By Nanci Dixon
I had to chuckle one night as we settled into bed. I heard the melancholy whistle of a train passing by and instantly knew we were at an RV park. I was chuckling because I have the ability to turn my hearing aids off; however, my husband is not so lucky. He can still hear the plaintive call of a train going by all night long.
I have noticed that as we RV across America a disproportional number of RV parks seem to be on top of neighboring train tracks. When I searched online for “campgrounds and train noise” hundreds of pages of comments and reviews came up about train noise! One commenter in an online RV forum said, “It’s just a natural attraction our RV parks have to have railroads.”
One set of train tracks was so close to our RV at one park, that as the trains went by, the entire motorhome shook! I should have known when we pulled in there would be a train nearby … they gave us earplugs at check-in.
I understand that building an RV park is expensive, and buying a less-than-desirable piece of property will cut costs, but I also understand that a lot of RVers would prefer to be a short distance from the highway if only bedding down for a night. And with highways come cars, trucks and trains. Yup, cheap and proximity seem to go hand-in-hand.
We recently stopped for seven nights on our way from the Midwest to the Southwest. Six, yes SIX, of those nights we could hear trains. Six nights in bed I chuckled as my husband groaned.
Sure, I could use Google Earth and check the park location for tracks and highways. Sure, I could read reviews more thoroughly. But, personally, I think the sound is hauntingly beautiful. It echos of bygone days – of a time we think of as simpler, kinder. It probably wasn’t any simpler or any kinder, but nostalgia kicks in and I like to think so. Besides, I can chuckle, take out my hearing aids and not hear a thing.
##RVT972
Being near train tracks comes with a lot of variables. We too had a week long experience of being parked about 100 feet from a busy (how would we know?) track where the multiple trains each night blew the whistle right at our location! It was a LONG week. But I’ve been to other campgrounds where a nice line of mature pine trees made a great noise buffer and the sound was nicely muffled. I don’t mind the train sounds as long as the whistle isn’t next to my head. : )
Grant river rec area in WI by any chance?
My grandmother’s house was about a mile from the train tracks in a very busy coal mining town. The clack-clack and the rumbling noises put me right back to my childhood and right to sleep.
Was at a rally once, right next to the train tracks, never heard a thing.
Most cases, the land is cheap….train noise doesn’t bother us…like having a chiming grandfather clock…after a few nights you don’t hear it…..
We find parks are frequently next to the following. We don’t mind if it’s an overnight stop but longer stays are not so pleasant.
Railroad tracks
Rock quarries
Interstates, busy state highways and truckstops
we stayed at a campground in Virginia Beach for a week several years ago – guess the Navy was doing night landing on a carrier or the base but the noise of the passing trains is nothing compared to the sounds of overhead/nearby air craft landing and taking off -seems like it went on all night. Anyways we give thanks to the men and women of the armed forces for their service.
We love jet noise! The two big commercial campgrounds in Virginia Beach are under the landing pattern for Naval Air Station Oceana. The pilots need a lot of practice to be able to land safely and quickly on an aircraft carrier, so they each do it on the airfield a couple of dozen times in daylight, and then a couple of dozen times at night, and then fly out to the carrier to practice at sea, returning to land at the airfield afterwards.
Each aircraft carrier holds about 90 airplanes, and routinely deploys every six months, so if you do the math that’s a lot of nights of a lot of high performance airplanes flying around.
Clayton, NM, a nice little town, they have a nice little former koa campground on the quiet side of town. However, after midnight, the high speed coal trains start running to Texas. The horns are ok, but the heavy rumbling on the tracks a half a mile away….
My wife and I are deaf so noise won’t bother us but possibly ground shaken may bother us. So it is most likely.
We’ve stayed in a park in WY that bus right up to the tracks. Chain link fence, no bushes to screen or muffle. Ten feet or less between us & trains. But we had access to hot mineral pools at the end of the campground. Not a really busy RR tracks, so we could live with it. Now, we live near tracks in northern MT & hear the whistle when air conditions are right, mostly during the dark hours.
Many of the truckstops are also next to railroad tracks. The building is out near the road, and the truck parking is backed up to the tracks. I can sympathize with the RV’ers, because we spent 2 nights camped about 100 feet from the tracks.
Don’t mind normal train noise unless it’s crazy close by. But, there are a few towns where the engineers lean on the horns extra loud and extra long, and those towns are a definite no-go zone.
And since we’re revisiting this thread: San Antonio, NM; and Claremore OK. Do not ever rest your head in either of these 2 places.
Harvest Host property Echo Ridge Cellars. They warn you when you arrive. But after a day of driving and a multitude of tastings “the product”, only heard that train a few times that I remember. It is within 150′ of their property and quite an active R/R route. But enjoyable stay.
