The latest news about camping and developments in North American campgrounds and RV parks from Janet Groene and 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: August 16, 2019
BROWN COUNTY, INDIANA, HOSTS BLUES FEST
Harmonicas! Washboards! The Bill Monroe Music Park and Campground offers on-site RV camping and the best in blues August 22-24 at the annual Bean Blossom Blues Festival. Enjoy jam sessions, a talent contest, performances, food and such blues greats as Noah Wotherspoon, Tony Holiday and The Reverend Peyton’s Big Damn Band. Single day and weekend passes are sold online and at the gate Youth tickets for ages 10-15 are discounted.
FLORIDA OCEANSIDE CAMPING AND CONCERT
Be at Sebastian Inlet State Park on September 14 for the popular Night Sounds concert. The local group Vintage has been appearing in the area for ten years or more. The concert is free with park admission. This family-friendly concert plays early, 7 to 9 p.m. The campground is on the water and is always heavily booked. Reserve early through Reserve America.
FLORIDA RV SHOW IN SCENIC RIVER CITY
The annual Jacksonville Fall RV Show will be held October 10-13 at the Clay County Agricultural Fairgrounds in Green Cove Springs. Admission is $5, with children under 12 admitted free. Senior, military and first responders get a $2 discount on Thursday. Parking is free. On-site camping is not available to visitors during the show, so check out nearby RV campgrounds. While you’re in the area don’t miss the quaint downtown area and the watersports, fishing, bird watching and other scenic wonders of the St. Johns River.
INDIANA FESTIVAL GOES BACK TO THE ‘50s
Wear your white buck shoes and be prepared to dance to the oldies, groove to crooners, eat great Indiana fixings and hang out with all the family fun and activities of a hometown festival at the Boone County 4-H Fairgrounds in Lebanon. RV sites with electric or with electric plus water are $25 nightly on a first-come basis. Use of the dump station is $5. It’s just off I-65 in central Indiana, and a Flying J Center is just north of the fairgrounds at the next exit.
BOGALUSA (LOUISIANA) BLUES AND HERITAGE FESTIVAL
Reserve your RV spot early for a choice of 30- or 50-amp power while you hear authentic blues and heritage music. Day tickets to the two-day festival are discounted online. Dates are September 27-28. Restrooms and showers are on site for campers, and RV ticketing includes two general admission tickets.
NEW MEXICO BALLOON REGATTA
Dates are September 13-15 for this year’s Elephant Butte Lake State Park’s annual Balloon Regatta. Fish, boat and swim in the lake, hike the trails, take a tethered hot hair balloon ride and join all the festivities that go with this camera-ready event. The park has a number of RV areas reserved through Reserve America and always has some first-come RV sites set aside too.
NEVADA CAMPGROUND NOW WIRED
Kershaw-Ryan State Park now has 50-amp service at its 16 year-round campsites. The campground also has a restroom, coin-operated showers and a dump station. Each site has a shade ramada, picnic table, fire ring and grill.
NEW WATER PARK OPENS AT NC JELLYSTONE
Yogi Bear’s Jellystone Park Camp-Resort in Asheboro, North Carolina, has a new, 80,000-gallon swimming pool and 30-foot-long water slide. The campground has expanded to 40 campsites, all with 50-amp service.
TEXAS HAS BISONFEST
This September 28 festival is held in Caprock Canyons State Park, Quitaque, home of bisons that are direct descendants of a herd started here in 1878. Proceeds from the Texas State Bison Music Festival, also known as BisonFest, go toward the restoration of the Official Bison Herd of the State of Texas. Against all odds, one herd of genetic-related Southern bison has survived for decades. They were donated to the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department and moved here in 1997. Come for the Texas Red Dirt country music, food and camping in RV sites with water and 50-amp electric for $22 a day plus park entrance fee.
UTAH GETS POSH NEW RV RESORT
The Southern Utah RV Resort at Saint George is handy to I-15 for transient travelers and surrounded by scenery and national parks for RVers who plan to stay and explore the area. Still putting the polish on final details, the resort offers 80 full-hookup campsites plus 23 luxury, pull-through sites 33 feet wide minimum and 60 to 90 feet long. Facilities include fire pits, putting greens, picnic tables, pavilion, playground, corn hole, pickle ball, basketball, restroom, showers, laundry and an off-leash dog park.
Stay tuned
• Taxes and fees are going up in Tuolumne County, California, where campground fees are expected to be among the price hikes. Now $500,000 in the hole, the county needs another $7.5 million in the coming year.
• The new campground at Grindstone Reservoir in Ruidoso, New Mexico, is 90% complete according to park officials, who did not name an opening date for the five RV sites. The park will have restrooms, showers and drinking water, but no campfires will be allowed.
• The dump station in the Lions Beach camping area at Elephant Butte Lake State Park in New Mexico is closed until further notice. The dump station at the Desert Cove camping area is open.
ADDITIONS FROM RVTRAVEL.COM STAFF
The Lolo National Forest is asking for public input on a proposal to increase user fees for its campgrounds and day-use areas. The fees for 23 campgrounds would increase by $5 to $10 a night. Some of the most popular would be the most expensive, increasing from $10 to $20 a night. Some that have been free would cost $10 per night. Campgrounds such as with hookups for RVs require more money for upkeep. The public can submit comments on the proposal until Sept. 30 by clicking here.
Are you one of our Canadian readers (Thank you!) or travel to Canada? Lac La Nonne in the County of Barrhead, Alberta, will soon have a 125-stall RV park on a 160-acre parcel of land. Proposed facilities will include wash facilities and water treatment, maintenance and electrical buildings. Amenities will include covered picnic areas, fire pits, fenced dog areas, stocked fishing pond, and more. Each site would have a 500-gallon tank for RV wastewater collection. The parks intends to be family-oriented, and the operators won’t allow the use of generators.
The County Bluegrass Festival in Fort Fairfield, Maine, is among the contenders for this year’s International Bluegrass Music Association’s event of the year. County Bluegrass is the largest public concert venue in the area that features a large camping area and Bluegrass music festivals. The Festival runs twice in the summer and once in the winter, with stage performances and late-night jam sessions by 10 or more bands from around the U.S. and Canada. The next Festival will be August 29 – September 1, with an award-winning lineup of performers. More information.
Dodge Park, near Sandy, Oregon, in the Clackamas County woods, closed its 25 campsites and park restroom on July 1 due to a budget shortfall. The park is owned by the city of Portland Water Bureau. Amanda Fritz, City Commissioner who oversees the Water Bureau, said she made the decision to close the campground because keeping it open wouldn’t have been fair to Portland neighborhoods that face losing their parks facilities.
Janet Groene is the author of 25 books including Living Aboard Your RV, 4th Edition, available at Amazon.com. Her brand-new book, “January Justice – A Yacht Yenta Mystery,” is available at Amazon.com.
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