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El Centro NAF Handouts
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User reviews
Jan 3 - 12, 2026
Overall rating
3.9
Location
3.0
Cleanliness/Hospitality
5.0
Amenities/Facilities
4.0
Value
3.0
Overall Experience
4.0
Park Review: 1. Park Quality - This park is a jewel in the middle of nowhere. Winter home to the Blue Angels, which provides air show performances from the comfort of your own RV. There is a small but adequate commissary and a very small Exchange. The bowling alley delivers food on base. 2. Sites - All sites are concrete pads that are fairly level. Also, the sites seem to be double wide with plenty of space between neighbors. Utilities were good with the exception of extremely hard water. 3. Location - NAS El Centro is really in the middle of nowhere. 20 minutes from the town on some very rough roads. If you rarely leave your RV and tend to be a “homebody” this could be your park.
4. Noise - Outside of the daily jets training, the park is extremely quiet. 5. Cell Service - Verizon was three bars of 5G. 6. Wifi - Park WiFi was 16 Mbps down and 2.52 Mbps up.Starlink 196 Mbps down and 37 Mbps up. 7. Rates - $46 a day I think the rate is high considering the location and the base amenities. Probably a better value at $35. 8. Access - You need to be qualified to access a military installation and required RV reservation. 9. Dog Friendliness - This is one of the few parks where my pup didn’t experience any type of thorns. There is a nice size dog park right there, however, because they water every morning and the grass is limited, it tends to be very muddy until late in the day. There is a dog wash just behind the laundry building. -- Wrapping it up. If you're traveling along I8 to or from San Diego, this is a nice stopover.
4. Noise - Outside of the daily jets training, the park is extremely quiet. 5. Cell Service - Verizon was three bars of 5G. 6. Wifi - Park WiFi was 16 Mbps down and 2.52 Mbps up.Starlink 196 Mbps down and 37 Mbps up. 7. Rates - $46 a day I think the rate is high considering the location and the base amenities. Probably a better value at $35. 8. Access - You need to be qualified to access a military installation and required RV reservation. 9. Dog Friendliness - This is one of the few parks where my pup didn’t experience any type of thorns. There is a nice size dog park right there, however, because they water every morning and the grass is limited, it tends to be very muddy until late in the day. There is a dog wash just behind the laundry building. -- Wrapping it up. If you're traveling along I8 to or from San Diego, this is a nice stopover.
January 2026
Overall rating
4.9
Location
5.0
Cleanliness/Hospitality
5.0
Amenities/Facilities
4.0
Value
5.0
Overall Experience
5.0
Echoing the comments of others, a hidden pearl in the desert. Utilities were solid, in good shape. T-Mobile 5G was at 4 bars, OTA TV was limited to Mexican stations. Didn't use the available WiFi but Starlink was a reliable 200+ Mbps. Water pressure was good as were all utility connections at the pedestal. We were in the older section across from the RV Lounge/Laundry. Concrete pad easily fit our 40' class A with plenty of room to park our Jeep. Filtered drinking water for sale (bring your own bottle) available outside the lounge and an ice machine was available inside. Building was a little worn and could use some paint, but functionally, no complaints whatsoever. Two dog parks available with the one in the older section being HUGE! Included drinking stations for the pets and poop bag dispensers were located at each entrance gate (just wish more owners would use them). We had limited interaction with the staff but found that EVERYONE from the MWR staff to the folks working in the NEX and Commissary were very helpful and cheerful. Small Commissary but surprisingly well stocked with produce, meat and canned/frozen goods. Coming from the east coast, I'm used to much more human and auto traffic, but this base is a very pleasant exception. Of course, having the Blue Angels do a "personal air show" twice a day is a great plus, but this is an amazing base at an amazing price. Just wish it was closer (damn, TX is big...).
12-16 MAR 2025
Overall rating
4.7
Location
4.0
Cleanliness/Hospitality
5.0
Amenities/Facilities
5.0
Value
4.0
Overall Experience
5.0
This was our first visit here and we will be back again next year to watch The Blue Angels! What a perfect spot to witness outstanding flying! As for the RV park they are adding more sites, the staff was great and our RV site worked very well. There are a couple of things you need to consider....better make sure you have at least 35'+ of sewer hose. Depending on your rig and where the connections are, you will need several sections of hose to get to the sewer connection. Also, the first RV sites when leaving the office are for "no pets" and as you drive through this area you encounter a rather large drop in the road which accommodates an area for water run-off. If you have a larger rig, towing and don't want to scrape the bottom of your hitch/rock guard, don't drive into this first set of RV sites. There are two other entrance roads you will come to based on the site#, I'd use them...Very nice RV lounge with a shower facility, laundry and enclosed common area, all very nice. Laundry $1.25 to wash, $1 to dry, change machine and they have a filtered water dispenser on the outside of the building. Small Exchange and Commissary on base. Will be back again!
April 8, 2024
Overall rating
4.3
Location
4.0
Cleanliness/Hospitality
5.0
Amenities/Facilities
4.0
Value
5.0
Overall Experience
4.0
Great location for a basecamp while you explore the area - Anza Borrego desert, Salton Sea, Imperial Sand Dunes. The base is somewhat remote, but just a short drive to El Centro for dining and shopping. RV park is spacious and is a short walk to the base gym, pools, and bowling alley. Small commissary and exchange on base are convenient.
