Points West Army Resort (U.S. Military FamCamp) - Appling, Georgia (October 2023)

We camped in a Tennessee State Park last year during Halloween and were surprised to find out that children trick-or-treating was a big deal there. We ended up going on an emergency run to the store to get Halloween candy after our camping neighbors warned us about that park's Halloween tradition. It was fun and made us think about being ready for little ghosts and goblins, or little Barbies and Darth Vaders this year, when camping in Rosie, our Airstream trailer, during Halloween. 

Not wanting to be surprised by any Halloween traditions in Points West Army Resort FamCamp, we called ahead and asked if trick or treating was popular there. After a pause, the office person said she wasn’t aware of any trick-or-treating in the campground. We discovered she was correct. I’ll say more about this in a few moments. 

Entrance to Points West Army FamCamp

This was the third time we camped in this campground. During our first two visits, this was known as one of Fort Gordon's FamCamps. That changed during this visit. We were told while checking in that going to Fort Gordon later that week was a bad idea. That was because Fort Gordon's name was about to be officially changed to Fort Eisenhower.  We were warned that the base would be full of people there for the name change. That wasn’t a problem because the base was 35 minutes away. That was too far for a run to the Commissary. In fact, we had never made it to “Fort What’s-Its-Name” yet during any of our previous visits to this campground. 

The "office" where you need to check-in

We noticed a change that wasn’t related to the Fort’s new name. This campground was always full during our previous visits. Not so this time. Our camping loop was maybe half full over the weekend. There were only five campers in our loop during the week. There were only three trailers there Halloween night, not counting the two camp host sites, and I’m not sure the hosts spent Halloween night there. It was obvious that Points West doesn’t have a Halloween tradition and I was glad we didn’t bring a big bag of candy with us. 

Rosie in our Points West campsite

Why was the campground relatively empty? Maybe the lake had something to do with it. It turns out that the Army Corps of Engineers releases water from the dams near the campground every fall. This is because of the rains that normally occur during the fall. Unfortunately, the rains didn’t happen this year leaving the lakes significantly lower than normal. The level was low enough that it was difficult to launch boats or to stand along the shore and fish. Besides, it was sad to see the lake levels so low. 

What the campground had during our visit was weddings. There was a wedding in the campground's Conference Center on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. We thought there was another wedding in a pavilion near our camping loop. I guess Halloween is a great time to get hitched. 

The Confidence Course

We had an idea about how to make weddings more entertaining at this park. They could place the bride and minister at the end of the confidence course. Three want-to-be grooms would run the course and the first one to reach the bride gets to marry her. Well, maybe that wasn’t a great idea and it may be too similar to some reality show currently on the air. 

The main thing we enjoyed in this campground was riding out bikes. There are no bike paths, so we ended up on the roads. That wasn't  a problem because the roads were not busy and most people driving on military property tended to observe speed limits and were careful. The roads were hilly and our Apple Watches recognized that we were strenuously exercising while riding our bikes there. 

We brought our kayak paddles and life vests thinking that we could rent some type of watercraft there. The low lake level and the cold temperatures discouraged us from doing so. 

We were amazed at the number of deer seen while riding our bikes in this park. We also saw deer while walking our dog in our camping loop during the evenings. 

There were dozens of deer in this campground

Here are some specifics about this campground:

• There were multiple loops in the campground
• Our site was a back in
• Our site did not have shade
• Our site was paved with grass and gravel. We needed to use leveling tools to correct a side-to-side lean in Rosie
• Our site had 20, 30 and 50 amp electrical service. Our power went out for a few minutes twice while camping in this park
• Our site had a water connection
• Our site had a sewer connection 
• There were trash cans at every site in this campground 
• There was a bathhouse in each loop of this campground. The bathhouse in our loop was not cleaned during our 10 day stay
• The park provided WiFi service at the office and convention center 
• AT&T provided two bars of 5G voice and data service over our campsite 
• We were able to watch only ABC using Rosie’s TV antenna. Digital channel seen was ME-TV
• There were restaurants and shopping about 12 miles from the campground 
• This was a pet friendly park 

