Richmond North Kings Dominion KOA

The staff have always been awesome, and we've been coming here for years. It's a perfect campground off 95, far enough away that there's no noise. It can accommodate every kind of camper, from tents to motor coaches to cabins. They also run a shuttle to Kings Dominion.

Seeing the Eiffel Tower at Kings Dominion glowing through the trees at night was a fun surprise from our campsite. Camp Wilderness at Kings Dominion KOA is wooded and peaceful, with a private feel, and most sites looked pretty level. There are premium sites with nice concrete pads, too. We booked online easily and could even get a site the same day while on the road. For a one-night stay, we picked water and electric, which worked great. Site 29 had plenty of space, and we could stay hooked up without trouble. It was an easy, convenient stop in a lovely setting. We'd come back.

The facilities were nice, and you can't beat the convenience of being close to Kings Dominion with a shuttle there and back. For a multi-day park visit on a budget, that's probably the best part. We've visited this KOA a few times and plan to return next year for our KD trip. This time, though, our small camper was assigned a spot so crowded with trees that it was hard to fit, and we felt right on top of the neighbors. Plenty of spaces were empty, so I'm not sure why we were packed in there. Honestly, I should have asked to move.

The KOA has some good points, but it wasn't the best one I've stayed at. We came to camp and see Richmond for the first time. Don't buy insurance from Sensibleweather.com. It felt like a scam to me, since they avoided paying even though it rained over six hours and the situation supposedly didn't meet their criteria. The store is nice, with firewood, RV necessities, and other useful camping gear. Walmart is about 10 minutes away, and Kroger and Tractor Supply have cheaper firewood that burns longer. There's a pool and recreation area with giant outdoor checkers, ping pong, and a playground. The showers and bathrooms were clean and well maintained, and the office staff were very nice, helpful, and accommodating. Nearly every site has a good fire ring with a flip-over grill rack, though I saw some older, much smaller ones. The deluxe tent sites with raised pads only fit one tent and give you less flexibility for arranging camp. There's a concrete pad in front, but you'd probably have to park on it. We usually get a tent site with water and electricity so we can cook, wash dishes, and charge things at night. Our site, H, had a faulty GFCI outlet that wouldn't work even after resetting the breakers and pressing the test/reset buttons. We used power at site G since nobody was there. Site G is tiny, so I'd recommend changing spots if you get it. The office said they'd ask an electrician to inspect the outlet. Sleep can be interrupted by the nearby train, which passes consistently twice between 8pm and midnight, and again between 4am and 6am. They sound the horn each time. When Kings Dominion's theme or water park is busy, you can also hear screams and roller coasters until around midnight. That may be less noticeable in a camper or RV. The website said the pool wouldn't open until sometime in May, but we didn't check it until we arrived. That's on us. I was hoping to swim over spring break, since it was in the 70s and 80s. The Wi-Fi appeared but wouldn't connect to our computer or Kindle, only our phones, for some reason, so I wouldn't count on it. There isn't much room for soap or clothes in the showers. One design has only a tiny folding stool, if you use that kind, and the other has just a hook outside the splash zone. When my son and I showered, the water got hot for him right away. I shaved while he was in there, then waited 10 minutes for it to warm up for my turn. He said it was still fine when he turned it off. I resigned myself to an icy shower, but as soon as I put my head under the cold water, the hot water suddenly started and scalded me. My wife had an ice-cold shower. The water worked fine every other day.