The Islander, Lake Havasu City, AZ

1 02 2026

Good Morning from the shores of Lake Havasu and The Islander Resort. Of the 3 parks located “on the island”, the Islander is our favorite.  Sites are nicely spaced pull throughs, a few with lake views and all with full hookups. Exploring via bike (or e-bike in our case) is easy, with the island loop hike/bike path making a complete loop around the island in 3.5 miles.  This path allows you to cross London Bridge to join the Lake Havasu City trail.  Extending about 4 miles both north and south of the bridge, this paved trail follows highway 95 and provides some challenging hills and great views of the lake.

The Islander, Lake Havasu City

We also enjoy the many restaurants in Havasu, – this year returning to favorites of the Boathouse Grill (adjacent to the resort) and Pirates Den in Parker.  Our new “find” this year was Cha Bones, a wonderful steakhouse and tapas restaurant in Havasu. The service was great, the meals excellent – we need to return next time for their happy hour of half priced tapas!

Cha Bones, Lake Havasu City

On Saturday we enjoyed wandering through the Winterfest market with over 200 craft booths set-up along McCulloch Boulevard.  We’re headed to Nevada next, more from the shores of Lake Mead!


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Categories : Spring Road Trip 2026

Lake Havasu City, AZ

3 03 2024

We’re back to one of our favorite places in Arizona, along the Colorado River near Lake Havasu.  We’re parked at River Island State Park, about 2 miles south of Parker Dam.  This section of the river is impounded by the Headgate Rock Dam, just north of Parker which creates Moovalya Lake. It’s not as deep as Lake Havasu, but there’s plenty of bass boats and jets skis that put in right at the campground boat ramp.

River Island State Park, Parker, AZ

River Island State Park

River Island State Park, Parker, AZ

River Island State Park, Site #20

We’re parked in site #20, a long pull-through with water and electric.  None of the sites have dump ports, but there’s a convenient and free station in the park. There are a total of 29 sites, 1-4 back up to a tall rock wall, #4 would be furthest from traffic noise on highway 95.  Sites 24-29 are also back-in sites that back up to the boat ramp and parking, but most of the host sites are along this row.  We visited this park last year, but this was our first time staying here.  All of the Arizona park along this stretch of the river offer beautiful views of the surrounding mountains and river, but we think River Island suffers from a bit more road noise than Cattail Cove where we stayed last year.

River Island State Park, Site #4

One of the “excursions” with the Montana Owners group from Quartzsite that we missed was a trip to the Blue Water Grill at the Blue Water Casino in Parker, AZ.  On Thursday we decided to check it out – the casino is nice, but the dining wasn’t optimal.  We also visited the Black Pearl Restaurant at Pirates Den which we think is much better – waterside outdoor dining, great service and tasty food and drinks!

Pirates Den, Parker, AZ

From River Island we moved to one of our favorite parks, The Islander in Lake Havasu city.  This is one of 3 RV parks on the island, after you pass over London Bridge, and we think the best of the 3.  All sites are full-hookup,  graveled with a concrete patio.  All “transient” sites are pull-through along a central row in the park while most others are back-in.  All outer rows are park models, but this separation insures you are never parked between park models which we dislike in other parks.

Islander Resort, Lake Havasu

Islander Resort, Premium Coach Sites

Havasu continues to impress us with excellent restaurant choices – again this year we enjoyed great times at the Boathouse Grill with it’s convenient location right outside the RV park.  We also returned to College Street Brewery, the off-grid Bunker Bar and La Vita Dolce Italian Bistro.  And, of course ordered pizza from Rosati’s Pizza – the best pizza on the island!

The Bunker Bar, Lake Havasu City, AZ

From Lake Havasu we’re bound for the eastern side of Phoenix in Apache Junction.  More from AJ…


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Categories : Spring Road Trip 2024

Cattail Cove State Park, Lake Havasu, Arizona

25 01 2023

Cattail Cove Campground Map

We’re parked in pull-through site #46 at Cattail Cove State Park.  Our site offers 30A electric and water.  A dump station is located along the main entrance road.  Cattail is about 25 miles north of Parker and about 15 miles south of Lake Havasu City, along the southern end of Lake Havasu.  This park of 62 RV camp sites also includes a beautiful beach area, cactus garden, a boat launch and a some boat-in campsites. Verizon speeds run along at 27MB down and 14 MB up.  This signal must come from  cell towers across the river in California because our phones are showing Pacific time.  Our antenna found no OTA TV signals.