A pavilion that we enjoyed riding our bikes to while in this park

Taking a break

On another five mile bike ride

Rosie at night

Visiting the nearby dam

Maybe accepting a ride at the Laurel and Hardy Museum wasn't a great idea

Points West Army Resort (U.S. Military FamCamp) - Appling, Georgia (April 2023)

I knew the camping loop we wanted when I called to make reservations in this military FamCamp. There was only one site available for more than a week, so I quickly booked it. When I asked if the site had a view of the lake, the response was “I don’t know” followed by “it’s the only site available.”

Sign at the entrance to the campground

Sign just before the security building where military credentials were checked

Our expectations were low and we decided to drive straight to our site after we passed the ID check at the gate instead of driving to the office and checking in. We were both surprised and happy to see we had a good view of the lake. We quickly set up Rosie, our Airstream trailer, in our site then rushed to the office to complete the paperwork. 

The road to the multiple camping loops in this park

Our campsite on the lake

We think of this campground as a great place to ride our bikes. We were in the minority as we saw more people fishing than riding bikes. In fact, we only saw one other person riding a bike while there and he was on an e-bike and we are not sure that counts. Maybe the number of hills had something to do with the lack of others riding their bikes. 

Out on a bike ride

Getting ready for another bike ride

We brought our inflatable kayak to this park and looked forward to using it in the lake. Then the weather turned ugly. It rained, the temperature dropped into the very chilly range and it was very windy. We decided to forgo using our kayak. 

The pollen was a problem while there. We both discovered that we reacted to the high amounts of pollen in the park. 

We noticed that people in FamCamps frequently talk about the branch of military they served in and the places they served. What isn’t discussed is rank and specific jobs in the military. Something said by a camping neighbor caught my attention and I broke the standard protocol and asked him about his military occupation. I was right in that he had the same military job I had years earlier. This was a unique job and only a small group of people served in that area. It was interesting talking to him to learn how that job has changed over the past 50 years. 

A cookout with our camping neighbor

We were surprised to see that the campground was only about half full during our visit. Maybe it was the weather keeping people away because this was supposed to be a full park. We were glad that we were able to get our reservations and we enjoyed our time in this FamCamp. 

Here are some specifics about this campground:

• There were multiple loops in the campground. A surprising number of sites in those loops have water views
• Our site was a back in
• Most sites in our loop could be classified as "full sun" as trees were few and far apart
• Some loops in this campground had shade
• Most sites had some space on both sides
• Our site was paved with gravel and we needed to use leveling tools to correct a side-to-side lean in Rosie
• Our site had 20, 30 and 50 amp electrical service 
• Our site had a water connection
• Our site had a sewer connection
• There were trashcans at each site in our loop
• There was a bathhouse in the campground 
• The park did not provide WiFi service in the camping loops. WiFi was available at the office 
• AT&T provided 1bar of 5G voice and data service over our campsite 
• We were able to watch ABC using Rosie’s TV antenna. Digital channel seen was ME-TV
• There were restaurants and shopping about 10 miles from the campground 
• This was a pet friendly park 

Selfie in the campground

View of the cabins across the lake

View of the lake

It has been a few years since I was required to accomplish the "confidence course."

Leaving the campground

Points West Army Resort (U.S. Military FamCamp) - Appling, Georgia (July 2022)

Our original plan was to stay home during July and August, typically the hottest months of summer. That turned out to be a good idea as we survived a week of 100+ degree temperatures during June. Then the temperatures moderated a little and we started talking about how we needed another Rosie trip. (Rosie is the name of our Airstream trailer.) It didn’t take long to convince ourselves that a week or two in the woods was just the ticket for us. 

