Shoshone Village Campground & RV Park

MY HUSBAND and I SPENT OUR WEDDING NIGHT and HONEY (1 night) HERE — on purpose! We have been going to Shoshone Inn for years — we go every summer. Sure it is not a 5-​star hotel… but where’s the fun in that?! The staff is sweet and helpful. It’s in the middle of the dessert and its QUIET! It may seem expensive but if you want to meet people from all over the world, sit, relax, and listen to the radio without anybody bothering you — than this is your destination.

We originally had a spot at a place further away but weren’t going to make it in time, so we called and spoke to Mike. He had a spot for us and was very friendly. The wifi worked great!!! It’s the best wifi I’ve ever had in an RV park. And it was included in the price. We were there only one night and didn’t use many of the facilities, but can highly recommend it for a stopover.

Super nice staff, helpful and friendly. Library with heater, refrigerator, small kitchen area. Laundry room (coin) and reverse-​osmosis fresh drinking water (free), bathrooms with shower. Full swimming pool filled with warm spring water (88 – 90 degrees) and no chlorine — the water is continuously being replenished. Valve you can turn to activate waterfall over pool, that gives your back and shoulders a massage with pounding water. Fun swim!
Tent camping is $ 20 per night. Not sure what RV camping is. Only negatives were that the bathroom smelled really bad, and the wi-​fi (free) is very slow (apparently it’s a satellite connection). You can check for e-​mail, but forget about photos, video or web browsing. Two geology students hogged the wi-​fi the entire night; they were up all night long, bringing the wi-​fi to a virtual stop, and I could only check for e-​mail in the morning when they were asleep.

Going to the Shoshone RV Park has always been a wonderful experience for my husband and I and we do plan on returning. Unfortunately, this last visit left me disheartened and, quite frankly, more than a little upset.
We arrived on Saturday afternoon hot, tired, and anxious to get in the pool that is on the premises for the RV Park and Motel guests to use. It is my understanding that they do not allow anyone to use the pool without paying for a room or a camping spot. As we were setting up camp we heard a lot of whooping and hollering coming from the pool area. Some of the phrases I overheard were pretty rude and I will not repeat them here. Eventually, we realized the pool was full of at least 20+ men that the female RV park manager let in for a swim and more were arriving by the minute. She must have been charging them to get into the pool because I saw a lot of cash changing hands. She said they were special guests from the historical society and that she made a reception, I’m pretty sure she meant exception, for them to be allowed to swim and drink in the pool area. Unfortunately, they proceeded to drink, and drink, and drink some more. They actually had ice chests floating in the pool and were throwing cans of beer across the pool area to one another. As one very drunk man put it, as he was trying to pick up on my girlfriends and I, «We’re either from the historical drinking society or the drinking historical society. We haven’t been able to decide which one.» And we were not about to go swimming under those conditions. I think the RV Park manager showed a blatant disregard for any ones safety including mine, by allowing drinking to go on in the pool area. There are serious liability issues involved and it is clearly signposted as being «not allowed» for good reason. Now, I don’t have a problem with the men being allowed to swim. After all, it was a hot day and they did put up a sign for the town of Shoshone. But the drunk and disorderly manners of the men was just too much. When the men finally left, we had to pick up at least a dozen beer cans form the pool area before we could enjoy the pool ourselves. And, if that wasn’t bad enough, about 3am, a bunch of town teenagers woke us up after they climbed the pool fence and were parading across the roof of the pool, naked, whooping and hollering in the water. Where were the RV Park managers? They’ve obviously had this problem in the past because the fence had been repaired in a few places.
Continuing with the story, on Sunday, a fire broke out behind the downtown buildings in Shoshone. As the fire trucks ran out of water, they decided to fill them up with the pool water. Before I continue with my rant, I feel I should explain how the pool water is obtained. There is a fresh water spring that comes out of the mountain and is directed into a pipe that fills the pool and the pool then overflows and continues down a little stream off into the desert. I was told that the water flow is so great that the entire volume of the pool is exchanged in just 4 hours. There is a lever on the pipe that will either make the water flow directly into the pool or it will flow thru a pipe filled with holes and shower into the pool. As we were swimming, one fire truck parked outside the pool and filled up with water. The firefighters joked with us about the water level dropping but we didn’t notice any water drop whatsoever. Then, a few minutes later, the male RV park manager came into the pool area and turned off the shower pipe without saying a word to us and then walked out. Mind you, the full fire truck was parked outside the gate and didn’t move for several hours. We continued to swim and turned the shower back on to enjoy the massage it gave as it fell on our backs. Again, the male RV Park manager came in and turned off the shower without any explanation and left again. The third time he came in, he said as long as the fire trucks are filling up that we couldn’t use the shower. Wait a minute, the fire truck was already full and had been sitting there for several hours. Furthermore, no fire trucks came to fill up again until at least two hours after we left the pool for the night. I felt he was just pushing around his authority and we were somehow in his way of looking good for the firefighters. Whether the water flowed directly into the pool or it went thru the pipe with holes made no difference on the rate the volume of the pool was replenished.
Now, it’s Monday. As we are packing up to leave, my husband disconnected the RV septic and I had to use the bathrooms for the first time since arriving. What an experience. It smelled like those open pit toilets you have to use at the state parks. Never, in the past, have the toilets smelled like that. Then my husband went into the men’s toilet and one was overflowed with toilet paper. As we were leaving a lady at the office said they knew about it and that someone used too much toilet paper. But, they left it like that? Why?