February 2023
Overall rating
4.9
Location
4.0
Cleanliness/Hospitality
5.0
Amenities/Facilities
5.0
Value
5.0
Overall Experience
5.0
We've stayed at several bases on our trip cross-country and this one is at the top of our list. After reading reviews for this park on other sites, anyone who complains about loud jet noise that is eligible to stay on a military base should have their access revoked. Watching the Blue Angels train daily was an adrenaline rush that never got old and fills this Navy sailor's heart with pride. On our last full day, the Air Force Thunderbirds showed up to practice for an upcoming March air show. BONUS! Now, about the park. It's clean, quiet (at night) well laid out, and safe. All the things an RV park should be. Laundromat on site with $1 washers/dryers. The MWR office where you check in offers propane fills and has an RV/Truck wash. Pro tip - take it easy on the roads outside of the base. They are awful.
March 29, 2022
Overall rating
2.1
Location
1.0
Cleanliness/Hospitality
4.0
Amenities/Facilities
4.0
Value
2.0
Overall Experience
1.0
El Centro is one of the bases where the CO has decided that spouses of veterans with a service disability are not allowed. After making reservations well in advance, we made a wrong turn and arrived just after the visitor center had closed. After about 1/2 hour at the front gate a very polite MAA escorted us to our site. We checked in at MWR and they said, just go to the visitor center in the morning. The next morning we arrived at the visitor center and the civilian clerk informed us that while I was allowed on base, my wife was not. I explained we were already in and set up. She said she should not have been allowed in the night before, per the base commander's guidelines. She said my wife needed to be sponsored. When I said I would sponsor her, she said I wasn't allowed to. My wife asked if she was allowed back in to help pack up and was told no. Finally, we asked to speak with a supervisor. Of course he was in a meeting. After over an hour, the supervisor called back and said he would sponsor my wife. We got back on and I went right to MWR/famcamp. I told them what had happened. They actually were surprised and said they were not aware that was the base policy. We decided to leave the next day. The civilian clerk was very apologetic and gave us a refund for the days we weren't staying. My wife suffered through a few deployments with me and knows the military life. She was so upset by the way she was made to feel, this has really turned her off from MWR facilities. To top it off, El Centro is kind of in the middle of nowhere.
April 2022
Overall rating
4.7
Location
4.0
Cleanliness/Hospitality
4.0
Amenities/Facilities
5.0
Value
5.0
Overall Experience
5.0
Loved the dog park, and rv lounge..
December 2018
Overall rating
5.0
Location
5.0
Cleanliness/Hospitality
5.0
Amenities/Facilities
5.0
Value
5.0
Overall Experience
5.0
I wish I could give one extra star for the value rating. The monthly rate cannot be beat! This is one of my top favorite campgrounds to stay for the winter. I’m already looking forward to my next visit in December.
17-20 Mar 2019
Overall rating
4.2
Location
4.0
Cleanliness/Hospitality
4.0
Amenities/Facilities
4.0
Value
5.0
Overall Experience
4.0
Great RV park, free air show!! Winter home of the Blue Angels and we got to see them depart! We arrived on a weekend and the office was closed but found camp host RV and info was on his door. Never did deal with the office but the camp host was outstanding. Very helpful and provided sightseeing info as well as restaurants, etc Glad he suggested seeing the Salton Sea! Site was large and gravel but flat. Utilities were good. No cable. We did not use the bathroom or showers but the laundry was huge with a lot of machines ($). The commissary was adequate but small. The NEX was like a shopette. No diesel on base. We would definitely stay here again if something brought us to this area.
15-22 March 2019
Overall rating
3.7
Location
3.0
Cleanliness/Hospitality
4.0
Amenities/Facilities
3.0
Value
4.0
Overall Experience
4.0
We stayed in the overflow area and it is truly just a blacktop parking lot with full hookups. We were there to watch the Blue Angels so it was okay. There is not a lot to do in the area but it is quiet when the jets aren't flying. There is a picnic table at each site in the overflow area but the sites are fairly close together so the table has limited value. The commissary is being refurbished finally so the selections are a little more limited. The NEX is just a small shopette type. Overall we will stay there again but just to see the Blues do their initial show.
Jan 6-7, 2019
Overall rating
4.5
Location
5.0
Cleanliness/Hospitality
5.0
Amenities/Facilities
4.0
Value
5.0
Overall Experience
4.0
We stayed here a year before, in the same site. It had rained prior to arrival. While there is a good concrete pad for parking, the hookups area is unpaved. It was very muddy and a mess to get hooked up. Longer term sites seem to have gravel next to pad. The men's shower hose was broken. An easy fix, but it appears nobody was motivated to get a new hose and install it. A cheap and easy fix normally. I've sent my comments to Navy Gateways about these two issues. Otherwise it is a nice park and a comfortable base to walk around. The dining facility had excellent food for Sunday brunch, the exchange and commissary are small, but have good selection. The barber is very reasonable and did a good job. We'd stay here again.
March 3-5 2019
Overall rating
4.2
Location
4.0
Cleanliness/Hospitality
4.0
Amenities/Facilities
4.0
Value
5.0
Overall Experience
4.0
We stopped for a couple nights at El Centro on our way west from Yuma to San Onofre. Checked in with the camp host on a Sunday. Very easy, nice site, no problems. We visited the commissary and exchange while there and found a nice selection for smaller facilities. We enjoyed our visit and would return.
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