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 for dates, rates and rules. No endorsement of any campground or product is implied by this reporter nor this website.
DATELINE: May 10, 2019
RED ALERT
The California Poison Control System (CPCS) warns California residents and visitors that poison oak is enjoying a bumper crop this year statewide because of the many fires, followed by heavy rains. Learn to identify it. This is also a good time to review the national poison control hotline, good in all states. It’s (800) 222-1222. Read more.
MORE RV SITES AT NIAGARA FALLS, CANADA
Yogi Bear’s Jellystone Park Camp-Resort in Niagara Falls, Ontario, has 13 new RV sites this season and a private shuttle to take guests to and from the falls. Other new features include a Gaga Ball pit. The park has fun spots galore including a 34-foot water slide and 18 holes of miniature golf.
NORTH FLORIDA FOLK FESTIVAL
One of Florida’s best state parks is found on the Suwannee River in rural North Florida between Jacksonville and Tallahassee. Stephen Foster Folk Culture Center State Park has static and living displays on history, arts and folkways. The annual Florida Folk Festival May 24-26 is a huge event featuring more than 300 performers plus food, crafts, demonstrations, workshops and storytelling. The campground has both pull-thru and back-in RV sites.
RV CAMPING AT INDIANA BLUEGRASS FESTIVAL
May 23-26 are this year’s dates for the blockbuster Tri-State Bluegrass Festival at the county fairgrounds in Kendallville, Indiana. Sales for the festival-camping package ended May 1, but separate tickets and/or site reservations may still be available. When you visit, reserve the RV-festival package for the Labor Day weekend. Music plays rain or shine. Bring lawn chairs. Golf carts shuttle between the stages and the campground for a daily fee ranging from $10 to $25. Sites can accommodate up to 400 campers with water; 34 sites have 50-amp service. Generators are allowed only in remote sites.
RV VISITORS WELCOME IN UPSTATE NEW YORK
Packages that include RV parking are available for the big Gather Outdoors festival over Memorial Day weekend at Holiday Mountain in Monticello, New York. Come for three days of nonstop music from house to techno, plus yoga, meditation, Reiki massage, art, rock climbing, go-karts, a batting cage and food stalls. The dates are May 25-26.
RIDE THE RAILS TO LITTLE AMERRICKA, WISCONSIN
What fun! A miniature railroad runs from the new (2018) Whistle Stop Campground in Marshall, Wisconsin, to the Little Amerricka amusement park. Improvements at the campground this year include a new bathhouse. They claim to be the only campground that connects to a theme park by train.
NASCAR RETURNS TO MEMPHIS
Only 20 RV spaces are available track-side, so get your bid in early to overnight at the K&N Pro Series East Memphis 150 on June 1.
SAN DIEGO CRACKS DOWN ON “VEHICULAR HOMELESS”
If you’re a full-time RVer, San Diego calls you “homeless.” California cities lead the way in prohibiting RV parking at night and sometimes in daytime too.
Stay Tuned
Why “Stay Tuned”? These early bird alerts have two major purposes. One is to keep you informed of controversial proposals for new campgrounds, changes, improvements, prohibitions, RV bans, campground expansions. Make your voice heard at council meetings. The other is to give our readers a chance to reserve early at the newest campgrounds.
Now that Inuvik’s Tuktoyaktuk Highway is a year old, a trickle of vehicles is turning into a flow heavier than local facilities can handle. Only limited facilities exist for RV camping. However, the province is providing funds to add a few RV sites and/or parking areas by June. The Point in the community of Tuktoyaktuk is day use only. Before venturing into the High Arctic, get current advice from tourism authorities in the Northwest Territories. Click here for a visitor’s guide.
According to the Arizona Daily Sun, public comments are being accepted through May 30 on a proposed camping expansion in Kaibab National Forest near the entrance to Grand Canyon National Park. Campsites would be expanded from 70 to 300.
Plans for a new RV park are being submitted to the Planning Commission in Spartanburg, South Carolina. Fireside RV Park will be a planned 37-lot development on 30 acres at Highway 101 and Wofford Road in Woodruff.
Approval for a 128-unit RV park in Veyo, Utah, (near Dixie National Forest) has been rescinded by the county planning commission. The reversal may be appealed but don’t count on RV camping to be found soon on Cottam Ranch Road.
Reservations will be taken by Reserve America starting next January for the summer of 2020 for sites at the Frontier Town Campground and Equestrian Center on the Schroon River in North Hudson, New York. Taking shape on the site of a former theme park, the campground complex will include tent and equestrian campsites and a brewery with tasting center. The 13 RV sites will have pads, electric and water hookups and fireplaces. Open for day users, the park will also feature picnic areas and hiking trails.
ADDITIONS FROM RVTRAVEL.COM STAFF
The Manatee County Commissioners approved a rezone of approximately 11.20 acres of the 17.72-acre Linger Lodge RV park and campground property on the Braden River in east Manatee County, Florida. They also approved a general development plan for an additional 40 RV sites to include a maximum of 144 total recreational vehicle park sites along with existing facilities plus proposed additional facilities.
Visitors eager to drive to their favorite spot in the San Juan National Forest may have to wait a little longer. Snow continues to delay forest officials from assessing winter damage, performing cleanup and opening roads and campgrounds for the season. Read more at The Durango Herald.
The Coronado National Forest will be increasing fees for annual passes and some day-use areas, campsites and group sites across the forest in southeastern Arizona. The new fees will go into effect during the late summer or fall, forest officials announced Monday. Details at tucson.com.
Imnaha is a hidden gem in the northeast corner of Oregon. Aspen and Tyler Smith are refurbishing Imnaha Motel 3 and RV Park, located in one of Wallowa County’s most uniquely beautiful areas. The RV park has four spaces with full hookups for $20, although the couple hope to have an even dozen by the end of the year. “I want to make it affordable for families — just to go camping and be outdoors,” Smith said. Read more at Wallowa County Chieftain.
There will be several changes in the management and services of Ottawa National Forest campgrounds and recreation areas located in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Changes in 2019 include temporarily reduced services for several campgrounds, implementation of previously approved day use fees at Black River Harbor, and closure of Langford Lake as it is converted to a dispersed site. Learn more at The Daily News.
Janet Groene is the author of 25 books including Living Aboard Your RV, 4th Edition, available at Amazon.com.
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