The wheel rumble doesn’t bother me, but the horns do. Those things will wake me from the deadest of sleeps. I’m in a CA park on the Salton Sea in between two grade crossings so no horn.
Love this issue, we have been impacted twice. On our first cross country trip (CA to LA to help Katrina recovery) by the time we got to Nebraska my wife had had it, every stop before then had been near a freeway. When I went to register, some town in the middle of nowhere, I asked about freeway noise and was told the campground was a mile in either direction from the freeways. Not being smart enough to ask it turns out the RR ran adjacent to the one of the highway’s and blasted its horn due to an intersection a mile away it seemed like every 20 minutes all night. Years later we pulled into a Walmart in Barstow CA. Almost immediately a security guy pulled up and said we couldn’t camp there but directed us to a parking lot in a closed mall a short distance away. We got set up in the dark and went to bed. Shortly thereafter the RV started to move a little bit and the sound of a train got very loud. On the other side of the street was the main track into Barstow!
We’ve stayed at a couple, but not intentionally. If I had known previously, I seriously doubt if I would have made a reservation there unless nothing else was available.
Haven’t been bothered by trains. That noise can be rather soothing. We did spend a night in a hotel once in Memphis. We were flying out the next morning and had to be early to the airport to turn in a rental and fly out at 730 AM so we stayed close. If you want to be awake all night try 747 FEDEX flight one right after another coming in til midnight and then taking off after about 2AM. We watched flight coming in for a while of the balcony sometimes stacked up 10 deep in pattern. Beautiful scene but loud and all night long.
I find that the rumble of a train helps me sleep
Being a retired Air Traffic Controller and growing up on the main line of the B&O railroad, I love the sounds of the trains. I am used to noise and can sleep right through. I live now about a mile from Homestead speedway and even the cars don’t bother me. I have always lived close to airports and I can adapt to just about anything. Happy camping.
In my younger years, I lived with my grandparents in their home above a Great Northern RR depot in Montana. I have loved trains ever since . . . but not that close any more. When camping today, there’s nothing more enjoyable than listening to a passing train a mile or two away. That’s close enough for me.
Been many years ago, was traveling south back home to California. Was in Washington, needed a site for the night. We finally found a park in Kalama, Washington. When we checked in, the clerk told us that the boats going up and down the river tended to be noisy, blowing their horns, etc. What she didn’t tell us, was the trains that went through every 15 minutes until ten at night. Then it was every half hour until midnight. After midnight it was every hour. The track was less than a half mile away from the park. Even though I love to hear a train horn at night, that night I slept very little. Sure was glad to get out of there in the morning.
A friend was traveling and the navigator got them misdirected. In frustration the driver said “just find the railroad tracks, the park won’t be far away”. They found the signs, the tracks and of course the RV park was right there!
If you’ve ever traveled US highway 2 across the northern tier of states, you know it parallels the Great Northern RR so every campground has train noise. We’ve gone between WI & WA in the RV west once & east twice and add to that one round trip on the Empire Builder itself. The noise never bothers me. While sleeping on the train, I’d only wake up when we stopped on a siding to let a freight go by. I recommend the route – wide open spaces, beautiful scenery and light traffic.
Trains were there first. Then roads followed along the train tracks, since it was the best route, already scouted out. Along roads, cities sprang up, and so did campgrounds. That’s the answer to “why”.
If you follow the famous Lincoln Highway, you’re near the railroad most of the way, especially in Nebraska and west.
Route 66 is another famous highway that also runs along railroads for most of it’s eight state run. Many of the old US Route highways do.
Probably one of the few who loves the sound of trains. Mike is deaf so can’t hear them. Can’t hear any where we are now.
Mostly we’re not bothered by the trains, but there was one in the Canadian Rockies that was so close that our coach was vibrating. For five hours as first one, then another, then another train shuttled back and forth.
We left after the first night.
We love the sounds of the trains. Occasionally you get one that’s a bit much. Husband is a vintage car racer so alway carries ear plugs. I don’t use them though.
I grew up in a railroad family and we lived in Newton, KS, the railroad hub of the United States. My first memory of trains was the steam engines that my grandfather engineered and my father shoveled the coal. Before COVID I rode the train 1.5 hours each way from my home to work and back 5 days per week.
My dad worked for the RR my entire youth. We listened for the train whistle every night so he would know when it arrived in town. I’ve stayed at several parks near tracks and it isn’t much different than being near a busy highway. I heard Benson AZ had the most trains going through it of anyplace in the US. Spent a week there at Butterfield RV park and Observatory and barely heard them.
A distant train whistle is a soothing thing to me. When we’re too close to tracks that have more frequent trains coming through, turning up the sound machine handles it. Same if we’re close to a busy highway. No need to give up an otherwise great campground if there’s an easy solution to a noise issue.
