Texan RV Park

Big Red School House

Written By Dale Libby

I was bitten by the RV bug at a very early age. The day my dad brought home that 12′ pull behind camper my world changed. Tent camping was fine but this rig had running water, toilet, shower, beds and a small stovetop. Times have changed but my love for RVing never dieded. 

September 21, 2021

Texan RV Park and Campus – 9024 US Highway 175W, Athens, TX 75751

 

 

 

 

 

 

Link To RV Park: Texan RV Park and Campus

Link to MAP: Directions

Full Hook-Up Pull Through – $52

Just outside the small town of Athens, TX you will find this RV park just off I175 West. It is the home of the NRVTA Training Academy. The park has some 86 sites and at the time we were there they were adding another 12 or so Premium Back-In Sites.

From Attending School Review

I thought I would do a short review of the park. I believe that the likelihood of finding a space during the week here would be challenging. I say this due to the overwhelming success of the NRVTA Academy. Most of these sites will be occupied by students attending various classes at the Academy. So this will be a review geared toward anyone who might attend classes.

The park is certainly worth a stop if you happen to be this part of the state. Who knows you may even get the opportunity to run into a technician or two that might help you with a nagging problem on your rig. For a complete review of the school and my overview of the week just click here for my You Need Schooling post

A) Site Quality: ⛺️⛺️⛺️.5 / 5 

Recently purchased by the school around late 2016, they have made a bunch of improvements to the sites. The bulk of the sites are gravel and very spacious. The road system at the moment through the park is a mix of gravel and pavement. I would say for all the rain they had during the spring when we were there, it was in pretty good shape.

The management team is working daily to fill and level the roadway. As a matter of fact, we had booked a pull-through and due to heavy rains, it had been washed out.  They moved us to a back-in toward the rear of the property. Prior to us arriving they were hard at work trying to fill and level that site and the one next to it.

Insights
  • The park was full of students the week that we were there.  There were very few sites empty. The management team appeared to be moving out a number of seasonal residences that occupied and many of the back-in sites in the rear of the property. My guess is they were making room for the large numbers of students they were attracting.
  • Many of the teaching staff are living on-site and occupy several of the RV sites. These will be the only full-timers you will run into at this location.
  • Upon arrival, the staff was cheerful, happy to see you, and check-in was very easy. There is an escort to your site, and he is very helpful with instructions.
  • If you are staying in the park during the summer months, we were there in June. I would highly recommend back in sites 303-311. They are the few that are shaded.
  • I particularly liked sites 301, 302, 303. All had great views of the lake with plenty of green space.
  • The pull-through sites 201-213 mid-property are very large and close to the clubhouse and laundry.  There are a handful of back-in sites in that same area that have a great view of the lakes. These sites are ideal if you are attending class. You are but a short walk to the Big Red School House.
  • We brought our bikes thinking that I would use them to get back and forth to class in the am. I ended up walking to class from our site when it wasn’t raining. It took about 10 to 15 minutes to get to the schoolhouse.

B) Facilities: ⛺️⛺️⛺️⛺️⛺️/5

If you are attending the training academy the facilities and classroom were very good. All of the components of an RV were available for each of the labs. There were several RVs on the property they used for classroom exercises. If you are just passing through, you will find the necessary items you would expect at any RV park, restrooms, laundry, propane, and showers.

The bonus of being on an RV Training academy campus owned by the people who are training you, if you have an issue at the site it will get fixed quickly. They have put a bunch of work on the sites around the campus. Working electrical pedestals, sewer upgrades, good water pressure, and a pay-for-play internet system. There is free wifi for reading email or searching the web. If you want to stream you will need to upgrade.

The cell reception at this location is good. We used our hot spot to stream any tv content we wanted.

C) Amenities: ⛺️⛺️⛺️/5 

At the moment they are few and far between. This park is currently set up for students and not your passing through RVer. There is no pool or playground for the kids. You will find all the basics as mentioned above to get you by for the time you are there. If you like to fish, the ponds are stocked and it’s a great pastime while attending class. You will need a bit of relief after the 7 am to 6 pm class schedule.

D) Location: ⛺️⛺️⛺️⛺️⛺️/5 

If you are attending class in an RV this is the place to stay. If you are not traveling in your rig, they do have very nice cottages situated near the front of the property. Otherwise, you are staying in Athens at a B&B or hotel which is a good 20+ mins or so away.  You will find a number of restaurants and grocery store options in downtown Athens. We particularly liked Brookshires Grocery Store, they had a great selection and solid produce and meat department.

The school does try to organize off-campus trips. The Saturday at the end of the first week of school they had a dinner and wine tasting at one of the local wineries. During midweek there is a pot luck dinner at the Clubhouse that is well attended by teachers and students.

E) Paw – Friendliness – 🐾🐾🐾🐾/5

Zoey found this park to be very friendly to dogs. There was plenty of green space behind the site to relieve her. The dog park area was situated at mid-park and very large. Zoey and I could get out for our walks after class. Typically we would walk around the lakes and sites to get a little exercise.

They are currently working on improving this area. If you bring a dog to the park you will be charged $1 for new improvements they are planning.

Wanderers Overall Rating:  ⛺️⛺️⛺️⛺️/5 

 

 

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