Have you ever spent an extended period at one RV park or campground? By “extended” we mean staying continuously for 3 months or more. If so, how often have you done this? Is it something you’ve done several times, a few times, or maybe just once or twice? Or perhaps it’s a regular part of your RV lifestyle, with long-term stays being a routine part of your travels?
On the other hand, maybe you’ve never stayed in one place for that long and prefer to keep moving.
After you cast your vote in the poll, we’d love to hear more about your experiences in the comments section. Have you enjoyed settling into one spot for a while, or is the freedom to roam a key part of your RVing journey?
Feel free to share any tips, stories, or reasons for your preference. We always appreciate hearing from you and learning about your unique adventures on the road. Thanks for being here!
I spent 2 winters in a RV park near San Diego to work and make money for spring. summer and fall travels those years. It was a nice spot that is no longer there. Also lied about the age of the RV to beat the 10 year old rule each year. The RV was in good shape and no one ever questioned the age.
After selling our house in California, five of us lived in a forty foot 5th wheel for 3 1/2 months while finding our new residence in Texas. I don’t want to do that again. We love our family, but…… Luckily, we were near shopping, restaurants, etc.
This will be our 8th year as snowbirds, starting out staying 2 months and now stay 5. We never thought we’d be snowbirds but enjoy the warm weather and have met so many good people and made lasting friends over the years.
At the start of full-timing for 12 years, I wintered in NM and took on the job of ‘cleaning person’ for three months at an RV park. (Responsible for bathrooms, office, rec room, dining hall, laundry room, and library in exchange for site.)
Probably most places in south Florida have a two or three month minimum stay so you may not have a choice. We don’t.
No, but we are going to try it this winter.
Being FT for 6 yrs I have hosted at a few parks.
Normally for the winters in Az and summer in a cooler climate like Montana, N Arizona areas.
Being 73 may have to hang my host hat up but dependent on the opportunity.
I can’t. Wife hates to be away from home any longer than three to three and a half weeks. We have been married over 50+ years and I know it will not change and I love her too much to insist on any changes.
This will be our 8th winter in south-central Texas (Hill Country). OK, we started because our daughter & family are in Austin. We stay about an hour away, for 6 months. We now have a group of friends we hang out with every winter and stay in touch with year-round.
We chose an RV because we didn’t want to buy real property, and you have to haul too much stuff if you do a seasonal rental. The RV is temporary like a rental, but like buying you can leave most of your stuff in the RV and not have to haul it. (But like a house, you have to do maintenance.)
Yes, as a camp host.
In 2009 we lived in our 40’ pusher and stayed at same campground for nearly 11 months
3-4 months when we head north to the Adirondacks, 3-4 months when we head south to Florida, 1-2 months traveling, and 2-5 month at our home base in east-central TN
Twice, we stayed in an RV resort in Houston. Once for nine months, and the last time for a full year. Our 30′ Arctic Fox 25Y served us well. I was there for medical reasons, otherwise we would not be staying in Houston.
Yes, as a campground host, either paid or volunteer. I haven’t paid to do so.
The only times we stayed long term was when we parked in MIL’s yard for all of June through September so she could be in her own home that summer. Had to drive 5 miles down the road every 5-10 days to dump tanks, but otherwise were parked all summer. The other time was our last summer working at a CA state park. Parked our little 17’trailer there for the whole summer. It was also the summer I was pregnant with our daughter
I clicked no, but we had a seasonal lot for 10 yrs. We didn’t stay there continuously, just weekends and holidays.
3 yrs ago 3mo at a luxury resort near superstition mtns in AZ ,Then 3mo near Lk Havasu on the river below Parker Dam.
Since during the summer months, our home in Sou Cal sees temperatures of 110º much during the summer…. we searched and found a resort on the Oregon coast that very seldom ever reaches 70º. So we purchased a lot and typically we stay there from mid May through to the first of October. We sometimes do venture out to rallies and other adventures.
We were Snowbirds for 24 years and stayed in Yuma AZ every winter to beat the cold and snow in the north.