Stayed at the Elkhart County Fairgrounds in Goshen, IN… noisiest trains we’ve ever been around. Trains run constantly and the tracks are literally a stones throw from the RV park. There is also a railroad crossing nearby so there are train whistles 24/7. We normally accept train noise as part of the RV life… but this was extreme
We’ve rarely had such an experience. When we went to the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics, we stayed at Fort Camping in Langley, BC, and the tracks were about half a kilometer away. Our daughter actually commented how she liked the sound of the trains, and it reminded me of visiting my grandmothers house in Arkansas as a child, and hearing the trains rolling through town in the wee hours.
The Swinomish Northern Lights Casino RV Park near Anacortes, WA, lays adjacent to a rail spur. Campsites are 100 feet away from the tracks that feed the port (a hub for shipments to the San Juans and Vancouver Island) as well as the nearby oil refinery. I’ve been awakened a few times to our 35ft Class A vibrating as the train rolls down the tracks, but they have never blown the horns. In my experience, I’d rather have a few trains than the constant roar of the freeway (I’m looking at you Lake Easton State Park….) 24/7/365.
I grew up and raised my family within a mile of former NYCentral Mainline. Plenty of grade crossings further out. It is the sound of home. Attended FMCA Convention in Minot ND 2004 I think. There was a mainline that was adjacent to fairgrounds and there were 5 grade level crossings close by. Sleeping was not the only problem, speakers started to pause their presentations when they heard the first whistle. In our tent camping days I remember setting up less than 100 feet from a siding. When the headlamp illuminated the tent I was already awake when the horn sounded for the grade crossing 200 feet away. After our first RV rental we concluded that every campground was located on a road, a railroad, or a river and likely 2 out of 3.
I do not mind the trains we frequently camp along the Mississippi in WI. But the horn blowing is out of control. Some of them hit the horn 5 or six times at a crossing and with the way cars are so well insulated these days I am not sure it is doing anyone any good.
Hum? Grant River maybe? Never again.
Land adjacent to / near RR tracks is frequently cheaper hence, many campgrounds locations are built in closer proximity to RRs than many RVers would like. For RVers who are REALLY bothered by trains, GoogleEarth is a godsend,
A few years ago, on a cross country trip, after having spent many nights in rv parks near RR tracks, I mentioned to our traveling companions that “there was something wrong here”. My friend asked “What do you mean? What’s wrong?” I responded that there was nothing wrong with the park but that we hadn’t heard a train all day? It was strange being somewhere without hearing a train’s whistle or the roar of the engines! LOL !
Many highways are built alongside the rail lines & RV parks are generally located close to the highways so the sounds of passing trains are just part of RV’ing in many locations. When a loud one comes by I often open the door allowing it to get back out of our motorhome.
At Pitchford’s by the Sea RV Park in Jensen Beach FL the Florida East Coast RR runs through the middle of the park with a grade crossing to get from one side of the park to the other. And that RR has a lot of traffic all day and all night.
One Oregon park we enjoy visiting for the Hood River Harvest Festival is Memaloose. It is located in the Columbia River Gorge Scenic Area sandwiched between I 84 and the Columbia River. There are RR on both sides of the river. We choose to stay near the river, further from the freeway. The sounds of the trains don’t bother us nearly as much as freeway noise. Happily, there are no crossings near the park, so whistles sound pleasantly distant. We enjoy them.
We lived in a community with two sets of train tracks. I lived near one of them almost the entire time I lived there. We were used to it. I do keep ear plugs in our rig in case I think I need them…. people talking bothers me more than trains. Lol!! My husband wears hearing aids so they never bother him.
We have taken our RV to the manufacturer for service and warranty work three times, staying at least a week each time in their “campground.” Their “campground” is a parking lot next to a train track, which is used at least daily.
Interstate highways and gravel pits should be added to train tracks. If seems that one or more are usually close by to many campgrounds.
A good friend and I have a running joke that campgrounds should be situated near RR tracks. Last year I think 1/2 of our campgrounds were near RR tracks.
i think an option for your poll should have been I’ll only stay if no other options. That would be me. Also “near the train tracks” is a very open description. We have stayed at parks where the tracks were directly behind us (that was kind of fun) and we heard the rumble of the engines and clanging of cars together but no actual trains moving through all night long. However, Still not a good nights sleep. Generally it’s a hard no for me. I am too light of a sleeper and I am that person who looks on google maps to see if tracks are nearby. I’ve learned the hard way. if You love the desert you will likely be camped by the tracks.
We stayed at one (in a crisis situation; couldn’t get a reservation anywhere else) that was not only next to the rail way but also had a gated crossing complete with blinking lights and clanging bell — and 14 trains that went by in 9 hours.
