On our way to Dallas, we stopped over at the aptly named I-35 RV Park and Resort in Waco Texas. Wako didn’t exactly have a bumper crop of promising RV parks and our attempts to make reservations at others gave us some “bad vibes” so we settled on I-35. It’s a bit expensive and not especially exciting but it met our needs and has some nice perks.
Nights: 2
RV Park Cost: $77 ($39/night)
Discounts Used: None
Address: 15131 Interstate 35 Frontage Rd, Elm Mott, TX 76640
GPS: 31.704537, -97.103517
Website: www.i35rvpark.com
Pros
- Free Breakfast
- Full Hookups
- Fishing Ponds
Cons
- Sparse grounds
- Limited/Small Facilitiesities
I imagine that summer time and clearer skies make for a prettier landscape.
The Details
While the park is surrounded on three sides by trees and small ponds, the actual park itself is almost devoid of greenery. There are hardly any plants to be seen other than sparse lawns. RVs are packed in pretty close so the overall effect is more parking lot than park. Fortunately, the boundaries of the park are nice and we took advantage of it to do some fishing when the weather turned nice.
One of the first things they tell you about here is the free breakfast. Each morning from 7 to 9 they have a little diner/kitchen that will feed you a selection of classic American breakfasts at no charge. It is expected that you leave a tip for the cook/waitress and if there are a lot of folks, you may have to wait a bit for your food to be prepared. We took advantage of the offer and I’m happy to say my breakfast was very nice. Most remarkable was that my eggs over medium were cooked to perfection, something rare in my experience.
This pond is in the back of the park and is lovely. We didn’t catch any fish but we saw some in there.
While the park claims to be a resort, it does not have a resort feel. It has a pool, and it has food service as well as the other usual amenities, but all of them feel less than resort-like. The pool affords a not so tranquil view of the highway. The laundry room is more like a laundry closet, and for a park with a lot of spots, it has tiny bathrooms in which a second toilet has been awkwardly installed. That said, I must admit the single shower they had was actually one of the best I’ve used in a park. It was fully tiled, had great temperature control, was roomy, and very clean. In all other respects, it reminded me of a gas station restroom.
The utilities worked just fine and the staff was friendly if a bit over-taxed when we arrived. All in all, it is a decent park, but the lack of discounts available and the somewhat higher price limit my recommendation to a mildly positive one.
