Sun Lakes State Park

Sun Lakes State Park

This park consists of three separate sections: The "resort," which is on State Park land but operated under a concession permit; and two campgrounds (Main and Bretz) operated by State Park personnel. This review will be for the two state operated campgrounds.

Main Campground: This part has approximately 10 RV sites with full hookup (water, sewer, electric 30 and 50 amp) and 150 tent sites. All sites get a picnic table and fire ring. The 10 RV sites sit in a row and are pretty close together. But on the good side, these sites are in the shade. The 150 tent sites are each the width of about a car length, and are right next to each other, all along a row on the driving road. There are grassy "common" areas to divide the tent areas into sections. However, no tents are allowed on the grass. The tents must remain in the gravel on the tent space. There are lots of trees for shade. In this campground, your neighbors are right in your face. There are bathrooms/shower areas for the customers in this section. As of this writing, showers are 50 cents for three minutes.

Bretz Campground (shown in the picture): This is a fairly new (about four years old) area in this part of the park. The good news is, great views of the cliffs that date back to the "ice age." The bad news is..... no shade in this part of the park. Summers can be hot and windy! There are two "premium" tent sites, one "group camp" area that can accommodate 25-150 people, and about 30 RV sites with full hookups (water, sewer, electric 30 and 50 amp). The "premium" tent sites and the "group camp" are exceptions to the "no tents on grass" rule. Tents are allowed on the grass in these sites only, but not in the RV sites. The "premium" tent sites are right next to each other, but are quite spacious with picnic table and fire ring. The group camp site has a vault toilet, about six picnic tables, two or three fire grills, and a large concrete fire pit. The 30 RV sites are laid out in two loops. Each loop has one "pull-through" and the rest are "back-in." The RV sites are somewhat spacious (can take big rigs and tow cars) with a picnic table and fire ring, except for spots 73 and 87 on the lower loop. Those two sites are back to back to each other. This is great if you want to camp with a buddy, but not if you don't know the person in the other site. The two loops are divided by a very nice bathroom/shower house, also 50 cents for three minutes in the showers.

As for amenities, this park is wonderful! There is a great day use area with a large kids play toy and picnic tables with grills, and a small swimming area. There are lots of hiking trails, and three lakes (named Perch, Deep, and Dry Falls) for fishing. The Deep Lake section has a separate day use picnic area. Further, anyone camping in either of the two state operated campgrounds can go over to the "resort" part for boating (to include canoe and peddle boat rentals), mini-golf, and a nice golf course. Plus, the "resort" area has a grocery store with basics if you need them, a snack bar that serves breakfast items and great hamburgers along with smoothies, and a small gift shop where you can buy T-shirts and novelties. At this park, you can have family fun without leaving the park!

Pets are allowed in the camping areas, but must be on a leash. The only caution for this area is that you must be careful about snakes. There are rattle snakes in this area.