I never thought about this.
we have two RV parks adjacent to RR tracks!
I have property in the Pocono’s thats 1/2 mile away from train tracks. A train comes by maybe 2 to 4 times per day. I like hearing trains, but wouldn’t want to camp by one that runs at night. My home in Scranton, Pa I can hear trains running about a mile away and I don’t mind since it’s only a once in a while during the day. What did drive me nuts was Steamtown National Park had a old steam engine that had a terrible sounding whistle they blew thru out the day on weekends. It was a few miles away.
I keep foam earplugs in the motorhome. I’m a light sleeper, so train or no trains, I put them in. Some nights I have been awakened thinking a train was nearby just to find it was the DW! 🙂
Zoning might be another reason campgrounds may be near RR tracks. An owner can’t just buy any piece of ground and put in an RV park.
I stayed in an rv park near Springfield, MO many years ago. I commented on the frequent trains passing by. The older man that owned the park asked me what “RV” stood for? I said I didn’t know. He replied railroad view.
Sad article. Three times Nanci commented on ‘chuckling’ at her husband’s sad state. Maybe Mr. Dixon could take over campground selection and get a good night’s sleep. Of course Mrs. Dixon would have to be willing to forgo her nightly entertainment.
Lighten up Francis…….
I only find the horn blowing to be bothersome. I also feel like it is pointless, with how quiet the interiors of modern cars are, some with active noise canceling, you can barely hear the horns anyway.
We love trains. We stay at an RV park in Bowie, AZ every trip to and from Houston. It’s RIGHT NEXT to the RR tracks and the price reflects it. It’s a nice stay, with a LOT of trains running by. Doesn’t bother us a bit. In fact, we head outside to watch them go by in case there is some interesting stuff on a flatcar.
I’m reminded of the song by Vaughn Monroe called “In The Middle Of The House” from around 1956. It’s on YouTube.
In my experience most RV parks in urban areas have railway noise issues. Part of it is economics and part is zoning. It is tough to get permits and when they are granted, the properties are less desirable. So if you want to be close to a city or town, be ready for railway noise.
I grew up in a house only about a block from railroad tracks! It would shake my bed and rock me to sleep! It doesn’t bother me at all. In fact, I love it. My mom always said the noise was soothing and kind of mournful. To each their own.
FWIW-RV Parks get the worse locations, WHY? Simple, the big wigs control the government in every place, they want all the nice housing at the best locations, near train tracks, near highways, lowland-floodplains, they are not going to build there, we RV’ers get what is undesirable for our parks. Either get used to it or quit. Thousand Trails, many, many moons ago, purchased land in places nice, Lake of the Springs is one of the best parks in their system. Chehalis another one, many of them are in nice locations, but as humans become like lemmings, they are building stuff near those parks, and the once nice ones are being overrun by humans. Until that stops, going to get worse.
It only makes sense to build permanent dwellings in quiet no-flood areas. I’m more concerned about run-down parks with questionable long-term residents. I can live with train noise for tonight.
Many years ago we were traveling and stopped to tent camp one night along the way in a city in Oregon. We got in fairly late and set up our tent and went to sleep. A few hours later we thought we were having and earthquake! The tent was shaking and there was a terrific noise. Turns our there was nothing between us and the railroad tracks but a hedge. We still chuckle when we tell that story.
RV stands for Railroad View
For me, it depends on how close they are. 1/4 mile away wouldn’t be an issue but within a few hundred feet is.
I thought RV parks were supposed to be near train tracks, a busy highway, an Airport or a feed lot. Four stars if you are near all of them. I have also camped below towering Oaks and Pine trees, where squirrels dropped stuff all night long. The beautiful lake in Louisiana with one hundred flying insects per square foot of air, or the guy with a diesel generator on a trailer for his motorhome.
I was in Barstow Ca & was staying at a RV repair place where they let me stay over night! OMG, all night long all you could hear was the screeching of train brakes, seems Barstow is a HUGE train hub & this noise is constant 24 hours a day! Strange part about it is that before that I’ve been in Barstow many times on Jeep runs & never heard it then, but I suppose just stopping for gas & snacks you dont get a chance to enjoy the amenities! Ha Ha. LOL
Snoopy
Grew up in a railroad town. Still live in one. One night, in a FS campground, sitting by the fire, heard a racket across the river! Had no idea a short line was over there, and enjoyed watching a smaller locomotive pull a few cars up this grade!!!
My husband and I both love the sound of trains and consider it a plus in the reviews! Our theory is trains sounds calm our hobo spirit!
The 4-H Elkhart County Fairgrounds, the home of several brand rallies is next to one of the busiest set of tracks that I have ever seen. The locals said there have been as many as 100 trains a day.
Train noise is OK. As long as there is not the horn in use.