Lake Elmer Thomas Recreation Area

We had the time to spend a whole month in the Lawton area visiting family during the Thanksgiving Holiday and Ft Sill provided us with a affordable place to park our 38ft 5th wheel. The parking sites were large and clean, full hook ups. We had very little interaction with any of the staff except for at check in. The location of the park was nice we thought, nice views of the lake and mountains. We were not able to take advantage of the recreational equipment at the time due to the weather. The weather was not so much cold as it was windy, we are from Florida so adding 25mph winds almost daily to the cool temps and we thought we were much further north. The drive into main post takes about 15 to 20 minutes or so and was very scenic, and all the wild live wow! Watch out for the deer at night. Over all we enjoyed our stay at Ft Sill and will do so again. Ratings were kinda low due to the restrooms and showers should be updated, all the other building and even the cabins for rent look close to new. Cable/sat tv is on site however the reception needs to be improved, wifi on site was a plus! If you have small kids the will enjoy the playgrounds, they look new and some of the best we had ever seen, you can tell that attention has been given to this campground area, and support for the soldiers and families is strong.

As of 1 Oct 2011, new rate is $18 a night. They now offer free cable tv, limited channels, but a big improvement. WIFI is free but weak.
Bathrooms and laundry still dirty, with layer upon layer of dead bugs in light fixtures. Dog droppings on many sites. No sign of the camp hosts for the entire 1 week stay. Stayed one week, charged for 8 nights. Had to get that fixed - still waiting for refund to hit my credit card account 5 days later. The review from last year Aug 17, 2010 was our review as well. The only improvement we see is they added cable TV, and no sign of the rude employee from last year. Current staff is friendly, but they NEED to learn there are only 7 days in a week. Staff says the base will be improving the road from Apache Gate to LETRA starting this month.

We would not recommend anyone stay at this facility until some attention was given. We had stayed here in 2008 and the facilities were in better condition. The campground is run down and shows a definite lack of care and maintenance. There is dog mess all over the grounds, even showed where one site must of had a large dog tied up outside their rig and left it's evidence all over the site. No one is enforcing the pick up after your animal. The attendant was not helpful at all. When checking in, he acted like it was an inconvenience to put his book down and help. He charged us for the date we were checking out. When we brought this to his attention for a credit, he figured out the number of days on a piece of paper, multiplied the price per night and did a total. Because the computer said another night, he would argue the computer was right even though he had the information right there. He finally gave us our credit after numerous attempts to show him the computer was not correct. The sites are running down and no attention is being paid to them. They have cable and wifi but those didn't work the whole week we were there. The office stated they had it working but was not. On a good note, there is a nice new playground for the kids. With a little attention to the sites, this would be an excellent place to stay.

We have stayed in numerous FamCamps over many many years. This is the first campground that we would not recommend you stay at. First off, we left a voice mail per the reservation instructions. No one ever responded nor could we get anyone to answer the phone over several days and numerous phone call attempts. Upon arrival, we were told we needed to pay for check-out day also. We kept insisting that wasn't right until the gal called the manager. He explained the pricing to the gal and that part was corrected in the system. Later upon checking the receipt, I realized we were charged too much. Even though my husband had given the gal his retired military ID, were charged the civilian rate. Again, the manager came to the rescue and corrected the problem. He explained that the gal had only been there a week which explained a lot. The sites were nice enough for visitors but the long-term sites didn't seem to be held to any type of standard. Many sites had multiple vehicles, transportable storage trailers, boats, patoons, multiple dogs and cats. The was surprising given we were on a military base! The restrooms were rapidly deteriorating and didn't appear to have been painted or the worst part cleaned for extended periods of time. The laundry room wasn't much better. Dirt, layers of cobwebs decorated the walls while dead bugs lined the edge of closed washing machines. Yuck! The Beach House was obviously a nice place at one time. Some stalls had doors hanging off the hinges, the paint was peeling, wood had exposed dry-rot, electrical outlets were either missing or the covers were laying on the floor. The place hadn't been cleaned in forever. The lagoon was another story. Naturally the water levels were down in the constant 100+ degree weather. The water inside the lagoon was not only stagnant through no fault of the theirs but the trash and garbage inside the lagoon was disgusting. There was a huge trash barrel floating within reach. Seems no one cares. There seemed to be a full-time civilian maintenance staff on-site. Hummm? We realize with the economy the way it is that funds have been cut but there is no excuse for filth. If nothing changes or improves here, we will never stay here again nor will we recommend it to anyone.

