Saturday, September 25, 2021

Monkey Island RV Resort, Afton, OK

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 CafĂ© 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.




















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