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.
Hung up RV keys but found an alternative
Tom I. still likes to travel and continues even after hanging up the RV keys. He writes, “My bride of 62 years and I hung up our keys about 7 years ago. Although we miss the RVing community, we love traveling by car. We joined two senior travel clubs (Evergreen and Affordable Travel Club) which operate similarly. For $20 per night per couple ($15 if a single traveler), you stay with a fellow club member in their home. Like a B&B, they provide breakfast. To make it work, you must also agree to host members in your home in a spare bedroom and usually a private bath. We have traveled extensively staying with club members and have met many very interesting people. There are members not only throughout the U.S. and Canada but many other countries too. Look them up if interested.”
Note: Here are links to the two clubs Tom mentioned: Evergreen Club and The Affordable Travel Club.
Pre-trip planning is tedious but worth it
Kit V. tries to find “Mom and Pop” RV parks and writes to us about their planning strategy. “We will be leaving our winter home soon heading back to our hometown area and have reservations made all the way home, our entire summer, and our trip back down south next fall.
“We usually try to find Mom and Pop RV parks and most of the way that’s what we have. We are not big ‘resort’ people. Most of the parks ask for a one-night fee to hold the reservation, some don’t charge anything until you show up. We look for parks that are clean, not too crowded, full hookup, and if staying for more than one or two nights close to some local sites/things to do. So far, so good. Have we found some duds, yes, but they are few and far between. We use Trip Wizard, Google Search, Passport America and Good Sam. Sometimes the pre-trip planning gets a little tedious, but it is well worth the effort.”
Campgrounds have forgotten their mission
Randy H. says high costs forced him to sell the motorhome. He writes, “Yes, I AM finding it exceedingly hard to find camping accommodations all the while comparably priced accommodations are available via AirBnB and VRBO. I think campgrounds have forgotten their mission as campgrounds and are trying to become small motorcourts instead, sadly. Outlandish camping costs prompted me to sell my Dynamax motorhome; it just got to be too big of a hassle. I think the RVIA has failed campers as a whole. They’re so misguided in what they think campers want.”
Cheaper to rent a house by the month instead of a campsite
Richard F. found a much better way to stay south in the winter season. He says, “Avid camper—camp 60+ days a year—but in winter we have found it cheaper to rent a house by the month (North Myrtle Beach): four bedrooms, two baths and dog-friendly just two blocks from the beach. The state park near there with e/w charges $65 a night with a 14-day max. $1,900+ for a month. Rented it for $2,200 and didn’t have to drive the trailer 1,600 miles round-trip down Route 95.”
“Don’t keep hogging all the tent sites”
Karen C. sees RVs taking over the premium tent sites and wants it to stop! She wrote, “Well, in my experience all campgrounds are letting these campers take over the tent spots that have electric and water. It’s happening in Tennessee and these campers raise hell if you as much as walk by them to get to the water’s edge on your boat and it really needs to stop. People still use tents and they deserve a nice spot too, so stop hogging all the water’s edge spots and live there forever. I mean, really!”
Campgrounds occupied with snowbirds for months at a time
Harold J. notes times have changed and voices his frustration over snowbirds. He wrote, “My wife and I have traveled around the U.S. in our various recreational vehicles. Times have really changed in past years in the locations, cost, and fellow travelers. The most frustrating is the snowbird long-term travelers. Places we used earlier are now occupied for months at a time with snowbirds.”
10-year rule prevented a month on the Oregon coast
Barbara Y. has a 22-year-old RV that is going strong but couldn’t get in a park because of the ten-year rule. She writes, “We bought our Sportsman 26 ft. travel trailer new in 2002. Yes, it’s 22 years old. We have kept up maintenance and bought tires regularly (and newer tow vehicles) and have had NO problems except for decals fading and peeling. We are now retired on a fixed income and have no desire to purchase a newer one. We try to find public campgrounds, but can’t always. The ‘ten-year rule’ prevented us from a reasonably priced winter month on the Oregon Coast. We can boondock for 3-4 days with our solar panel. We want to continue enjoying the outdoors as long as we still can, but longer trips require more expensive gas.”
Yikes! $250 a night campsite and $30 a visitor!
James H. wrote to us about outrageous campground fees. “The more people who RV, it seems like they have fewer places to camp. Also, the RV parks charge way higher prices per night. I have been looking at an RV park that is $250 a night, and if you want to visit someone in the park it will cost you $30 per person! We wanted to visit our friends but I refused to pay $30 to spend time. Campgrounds overcharge people more than you think. I am not a happy camper! P.S. I live in Florida and lived in Tennessee for 18 years. Camp at least two times a month.”
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: Local parks feeling more like “housing” areas than RV parks; plus, RVing long-term is just “not financially feasible now”
##RVT1153b
This past week we traveled to a NEW/RENOVATED CG. Our first impression was positive. The campground offered many amenities way beyond what is common. This resort is trying to cash in on all opportunities. Cottages, Yurts, Airstreams, Houses, annuals, Sites of all kinds, waterpark, golf cart rental, bike jump course, remote control rack car course, etc. Our stay was only positive because not many folks were there but I would never stay in this CG if full. It would frankly be a zoo. Fees were high as it included a resort fee, Site Lock in fee, visitor fee, etc. We do hope this is not the new normal! FYI, all amenities were closed for season but we still had to pay for them! :>(
Yeah Mickey, the non-working amenities bug me too. Our favorite local state park decided to put in power and water a few years ago. This added a $10/nite fee to the original fee. However, several of the water hookups have never worked, and in a couple of sites, the power also doesn’t work. Do you get a discount for unavailable power or water? Nope. And then they also ‘converted’ some of the back-in sites to pull-throughs. Obviously, they did not get any input from RV’ers because they are much too tight for two-axle trailers. This is no longer our favorite SP, sadly.