Excellent and friendly RV park. Clean facilities and grounds without the marginal conditions of other parks in the area. Good pool with constant water change from geothermal source. Good temp in summer, could be 5 – 8 degrees warmer in winter. WiFi and good open sky for satellite receivers. Fee is very reasonable. Not ultra modern but perfect for our needs. Excellent overnight on the way to Death Valley.

Shoshone RV Park is a gem. The new owners have put a lot of hard work in — and it shows. Beautiful clean restrooms, and the grounds are manicured. You can’t see it from the road, but there is a warm water mineral pool that was 89 degrees — perfect! I can’t say enough good things about this place. The nightly fee is VERY reasonable, and the owners are a delight, and very helpful.

We stayed here a day and used it as a little picnic area for our DV trip. For $ 20 you get a beautiful area with some shade and great views of the mountains. The park also has a warm spring pool that feels great. If you are in the area, this is a great spot what wasn’t listed in the DV brochure.
Update: I stayed here again, and again a great visit. The warm springs pool was a great change for the near-​freezing temperatures outside. Public bathrooms, very clean, and free hot showers.
They now have WiFi and the library was a great way to keep out of the cold.
UPDATE:
We stayed again for three days. Was pretty nice to have the pool in the 115f Late August heat.
We rented the cabin, which was a godsend. A/​C, fully furnished and provided (dishes, silverware, cooking utensils) for $ 100 a night! This is a little bit more than it would have cost to stay in a tiny one-​room at the Shoshone Inn.
The staff was nice, but a tad overbearing. No privacy. Always in our grill. The only gripe about the campground. We came in, wanting a camping experience but it was way too hot. Usually the campground furnishes camp wood, so we asked. The older lady told us she had no firewood, to buy it at the store and we did. Sadly, they charge $ 10 a bundle when it should be $ 3.99 — $ 5, and we bought FOUR bundles.
We got back to the cabin after the office closed and started to cook — NO GAS. Propane was off. So, we went out and turned it on because we had to eat. Entire cabin filled with noxious propane fumes and really did a number on us. We were all sick. So, naturally, my girlfriend was REALLY agitated and it created a really tense time. We ended up cooking dinner in the toaster oven.
My girlfriend allowed her daughter (who is nearly 17, with a permit!!!) to drive to the store. On their return she entered a little fast (it is downhill, and the speed limit is 5. The truck rolled faster downhill than 5). We were informed a) to respect the speed limit (which I completely understand, and accept we went too fast) and b) that the daughter was not allowed to drive on the premises. She has a permit, which allows her to legally drive with a licensed adult beside her. Sorry, ma’am.
The next day, we tell the lady about the propane and she said someone would fix it in the morning. I understand that it’s not something that could be fixed on a whim. So, we told her we will just cook on the grill/​firepit. That is when she informed us that there’s a ban on fires and there can be no fires… this after the other lady told us to buy wood!
After informing her of that, she allowed us to make a small fire and to put it out afterwards since we had no way to cook. So, we cooked and when we left, we poured water on the fire. Apparently it wasn’t good enough because the groundskeeper gave us a «talking to» the next day like we were little children. I understand the importance of putting out fires, but the wood was left smoldering in a fire pit. She informed us that she drug a hose way over and drenched it for us… if I knew there was a hose!
She also said «no more fires».
Since we could not cook breakfast, we left to eat. When we got back the lady informed us that a repairman took the liberty to enter our cabin without our permission and fix the propane while we were gone. Thank you.
The last day, our son wanted to do an ice bucket challenge, so we brought a cooper of ice and water to the grass next to a tree to water the tree and avoid waste. We did the challenge and ice was on the ground. I kicked the ice around so it would melt much faster in the 110f desert heat and water the tree.
That lady comes over and starts to say something about leaving the ice on the grass or something. I just walked away. Rather not start anything. I could not get over that. It is the desert, and 110f, and the ice was in the grass under a tree. SO WHAT!
I love this place, don’t get me wrong. I have been here MANY, MANY times in the past and will return. I love it that much. But the staff needs to lighten up a bit!