Dillon, Montana and Countryside RV Park

We left Logan this morning (without The Girls) at about 8 am and started heading north with the grandkids, Cierra and Hunter, for a couple days in Glacier National Park.  Since smart RVers only drive about 60 mph (and we're smart RVers), we decided to stop half way in Dillon, Montana.  I was actually wanting to boondock right outside of town to save some money, but Scott made reservations at Countryside RV Park.  And so, here we are.

From the road

Countryside RV Park - Dillon, Montana

Countryside RV Park is located just 1/4 mile off I-15 in Dillon at 30 Sawmill Rd. There are really no trees to speak of, which is always disappointing to me.  However they do have a very large community grassy area to play horseshoes and bocce ball.  And, the park is open yearly.  They also have a fire pit.

Scott and 8 year old Hunter, the men of our party, checked us in.  It was the fastest check-in I'd ever experienced and they were back very quickly and that made me happy since I was tired of driving! 

Price is $42 but offers senior and Good Sam discount.  As a nice surprise, we did get a Military discount so that was very nice.  Here is the outside taped price list by the front of the office and a map of the park below that.

Price is $42 but offers senior and Good Sam discount.  As a nice surprise, we did get a Military discount so that was very nice.  Here is the outside taped price list by the front of the office and a map of the park below that.

We were assigned space C9, which I thought was just a tad small for our 40' trailer and an extra long RAM 3500 dually, but it worked out just barely and it was just for the night.

Very narrow and short spot.

We just barely fit our Montana in the space and the truck is behind.  The first 3 vehicles aren't ours.

We were assigned C9 - very narrow and tight - but conveniently located.

I decided to take a little walk around the facilities and get my bearings.  Since our unit was on the backside of the office near the bathrooms and showers I decided to start there.  Well, the bathrooms were a little strange to me with curtains to give you privacy.  The interesting thing about the curtains was that it wasn't one long draw curtain but two short curtains on either side of the seat.  Very odd.  The curtains were rather odorous - almost dusty smelling and if you are using the facilities the curtain hits your knees and you're forced in inhale the curtain smell.  I'll be using my RV toilet, thank you.  I also washed my hands and the water from the sink sprayed so hard that it swished up and shot out of the bowl and all over my shirt and shoes and even soaked my socks!  Again, my RV bathroom will be most welcoming from now on.  I didn't even try to turn on the showers for obvious reasons!!

Restrooms & Showers

Cool Totem Pole by the Bathrooms

Ladies Shower Area

Ladies Shower.
This was a hand-held; the other a small shower head.

Ladies Shower

Ladies Shower Sink

Toilets with Curtains.  Definitely NOT my favorite!

Bathroom Sink

Dresser in the Bathroom - Clean, but strange to me.

Next I walked to the office to see what the main facilities had to offer and was shocked by the tacky decor and the odoriferous smell!  I realized they were going for a rustic cowboy theme (which I think was totally fun), but the decor was outlandishly placed and I felt very claustrophobic in the area.  The hosts office was absolutely atrocious and so cluttered I have no idea how anyone in their right mind could work in such filth.  Scott and Hunter both commented when they checked in how it smaller strongly of urine!  Ick!  To each his own, I guess.  I think they should invest in a deep cleaner.

Office near the far wall

Very Messy Office

Decor

And more decor

More Decor - Where does Marilyn or a motorcycle rider fit into a Cowboy theme?

More office - I did love the bell

I will say that the office/media room is technically connected to the showers and restrooms via a hallway was a locked.  An open door would have made much more sense but shut it off for use for whatever reason.  The office did have some DVDs and books to check out.  That was a nice surprise.  Since I didn't know Dillon very well I was looking for some pamphlets on the area and while they had a few things they were not very organized...just a lot of the same cluttered feel of the rest of the unit.

Books, DVDs and Literature and storage area.  Bathroom connector door to the right of the Literature table.

Now, a few words about the park.  While small, I really liked the layout with a large central grassy area that had bocce ball and horseshoes.  It was a nice welcome site under the previously unfortunate circumstances with the pool, water, clutter and odor!  The park itself is quite clean and a high contrast to what you'd find inside!  Sites are average with gravel pads and crab grass / grass between pads.  Large grassy community area and large pet area that is not enclosed.

Large Grassy Area in the Center of the Park.  Office is ahead with the blue roof.

They did have laundry facilities.  While small, they were adequate for the amount of people staying at the park.  It was clean, but again, aged.

Two washers

Two dryers

Ironing board ad folding table in need of repair.

Cierra was really excited to go swimming in the pool and bugged us for an hour about it, but it was under construction as you can see.  That is very disappointing in 89 degree weather.  You'd think it would have been repaired and ready for summer travelers well before the end of July.

Very sad that there was no pool to splash in located in such a hot, dry area.

We also learned that our bedroom sliding door came off the track and it took Scott 45 minutes to remove the door and reinstall the track.  Then he noticed that the center Island trash bins were sticking out and not flush against the counter.  Upon inspection and complete removal of the area, we discovered that there were missing screws (a common occurrence with Montana's) and some of the framing wasn't even installed or connected!  What really aggravated me the most is that I asked our dealer to repair this specific problem when we waited for them to prep our coach for us as well as the sliding bedroom door.  The large TV up front in the large window still isn't working well yet and we still need to get to the bottom of that.

I'm NOT happy with the construction of our island!

Drawer alignment not even connected to the wood!

Missing screws

All torn apart

On a funny note, we took the kids into Dillon for dinner at 4B Restaurant which is actually a diner.  Cierra decided to eat 2 crackers with grape jelly in her mouth all at once and the kids had a good laugh about that.  The diner was so hot inside (I don't think they have A/C), I guess they were trying to find something to do so they didn't whine about it.  The decor looked about the same as the RV Park, so it must be a recurring theme in this area of Montana with 1980's decor and buildings.  

Starting to crack up

Full blown loss of control.  Gotta love Grandkids!!  :-)

At least they filly got down to business and ate dinner.

Also located at the RV Park was a pretty cool "Sawmill Saloon" of sorts that we walked over to and checked it out.  While pearing through the windows we say there were two beds in one room and music gear in another.  I assume a kitchen was also in there.  Must be a guest house for musicians who come to the RV park.  I would say this is a coolest part of the park!

The Sawmill Saloon

Kids checking out the Saloon

My overall rating for the RV Park was a 3/10.

Places of Interest in the Dillon, MT area:

• Virginia City, MT - Historic Tour Company gives tours in an old 1941 fire truck around the area daily from 10 am to 6 pm.  Adults $9, Kids 12 and under $5.  406-600-2598.
• Alder Gulch Railroad - Adults Round Trip $10, Kids/Senior 55+ is $8; Adult One way $8, Youth/Senior $6.  Groups of 6+ $8 each.  Children 4 and under are free.
• Alder Gulch Summit Tours - 90 minute + ride through the heart of Montana's gold country.  June-August every day.  406-546-9787.
• Nevada City Museum - Adults $8, Youth/Senior 55+ $6.  Children under 4 are free.
• River of Gold Gold Panning Experience $8 per person.
• Ghost Tours 9 pm daily except for Monday from mid-June to mid-August. 406-843-5700.
• Nevada  City Living History Museum opens May 27- Sept 4th - 7 days per week from 10 am to 6 pm.