Posted December 21, 2018 – Narrated by Carmen
 See our 5-Bambi rating legend at the end of this review. |
“Land of extremes. Land of contrasts. Land of surprises. Land of contradictions … That is Arizona.”
~State Guide, 1940
There’s nothing like a full-service RV resort between spells of dry-camping and boondocking in the Grand Canyon State – but, which one to choose?
The old Frost Belt to Sun Belt migration has new flip-flops and, lately Arizona is taking the lead over Florida. Yes, “long time no sea” and all that, but, hey, they’ve got the space and they’ve got the Canadians.
There’s even talk about a Canadian Health Center in Phoenix to wax the surfboard south for our northern friends who find our crazy-expensive healthcare increasingly unaffordable and are entertaining the idea of the winter stay-cation.
Add footloose boomers and millennials to the mix and you’ve got a new frontier, Partner. Arizona is not only a winter haven for Snowbirds, but year-round residents are also flourishing.
From any Maricopa County highway, it’s difficult to discern where one RV resort ends and the next one begins. Even the resorts have resorts.
Throughout an average Arizona winter, I’d wager there are probably more $350,000+ Class A motorhomes than $250,000 houses.
With advice from Airstream friends and our Thousand Trails Encore membership, we finally made a decision and Viewpoint RV and Golf Resort in Mesa flung open their gilded gates to Beauty and The Beast.
With Superstition Mountain as a backdrop to the golf course, tennis courts and baseball field, Viewpoint Resort almost hits every mark for a top-notch recreational desert getaway for active seniors.
Centrally located in Mesa and a short drive to Phoenix, Chandler, Gilbert, Apache Junction, and Scottsdale … Viewpoint RV Resort is the destination for luxurious urban camping.
And, with three Apple stores within a 30-minute drive, it’s a primo pit stop, too. We found everything we needed within minutes of Viewpoint. We even stocked up on maintenance supplies at We Are Airstream.
Fact is, we were a hot mess when we pulled into Mesa … had a mountain of laundry, an empty pantry, the bikes needed maintenance, the trailer needed polishing and we’d scheduled an appointment for The Beast’s 85,000-mile checkup at the Ram dealership.
What were we thinking? Pearls before swine! We had no time for this fabulous resort! Chances were slim to nill we’d be able to do this place justice.
Next time we’ll plan to settle in for at least a month. But thanks to our Thousand Trails membership with the extra “Trails Collection,” we had a lovely two-week limited introduction for only $26 a night, which includes a $3 per day pet fee and tax. If you’re not a member of Thousand Trails, expect Viewpoint to cost around $77 a night, which includes the $4 per day resort fee and also the $3 per day pet fee.
Sites
All 331 RV sites have full hook-ups with 30/50 amps, water and sewer. There is an additional thousand+ sites designated for permanent structures like Park Models which are not available for RV rental.
All RV sites are back-in, extremely wide, and have large, spotless concrete pads for vehicle parking and patio. There’s also a graveled area to erect a cabana if you have one.
Trailers and motorhomes park on a hard packed decomposed granite driveway – so there’s no dust.
Every site has a citrus tree. Timing is everything but luck had us arrive when the trees were fully fruited and ready for harvest.
Branches laden with navel and valencia oranges, tangerines, lemons, grapefruit and pomelos needed us to ease their burden and we were happy to oblige. Harvesting ripe fruit from trees in empty sites is permitted.
Wintering Canadians made up at least half the population here so it’s all very civilized. Trash and recycling are picked up at each site and appropriate full-sized bins are provided.
Package deliveries arrive at the door.
We have only one complaint: We were assigned a space with a fire hydrant and it was impossible to maneuver Beauty between the hydrant and a very thorny lemon tree. After several attempts, we gave up and were assigned a different space. But, the hydrant sites are fine for camper vans, teardrops, and vintage trailers.
WiFi is freely available at many of the buildings, but there’s a charge for WiFi at the site. Verizon cell service worked fine for us with 4 bars LTE with our cell booster.
This place is huge
This resort is so large that we needed our bicycles, a compass and a flare gun in case we got lost. We pedaled around the grounds for an hour every day and still didn’t see everything. Bikes and golf carts are the preferred mode of travel as guests move constantly from one activity to the next.
It’s all about the activities.
Four pools
There are 4 pools in three different locations. The north pool is kept the coolest for lap swimming while the other three are kept on the warm side. One pool is called the “Family Pool” where visiting children are encouraged to swim. There are six hot tub/spas and one sauna room.
Sports
Throughout the resort, we found courts for Basketball, Tennis, Pickleball, and Shuffleboard.
The very official and perpetually busy softball field has a regulation digital scoreboard, floodlights and bleachers.
Fitness Centers
Golf
The centerpiece is an 18 hole championship golf course. In addition there’s a 9 hole executive golf course, plus a driving range and many putting greens.
