Where do you prefer to stay with your RV, in a scenic, primitive (no hookups) public campground, like those offered on BLM lands or by the U.S. Forest Service, or in a nondescript but clean RV park with full hookups?
Do you like to get away from the crowds in a beautiful out-of-the-way campground, maybe by a lake or along a river, even if you have to drive a few miles on a dirt road to get there? Or is your cup of tea a full-hookup RV park with all the amenities—maybe even swimming pool, or a hot tub or golf course in a fancy place?
Or do you prefer to get away from crowds entirely by squatting for a few days or longer on public lands—like in the sparsely populated deserts of the Southwest?
Or heck, maybe you’re on a tight budget and holing up overnight in a quiet corner of a Walmart parking lot will do just fine.
Please let us know. And, as always, your civil, respectful comments are invited.
We prefer State park campsites with water and electric hookups. More scenic and larger sites.
yep
You did not include state parks, county parks or COE parks as a choice. We prefer these usually with water & electric and sometimes full hookups.
Yep totally agree
Yep, #1 for us.
Agree!
Agree but also add in some City Parks the one in Gehring Nebeaska comes to mind immediately!
Oh yeah.
State parks – these are rare for us as our rig is too big for most.
Private, clean and quiet parks.
State Parks with at least electricity. Love having hiking & biking trails and kayaking so close by.
Small private campgrounds off the beaten track with hookups but no other frills.
We prefer State campgrounds with Electric at least. More to do and see!
Took the words right out of my mouth… State Parks all the way.
We prefer state parks also. Generally lower key that National Parks and less crowded.
Agree!
I actually prefer the parks limited to Electric only with good public restrooms & Showers. Wife & I can go two plus weeks on our onboard tanks using the toilet & Sinks only at night or inclement weather.
We have enjoyed our beautiful state park campgrounds with electric and, on occasion, water hook-up. We are often on lake front sites.
We like to have at least electric hook up (with water hook up a plus) when staying up to 4-5 days. Long term than that we want full hook ups
A little mix of all the above depending on location and what part of the country.
Here, here!
We like full hookups (at least electric and water) but we prefer small campgrounds without all the extras, i.e , swimming pool, hot tub, fitness center, restaurants, etc..
I want any place that is convenient to what I want to see or do. As a single guy, I want to head into town for a bite and a drink for my social time – Guess that makes me an extrovert!
We prefer state or federal campgrounds but need electricity.
We are fulltime so FHU with 59 amp electric is usually what we look for if we are staying more than a few days. We like state parks for the space and natural settings. There are a few FHU state and COE parks that we use whenever possible. Resorts have many things that we don’t use and their prices are just too high so we avoid them if possible.
We prefer County, State and National forest Campgrounds with at least electric
At least electricity — gotta have A/C for the pups!
Agreed! We’re lucky we have reliable generator
It’s not about the amenities, it’s the location. Three examples: Assateague State Park-no hookups but you basically have a private beach on the ocean, and then there’s the horses; Loon Haven Family Campground-a campground in Maine with mostly seasonal campers, I think there are less than 20 transient sites, it has full hookups, the site is right on the water, and the lake is crystal clear; Soo Locks Campground on the St. Lawrence, site with electric, sites a little close together, but right on the seaway, a great place to spend the evening watching the ships go by.
State parks with just electricity and water or in the case of Picacho Peak SP in AZ just electricity, primitive boondocking and camp grounds with FHU depending on availability, costs and convenience.
We try for a combination of all of the choices, a few days at a state park, then a few at a full hook up park, even a few at a high end resort! We use the amenities and get ready to start over!
we prefer sites with water and electric near where the attraction we are going to see.
We prefer full hookups but at a quiet campground. We don’t need activities or a pool. Prefer ones without kids riding in golf carts all day. One with beautiful views is a plus.
It’s not an all one or the other. We mostly travel in our small travel trailer to explore. The majority of our favorite places are public campgrounds, most are dry camping. We do not boondock (camp outside of established campgrounds) for a number of reasons.
We love national park and USFS CGs, these days we go mostly in the 4 Corners States (until my husband retires and we go farther afield again.) A few have W/E or FHS, most are dry. OTOH, we use private campgrounds for transition days, or to visit family and friends. For us, it’s about what works.
Don’t see difference between #1 and #2 unless they mean to imply #2 are not scenic and #1 are crowded. For us if AC is not necessary then electric hook up not necessary. Water and sewer at site not necessary at site as long as water fill up and dump station available. Prefer scenic with no crowds. The more days the stay the more need for hook ups.
My all time favorite is a friend’s driveway with a plug into the garage and a fabulous dinner and drink with folks you haven’t seen in a long time. Allowing you to pull out at your leisure and send a thankful gift and promise to get together again SOONER!
I prefer a boring RV park, a COE or a average State park for my RV location. I will drive my truck to the interesting places, then I will get out and walk.
We temper our preference for scenic getaways with the practical need to make sure our dogs are safe & comfortable. If we have to leave them in the rig to go somewhere they can’t, it needs to be cooled/heated to a reasonable temperature.
😊 YAY for you and your pups! We are of the same mind..
Our perfect trip is 90% boondocking or primitive camping and 10% RV resorts. I’ve equipped our fifth wheel with solar and inverter etc. and we can easily go 7 days without any support. Then hit an RV resort for luxury and replenishing resources
I think you left out a major category, state and county parks, many of which would not be called primitive. Most have electric and water and some also sewer but they offer considerably more room and better environment that most commercial parks. We generally use these.