Of course, the problem with “spur-of-moment” camping is always getting reservations on short notice. Some of our camping friends like to brag about how they pick a compass direction, head out and always find great spots in incredible parks on-the-fly. While that sounds great for them, we are more comfortable with knowing we have a place to park at the end of the day. 

As our conversations about going out on a camping adventure progressed from “here’s an idea” to “let’s do it,” we went online and called to check for an opening at some choice campgrounds near us. We struck out at the state parks and Corps of Engineers parks we tried, but booked a site on the water at Fort Gordon's Pointes West Army Resort in Georgia. Once again, a military FamCamp provided us with an opportunity to have another Rosie adventure. 

Our RV GPS, Google Maps, Apple Maps and the navigation system in our truck all agreed that we needed to go on the Atlanta bypass for about 20 miles. We should have known better than to willingly drive around Atlanta. 

We tried to time it so we would be on Atlanta's Interstate highways during low traffic periods only to discover there are no “low traffic” times there. What should have been a four hour trip suddenly turned into six. We were thankful we arrived at the Pointes West before their office closed at 5 p.m. so that our credentials to camp in military FamCamps could be verified.

Sign at entrance of Pointes West Army Resort FamCamp

The guard house at the entrance to the campground

Most of the sites in this campground were on the lake and had great views. You may use your own canoes, kayaks and boats on the lake or you can rent them from the office. It rained most afternoons while we were in this park meaning we skipped renting boats. 

Rosie's site on the water

We didn’t skip riding our bikes. This was a great park for bike rides. We were able to go on five mile bike rides most mornings and afternoons between the rain showers. 

The roads were great for riding bikes

Our bike rides took us past two notable amenities in the campground. The first was a great playground for children. That was good because we noticed a bumper crop of kids in the park. 

Playground for children

The second feature we rode past everyday could be described as a playground for adults. I doubt I would have called it a playground while I was in the service. The park had a Confidence Course, but I wasn’t tempted to impress anyone with my “confidence” there.

Playground for adults

Second confidence course in this campground

We also saw deer, rabbits, a fox, woodpeckers (possibly pileated) and several armadillos while on our bikes. Then there were the geese. They were everywhere! It was cute for a day or two then we noticed goose droppings were along the paths those birds took. It seems that geese are more enjoyable from a distance. 

A fox watches us pass by on our bikes

The deer frequently visited our camping loop

Rosie in our campsite

We noticed an army of ants invaded Rosie while camping in this park. We quickly switched to our anti-ant offensive and worked hard to un-invite them. 

Our expectations were high coming into this park based on its online reviews. We were not disappointed. We look forward to returning to Pointes West. This was a huge facility and deserved the label “resort” by military campground standards. 

Here are some specifics about this campground:

• There were multiple loops in the campground
• Our site was a back in
• Our site could be classified as "full sun" as there were many trees in this park, but not around our site
• Most sites were closer together than what you find at a COE campground, but not as tight as most KOAs
• The road in our camping loop was paved with asphalt. The roads in the other loops were gravel
• Our site was paved with dirt and gravel.  We needed to use leveling tools to correct a side-to-side lean in Rosie
• Our site had 20, 30 and 50 amp electrical service 
• Our site had a water connection
• Our site had a sewer connection 
• There were trash cans in front of every site. Campground hosts emptied those trash cans several times while we camped there
• There were bathhouses in the RV campground loops. Tent loops had portable “potties.”
• The park did not provide WiFi service except at the lodge
• AT&T provided 1 bar of 4G voice and data service over our campsite 
• We were able to watch a FOX affiliate from Greenville, South Carolina using Rosie’s TV antenna. Digital channels seen were Bounce, Charge, Circle, Cozi, Escape and Grit
• There were restaurants and shopping about 15 minutes from the campground 
• This was a pet friendly park 

Selfie taken in the campground

Sunset from our camping loop

The "beach" area on the lake