We didn’t see anything in Tucson because we hated the RV park there and got out as quickly as we could. We also didn’t see much of Phoenix, but for the opposite reason: we loved the park so much that we didn’t want to leave its gentle embrace.
I don’t think we will run into another park with a deeper sense of community than Rainbow’s End in Livingston. But the Paradise RV Park in Sun City comes in a close second. Everyone we met there was friendly, engaging and just downright happy. I had to wonder if they were putting something in the water.
Like Rainbow’s End, most of the residents of Paradise are owners and most of the owners are snowbirds. We happened to be there on November 1, which is the official start of the winter season. There was a big “Welcome back to Paradise!” sign at the office and we noticed a lot of cleaning activity going on, presumably by newly arrived snowbirds. It seems like a very good place to while away the winter.
Another indication that this park caters to long-term residents: the office is closed on weekends. I have no idea how we would have checked in if we had arrived on Saturday.
Paradise is larger than Rainbow’s End – about 1,000 sites versus about 300. Because it is larger it can support more activities. It has a wonderful pool, with water aerobics classes every morning and water volleyball every afternoon. The community center also sports lawn bowling courts, shuffleboard courts, tennis courts and a pickleball court (like table tennis played while standing on a very large table; see this video). There are also two large card rooms, a very large library, a post office, a woodworking shop, a ceramics shop, a sewing room and probably several other activities rooms that I didn’t see. It also has a cafe that is open for breakfast and lunch (weekdays only) and a huge laundry. There are lawn bowling leagues, tennis leagues, shuffleboard leagues, golf outings and who knows what else – a VERY active community. There are over 30 activities available every day.
The pool where we basked on Halloween
Tennis courts
Lawn bowling
The grounds are well-maintained. The common area has a very nice pond and gazebo between the lawn bowling and the tennis courts. Very relaxing. A good place to read or write. And because it is so dry, there are very few insects.
The pond
Common grounds
The residents also take pride in their sites. Many have beautiful shrubs, trees or cacti.
Cactus
Flowering shrub
Of course there are a few who go over the top. Our neighbor had a very gaudy Halloween display, which, because this is an over-55 park, was most definitely NOT for the benefit of the trick-or-treaters.
Neighbor
Patience basking in the sun
The park also has some other long-term residents: rabbits. Not jackrabbits, but furry cottontails. The dogs loved them.
Bunny
Most of the long-term residents live in park model trailers, but a few are in motorhomes. There were a couple of interesting ones that we saw here. One looked like a stretch limo. The other was a Freightliner chassis with a motorhome body – a very odd hybrid of Class A and Class C.
“Limo” motorhome
Freightliner hybrid
We really enjoyed our three days here and wish we could stay longer. Today we drive to Williams, AZ, our base for our Grand Canyon trip. While we are looking forward to seeing the Grand Canyon, we are not very eager to move into colder temperatures. We expect Williams to be 20 degrees colder than Sun City.