Depends. We like both. Many unplugged campgrounds are in beautiful locations, but it’s nice to take a shower in a real shower sometimes too. So, both. Depends on whether i need a shower, yup ours has one but then I’d be using up my water.), or whether i want to fish.
We started camping in tents when we were in our 20’s, everything was primitive and boon-docking. As time went on we progressed into trailers and did both boon-docking and full hookups. We are now approaching our 80’s, on our 3rd Class A and full hookup campgrounds are the norm for us. Life gives you choices and now comfort and convenience is our choice. Stay safe, Stay well.
I picked “Other” because the “scenic primitive campground” choice is closest to our preference. However, living east of the Mississippi, boondocking on public lands is not really an option. So we pick scenic public parks with minimal amenities such as electric hookups only, which most State and CoE parks have.
Chances are much greater of finding a site if all you need is electric and are of smaller length.
If all we had to choose from were KOA-type parks, we’d sell our rig and do something else.
Yes, this is our choice, too
Now that I’m older, I prefer going somewhere with hookups. But we prefer small, family run RV campgrounds that are quiet. They usually have more space between campsites, too. We don’t need the swimming pools and clubhouse stuff or expensive prices of the resorts.
I picked other as I like to stay sometimes in National Forest campgrounds and sometimes at nice RV parks and county parks and then at an Elks Lodge for overnight or Harvest Hosts. I do a variety of places but won’t do Walmart ever.
Love COE facilities. Plenty of room and usually have WE. Scenery is unbeatable.
We prefer scenic but not primitive campgrounds such as beautiful Oregon State Parks that are clean, safe and often have hook-ups.
We did all of those in our “younger” years. But that’s when we just took off with some general destinations in mind, with no hard dates since reservations weren’t needed. Now it is mostly full hook ups in various kinds of RV parks. We have destinations in mind, but throw in some stops at places we haven’t been too on the way to or going home. We do dry camp for 10 days for the Daytona 500.
Whew isn’t that hot?
I have a very disabled wife .. the RV is equipped with lifting devices. I would prefer a more wilderness experience but given my age and her condition a full-service experience works better.
We like all camping options. Depends on reason we’re out and availability.
Same here. We prefer the scenic campgrounds for sure. But when we need hookups, we prefer the small mom and pop campgrounds, when available.
I checked FHU site, but really electric is all we need. We tend to like regional and county parks the best. Generally nice sites and quiet/controlled environment. Costs are usually lower too. Many are also parks with large grassy areas and walking paths. Sometimes these aren’t designed for large motorhomes, but most have been pretty nice.
Prefer Corps of Engineers parks. Have senior pass so half price.
Mostly state parks. Usually clean, quiet, safe and inexpensive. But will stay anyplace depending on availability.
We prefer National or State Park campgrounds with hook ups. Can get by with electric only.
It depends on the situation. Boondocking or forest campground for 2 or 3 days but longer trips I would like to have some hookups. If in the midwest or hot southwest, would need air conditioning/full hookups.
Definitely a scenic primitive campground or boondocking away from crowds. If we want to stay near a bunch of people, we can stay home or go to a city. Isn’t the point of camping to relax and get some privacy?
yes, I agree…I do not need to have some loud music or other vices that the full hook up can enable. Get unplugged from all of the background noise of every day life and get away from it for a while.
Primitive and scenic with trails. Privacy is good. Vault toilets are ok if they don’t reek too badly, and need dumpsters.
We need just a quiet, safe, night. We ‘stay’ on the move.
We love city parks, county parks and state parks with or without hookups. We’ve found them overall to be clean, spacious and friendly.
We boondock most of the time but my G/F likes us to have access to a pool and other amenities at least once in a while. We do need to have electric for A/C if it’s hot.
State parks, COE parks, with partial to full hookups are our favorites
Scenic and full hookup aren’t necessarily exclusive. What we tend to avoid is high prices for amenities we don’t use. State fairgrounds, state and county parks, COE parks, and military campgrounds often give us a natural setting, sometimes good views, usually decent locations relative to interesting areas, usually reasonable prices, and often full hookups. We do boondock at Harvest Hosts, moochdock, and occasionally a Walmart but if it’s more than a couple of days DW wants full hookups.
It depends on the trip. My wife likes us to use full hookups on our lo get wanderings through out the country. But if it is just me with a couple of grandsons we go for more scenic, less developed camping areas.
I would like primitive but we need full hookup for wifes breathing machine
The glamping Motorhome RVers that we are want full hookups with a quality RV Park and a great pull through site or if on the water a pull-in view!!!
we have a MH with large fresh water and waste tanks, so electric hook up would be all we really need for now. Looking to improve my battery power supply.
Scenic with water & electric is fine – don’t need full hook up for our week long excursions at this time
All of the above.
All of them make up the camping experience. Any one can be a memorable stay, good or bad.
I prefer to mix it up. Boondock, Harvest Hosts when traveling, State/Provincial Parks, and of course a nice RV resort.
This is not a one choice poll.
It all depends on what we are doing so it’s “All of the above” for us.
I don’t need a “Resort” I don’t need FHU. I want a level site with stable power, it would be great if it had water. I need a dump station and I’ll drag my tote to dump. I’d love a table. I’d like to know what to see or do in the area and it doesn’t need to be near the most popular locations.
I find it interesting that about 50% want to stay with full hookups. Are these the same people who pull in, hook up, turn on their a/c, and watch TV the entire time they’re there? Why not stay at home, where the TV screen is probably bigger. There’s a big difference between ‘RVing’ and ‘CAMPing’ …
Variety is the spice of life. We are full timers that enjoy it all – we’ve boondocked through Canada, Alaska, in state & national parks and also enjoyed full and partial hookups. We love it all🥰