LETRA is a very clean camp ground, with all the RV hook-ups. Electricity, water, sewer, even cable (some what). The wifi is weak and cuts out, but hey, its camping. The swim beach is nice, and they have 2 water slides, and put-put golf. Everything closes at 6-7, including the lodge and store. You can't even check in after 6. The only problem we had, was the staff was a bit gruff. It was like he didn't want to be there. If you don't know how to get there, you better get directions before leaving out.

I was a bit apprehensive staying at LETRA given the reviews. As long as you follow the directions from Key Gate you will not have a problem finding the campground. We were extremely pleased with the campground and the hostess was fabulous! Fort Sill Garrison have just completed a number of improvements; new playgrounds, mini-golf, cable TV and WiFi have all been recently installed. Everything worked well and the staff was just great! We will return again soon to hike in the nearby wildlife refuge. Wonderful experience!

Make sure to print out the directions and do not rely on your GPS which will likely take you to a gate only open a few hours on Saturday and Sunday. We have visited many famcamps in the past 8 years, and never met a rude MWR employee until here. The fellow who works in the store and assigns spaces and does the paperwork was very abrupt and rude both on the phone for reservations and in person. We were here one week, and never saw the campground hosts out and about. The laundry and bathrooms were dirty the entire week. Trash was blowing around. The guests in RV site # 1 let 3 dogs out off leash and did not pick up the dog droppings. There were at least 20 to 30 piles of dog droppings in the space around them, attracting fly's. The MWR employee in the store did nothing about it after letting him know, being rude and ineffective for our 3rd time interacting with him. LETRA is a fine location to visit, but Ft Sill really needs to provide customer service and courtesy training to employees, have the hosts do the work they agreed to, and enforce rules on pets.

Our family frequents LETRA. We love the place. The kids can fish off the the bank of our campsite. The beaches are clean and the water is so sparkling clear in the swim area, you can play with the blue gill. Each morning we can get up and hike to the top of the mountain next to our campsite. They have lots of security. We go to bed clean every night after taking a shower in their well kept shower facility. They have a small shop in case we forget any of the small stuff. There are safe playgrounds for our children to play on while they wait for us to take them to the beach. We can sleep peacefully under the stars because others are very considerate of their noise and the owner makes sure of it. Very friendly place. The only reason, I ranked location 4 stars is because we live in Texas, wish it was closer to home.

L.R. left this review using the Directory software: Was assigned a space number when I made reservation and found site occupied upon arrival (have stayed here numerous times & this is first time this has happened). Camp host was not very helpful in correcting it. There is no cable television. With the change to digital broadcast, no television signal can be received on antenna.

This campground is remote and basically quite. Artillery impacts can be heard and an occasional convoy does go by. The rest rooms, showers and laundry room are cleaned daily. I've stay at LETRA many times and this is the first time my reservations were not accurate. The camp host was not real helpful in correcting the mix up. The recreational facilities are open 9 to 5 and closed on Monday & Tuesday. The campground DOES NOT have cable television. Back in the analog broadcast days, stations from Lawton and Wichita Falls could be received on antenna. With the switch over to digital broadcast, no television can be received on antenna. The new Artillery Museum is open at Ft. Sill and the eateries at Meers and Medicine Park are worth a visit.

Stayed here one night on the way to Big Bend National Park. A little tough getting in because the gate indicated on the link is shut down on weekends, however a call to the campground got us directions to an alternate gate and the campground staff came and opened the gate for us. It was very windy, but the park, albeit small, was nice and the restroom/showers/laundry was very nice and clean. They had cable, which we did not discover until the next morning, but we got decent antenna coverage. Didn't have time to see much of Ft. Sill, but it would be worth staying a few days to see next time.

Loved this campground, but a bit far from Fort Sill. The scenery is beautiful, however. Hook-ups are very good. Laundry and restrooms are good. A mountain view, quiet and serene. Not sure, but think we heard several coyotes crying/howling at night. We loved the Wichita National Wildlife Refuge and Meers hamburgers. Fort Sill is so packed full of history with the Apache cemetery where Geronimo is buried. The old Fort Sill quadrangle is worth a visit-check in at that visitor center. Tank and cannon display is awesome. Unless you have children, fall-winter would be a great time to visit.

