Laughlin AFB FamCamp

A great stop-over spot on our way to Big Bend National Park. Large pull-through, privacy fence. Do not follow GPS, refer to the website to get proper directions to the Main Gate. The Liberty Street Gate is permanently closed. Del Rio is just 5 miles away.

We enjoyed our stay here, and would stay here again if we ever have the chance. Once you get over the fact that campground feels unusual without a bathhouse or other public facility, you realize how nice it is. The sites are very comfortable. The are level, full hookups, and you have a fence on each side to give you a comfortable sense of privacy. Everything on the base that you need is close, and you learn to take that in as part of the camping facility experience. The BX is next door, restrooms are there to use. The gym, a first class physical fitness center, has great showers in the locker room that a camper can use. The sites have full hookups, but if you don't want or can't use your RV shower, then you can go to the gym. It is within a mile of the campground. Besides the excellent exercise equipment, the gym has a coffee shop and wifi to use. There is also wifi available at the lodging office lobby about a block away. The laundry for the famcamp is, unusually, located across from the gym. However, the washer and dryers are free and very new. By our second day here we had worked out our routine so that we learned to get around the base, even by walking, to enjoy the experience. Not a bad place at all. It would be made perfect if a full bathhouse and lodge room could be built on site.

We stayed at the Laughlin AFB Famcamp for a couple nights, sites were well marked and appeared well maintained. There was a cable hookup, but said "dead" so did not try it. No Bathhouse on site. We arrived on Monday and left on Wednesday. The office is closed Monday's and Tuesday's. Never saw the Camp Host. The do have a GREAT Laundry trailer with 6 large high efficiency washers and dryers that are FREE! Park was fairly quiet with flying in the daylight hours only. No diesel on base, had to go to Del Rio for some.

Almost the only thing good about Laughlin Famcamp is that it’s a stopover. Others have commented about the large sites with privacy fences, but what good is that if there’s little else in the way of campground amenities? There’s no shower or laundry facility in the campground. If you do have laundry, you can go to “Laughlin Manor” lodging facility across the road and up a hill, where you pay $10.00 for the privilege whether you have one load to wash or ten. I said thank you to the staff there for allowing me to use a luggage cart to get my laundry into the building and onto the second floor. I took advantage of the 5 great washing machines and dryers and washed far more than $10.00+ of laundry. There was also literally no one else around and the machines look rarely used. But I’m just saying...do your laundry before you get here unless you want the hassle.

You might think that sitting out here in the middle of south Texas would be tranquil simply because you’re nearly 10 miles from any town. What you don’t realize until a Monday morning is that the training sorties go on and on and on and on throughout the day. At any moment, you can easily count 8-10 aircraft in the air at the same time. Don’t get me wrong. I’m an aviation nerd. But....when you can barely carry on a phone conversation it gets a bit frustrating. Noise fatigue is a thang.

I also discovered after the fact that only the sites where people are staying long term are permitted access to cable hookup despite all sites having the connectivity capability....yet all visitors pay the same $25/day. Doesn’t seem right given that that could be the single positive to enduring everything else that goes on here. This is the only Famcamp I’ve visited in nearly 10 years of RV travel that required I pay in full in advance.....only to arrive and find I’ve paid $25/day for what? I would recommend you not plan to stay here long. To avoid sounding like a Scrooge, I will say this: the cashiers in the BX (which the campground sits behind) were friendly. Staff in the office, however, whisper.... couldn’t get them to speak above a whisper, not just on the phone but in person. Nice enough, but grrrr frustrating.

I spent mid Oct to mid Nov and totally enjoyed my stay. The city of Del Rio has many great places to visit and some very good food. If you want a great steak try Lorina's Cantina every Wednesday (RSVP Only) also Wrights Steak House, both on the West side of Del Rio US-90. The only area I addressed with the base was the need to get WiFi installed, I have Sprint and it worked great but WiFi is now and the future. Full hookups, and you have a fence on each side to give you a comfortable sense of privacy. Everything on the base that you need is close, The site are long and can handle any size RV with trailer/puller. There is a 60 day limit stay and I will come here again.

