RVer says, ‘To get a site at crowded parks you gotta know somebody.’ Plus, expensive lock-in fees pay for campground fraud scandal?

RV sales have slowed and fewer people are buying RVs than has been the recent trend. Has that changed campground crowding? Is it easier to find a campsite now, particularly in state and national parks? Campgrounds are changing and evolving, some for the better and some for the worse. RV Travel readers discuss their experiences and offer a few tips to help other campers find that perfect spot.

Here are a few observations from our readers.

RVing used to be reasonable; now costs are outpacing what they earn

Jon M. is concerned about getting sites and the rising costs that come with it. He writes, “Up here in the Northeast, booking a site has become very difficult or crazy-expensive. Being a NH resident, we used to go to the 400+ site MA state oceanfront campground and loved the place. The costs before Covid were around $40 or so a night. Now out of state people pay more than twice that. This doesn’t seem to slow people from going, though, since last year I tried to get a site and found the campground completely full for weeks. Not much better anywhere around it either. Even at VT campgrounds, we had to take time in the middle of the work week and go instead of a weekend. Luckily we had the option but it takes away from our self-employed work schedules.

“I see campgrounds some for the better, but one we stayed at last year was in terrible disrepair. The roads to the sites were very bad and the bathrooms were mostly out of order.

“We haven’t really noticed more permanent RV parks, but if you want to get into an oceanfront site in NH, good luck. The place is booked for the entire season. So, as far as a ‘permanent park,’ I would call it that. I think you have to know somebody to get in there. I have noticed a few rigs that never move even though you’re only supposed to be there for a maximum of two weeks.

“The rising costs are starting to get to us, that’s for sure. I’m pretty handy with the RV and can fix most things myself, but the gas, campgrounds, and RV upkeep costs are getting hard to swallow. If the costs of RV parks and travel start to become unbearable we’ll have to stop. It’s just outpacing what we can earn, sad to say. RVing used to be reasonable. I can’t continue to keep up with what’s going on.

“If anybody has any secrets I’d like to hear them for finding RV parks. I have looked on Reserve America early or just in time, and have had no great results for the places where we like to visit. It’s just the luck of the draw.”

Opportunity for spontaneous camping is just gone

Retired park ranger Jacqui Z. wrote to us about the lack of first come/first served campsites. “Finding campsites is an increasing problem and the change to all reservations from more first-come, first-served during COVID never changed back, but it should have. Campgrounds must be half FF and half reservation! The opportunity for spontaneous camping is gone and this is just wrong.

“The other huge issue, as stated, is the large number of sites sitting empty in a ‘full’ campground. All agencies must adopt no-show rules such as no-show after the first night, you lose your site. Cancellation policies need to change to make it monetarily advantageous to cancel. The more people who want to camp, the harder it is to get a campsite. Agencies, particularly their concessionaires, don’t seem to care about visitor service anymore, just the bottom line or whatever is easier for the agency (all reservations are easier but bad for the visitor).

“Oh, and tell your representatives to fund recreation agencies better (NPS, USFS, BLM)!”

Surrounded by dilapidated RVs

Mila H. is concerned about the future of RVing and RVs on the streets in her hometown. She wrote, “The issue of rising inflation and costs has hit us. We have to store our RV in Santa Rosa and the storage facility raised the rates by $100!! So our regular fee plus $100. We actually live in San Francisco, and we are surrounded by dilapidated RVs with people living in them. It’s an epidemic, and with no sewage or garbage, it’s all dumped on our streets. It’s not just here, it’s everywhere. I feel freaked out about the future. Instead of meeting fun campers, we’re surrounded by desperate, poor people.”

Monthly rate risen over fixed income allows

Don S. wrote to us about an RV park increase in its monthly rate: “The Galveston Island KOA Holiday monthly rate of $800 coming up in winter ’24 has just risen to more than our fixed incomes can afford. Then they also want a lock-in fee for the site you’re trying to make a reservation for. Too bad, as the walking distance to the wide beach area is a great amenity.”

Expensive campsites? Maybe not…

Steve H. shares his camping secrets. He wrote, “We just returned from snowbirding in NV, AZ, and NM. We stayed at state park campgrounds and got 50% off Passport America RV parks without making reservations even a month in advance, much less a year. We reserved a FHU site at an RV resort in central Las Vegas, NV (to visit family over the Christmas holidays), the week before we arrived.

“Several water and electric state park campground reservations were made the day before arrival. We also stayed in a very private dry campsite in a scenic FC-FS campground at Lake Mead NRA that was about 50% full. At most of these locations, we had lake, river, and/or mountain views, flush toilets, free hot showers, and hiking and biking trails. Shopping was not always nearby, but we just bought groceries in a town along our route before we arrived at our remote campground. And, since we have lived on a fixed income for 12 years, our average campsite cost for the entire trip was only $30/night. No Florida campground crowds for us!”

Try national forest campgrounds, particularly on weekends

Cheryll G. sent us this hint: “We found that the state parks are mostly filled on the weekends. We found that national forest campgrounds with no hookups are much less busy or even empty and more spacious.”

Here’s a guide to National Forest Camping in the U.S. 

Why do I have to pay more?

Barb S. replies to the idea of multi-level fees based on amenities used. She said, “I agree with multi-level charging. I have a truck camper. I pull in and just need electricity. No AC. I pay for laundry. A 200K class pulls in and needs 50-amp service, water, and sewer. How is it that I have to pay more?”

$50 lock-in fee to recover funds from RV manager fraud?

Ray P. wrote to us about lock-in fees and a former RV park manager arrested for fraud. “A lock-in fee example is Carolina Pines in Myrtle Beach, SC, which charges a $50 lock-in fee after using their website to book a site and their explanation is, ‘Everyone is doing it.’

“They simply are trying to recover almost a million dollars in fraud by the former Carolina Pines manager that went undetected for a year. Or maybe they need to pay for their legal fees and new accounting software.”

To read about the fraud case click here.

Now, some questions for you:

• Are you finding campgrounds booked up? Or is finding a place to stay not a problem?
• Are campgrounds changing for the better or for the worse?
• Are you seeing more permanent and seasonal RV parks?
• Are rising costs affecting your camping style?
• If campgrounds continue to be crowded and RVing continues to become more popular, will it affect how or when you RV?
• Do you have any tips or secrets you’d like to share about finding campgrounds that aren’t as crowded?

Please use the form below to answer one or more of these questions, or tell us what you’ve experienced with campground crowding in general.

Read last week’s Crowded Campgrounds column: ‘Permanent full-timers don’t have to follow the same rules they give us—junk lying around, more pets and vehicles than allowed…’

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