Restaurant on site
Fat Willy’s Family Sports Bar is located inside the entrance next to the pro shop and you’ll want to beat the crowd to Happy Hour from 2 pm to 6 pm when beverages are $1-$2 dollars off. Specials are $6 burgers on Monday, $2 tacos on Tuesday, and Friday is all-you-can-eat fried fish for $11.
But, back to essentials:
There are three laundry rooms spread throughout the grounds. Each facility is spotless and cheerful. Machines are well maintained and the water is truly hot – not just warm. You must purchase a $2 money card – just like the casino – from an automated machine to use the washers and dryers and deposit enough cash for the job. A wash is $1.75 and $1.50 for dryers.
This is not the usual crappy, rusty trailer park laundry room. It’s properly equipped with clean ironing boards, irons, baskets – and they even provide a treadmill and a fresh new jigsaw puzzle as you wait for the machines to cycle.
All the showers and restrooms are modern, clean and conveniently located throughout the park.
Pets
Pets are allowed on a leash. There is a $3 fee – per day, per pet. Sadly, the areas, where pets can potty and exercise, are limited in size and do not function well for playing fetch or socializing. There is a small chainlink enclosed yard for leash-freedom, and a long grassy area that borders the golf course near the busy street.
The pet amenities are average at best and could use improvement. Since so many campers have dogs (a major reason to choose RV travel), ViewPoint guests would benefit from a dog-grooming station and a more dog-friendly atmosphere in general. The fee seems execessive for what is provided. Amenities such as a larger dog park with exercise equipment would be an improvement.
After all, studies show that dogs keep seniors active and there’s no question that ViewPoint’s mission is to provide for active seniors.
You can play tennis in the morning, golf in the afternoon, swim in the evening and take ballroom, salsa or line dancing at night.
And when your feet get tired you can do something else, like …
Stained glass
Ceramics
Jewelry making and silversmith
Wood shop
Library
Billards
Picnic/BBQ Areas
Concerts
Many folks enjoy living here full-time. If California residents could get over the “ick factor” about “trailer parks” – which are really just temporary housing – there could be more resorts like this in California‘s urban areas. A new modular housing community today can be a park for the next generation after the residents have gone to Boomer Heaven. It’s easy to plan, tough to sell to the public, but parks like this could minimize the housing crisis.
Even with our incredibly long “to do” list, we still managed to find time for …
Cycling
Biking from the resort into the community is easy. The boulevards are busy but bicycle lanes and good sidewalks make cycling reasonably safe. Biking within the resort is very safe since most residents and guests travel the expansive grounds on golf carts.
Hiking
The area around the resort is a hikers paradise – and the crown jewel, Lost Dutchman State Park, is spectacular with easy hiking trails around Superstition Mountain. As a youngster, my favorite album was Walter Brennan’s Dutchman’s Gold, so this was a kind of pilgrimage for me – even better than I imagined as a child!
Age-Qualified Resort
Again, Viewpoint is an Encore 55+ resort with restrictions on visits from children – so it’s important to check current places before planning a stay with children or grandchildren.
However, Viewpoint’s office schedule can be a pain. If you arrive on a weekend expect the office to be closed. Most holiday travelers arrive on weekends, so they need to have knowledgeable staff on site to handle the inevitable snaffoos. The security personnel manning the two gates 24 hours a day are fine for arrivals, but they cannot handle problems or answer questions when the office is closed with no management on the premises.
But with that sweet special Thousand Trails rate, the free citrus, and all that Christmas cheer, who’s complaining?
We came, we saw, we found …
Well, I didn’t find any Apache Tears for my sister, Deb, as I’d hoped – but Jim did get shot by a saucy Superstition Saloon gal in Tortilla Flat which almost made up for the loss.
We might be an easy target these days, but we’re convinced that Viewpoint Golf and RV Resort is probably one of the finest urban camping destinations in North America and we proudly give them a 4 Bambi rating!
What do you think?
Are there any resorts you’d like to share with us? If so, please comment below.
And, Happy Holidays to you, our dear family, friends, and followers. Blessings and peace during this season of miracles.
If you want to see our exact route, click here.
*photos in this post (unless otherwise noted) were taken and copyrighted by Living In Beauty.
Our “BAMBI” rating system explained:
 – One Bambi: Should’a boondocked.
 – Two Bambi’s: Better than a Cracker Barrel or Walmart.
 – Three Bambi’s: Adequate for a short stay.
– Four Bambi’s: Great place! Met our expectations for an extended stay. Needs minor improvements or is not ideally situated for all our preferred recreation (hiking, cycling, swimming, kayaking) without driving.
 – Five Bambi’s: Destination Camping at its best! Critical as we are, there’s nothing we’d improve, and you can bet your sweet Bambi we’re going back! |
We were not paid, reimbursed nor influenced in any way by anyone for this campground review.
