Our latest encampment is at the Grand Canyon Railway RV Park in Williams, Arizona. This park is an offshoot of a local hotel, most famous for running the current incarnation of the Grand Canyon Railroad. The railroad is a historical line that takes visitors from Williams to Grand Canyon National Park on the south rim. The train dates back to 1901 as where the hotel itself is modern.
Nights: 14
RV Park Cost: $517.00 ($37.00/day)
Discounts Used: Passport America & Good Sam
GPS Location: 35.250624,-112.1987547
Address: 601 W. Franklin Ave., Williams, AZ 86046
Website: www.thetrain.com
Pros
- Great location near grand canyon
- New facilities
- Full hookups including water, sewer, electrical, and cable.
- Includes use of hotel amenities
- Stuff for kids to do
Cons
- Iffy wireless internet
- Train noise
- Price is steep
- Minimal community
This is one of the historic engines for the grand canyon railway.
As RV parks go its best feature is its location. About an hour’s drive from the Grand Canyon and a half hour from Flagstaff there are a great many natural and historical wonders to visit in the area. Beyond the canyon, there are many native ruins here and a lot of really pretty and dramatic landscapes to explore. The park is located right in the heart of Williams which is a town catering to travelers and tourists. As a result, whatever you may need is close at hand.It is a fairly new park so the hookups and pads are in great shape. The facilities are clean and secure, and while a bit small, they are adequate for the relatively small park.
Easy access to views like this is why you stay at this park!
As is often the case, the wireless internet offerings are only barely functional in the park area. When the park is fairly empty, it works decently, when it fills up in the evening, you are lucky if you can get a connection for more than few minutes at a time. Retreating to the hotel itself helps with this but they don’t have any good office areas to work from. There is a pool at the hotel but it tended to be packed with children frolicking which cuts into its appeal for us. They do have a great picnic area with numerous gas grills and a large fire pit so its a nice place for a caravan or large family to gather. There is a playground across the street with a basketball court, and the hotel puts on a free old west shoot out show you can attend. All considered, it’s likely a great park if you have kids.
The picnic area. Shiny and new with lots of gas grills to use.
The culture is that of a tourist park rather than a more community oriented one like the last few we stayed at. There are no activities and folks mostly keep to themselves aside from the kids who play in the lot or at the picnic area. The hotel does have some comfy places to kick back and read a book or socialize though at certain times of day it is packed with folks checking in and gets quite noisy. For food, you want to hit up the historic Route 66 strip. The hotel offerings are both overpriced and not especially good. The last potential issue is train noise. There is both the passenger train and a freight line a couple blocks from the park. They have not been an issue for us but they do sometimes blow the horn and rumble by late at night.
The park pictures are really dull so here is more Grand Canyon!
The price is on the steep side, mostly due to its location. Fortunately, they take a good many discount clubs including Passport America for short stays and Good Sam for any number of days. Even with these, we didn’t manage to get the price under $30 a night which is usually our goal. Nothing near the grand canyon is cheap, so you just need to pick your poison.
Overall, I’d say that this is an average park with a very good location at a somewhat premium price. I give it a modest recommendation as a decent place to stay while visiting the Grand Canyon with bonus points if you travel with kids.
