Monkey Island RV is located Monkey Island, OK approximately 30 miles southwest
of historic Miami, OK and remnants of the iconic Route 66. This campground is
relatively new and is a good example of a well planned park providing broad
concrete avenues making entering and exiting the concrete pull-thru sites pleasant.
The composition of accommodations include cabins (really motel-like in
appearance), a few park models, and along the outside perimeter concrete
back-in sites affording the same generous width making parking a non-issue. The
grounds are flat on a gently sloping surface which makes the concrete pads out
of level, however not so much that obtaining level is not possible. The grounds
are well manicured with no shade trees (the trees that are present are placed
in such a position that little or no shade will ever be provided). The healthy
grass between sites is unusually large providing for a sense of privacy. Each
site includes a fire pit, and on a separate concrete apron, a picnic table. The
FHU is standard although an odd feature is the electric pedestal with water
spigot located at the very back end of the pad and the sewer connection located
in the upper front third of the pad. This does necessitate either a long
electric cable and water line or a long sewer line. We parked with the coach at
the rear of the pad and were able to reach the sewer connection using two
sections of 25’ sewer hose. The pads themselves are generously long at 75’+ so
parking our 45’ motorcoach and the tow vehicle still left ample room. The
campground is located in the quiet Oklahoma countryside. A short walk down E280
Road is MarineMax and Grand Lake. Tera
Miranda Marina Resort
and Quaterdeck Waterfront Café are also a short walk from the rv
park. The park’s main building houses the welcome center, a small store, a
groceryette, and guest lounge. Also inside are the bathrooms, showers and
laundry; all utilitarian and very clean. Adjacent to the main building is the QuickQue BBQ Shack offering authentic BBQ, smoked on the premises,
Wednesday to Sunday. Behind the main building is a playground that was
thoughtfully paved with astro turf. Also behind the main building is the
sparkling clear pool with patio furniture. We were able to obtain a couple of OTA local tv stations
from nearby Miami, OK. The WiFi was inconsistent and frequently dropped the internet
connection, however our Winegard ConnecT WiFi router did record 94% signal, -44 dBm;
speed was 7.02 Mbps download, 5.82 Mbps upload and Latency (loaded) of 63ms.
Accordingly good enough to stream music and inconsistent performance for
streaming movies or tv. Our Pixel phones received 5G, four bars. Not to
overlook are two good eating establishments; RoadHog Saloon
provides a great daily breakfast; and the Blind
Swine (they have two
locations, we like the on-the-water venue at Duck Creek) for a great luncheon sandwich of either the Low Country or the
Blind Swine Rueben (actually hard to pick a favorite as all the handhelds are
delicious). There are many things to do in and around Grand
Lake so plan your
visit to explore what the Oklahoma lake has to offer.
The Takeaway:
a relatively new rv park a short walk from Grand Lake that provides a
comfortable and quiet respite for the traveler. The groomed landscaping and
large green lawn between sites offers the illusion of privacy. FHU is standard
with the electric pedestal and water spigot at the back end and the sewer
connection in the front third of the long concrete (75’+) pads. Driving to the site
with a tow vehicle is relaxing on the broad concrete avenues with sweeping
entry and exit aprons. The bathrooms, showers and laundry room are all located
in the main building and are extra clean. Behind the main building is the
sparkling clear pool with patio furniture. Go to www.rickpicks.com for more pictures, other reviews,
critiques and essays with links to area attractions and a more detailed review
of rv parks as well as reviews of restaurants, etc.
