Barstow Calico Koa

Calico/Barstow, KOA, Barstow, CA, March 25, 2024
This is a good stop over going either direction on Highway 15 or Highway 40.

We stayed two nights. One day we took an hour and a half trip up to Red Rock Canyon State Park (beautiful) and then on to Ridgecrest for lunch. We stopped at Indian Wells Brewery for refreshments and brewery stickers.

You can also always check out Calico Mine Park for fun with kids and family near the KOA!

Ask the front desk about the archery range. Fun for almost all ages between 8 and 80ish.

AC works fantastically!!
So clean!
Friendly!
Perfect setup!
And amazing sunsets and sunrise and lots of space

We are in the middle of a 2 month trip and this has been our favorite lodging thus far
-- Wonderful greeting from Penny as you enter the registration area. She is fantastic... I still need to hear the rest of that story...
-- the cabin is just everything I needed it to be. 2 months of small sleeping quarters with my kiddo (suv bed) and I sprinkled a few deluxe cabins in to really rest... this is our FAVoRite. The only place we have had a harder time leaving is the Cedar Lodge motel in Kings Canyon and that's largely due to the view and the birds... this place has a cute cubby area that houses two kids in a bunk bed. Small kitchenette and a table- we used a great deal for journaling... the sunset and sunrise are out of this world..

I am right now at their COOl and spacious laundromat while my daughter waits for the washers to finish so we can head to the pool.

I met Ron as I was leaving the cabin and he was equally friendly, helpful and clearly loves being here.... happy people make for happy guests!! Truly thank you for a flawless, incredibly relaxing stay... if the next one wasn't no refundable we'd be tagging on another night..

We are staying at many koas and by r this is the BEST one:) we have visited..

The absolute worst Has been Ventura Koa!

Clean campground, good RV sites. Gravel, not blacktop. Full hookups. Very nice, large desert grounds. Large fenced dog area. Loved all the old wagons and old equipment scattered around. Pool area was nice, but the water was COLD (early Oct). Enjoyed swimming in it anyway. :-) Nice, BIG playground for kids. Indoor rec room with ping pong, pool table, large Connect 4 game, etc. Also an archery range with rentals.

The only downside is that the campground is very close to the freeway, and our site was particularly close, so traffic noise was a bit of an issue. We managed by running our fan to drown out the noise. Took one star off for freeway noise, but would absolutely stay here again.

The staff overall was very friendly. The restrooms and game room were clean and well maintained. We went over Easter weekend and they had a small egg hunt and crafts for the kids. Penny and others worked really hard to make it fun for the kids.

Only thing that wish was different is heated pool.

The spot is located right off the fwy with great access for OHV vehicles about 3 miles from Calico ghost town. If you're looking for a nice quiet spot not for you. If you want to play in the dirt and don't mind some noise from fwy and other campers OHV's it's a great little spot.

Barstow koa
First the good
Well lite at night
Desert panorama
View of Colico Ghost town from Koa.
Peggy Sues Dinner for Dinner( awesome)
Peggy's for Breakfast.
Lots of choices for Food.
The bad...
Oleander everywhere ( beware)
By a roaring 395 freeway.
Gravel and dusty roads and pads.
Nice street lights.
Huge trees for shade if you are lucky.
Snotty Staff not wearing masks.
Non masked Visitors checking in
All in a line not socially distancing
and 1 is sneezing over and over.
Dead cockroaches in bathroom.
1st shower not working.
1st sink is plugged.
The unisex bathroom hand dryer goes off as soon as you enter.
The toilet paper dispenser only gives 1 square to wipe with.

This was our destination for the weekend. We stayed in a cabin there this past weekend and it was wonderful! The cabin was clean, the grounds were one of the nicest KOAs we've seen. I've seen many reviews on the staff being rude, but that was definitely not our experience! Everyone we spoke to was so nice! Amanda, Penny and Amber were all very helpful had very nice! Our refrigerator was not working and they got a replacement within 10 minutes! We rented DVDs to watch at night, played in the game room and swam in the pool, everything was great! I didn't get the maintenance mens names, but they were also very sweet, they drove around periodically asked how we were and if we were having fun. We will definitely have to do this again! So relaxing and fun for the kids!

Our third time staying here. Always clean and well managed. We usually use this as a one or two night stay as we travel I-15. This time, we opted to hang out a few days and explore the area... the only negative I have is the pool is closed for "the season"! Really?? It's southern CA!

The location of the campground is great if you want to explore. Great day trips to Mojave (45 minutes away)and Calico Ghost Town (5-7 minutes away). The campground is located near the highway but not too noisy. We also discovered the restored Harvey House at the Barstow train station (15 minutes away). While there, we also went through the train museum.

We drove East I-15 to enter Mojave NP through Baker (45 minutes away). While there, be sure to check out Alien Jerky!

For unique food options, you have to hit Peggy Sue's! From typical diner type comfort food, they also have their own pizza parlor! Just down the street (one exit East on I-15) is Eddie's! Huge candy and souvenir store. On the way back, try hitting the drive through outdoor art exhibit named Victory Sculpture Garden.

Great for 1 night stop over but the park cable wouldn't work. Not for either of our RVs. Would stay again for a stop over

Overpriced for what you get. Couldn't relax in our trailer because some a-hole was blasting a radio. Front desk girl said there was nothing they could do because it wasn't "quiet hour" I said if everyone in the park was playing music that loud it would be total chaos. I told the desk girl maybe my truck alarm might malfunction & blast until quiet hour before I could disconnect the battery & she said "use a little common sense"! I thought I was using common sense otherwise I would've beaten the offender unconscious with his Bluetooth speaker!

Nice place to stay we needed a break after some bad weather before we got home. Restrooms and shower areas were very clean and the spaces for your trailer are very level and that makes it nice. They have an interesting area for the tents with a cover over where you would put your tent. And yeah if you need a place to stay for the night I would recommend this place.