Only once 20 years ago while we waited for our house to be built. Four people including two teenagers in a 24 foot box. Fun times. Lol
When my BIL passed in 2021 my wife and I went to CA to close his affairs, sell his house and car. We were there for 13-weeks, living in our RV (his house was unlivable due to his extreme hoarding) in a very nice RV park. FHU, concrete pad, open sky for sat tv, good wifi. That’s all well and good but the park staff were, to a person, astounding in their support they gave us.
If you’re ever near San Jose CA and looking for an EXCELLENT park, look no further than the Coyote Valley RV Resort. 👍👍👍👍👍
Stayed there a few times for 2 weeks or so visiting family. Now stop at Maple Leaf RV Park just down the road a few miles. Coyote Valley is a bit nicer, but Maple Leaf is a bit cheaper, very safe and we never use the amenities anyway since our time is spent with family.
Not at a point in our lives that we want to stay somewhere that long (other than our stix-and-brix). 3 weeks at our NOMADS projects, 1-2 weeks at state parks, COE. Haven’t figured out the appeal of RV resorts etc. We all have different preferences.
Maybe we’ve just reached that age. It’s not fun to strike camp and drag a big rig down the road in bad winter weather, so we hunker down at a resort in Mesa for the winter. Even then, we still get out to do Escapees events.
We are full timers and have been since 2016. My wife retired from her job and that’s when we retired from northern MN winters. I retired from the USN in ’95, and closed my business in ’16.
We started with 3-5 month work camping gigs, usually shorter than longer. We no longer work camp, but now our normal RV park stay is 5 months in AZ or La before we head north to our piece of property. We’re on the flex plan though, so nothing is set in stone.
As fulltime RVers, we avoid the north in the winter. We choose to sit on the Gulf coast for five months to enjoy warm weather and beautiful beaches.
In fairness we are workampers. Anywhere from 2-4 months in one spot. 2025 we have it 3
months at each park.
We parked our 5th wheel in an RV park when we were trying to find a place to live after we relocated for my husband’s job. We were there about 4 months before we closed on a house. Then we moved the 5th wheel to the house and continued to live in it for almost a year because the house we bought was not livable when we got it.
Thank you, RV Travel! 🙂 No, never, and our travel style, frequency pretty much precludes us ever staying anywhere more than a fortnight. Thanks again, have a great week, and safe travels! 🙂
Our desire is to move every 1-3 weeks, however, being near our kids during major life events is also our goal. So we’ve stayed put for wedding planning, helping them buy a first home, and also to help my disabled mother after the unexpected death of my father. We also stayed for a whole summer in Maine, because, well, its Maine. It was a private, prime location near Acadia, and we loved the area and the extended time there.
Most of our stays in RV sites/campgrounds have been >3 months, but some 4-5 months, one 7 months. This is what happens as workampers for state parks or day use areas around the country. Grand Canyon S Rim was the 7 month one, and we loved it. Oregon state parks ask you to volunteer for another park @ 3 months so more RVers can have the experience.
We’ve stayed at several campgrounds for usually 6 months up to a year as I’m a traveling nurse that lives full-time in our RV. Been doing this since 2017.
It’s not unusual to stay 3 months or longer when volunteering or workamping.
We’ve been fulltiming 15 years (over 200K miles), but we return to our hometown each summer to visit 8 of our 10 kids plus grandkids, & great grandkids. It takes an extended stay to spend quality time with all of them.
We return to our “home-base” area just before each Thanksgiving and stay until just after Christmas. The exception is if we have medical issues that require attention. We have stayed up to 4-1/2 months due to medical issues we wanted handled in our “Base” area where doctor and medical services would be consistent to address issues. As full-timers, we enjoy longer term travel itineraries that tend to have us stay on the road for 3 to six months or more at a time. Frequently resulting in RV mileage in excess of 5,000 to 10,000 miles plus additional truck mileage for exploring.
When we first started our full-timing adventure, we became members at Hart Ranch amping Resort in Rapid City, SD. We would stay there in the summer and “work camp” . We were able to enjoy the Black Hills and all the wonderful tourist locations. I still own that membership and look forward to get back there each year from my Arizona home to see old friends and family in the Midwest. The Black Hills are a magical area with so much to see and do!
I voted yes, a few times, if the LTVA in Quartzsite, Az counts.