G.T. left this review: On arrival we found the MAIN GATE CLOSED with no turnaround to be had on the 2 lane road. So we started our stay with an unhooking the toad and back/fill exercise. We found this was done for construction starting mid-Feb BUT neither of us saw any signs of this on 90 coming in from the east (a banner indicating closed across the exit sign comes to mind as something useful). So we could have missed something, BUT I had called outdoor rec to check site availability a couple of hours out and were told sure --- come ahead, with nothing said about the gate. Its supposed to be closed til mid April but you know how that goes - call first and ask specifically about the gate. In the meantime take 79 south to the first exit and head to the West Gate. Ok entering, concrete barriers in the exit lane are a bit tight for big rigs but doable. The individual I spoke to on the phone at outdoor rec wasn't there when we registered but I spoke to the manager. Unfortunately, I got the impression he didn't think my issue was of much significance. ICE time. Otherwise the FAMCAMP itself is as described previously - nice level concrete pads. Basic hookups. No amenities such as wifi or laundry. Limited dining and shopping options. Nice large fitness facility and library tho.

Super simple campground that has everything but showers. Very slanted yet long sites with perfect flat spaces in the middle. The air base’s cantonment area is very small. No real hospital only a “super” clinic for assigned personnel. BX/PX super small but had what we needed. Commissary was perfect. Nice place despite the virus.

Very easy to get to and one of best designed I have used. No showers at the camp but there are toilets near by. Everything on base is close to the camp and within walking distance so you could get by without a car or truck to get around. Host is excellent. This is a very good value but not a lot to do in the immediate area but some nice things at a distance say a 100 miles plus. Cable is good and ATT phone service works good. Bike riding and walking very good. Free laundry is a big plus and nice machines.

Stopped here for 2 nights. Personnel in MWR office inside BX mall for check-in. This is a very small base but has a nice commissary/BX. The camp is well located. Yes, there will be jet noise, it's a training base! But AF people love hearing them right? Right! Access off the highway is easy and straight back to the camp, nice partitions between sites and a lovely park next door. No laundry, bathrooms/showers are basic but very clean. Lots of TDY personnel here as it's a training base. No wifi and we used our Tailgater satellite system so cannot speak to TV reception. The dog loved the walking trails. Del Rio is interesting to explore, very old town with great architecture in the old parts, just be careful which bridges you cross if you don't want to end up in Mexico! ;-)

We were passing through and stayed here for one night. Pros: well groomed facility; layout was pretty simple and basic; sufficient pull-through sites with full hookups; within easy walking distance of the BX, a Subway, and Outdoor Rec where you pay. A little further up the road is the AF Inn which has a "business center" where one can check e-mails; great deal for $18 a night. Cons: no WiFi available at the campsite, no place to do laundry near the campsite.

Drove in to overnight and were told, without much care or concern "nope, no hookups, go over to that building to see about overflow parking." These campground hosts could use a break.

Have one thing to add (point out) not covered in earlier reviews. When they say $15 a day and $72 a week they mean it. We paid 15x5=$75 to stay for five days and would have had to pay an additional $15 to extend a day. Yes, it costs less to stay for seven days than it does for five or six days. Lack of a community room and particularly a bathhouse are the reasons for my low Facilities rating.

This was a great campground. Best level, long sites we have ever seen. Had to drive off base a bit to get to Del Rio and other tourist points, but enjoyed everything there, including the trip to Judge Roy Bean's town of Langtry, TX. Lake Amistad has an AF rec area to boat, fish, etc. Friendly personnel working the office there. The only drawback is the trainer planes flying to late hours at night. Taps is played, as well as morning colors. Saw huge jackrabbits there! Would definitely revisit.