Village of the Trees RV Resort is right off highway 25 near Delco Idaho. As you drive up, initial impressions are pretty good. There is a cool iron dragon to greet you, a large comic mural, and you can see a good deal of lush green lawn and large pretty trees on the property. When you spend some time here and start to see behind the curtain, it’s clear this park is very much a mix of the good, the bad, and the ugly.

Nights: 4
RV Park Cost: $124($31/night)
Discounts Used: Good Sam RV Club
Address: 274 Highway 25 Declo, ID 83323
GPS: 42.572564, -113.624402
Website: villageoftreesrvresort.com

Pros

• Pretty grounds
• Friendly Staff
• Full hookups, including cable
• Very inexpensive food delivered to your trailer
• Interesting bonus amenities (Fishpond, Blacksmith)

Cons

• Dirty bathrooms and showers
• Miserable pool
• General disorganization among staff

Living up to its name, Village of Trees has a lot of trees on the lot. Pretty ones at that.

This park isn’t especially close to any attractions but it does make a pretty good waystation as you move around southern Idaho. There are a few parks and recreation areas withing a couple of hours of the park. We visited City of Rocks recreation area about an hour away, and also took a trip to a Japanese Internment camp in the area to get a bit of history. Both required about an hour’s drive. Delco is large enough that it has ample stores and services so needful things are close at hand. Also, the park has it’s own convenience store, gas station, and dinner (all rolled into one) so you don’t need to go anywhere for the basics.

The diner is actually one of the real high points of this park and in this one respect is the most convenient we have visited. They are called the Village Grill and serve up burgers, sandwiches, salads, pizza, and breakfast items. Not only do they serve them, they deliver them, free of charge, to your trailer door at no extra charge. Furthermore, the prices are really decent. Most of the entire items, including a delux-burger are less than $6 including fries and a drink. So the price is arguably less than many fast-food places, they deliver, and best of all, the food is pretty good. It’s not gourmet, but I’ve liked everything I ordered and is better than most diners I’ve eaten at. If you like healthy food, it’s not so good but for the salads. If you like comfort food, it’s hot heaven.

Pitch my tent on the soft lush grass? Yes please! This area of the park is lovely.

The other really nice thing about the park are the grounds. I met one of the groundskeepers when we first arrived, and it was clear he put a lot of love into his work watering the lawns. They show for it with a lush vibrant green, especially in the camping area which is a huge wooded lawn. True to its name, there are many large and pretty trees on the property, much larger than in most parks I have been to. Despite being bordered on two sides by highways, road noise is minimal and you can’t actually see the road. Visually, it is a very pleasant park. They even have a nice catch and release fish pond, which also works to attract birds which make for pleasant viewing and listening. There is even a blacksmiths shop/stall on the property.

All is not well here, however. When you think shower, do you imagine thick cobwebs or splatters of blood? Sure, in a horror movie, but we’re talking about a family RV park here. The bathrooms have been uniformly dirty, even the newer ones. It’s clear someone services them, as the garbage is not overflowing and there is toilet paper and the like. The toilets are not outright filthy. But look around and it’s easy to see dirt and grime that has been there for a good long time without any attention. Other areas of the park like the laundry and pool, likewise look to be likewise dingy and run down.

We will spare you the blooded bathroom pictures. Instead, here is the “swimming pool” in all its glory.

Speaking of the swimming pool, it is hardly worth of the name as only a child could reasonably swim in it. It’s more the size of an 8 person hot tub but without any bubbles or warm water. There was a hot tub as well, but it appears to have been out of service for some time now, closed off by a rusty fence and covered with a decaying tarp. Since there is also nothing resembling a clubhouse here, it’s hard to really call this an RV resort. Technically it qualifies, but for practical purposes, it is really just an RV park.

Another observation is that the staff can be somewhat disorganized. One time I’ve called for a delivery they were not sure how to take credit cards despite having done it the day before. I volunteered to come in and get my food and pay in person. They took my payment, then delivered the food while I waited in the dining room for it. Only because I saw what looked like my order be rushed downstairs did I know to go follow the delivery cart and meet them at my trailer. They were well intentioned, but not well organized or well trained. Overhearing other conversations while I was there, the staff had trouble answering some pretty basic guest questions.

This is the on-site blacksmith, owner of Iron Grip Blacksmithing. I chatted him up for a couple of hours; great fellow!

My overall impression is that the management of the park is over taxed or simply not taking much of an interest in the operation of the park. Thus, it is up to individuals as to whether they can/will perform their duties with care or not. The cooks and groundskeepers are clearly getting the job done nicely, while the janitors and customer service folks, not so much.

The price to park is not especially high nor especially low, right around $30 before local taxes. We got a 10% Good Sams club discount and with taxes it came to $31 which is just a bit more than what we like to pay for a decent park. All said and done, I think it’s a decent park but a poor “resort.” If you don’t bother with any park amenities beyond the food delivery, it’s really ver nice, but wandering into the toilets or heading to the pool with visions of swimming and play is going to leave you very disappointed.

Remember, adults only in the deluxe hot tub area.