Johnson’s of St. Mary – Other reviewers at rvparkreviews.com

July, 2016

The Lowe’s overall rating (based on value for the money,
quality of amenities and utilities, site suitability and what
we believe other RV’ers in our situation would be looking
for) = 6 out of 10 stars

Noise level and overall “feel” of the park?
Just outside the East Gate entrance to Glacier National Park – what
do you expect?  A very busy place with lots of traffic in and out,
although very little noise from the exterior highway.  We were here
during the B-U-S-Y season, so no surprises there.  The office
personnel were friendly and helpful, and we appreciated that they
accepted multiple UPS packages for us, as well as their
conveniently-placed propane station that we used as we exited.

Road and site access?
Interior roads and sites consisted of gravel, and it was the “premium
dusty” type.  The idiots speeding through the park raised massive
clouds of dust on a regular basis.  Most of the sites in the upper
section where we stayed were pull-throughs, but the views from the
front row facing the mountains was stunning.  Site access was
easy-peasy.  Unfortunately, the sites were not very level and even
with all of our blocks we never got just right.

Condition of sites?
Spacing between sites was fairly tight, but the many trees gave extra
distance, some shade, and some privacy.  Though not large, the
trees were nice to have on the hot days.  Site length was good, and
we were able to park the car either behind or in front of the coach.
Most sites were wide enough for easy access all around the coach.

Utilities offered and their quality?
Full hookups, and the 30-amp power was strong.  Water pressure
was just adequate.  No cable service here, and the campground’s
free WiFi was about as expected – decent in the early mornings but
down to a crawl during the day.

We had issues with our Verizon service here.  Although we had 4-5
bars of service, it got very slow and sometimes unusable.  That
tells me that even though there is a tower close by it is
over-subscribed.  An upgrade by Verizon is needed here.

Picnic table and/or fire pit?
Table only, no fire pits.  Strangely, the office sold firewood!

Bathrooms/showers/laundry room?
Very old facilities, but the bathrooms and showers were clean
when I did my inspection.  There are a lot of tent campers here,
so the bathrooms and laundry facilities are worked hard.  I wasn’t
impressed with the layout of the showers; small, and no benches
for the goodies.  They also ran off of “tokens” that had to be
obtained from the office – don’t like that, and glad I didn’t have to
use them.

The laundry room consisted of 5 washers, 5 dryers and 2 small
folding tables.  It was busy all the time.

Pet friendly?
Not very pet-friendly – no exercise area for doggies and only
walks through the campground available.

Bicycle/walking trails nearby?
There were no trails directly out of the campground.

Groceries & other services nearby?
There was a small but expensive “supermarket” just up the
street.  It had some fruits and veggies, if you had a lot of money.
We stocked up before coming here so we were in pretty good
shape.  But I did unexpectedly need a box of Triscuit crackers and
wasn’t too happy about the $6.00+ price for them.

The Two Sisters Cafe just 5 miles up the road at Babb was the
“luxury” restaurant in the area, with accompanying luxury prices.
But for a night off from cooking to get a good meal out it was OK.
Nothing else out here as far as larger businesses or repair facilities.

Comments:
For the money, I usually expect a better in a campground – 50-amp
service, level sites, better facilities.  But it’s not easy to get a good
site for a good price out here in the “sticks”, and this one wasn’t
too bad.  We visited the nearby KOA, and it had level sites with
full hookups and a nice view of the surrounding area – but more
expensive and no trees for shade.  So it’s a trade-off, and maybe
this place wasn’t so bad.  Besides, we were out hiking every day
and not spending a lot of time at our site.

This isn’t a destination campground, but rather a campground
conveniently located to a major destination.

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