Cattail Cove State Park, site #46

All sites along the main entrance road are pull-throughs, the majority of the other site are back-in.  The best sites on this upper loop are the even number pull-throughs 36-50.  53 is a nice private corner site, however apparently reserved for traveling park rangers or contractors.  For beach views and access, sites 1-5 are perfect, with #5 probably being the longest and best.  On the lower loop, even numbered sites 6-20 are excellent since there are no sites directly behind.

Cattail Cove State Park, site #53

Cattail Cove State Park, site #1

Cattail Cove State Park, site #4

Cattail Cove State Park, site #5

Cattail Cove State Park, site #6

Cattail Cove State Park, site #20

During our stay we also visited River Island State Park, about 12 miles south of Cattail Cove and Buckskin Mountain State Park, another 2 miles south.  Both of these parks are beautiful parks, along the river (versus Lake Havasu).  However, we think Cattail Cove is the most private, quiet and scenic.  While exploring these parks, we crossed the river at the city of Parker and drove through some of the RV resorts on the California side.  All of these resorts seem old and rundown.  We crossed back over into Arizona via the massive Parker Dam which impounds the nearly 45 mile long Lake Havasu.

River Island State Park

Buckskin Mountain State Park

Parker Dam, Lake Havasu, Arizona

From Cattail Cove we’re headed to The Islander Resort in Lake Havasu City.  More from there…


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Categories : Spring Road Trip 2023

The Islander RV Resort, Lake Havasu City

25 01 2022

Greetings from the home of London Bridge and beautiful beaches of Lake Havasu City, Arizona.

London Bridge, Lake Havasu City, AZ

We’re parked in site #160 alongside friends in site #161.  These are basic pull-through gravel sites with water, 30/50A power and a sewer port. These 50’x36’ sites offer plenty of room for the patio slab and picnic table on the door side.  Coaches have a bit of an advantage in these sites, with great views across Lake Havasu to the Chemehuevi Mountain Range in southeastern California.  These pull-through sites start at $63/night.  Premium lake view sites start from $74/night and the ultimate, Lake View Motor Home sites start at $118/night.

Islander Resort, Lake Havasu City, Lake View Motor Home Sites

The Islander claims “unsurpassed amenities”, and they do offer a lot, especially if you are a boater including landing beaches for small boats and pontoons, a private boat ramp, private dock and a fish cleaning station.  They also have a beautiful pool/hot tub, pickleball courts, cornhole boards, bocce ball, shuffleboard, a small putting green, an extensive library, and two laundry facilities.

Islander Resort, Lake Havasu City, Boat Ramp

Islander Resort, Lake Havasu City, Pool

Much to our disappointment, the resort offers no WiFi service.  While they claim to have a 2-hour “free” Public WiFi, I could find no where in the park that provided access to this network.  However, both T-Mobile and Version hot spots worked well from our site.  And, the nearby Boathouse Grill is a winner for snacks, cocktails or beers and full dinner selections.

There are two other RV parks “on the island”, Sam’s Beachcomber, and Crazy Horse Campground.  Both of these parks are older, less modern, and most sites are on sand versus the Islanders gravel with cement pads.  We weren’t convinced either of these other parks are a better value, and have already reserved time at The Islander for 2023!

Crazy Horse Campground, Lake Havasu City, AZ

Crazy Horse Campground, Lake Havasu City, AZ

Sam’s Beachcomber, Lake Havasu City, AZ

Sam’s Beachcomber, Lake Havasu City, AZ

On Friday afternoon, we explored the Bunker Bar, an off-road, solar powered bar, grill, game & music venue just north of Lake Havasu City.  With a chilly breeze, the crowd was light, but the food and entertainment was enjoyable.

The Bunker Bar, Lake Havasu City, AZ

The Bunker Bar, Lake Havasu City, AZ


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Categories : Spring Road Trip 2022