Click here to see our other campground reviews.
Great, thanks, we will be in the area pretty soon
I’ve been about an hour north of there for about 12 years now. (Cave Creek) and the sunsets here are quite dazzling more often than not. Glad you got to enjoy one or two
Thank you for your balanced review. The lack of pet facilities is a big complaint of ours in most RV parks. We are currently in Yuma, and grass is hard to find for the dogs to roll around on. This park looks beautiful.
Your review is clear and informative. I’m looking for a RV resort like this one but for the summer when my hometown of Austin becomes fiery hot. Do you know of any?
Thanks. BambiLu
Hey BamiLu! Thanks for being with us.
That’s a really good question! It sounds like you want the cruise ship of RV campgrounds – a place with hotel like ameneties and services. We love places like that but they’re hard to find – but we might have a couple of recommendations. Of course it all depends on how far you’re willing to drive to escape the heat. We’ve only stayed at a few luxury resorts – and each has it’s high points and flaws … but, we really enjoyed Duck Creek RV Resort near Muskegon, Michigan: https://duckcreekrvresort.com/index.html
But Duck Creek is not 55+ – it’s a child-friendly family resort with a huge amusement park right across the road. We liked it because it was as clean as a cruise ship, modern, the spaces were very wide and the concrete pads spotless. The park is not on the lake, but the Lakeshore Bike Trail – https://www.traillink.com/trail/muskegon-lakeshore-trail/ – runs parallel to the RV park. It’s about a half block ride to the trail.
The weather there was balmy – not too hot or cold and the mosquitos weren’t unbearable.
We’d also recommend The Canyon RV Resort in Radium Hot Springs, B.C. We met people there from Tennessee, Texas, Virginia – all escaping the summer heat. It’s beautiful, well kept, incredibly scenic, set in the center of a charming villiage atmosphere and a river runs through it. No pool, but who cares when there’s a major outdoor community pool nearby with lap lanes and a natural hot spring.
We’d recommend Chula Vista Marina in San Diego but it’s permanently closing on Febuary 1, but there will be a new Sun Communities is scheduled to open sometime within the next 2-3 years in San Diego that will probably be top-notch.
I don’t know what kind of rig you have but many of the high-end RV resorts with full amenties are restricted to Class A motorhomes only, and we wouldn’t know about those.
We’d recommend Lake Tahoe for escaping the summer heat because the weather and water temperature is perfect – reminds us of Hawaii – but the RV parks are not luxurious – in fact they are very rustic and dirty – but the lake is glorious and the weather is cool – though mosquitios are a bit of a problem. The city runs a campground that has great community pool. I’d say, it’s worth checking out. The camping lacks sophistication but it’s right downtown South Lake Tahoe – you just walk across the street and there are diners and restaurants, casinos, hiking. Check it out: https://www.cityofslt.us/270/Campground-by-the-Lake
Anyone else want to add to this short list? Let’s help BamiLu find a summer spot!!!
LIB
Thanks for the review. I always wondered about these Arizona mega parks. Guess you need to book months in advance for a monthly rate. We had to book months in advance at Arizona state parks we visited earlier this year. We may look into Thousand Trails. I don’t think our dog would be able to make it to the dog run there, but I carry poop bags, the park is too large.
Thanks for the review. Where are you now? We are safely ensconced in Palm Creek Golf and RV Resort in Casa Grande, and loving the winter weather as only a Canadian can. Please drop by if your in the area, and we can compare resorts. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you both.
Pattie and Paul
Hey Paul and Patti! We’re in Yuma. We just returned to Yuma from Campo – about a 2 hour drive from here in San Diego County – where we celebrated Christmas Day with our son. Now, we are preparing to go back to San Diego. But we will be in Tucson the first two weeks of Febuary and would love to meet up with you then. Keep Arizona warm for us! xoxo
Great, we’ll link up with you then!
Merry Christmas from the Easterbrook Clan! We hope to cross paths again some time soon!
Merry Christmas L&D Easterbrook! We miss you guys. We need to start working on a new plan to mess up your summer 😉 Happy 2019!!! xoxo
I just discovered your site and I am thrilled! Thank you so much for sharing your journey with the world and inspiring people!
Did you travel north of Mesa up to Sedona or Mingus Mountain? That’s where I live and I love to take my family camping in the surrounding areas as often as possible! If you find yourself in this neck of the woods, I’d love to show you around!
Thea, glad you found us! We love writing about this amazing lifestyle. We have not made it to Sedona or Mingus yet. it is on our ‘wish list.’ We will indicate you live in that area and when we are around there, we will reach out. Safe travels and hope to meet you on the road someday.
Good article.
Thanks so much! Good to have you here!
Safe and Happy Travels!
Carmen@LIB