We enjoyed our stay here. The campsite was very roomy and not to bad off level. We were going to Wichita Mtns. on a day trip and found the back gate closed but the drive to Apache gate is a nice drive. I would think this CG would be very active during the summer months because of all it has to offer. We only had one bad experience when one of the permanent residence let her 2 large dogs out without a leash and they ran towards my dog on her leash. The owner was quick to catch them before they reached us but it was a little scary for a minute. The ability to have a campfire if you had a firepit off the ground was really nice. All and all, we would return. We camped here in a Motorhome.

We arrived early in afternoon and there were no signs to tell you were to check in. Had to find another camper and ask. Turns out it is about 300 yards from the campground to the east in a building across the road from the lodge. The gentleman who checked me in was not very friendly but he got it done. It is 10 miles from the campground to the PX and commissary but they are very nice. The directions to the campground are right on. They are charging $14 a night now. From my observation I believe about one third of camp was local people station there or working there.

We stayed at LETRA in October, 2007 and are planning on staying there again next week. It is a quiet, peaceful area with lots of walking space, and places for the grandkids to play. Showers were clean. The main campground was well laid out, and easy to get into. All in all, a very nice place to camp in the off season. We will probably try it during the summer, this year as well.

B.G. left this review using the Directory software: We stayed here because of the pool and water slide, which was advertised as being open. Our granddaughter was very disappointed when we arrived and it was not open. On our last day there, we asked the office staff why it was not open and were told there was not enough personnel or business to open it. After our obvious disgruntlement, the office staff said they would open it for an hour. After it was opened, the pool and waterslide filled with other children that were anxious to play in the water. Also, the lake area that was roped off for swimming was dirty and the beach was covered in goose poop. Very dirty. We also found the grounds and laundry facilities lacking in care and cleanliness. The office staff left a lot to be desired in customer service and congeniality. We found the other campers around us to be very discourteous and walked thru our campsite and once even hit our wind chimes with a stick. We will not stay at this campground again, unless absolutely necessary.

As a retiree and DOD Contractor I spend a lot of time on the road living in my 5th wheel staying at Post Campgrounds. LETRA was a great place to stay when my nephew graduated from basic training this year. Although we were out of the water sports season the entire family (17 of us) enjoyed the campground completely. Bath house was clean and modern, roads were fine, the people who work there were friendly. I see what others went thru in 2006 and from my perspective things must have changed drastically becuase we loved it! Its a little far out from post, but then again I don't want to be in town when I'm in my camper.

Everyone hit this one on the head. Great place for kids, lots to do. But unkept, unlevel, and the homesteaders are just kinda creepy. The dog-kennel thing too. Friendly people, but they seem frustrated at the half-baked condition of things too.

This cg could be nice. Dogs are left in kennels unattented all day. Rocks and holes in roads, grass not kept cut. When you get there don't move on a site unless your check with the office. They take reservations and hold the site forever without any money down. The bathrooms are a hit and miss operation at best. The manager says she doesn't have enough help to do a good job. Wouldn't stay there again unless nothing else was aviable.

This is an odd campground to rate. It is in an area deserving a rating of 5 but the campground is about a 2. The campground: 50 amp full hookup. Gravel level pads. Old beat up picnic tables. Grass and gravel. Pot hole interior roads. Big wide sites. The area: Located adjacent to a 59,000 acre wild life refuge in the Wichita mountains, the campground is on a section of the base complex but far off from the huge, huge Ft. Sill base itself. Lakes, streams, canyons, mountains and grassland prairies. A herd of 500 elk, deer, free roaming buffalo, open range Texas long horns. Surrounded by mountains and right on a lake. Wide open hill country of grassy rolling hills with wild flowers. The drive back into the campground is 8 miles from the gate. A 3 ? mile road goes up Mount Scott, which rises 2500 feet straight up from the plains? floor for a fabulous summit view of the whole area. Little town of Medicine Park is not to be missed. The commissary is so large, they offer a map as to where everything is located. The old historic fort museum where Geronimo was held (and died) is closed on Monday (the only day we had left to see it). The road to the Apache cemetery was also closed due to all the rain and rising creeks on the base. Next time? And this is a place we do want to return to and finish seeing and ?doing? the area. Maybe when it isn?t raining.