***A must stay place if you’re in the Shreveport area ***
Our visit was 8-11 May 2008
First off, how do you get there? Take Exit 23 (industrial Blvd) off I-20. If your coming from West I-20 turns right at the light on the exit ramp, if you’re coming from the East you will take a left at the exit light. Then follow the road about ¼ mile and you will see the ARMY reserve center on your left, turn her to the left and go over the RR tracks and you will see the entrance gate. It is a high security gate, but RVers should stay in the left lane and approach the sentry. As long as you have a DOD decal and ID you should have zero issues gaining entrance. Remember you’re still not allowed to bring firearms on post. If you travel with one, inform the sentry so they can check it onboard and lock it in the armory. Security personnel were very helpful and friendly providing directions. A note about gates and entry: if you try to enter the base from Barksdale Blvd through the main gate with a RV you will be turned around, the entry steel barricades and low flying trees will stop you.
After you pass through the sentry you will be taking a hard 180 degree left turn onto perimeter/range road, its not a bad turn as the lanes are 3 across which provides ample room even for us at near 60 feet long. Follow this road around the end of the airstrip for about ¾ mile and then you will make a left turn onto perimeter road, in front of the Airman Leadership School. The speed limit there is 25 mph and is enforced by the very nice dark blue security trucks. After this turn it goes back up to 50 MPH until right before the RV park, then it drops to 35 MPH. You will be n perimeter road about 3 miles; you will pass the SEABEES facility. The entrance to the famcamp is right after the bridge and the 35 MPH zone. The first entrance is marked “CULLEN PARK”. If you’re a long rig I would suggest taking the second entrance which about 1000 yards further down the road, it has a wider entry. The road leading to the famcamp is well signed from the moment you enter the base.
Once you arrive, park in front of the office, which is off to your right when you come to the fork in the entry road. They are very eager to get you set up and comfortable. Price for Active duty, DOD, retirees and civil service is $14 a night, $90 a week or $350 a month. Check out time is 1200 noon unless you make arrangements ahead of time. Max stay time is a month unless the park has open sites then they will adjust your stay as needed. Primitive camping is $4 per night. The park has 42 FHU sites with 6 pull through sites. The power pedestals are typical 50/30/20 and are located at the end of the sites, except for the pull through sites, which are about halfway. Water is on a separate post and the sewer connections are on non-threaded open PVC pipe. My donut seal was too big so I had to use the elbow by itself with a piece of wood to hold it in the fixed position. There are warnings all around about dumping gray water on the ground, if you do it’s a fine and possible worse.
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The Camp was full when we arrived and they put us in overflow for a few hours, until they moved a rental trailer that was not being used. The overflow is an area next to the picnic pavilions on the grass. It has water and a few 120 volt 20 amp outlets, but these will not support running an A/C, so if you arrive in the summer and are in overflow, you might get a bit warm in the afternoon. I ran my genset to cool off the coach, and then we just used the fans to draw in some shade cooled air.
All the sites except one pull through site are arranged in a pull in/back in configuration. This puts you and your neighbors “CONNECTIONS” facing each other and allows you to enjoy your awning space without looking at the “connections” side of your neighbors RV. We were in site #3 and it was a pull in site, I drove right in and then backed up a few times into the grass across the road and got nice and straight. Which left me about 40 feet of grass to traverse with my tow vehicle after I unhooked, I was concerned about how rain might make this action later when we were leaving, but was assured unless it got a gully washer the ground would be sound enough to hook up and back out.
The camp also has secured WIFI available for free as well as a computer inside the lounge/library of the office it is open 24 hrs a day for registered guests. The shower and restrooms were immaculate. It looked like they were cleaned every hour. They were in very nice almost new condition and everything worked. There are benches provided in the shower area and a squeegee to remove any standing water when you’re done. The restrooms have a cipher lock. There is n cable TV hook ups. However I pulled in 20 digital TV stations without raising my antenna, one of which is a 24hr weather channel for a 150 mile radius of Shreveport.
There is a Shoppette about 1.5 miles to the right of the main park entrance. It has gas and propane and a pay phone, but no diesel fuel. In fact there are no diesel pumps onboard the base. There is no emergency room on base, so if you get hurt. You will need to go off base to a treatment facility. The commissary is new (less then 6 months old), clean and staffed by friendly people, as is the BX and class six store. The base is extremely clean and easy to get around. There is a museum onboard of Air force planes and equipment; it has many large aircraft on static display in an outside walk of fame.
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This famcamp is a gem in my book. The staff leaves no stone unturned to ensure your stay is a good one. There are plans to add 10-12 more sites and they were moving 4 mobile homes in at the end of the pavilion area to provide short term base housing for newly arriving Airman, these will not be in the RV area but will be managed and I am sure kept as nice as the rest of the famcamp.
Normal pet on a leash is enforced as a strict clean up after your pet policy. As well as a “don’t feed the gators” policy. There is a bayou that runs around the camp and it does have wildlife in it.
Off Base the cities of Shreveport and Bossier provide Casino gambling, horse racing and many dining options. A word of caution, there is a good deal of crime but vigilance and locking up will help keep you safe around the malls and Casinos.