Campground Summary

• Name: The Cedars RV Resort
• Dates of stay: July 12 – Aug 8, 2018
• Location: 6335 Portal Way, Ferndale, WA  98248
• Type of campground: Private (Holiday Trails RV Resorts)
• Cost: $28.57/ night (monthly rate)
• Additional fees: electricity usage, $0.10 / KWH
• Stay limit: none
• Accepts mail / packages: yes
• Cell reception: ATT average
• Website: http://www.holidaytrailsresorts.com/the-cedars-rv-resort/
• Pros: Resort amenities, low price, huge/private site
• Cons: none

Full Review

This was our first month-long stay since starting our fulltime adventure, and we picked a great spot! This RV resort is located in the center of Northwest Washington sights, making a perfect home base for exploration.

We lucked into an extra-large, gravel, pull through site. The campground recently converted a back section row  to “big rig” sites, by ripping out half the sites, combining every two sites into extra-wide sites, and carpeting them with firmly packed gravel. We had no problem pulling our big bus into the wide site from the narrow one lane road. The sites are separated by tall cedar hedges, making them unusually private. Our full hook ups worked flawlessly (water/sewer/50 amp electric) and the site included a picnic table and fire ring.

The amenities are many:  two restroom/bathhouse buildings (code access), two coin laundry facilities, a heated swimming pool, playground, sports field, dog park, library, store, and club house. There’s no cable TV, but our satellite TV worked fine. We pulled in a few stations over the air, mostly Canadian. It was interesting to get their news perspective! AT&T coverage was average, good enough for what we needed for both voice and internet. Campground wifi is available, but only near the office.

The price can’t be beat:  $800 for a 28 day (month) stay, plus electric billed at $0.10 / KWH for usage over 250 KWH. That’s the cheapest stay we’ve had in many months, for a super nice location. We did have to fill out a bunch of paperwork upon arrival since we were technically a long-term tenant (last addresses, employment history, references??) which seemed overkill for a site we had pre-paid! It should be noted that we were required to pre-pay the entire month up front to guarantee our high-season spot.

The Cedars is within day trip distance of many cool places:  Vancouver BC, Olympic National Park, North Cascades National Park, and Mount Baker (whose snow-capped peak is clearly visible from the campground!). Ferndale has a grocery store and basic shops, but the nearby larger town of Bellingham (15 minutes away) has a mall, Wal-Mart, Lowes, and other conveniences.

I really enjoyed our stay here. It’s a family campground, especially busy on the summer weekends. I liked seeing weekend tent campers and children playing and riding their bikes. A family of bunnies frequently showed themselves in the early morning, hopping around and grass-grazing.  It felt like living in a neighborhood, not a manicured retirement village. One note: the showers near the pool area are showing their age, so I preferred using the newer facility at the north end of the park. But that’s just a nit to pick, otherwise it was fantastic.

Bottom Line: Awesome site and resort for a bargain price. Would stay again!