bit of trash lying around. The restrooms were a little grungy. The park did not enforce their "no fireworks" rule. They offer rental golf carts and there were way too many of them. It is clear that this used to be a very nice park and could be again if they would do a little more maintenance. To be fair, it is still a nice park. The pool is new. The playground areas are nice. They really need to do some sprucing up before the place really runs down. We camped here in a Fifth Wheel.
Park is extremely overcrowded and overrun with golf carts. I can see how some may find it fun -- numerous campers seemed to be having a great time -- but the campground was loud, we were in a tiny campsite (probably 15' between our camper and the next), and golf carts were loud and very frequently passed our site. Next time, we're staying at Lincoln state park down the road (5 miles). The shuttles to/from Holiday World were nearly impossible to catch due to our group size (6) and a large trailer. Holiday World has free parking, so I'll just drive the tow vehicle to the park when I want to go... Really disapointing campground considering the awards it's won. We camped here in a Tent Trailer.
We've camped the last three years during the October Halloweekends. We always have a great time. This year, our camp site was very disappointing. It was in a tree shaded area, but many trees had dead overhanging limbs. I could see one falling through our awning. The camp site was absolutely littered with cigarette butts. Someone had filled a plastic soft drink bottle with rocks and inserted into the sewer connection. Glad I noticed before hooking up and dumping. It is obvious the park is focused on expansion of rental RVs and not paying attention to maintenance. We camped here in a Travel Trailer.
This is an excellent campground, but could be heading in the wrong direction fast. They have added so many new rental units(and all that comes with that), that is a definate concern to us, but we will go back, cause it does offer so much and it connects to holiday world. You must try it once and then make your own opinion. We camped here in a Travel Trailer.
Three years ago this was one of our favorite campsites, bar none. Recently management has ruined the campground. The camp is over crowded, and the clients have changed from campers to trailer renters. The camp has become a pig sty. It’s dirty, and loud, and you have only two chances of getting a good nights sleep – slim and none. Stay somewhere else! We camped here in a Tent Trailer.
Review Rating
[ 9 / 10 ]
2004
$30
First, let me say if you're staying here for peace and quiet, you're in the wrong place. That said, this campground is FUN. Super nice sites and very well kept. The owners obviously care a lot about this campground. Many golfcarts on the roads, so my advice is, when in Rome, do as the Roman's do, rent a golf cart--they're a ton of fun. It's a big park, so they're nice to run around in. They have added MANY more golf carts--if you're there on a holiday weekend, they will all be reserved, so that gives you an idea of how many there are running around. There are MANY rental units here, and they've about doubled what was here a year ago, and there is still construction going on at the top of the hill. The rental units are very nice a well kept, from travel trailers to cabins. This really is a resort type campground, especially for kids. Very close proximity to Holiday World. We stayed during one of their Halloweekends in October and had a ball. I'd definitely recommend their deluxe RV site. We were on site 34, right on the end and had a concrete driveway and patio that was dead level, 50 amp hookup, sewer and nightlight. Very nice. So nice we've reserved it for next year. We camped here in a Motorhome.
Review Rating
[ 3 / 10 ]
2004
$29
We had a terrible time here. The campground was nice enough, but it was absolutely
overrun with their rental golf carts. We spent the entire weekend smelling exhaust fumes and listening to zooming golf carts and honking horns. We couldn't even walk to the Camp Store without being practically run down by a golf cart. We couldn't hear a bird chirp if it was in the tree above us and we couldn't let the kids walk to the playground for fear they would be run over. The proximity of this park to Holiday World is fantastic, but we will choose to stay just about anywhere but here on our next visit. We camped here in a Motorhome.
Review Rating
[ 5 / 10 ]
2004
$38
THis was our third time here and I think the park is starting to become just a bit rundown,
mostly because it seems to stay busy. The owners have put in probably 100 permanent rental trailers and most of their focus seems to be on these rather than the camp sites themselves. If you do go, request a site in the 'Dasher' loop, as the sites close to the lake and campstore resemble a refugee camp. Campground is VERY busy, with lots of kids and rented golf carts buzzing around. If you are looking for peace and quiet, this is NOT the place. If you have kids and want them entertained, then go. We probably won't be back. We camped here in a Travel Trailer.
Review Rating
[ 8 / 10 ]
2003
$39
The main attraction of this campground is Holiday World, an amusement park next door. We spent Labor Day weekend here and as you can imagine this place was packed and rockin'. If you have kids this is a great campground. Choose one of the
'deluxe sites', which have level, concrete pads to park on. There are lots of activities, along with a pretty well stocked camp store (although there is a grocery directly across the street). My recommendation would be to try and secure a place in the 'D' section, as the ones on top of the hill are not as nice. Not a lot else around to do, although the Abraham Lincoln Boyhood Memorial is close by and worth seeing, as well as the St. Meinrad Monastery, which has free self-guided tours. We camped here in a Travel Trailer.
Review Rating
[ 10 / 10 ]
2002
$35
This is a very nice park. If you stay, I recommend the deluxe RV site. It's concrete paved, completely level with full hookups and even a nightlight on the electrical pedestal. We stayed there during one of their Halloween Weekends, so the price was a bit higher, but we had a great time. You can rent golf cars for $25 for a 24 hour period. That was a lot of fun and recommended if you're staying down in the lower end of the campground. They also have many, MANY trailer rental units and cabins, so this could be a great choice for a family reunion or other get together where not everyone has an RV. We camped here in a Motorhome.