Perry Mack
You just need to make a few friends for a stellar way to enjoy the day.
Words and photos by Perry Mack et al.
The Coachella Valley is home to the famous wintertime sun destination of Palm Springs and a string of other cities that are just as inviting. One such city is Coachella, made famous by two music festivals held in April each year, Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, and Stagecoach Festival.
Last year (2024) we stayed at the newly opened Coachella Lakes RV Resort and although it wasn’t 100% open, we had a spectacular two months in February and March enjoying the pickleball courts, pool, hot tubs, dog park, gym, and the executive 18-hole putting course.
Perry Mack
Mountain views from everywhere including the pickleball courts. Yes, that is snow in them thar hills, far, far, away.
Eager to see the completed opening, which included a second laundry and shower facility, and a second pool with a small water park for the kids, we booked again for 2025.
Aside from the amenities and highlights we’ve already mentioned, there are a number of facts that make this resort stand out from almost every other RV resort we’ve ever enjoyed or read about. We booked our site in advance having stayed at the park the previous year. All the sites in the resort are massive. While we did squeeze our 35’ Tiffin Allegro into many other parks, the tight squeeze made them far from desirable for longer stays i.e. one to six months. Coachella Lakes’ sites are all roughly 30’-34’ wide and 75’ long. Enough width to extend to extend all our slides and enough length to park our 35’ coach and towed in a straight line and still have room behind the coach to set up our 11’ Kuma Bear Den Gazebo and enjoy the sunsets.
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Perry Mack
Start your day casting away in one of the well-stocked ‘lakes’. There are rods available to rent at the pro shop.
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Perry Mack
The lakes and flora attract birds including egrets, ducks, geese, herons, hummingbirds, sandpipers and dozens of others.
Aside from the large lot sizes, is the large amount of dedicated green space. Many RV parks seem to draw the name ‘park’ from ‘parking lot’. Coachella Lakes RV Resort is park-like where ‘park’ means manicured lawns surrounding lakes with waterfowl and diverse flora and fauna.
The reservation website lets you choose from a number of types of sites depending on the experience you would enjoy most. Lakeside Sites (back-in) are closest to the lakes in the resort. The word lakes is a bit of stretch if you live in a lake country, but in the desert, they are small lakes, some of which are stocked with fish! We like to start our day with an early morning cast watching the sunrise over the nearby mountains. K9 Corner sites (back-in) are those closest to the dog park, and Front Row Sites (back-in) are closest to the amphitheatre for hosted live music.
Perry Mack
Choose your view from the many lakeside back-in sites.
Pull-through sites are abundant, are 30’-34’ wide by 80’ long, and are located close to the amenities (clubhouse, pool, hot tubs, laundry, showers, pickleball), which we noticed made them a favourite for clubs and rallies, especially for larger 5th wheels and coaches.
All the sites feature 30/50 amp FHU service with water, sewer, electric, WiFi and local cable connection. The WiFi was the best we’ve experienced in a large park, with only occasional instances of dropping the signal or reducing bandwidth while watching streaming services like Netflix and Prime. We couldn’t get the cable to work at our site, but our antenna picked up quite a few digital channels.
Perry Mack
The SpaceX launches from Vandenburg Space Force Base are fun to watch from your RV site.
The park was only half-full at the best of times, which meant all the amenities were available without any waiting. Perfect.
Our favourite regular events in the Coachella calendar were Tuesday mornings at the dog park for Pup Cup and Thursday mornings for donuts at the clubhouse. Download the CRR Hospitality app to stay up to date on other events like live music, pickleball instruction, how to fish seminars, and much more. This app can keep you informed about Coachella Lakes RV and CRR’s other properties.
Perry Mack
Tuesday mornings were Pup Cup days at the off-leash dog park. Thanks Jenny!
Community can be the best part of RVing and we were fortunate enough to meet a fantastic group of friends. Fridays were a regular meet for a round of golf followed by a potluck style happy hour at someone’s site. Even more fun was the occasional round of night golf. We purchased lights designed to fit into the cups and golf balls that glow in the dark so we could watch all the action. The putting course is large and challenging, taking four people roughly an hour and a half to complete. If you’re enjoying adult beverages at the same time, make it two hours.
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Perry Mack
If you’re a morning person, this is a typical sunrise over the park from the putting course.
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Perry Mack
We would be remiss if we didn’t mention the occasional days of wind when you may need to batten down your slide toppers. Friends, the clubhouse, and a few games of Sequence blew away the effects of the disappointing weather.
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The end of the day after performing as extras for a TV shoot. You just never know what a day will bring.
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Finishing the 18th hole of night golf. Potluck Happy Hour anyone?
More Tips and Notes:
Get a rate discount with your Passport America membership.
Propane is available at the gate.
Golf carts are available to rent to get around the park (not the putting course).
While a number of people brought their bicycles, the favourite mode of transportation was electric scooters. Make sure you lock up these items at night and when you’re away from your site.
Walking (riding or running) inside the perimeter of the park is about 2.7 km.
Groceries, pharmacies, home reno, dollar stores, and casinos (with good restaurants and concerts) are within a 10 minute drive (or less).
44790 Dillon Road Coachella, Coachella, CA 92236
https://coachellalakesrvresort.com
email: clrvinfo@crrhospitality.com