The latest news about camping and developments in North American campgrounds and RV parks from Janet Groene and, occasionally, the staff of RVtravel.com
DISCLAIMER: Information is believed current at press time but conditions can change quickly. Check ahead online for dates, rates and rules, as well as a campground’s location. No endorsement of any campground or product is implied by this reporter nor this website.
DATELINE: November 8, 2019
ARIZONA CONCERT SERIES CALLS FOR EARLY RESERVATIONS
The Palms RV Resort Concert Series in Yuma presents Bella Donna in a Stevie Nicks and Fleetwood Mac tribute concert on January 10, 2020. The 55-plus destination resort in the City of Yuma has all the bells and whistles including hot tub, swimming pool, spa, laundry facilities and pet park. Tickets are on sale now at (855) 725-6778.
CALIFORNIA STATE PARK CANDLELIGHT TOUR
December 20 is the date. Come at 5 p.m. with a flashlight or other electric candle to see majestic redwoods in the dark. It’s said that 45 percent of the state’s remaining old-growth redwoods are found here. RV camping at this time of year is on a first-come basis. The park has 75 miles of hiking trails and 19 miles of bicycle trails. Fern Canyon was used for filming of the movie “Jurassic Park.”
GRAND CANYON RANGER TALKS END NOVEMBER 30
Free ranger programs at South Rim Village include a two-hour evening campfire program and, during the day, Geology Glimpse at the Yavapai Geology Museum and a Critter Chat that starts at the Visitor Center. Check ahead for details and weather update. Programs resume again in March 2020.
IDAHO CAMPGROUND GETS UPGRADES
New owners of the Blue Lake RV Park Resort in Naples, Idaho, are renovating the clubhouse/bar and adding more RV sites.
MICHIGAN DUNES NOW WHEELCHAIR ACCESSIBLE
Beach wheelchairs, two adult-size and one child-size, are now available from two places at
Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. The Cannery at Glen Haven has the two for adults. Pick up the child-size at the Maritime Museum. Fat tires allow these wheelchairs to navigate the beautiful sands of the shore. Usage is free.
NORTH CAROLINA PARK HAS NEW ELECTRIC SITES
New signs along the highway now invite RV travelers to a new and greatly improved campground in Jones Lake State Park near Elizabethtown. The old restroom building was demolished to make room for an all-new shower facility. Handicap parking is near the new restrooms and electricity is now offered at most back-in sites. The park, set in a coastal plain, has hiking trails rimmed with loblolly and sweet bay, two lakes, fishing for yellow perch, and rental canoes and paddleboats in season.
OHIO RV RALLY FEATURES THE BELLAMY BROTHERS
Country Fest on November 23 in Winchester, Ohio, features this dynamic duo whose smash hit songs include “Let Your Love Flow” and “I Need More of You”. The Red Barn Convention Center has 80 RV sites costing $10 with no hookups and $30 with full hookups. For RV reservations and concert tickets call (800) 823-9197, ext. 121. Seats are $40 and $45.
TEXAS OBSERVES “CHRISTMAS AT THE MISSION”
Goliad State Park and Mission Espíritu Santo State Historic Site present a Christmas program of traditional choral works on December 7. The park has 20 full-hookup RV sites plus an 18th-century Spanish-Colonial mission and presidio complex. Spanish missionaries founded the Nuestra Señora del Espíritu Santo de Zuñiga in 1722 near Matagorda Bay. The church moved the mission to its present site in 1749. It closed in 1830. The site was the first large cattle ranch in Texas, supplying needs of colonial Spanish settlements as far away as Louisiana.
Stay Tuned
• The Reforestation Camp in Suamico, Wisconsin, is slated to have a new campground by the summer of 2020. The 1500-acre clear-cut area surrounding the NEW (Northeastern Wisconsin) Zoo and Adventure Park is ready-made for the addition of a 12-acre campground that will serve RV and tent campers. The first phase will see the addition of 54 sites with power, water, restrooms and showers.
• Near Spring Bay, Illinois, along the Illinois river, a massive new RV resort will offer RV camping, glamping, hunting, fishing and watersports including scuba diving. It’s on the site of a former strip mine. Although a reader reports that ground hasn’t been broken yet, names are already being taken for early access to 2020 packages at Sankoty Lakes Resort. Click here.
• Scheduled to open in June 2020 on the Colorado River in Ehrenberg, Arizona, the new River Sands RV Resort will offer 269 RV sites with full hookups plus resort features including watersports, dining and entertainment. It’s a sister to the Verde Ranch RV Resort that is already open in Camp Verde.
Janet Groene is the author of more than 25 books including Living Aboard Your RV, 4th Edition, available at Amazon.com. Her brand-new book, “March Malice, a Yacht Yenta Mystery,” is available at Amazon.com. See Janet Groene’s weekly Solo Woman posts at SoloWomanRV.
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