Amherst, Nova Scotia Campground Review

 

This is an RV park review based on our two stays at Loch Lomond RV Park during our month-long visit to Nova Scotia. On the way in, we stayed for a one night layover on our way to the Antigonish area and a visit to the Highland Games. We were assigned to a great little grassy pull-through site with a concrete patio, next to a super friendly couple from Ontario.

On the way back to the U.S., we spent five nights here. We wanted to make a day trip to explore Joggins Fossil Cliffs over on the coast, spend a day on Prince Edward Island visiting some friends, and enjoy a little do-nothing time. We also ended up driving out to the Springhill Miners Museum where their tour includes not only above-ground museum exhibits, but also a trip underground through parts of the old coal mine itself. Neat!

Loch Lomond is a pretty RV park, located on a sizable lake, and we enjoyed our time here. It was somewhat windy, though, and we opted to keep our patio awning rolled up. As we visited other RV parks in Nova Scotia, we discovered that windy conditions weren’t unusual, and we hardly deployed the awning at all during our month-long stay in this beautiful province. We noticed that many, but not all, other RVers exhibited the same caution.

A little background about our awning caution: one time, in a Virginia RV park, we were visiting folks in a neighboring site when we heard a “funny” noise from our site. We looked up in time to see our awning taking off like a big bird and come crashing back down! Apparently, a rogue wind gust singled out our rig for some reason – no other RVs in sites around ours were affected. Fortunately the awning fabric wasn’t ripped. The only damage was a slightly bent support arm, since replaced. After that experience, we’ve been pretty careful about deploying the awning in windy conditions, even though we have awning “de-flappers” and tie-downs to use if we wish. Ours is a nearly 20 foot awning and that’s a lot of sail area!

Where is it? —

Loch Lomond RV Park
1 Loch Lomond Lane, Amherst, Nova Scotia
1-877-809-1137
www.lochlomondrvpark.com

Getting There —

Heading South on Route 104 from New Brunswick, take Exit 4 at Amherst onto Route 2. Take the next right onto Blair Lake Rd. Take the first left and Loch Lomond Park is the driveway on the left. It’s very easy to find and to get to.

Coming the other way, headed North on Route 104 toward New Brunswick, take Exit 4 at Amherst, take a left at the bottom of the ramp onto Route 2. Go about half a kilometer to Blair Lake Rd. Take the first left and Loch Lomond Park is the driveway on the left

The Sites —

I think we liked the first site we were in (C4 – for one night) best. There was plenty of room for our truck. As you can see from the picture, there was a nice shade tree nearby. The second site (C11) seemed a bit more cramped. This was probably because that entire section was pretty full and there are three rows of sites in an area where, in my opinion, two rows would be better.

That said, we found both of the sites to be very level and easy to set up on. They were grassy and well kept with a small cement patio for the picnic table.

The sites came with 30/50 amp. shore power, decent water pressure, sewer, cable TV and WiFi. As in many campgrounds, I found the WiFi to be pretty slow.

Nearby Attractions —

• Very close to food stores, department stores such as Canadian Tire and Walmart, gas/diesel stations, restaurants, and more
• Museums, a Migratory Bird Sanctuary, and other cultural attractions
• Golf courses within two or three miles
• A spot for Tidal Bore viewing
• Within about 20 miles of Amherst, you can visit the Anne Murray Centre (for Anne Murray music fans), walk through a real coal mine at the Springhill Miners’ Museum, explore the famous Joggins Fossil Cliffs, a World Heritage Site, and more…

Amenities —

Loch Lomond RV Park has all of the amenities we’ve come to expect in nicer parks:

• A sizable rec. room with a handy lunch counter
• A nice pool
• A lake for boating and fishing
• Clean, neat rest rooms and laundry facilities
• A nice playground for the kids
• Plenty of convenient trash trash receptacles throughout the park – more than in most parks
• Like several parks we stayed in during our trip, the camp store was almost non-existant

Rates —

$34.50/night – includes taxes

 The People —

The two or three times we stopped into the park office, other than checking in, the folks were very pleasant, but businesslike. We really had not much occasion to stop and casually chat with them, but I’m sure they would have been very helpful.

Oddly, during check in for our second visit – the five night stay – when I went to pay for the five nights, the young man behind the counter suggested that I pay for only two nights to start with. From what he said, I inferred that they’ve had some experience with folks paying for several nights and then deciding to shorten their stay. From what the fellow said, I guess the refund or charge-back process is a pain and he, at least, wanted to avoid it.

What We Liked Most —

• Clean, grassy, level sites
• Clean, well cared for bathroom and laundry facilities
• The park and the sites were easy to get in and out of via good, paved interior roads
• Good entry security
• Loch Lomond RV Park just “felt” like a nice place to be!

What We Liked Least —

•  Given the size of the park, they really need another bathhouse and, possibly, another laundry facility.
• There’s not much of a camp store.
• They could stand more screening between sites.
• On our 2nd stay, we found the “C” section too crowded with three rows of sites where two would be a better fit.

Conclusions —

Next time we’re in the Amherst, Nova Scotia area, we’ll definitely stay again at Loch Lomond RV Park. It’s not only a very nice park, but the prices are reasonable and it’s a super convenient location whether you’re on your way into or out of Nova Scotia. It’s also a pretty convenient jumping off point for a trip to Prince Edward Island.

We gave the park four out of five stars and will happily recommend it to any of our Rving friends.