I think the “resorts” with all the fancy amenities should adjust their pricing policy. Instead a a flat fee to include everything, start with a base fee and add the extras to people who want them. Pay more each add on and get a wrist band for identification.
We very seldom, if ever, use the pool, sauna, miniature golf, etc. and never use the attractions for kids.
As far as the cabins, keep them in their own area and not scattered throughout the campground. Same thing with the rental trailers and full blown cottages.
The Yurts are a big money making scheme set up for NON campers with $$$ to spend.
We stayed at a very nice campground near Niagara, NY. The cabins were all located in place.
Actually, sometimes we look for a cabin or rental trailer when we travel with my brother & family. They don’t own an RV, so when we take a trip together it’s nice having them next to/near us.
@Harold J. – Snowbirds… I am not sure where you travelled this immediate past winter. I can tell you that RV parks in south-central Texas (Hill Country) outside the most popular places where often half empty. And most of them have seasonal guests. The only exceptions were #1 around the solar eclipse and #2 if larger RV rally groups came to visit. Rallies I saw were long weekends to a week at most. Without the monthly & longer folks, I’ll bet a lot of parks would have been forced to close.
Good point. But so many of the empty sites in Texas are just gravel parking lots on the side of the road with full hookups. They serve well for low cost housing for annuals and seasonals. They are undesirable destinations for many travelers.
In desirable locations near beaches etc., there are many parks locked up by snowbirds and annual renters, who may vacate in summer but leave their rig permanently. If there are any stray sites available, the ‘hosts’ rent them out for the night at very high prices. It’s discouraging to people who don’t want to book cheaper monthly stays, but use their RV for actual travel.
RVIA is just that little sticker by the entry door. It really has no meaning to the actual owner. Doesn’t reflect Build Quality or anything else. It’s a way to make $$$ for somebody that does little for the RV community.
No bull about snowbirds…especially from North of the border. They buy property in the SW and think they own the state…try that in Canada.
Anyone can buy property in Canada. I did in Whistler and rent my condo to American skiers every winter….. the other snowbirds!
Actually Canada’s Federal Government has restricted foreign ownership on several property types. As a Canadian, I find this an abhorrent policy and hopefully with a new government in 2025 this will stop.
We currently are on our way home to Toronto in our RV from a lovely winter in various parts of the SW, and yes many Canadians own property there.
Do we not pay the same if not more in property taxes? Do we not contribute financially to the local economies? Certainly we are ZERO drain on health and social services as we need out of country medical insurance, and none of us are asking for handouts of any kind.
Why are we so bad JB?
Maybe holds a grudge for burning down the Whitehouse in 1812? Should be over it by now, IMO. 😉
LOL, I bet they don’t learn that in their schools!
You made a good bet. History is now what they learned yesterday on TikTok.
Why do you say you pay more in property taxes?
I think I’m done with this newsletter. I use an iPad for access and the page continually refreshes and goes back to the top. I get it that you need the advertising dollars and can ignore the pop ups but come on! No other website does this. Let me know when it’s fixed and I’ll return. No, I don’t donate and subscribe. Would that eliminate the ads? I sincerely doubt it
yes, it will eliminate the ads. but it sounds like your mind is made up, so adios.
Weird, I am on a desktop and have no problems at all as of late.
sounds like you problem. The newsletter works just fine on the ol’ desktop/ laptop with duckduckgo extension on the browser and YES, I contribute 1/4ly to keep the quality content coming.
There are a lot of really nice Inflatable Tents out there right now. Sad to see RV Parks getting rid of Tent Sites. The RV Dream is over with $100-$250 Overcrowded Undermaintained RV Sites full of rude people with loud Outdoor TV’s, Barking Dogs and dated facilities.
Thank you, Nanci! 🙂 More good and bad stuff. Sorry that some have exited RVing, but admire their alternate methods of travel. So far, it is only family constraints that hinder our RV travel. Thanks again, and safe travels! 🙂
Here are our return guest discounts. Book directly thru me and save!
Golden Falcon ($75 for 2 nights), Santa Fe ($65 for 2 nights), Cowboy Bunkhouse ($80 for 2 nights), Scavenger ($125 for 2 nights), Papablue House ($125 for 2 nights), Sheep Herder’s Wagon ($70 for 2 nights), Sheep Herder’s Tent ($80 for 2 nights), the Kelly ($75 for 2 nights), the Cube ($125 for 2 nights), the Hardy House ($170 for 2 nights sleeps 7), and the Cabin ($220 for 2 nights). We take CC/Debit, Venmo, Zelle, and cash.
The Ole RV Park is at 28 Harris Creek Rd.83629. (free range animals at this park) We have a second park at 21 Lucky Lane (Cube Tiny House and Hardy House) with only 2 short term RV spaces $25.