This is pretty much a no-frills campground behind the motel that makes for a good place to spend a night or two for resting up as part of a longer journey.
The campground is located behind the Days Inn on Smitty’s Boulevard in Ritzville, Washington. It’s all gravel, and there is good access to the individual sites in the internal area. A bonus is the Zips next door. If you haven’t tried a Papa Joe, Bellybuster, or a Big Zipper, you need to. This is not gourmet cooking. Rather, it’s good old-fashioned burgers, fries, tots, and pretty great milkshakes. We actually stop at this particular location on every trip eastbound that we take, whether we are in the Grizz or in our SUV. For us, the trip hasn’t really begun until we’ve stopped at Zips.
As I mentioned, the campground is pretty no-frills. You’ve got your basic full hookups, with 50/30/15 amp power, freshwater (with good pressure), and a sewage dump at each site. The front desk staff is friendly and helpful, and takes the time to explain where things are, and access to the amenities. Getting in to the campground is simple. From I-90, just head north about a half-block, then turn right on Smitty’s boulevard, then a left in to the SECOND driveway for the Days Inn. When we arrived, we actually parked in the giant dirt lot behind Zips (under a shade tree!) to eat some lunch. A short walk over to the front desk of the hotel gives similar access, and you won’t have to go back out on surface streets once you get your site number during check-in.
The area nearest the hotel seems to be for long-term residents. While there were some rigs that were of questionable roadworthiness, most were clean and there were no “trash pits”. Farther away, over by the cemetery and across the street from the golf course is where it seems the more short-term residents are placed.
The weather in Ritzville can vary quite a bit. Hot in the summer, cold in the winter, and usually windy. I don’t think I’ve ever been through Ritzville and not had 10 mph winds, at the very least. While we were there this time, there were gusts 25-30 mph, averaging about 15mph.
For those of you who drive diesel rigs, note that there is a Loves travel center just on the other side of I-90. This makes it pretty easy to fuel up and get back on the interstate after a nights rest.
A word of warning: Do not take your rig in to the Zips parking lot. While you can get in fairly easily, getting out the back exit can be dangerous and damaging. The exit ramp from the lot is a bit steeper than normal, and if you have an overhang at the back of your rig, you will scrape. While we were eating lunch, we witnessed a Jayco Seneca Super C motorhome hauling a 15-foot trailer scrape the ramp with the trailer hitch. Not only does this risk damaging the hitch or motorhome, it left a 10-foot gouge in the asphalt ramp.
Connectivity
Simply put, bring your own. While there is wifi in or near the motel, the area where we were positioned did not enjoy any connection whatsoever. We couldn’t even see the network from where we were. We were able to get 3-4 bars of 4G service with Verizon. This should be good for a bit of email, some light web surfing, and basic social media needs.
Facilities
Again, this is a no-frills campground. The whole place is dirt and gravel, so be prepared for that. There are trees for some shade, mostly for the long-term residents, but there were fewer trees in the “lower lot” for short-term residents.
Amenities
As a guest of the campground, you have access to some of the amenities of the hotel. The pool, laundry, restrooms, and showers are all located in the same area, so if you can find the pool, you have found them all. From my quick glance as I was walking by, all appeared to be clean and orderly.
Hookups | Site Amenities | Facilities | Discount Clubs | Pets |
---|---|---|---|---|
30/20/15 amp Full Hookup Sewer Water |
Big rig accessible Pull-through Back-in |
Restrooms Showers Laundry Pet Area |
AAA Veteran AARP |
Pets Allowed |
Contact Info
1513 Smittys Blvd.
Ritzville, WA 99169
509-659-1007
877-659-1007
Rates
I can’t seem to locate the official rates on their site, as the links given redirect to the Days Inn site which does not have any information about the campground. However, we paid a total of $55.00 for a full hookup site at the edge of the campground.
For the amenities offered, and quality of the campground, I think this a bit much. But if you need an overnight stop to rest, this campground will serve the purpose.