Ways to Stay: Municipal Parks

Suebobian foolishness

I never really thought about municipal parks as places to park an RV. RV parks range from janky to fancy. I have stayed in muddy rutted parking lots and in impeccably groomed golf-course-adjacent spots.

State and federal campgrounds tend to be somewhat rustic and usually lack cell phone service and full hookups, but make up for it in great scenery.

What I never thought about until I got to Welsh, Louisiana, was the possibility of camping in a city park. I don’t think this happens much in California. We probably have meaner lawyers.

I only stopped by Welsh because I think I’m part Welsh and thought it would be funny to take a picture. While I was doing that, a police officer stopped to make fun of me for taking a picture in front of the Welsh Fire Department sign (justified, I admit) and during our conversation – people in the South generally don’t mind stopping a while to talk – he told me to check out the city park.

$15 will get you a spot

It was great. About 30 RV spots right on the lawn in the city park, $15 per night.

So when I got to Hope, Arkansas (home of Bill Clinton)a day later, I wasn’t that surprised to find myself parking on the lawn at the city fairgrounds. I had a long conversation with the park supervisor, a man who loved his park with all his being.

“I’d love to do what you’re doing,” he said. “But then who would take care of all this?” He gestured toward the fields with a baseball team playing and a kids softball team practicing, other kids riding bikes, playing basketball and tennis, the horse barns…and of course the RV park.

The showers there are in the fair office building, so if you want to use them, they just give you a key to the offices so you can go in and leave the key in the mailbox when you’re done. Welcome to Mayberry.

Hope, Arkansas

Later, taking a lap around the park on my evening walk, I spotted him frantically trying to solve a problem at the swimming pool – an ant infestation. The south is weird, y’all.

Ants. In the pool.

In my brother’s town in Kentucky, I stayed in the public park there. It had a boat ramp to the river and a splash pad, as well as the most popular walking trail in town. I did have to leave after 4 days because the barbecue festival was starting, but it was time. You know what they say about guests after 3 days.

In my brother’s little town