Kampgrounds of America, most commonly known as KOA, is the largest campground chain in the United States and Canada—the franchise has more than 500 locations! It was founded in 1962 in Billings, Montana, and has been a staple for campers for decades.
When you travel, how often do you stay at KOA campgrounds? Do you have any favorite KOA locations you can recommend to others? If so, please leave a comment when you’re done voting.
Check out Nanci Dixon’s experience at the very nice West Glacier KOA Resort. You might want to stay here… but you’ll pay the price!
KOAs too expensive. We don’t use their facilities, we don’t have kids anymore, don’t swim, have pets or need their bathrooms.
KOA’s as well as Good Sam and Yogi Bear are overpriced, designed for kids and since we don’t have any now, are not our cup of tea! We found that Thousand Trails, Harvest Hosts and Boondockers Welcome to best fit our needs. We have a beautiful diesel pusher and don’t need to show it off at high dollar campgrounds!
Drove last spring from Rockport, TX to Boise, ID. Made reservations at KOA’s all the way. A tad more $ but no hassles and there seemed to always be a spot.
Only if it is the last option we have when traveling from place to place, I realy prefer the more basic campgrounds with Electricity only. Wife & I can go two weeks on our tanks if the campground has showers and Electricity and that is what we prefer.
Camped at KOA for years but now that the kids are out of the house we’re no longer their demographic. Maybe camp KOA again when we have grandkids.
Not a fan of any parks that have abundant amenities and charge exorbitant fees just for those “luxuries”.
There is something for everyone, even with campgrounds. Unless it has space and natural surroundings and you don’t HAVE to meet your neighbors or hear their kids screaming (which is a great sound when they are having fun but not while I’m trying to find peace and quiet), then I’m not interested.
I do think some KOAs are still around that aren’t trying to hold you hostage but they are disappearing fast. The new wave of RVers seems to enjoy the high cost for the Disney feel of these all inclusive resorts.
NEVER….for all the reasons others have already stated. The most basic of campsites can be costly enough!
Stayed once NEVER AGAIN. They charged $60.00 a night. The pool was loaded with green slime and salamanders, all the equipment in the workout room was non-functional and the store had empty shelves. This was the late 90’s so it wasn’t pandemic related.
Stayed one night at KOA Wichita, KS, after an high price entrance fee, our grandson and family visited us. The children ages 9 and 6 wanted to swim in the pool, we did not swim neither did the grandson and wife, we had to pay $10 each for the 2 girls to swim for an hour. We could’ve used the pool free, but didn’t and yet 2 great grandchildren had to pay. We swore off KOA at that point, the driveway was dusty gravel and the site was not level. No more KOA’s for us!
KOA’s are usually our “on the way” stops, one night, then down the road. But we have stayed longer as a base camp for other adventures. The consistency is usually pretty good. Since the pandemic, they seem to have stepped up their game, although, they, like others, have also raised prices. For our trips across Kansas to Colorado, the Wakeeny KS KOA is in a perfect location.
The VERY few that we have stayed in have been over priced and very tight. The stalls were so tight that we were practically stepping on the next sites sewer hose.
They are usually much more expensive than other RV parks so our last choice. In planning a trip for the first time in over a year I’m thinking that other parks have figured out that KOA can get away with charging more so they can too. Used to be we would try not to pay more than $40 a night but now that’s rare.
Have stayed at a KOA maybe 6 or 7 times in the past 20 years. Don’t like them normally since they are over priced and most of their sites are pretty tight.
We have only stopped at KOAs when nothing else was available and only overnight on our way to our destination. They are overpriced for what they are, sites were too tight and haven’t been the cleanest. That wasn’t so in the past but times change.
We stay at KOA’s more out of convenience, not for all the amenities.They seem to be located nearer all the attractions. We do use the facilities for showers since most are kept cleaner than privately owned campgrounds and in better condition.
Using the KOA 10% discount, the cost of staying is similar. Almost like a free night if you stay for a week.
A couple are regularly used for our semi-annual migration. But anything else is happenstance. Certainly not enough to justify the rewards membership fee.
Our favorite RV park is operated by KOA, but is a city owned park. Excellent place to stay, lots of sites well away from each other. Nice facilities and a very nice city park.
Gadsden, Alabama is the place. Very reasonable, less than $25 a night for full hook-up.
We live near Gadsden. Tom is correct about the Noccalula Falls campground
We LOVE Noccalula Falls campground! Stayed there a couple weeks ago.
KOA= Kids are Obnoxious and Annoying. 🙂 Over rated, over priced, and over crowded.
Stayed in KOAs twice in my life. Neither stay was worth it.
We were planning on staying at a KOA two years ago but due to weather, we had to cancel. Tho we canceled within the time frame, we were told we could not get a refund. If they can’t go by their own rules, not worth our time or money. We have read that KOA had purchased more parks, but wish they would upgrade the ones they have.
KOA is our first choice when traveling. Easy on easy off locations, pull through and clean well maintained properties. And a priority too is the fenced dog parks. One exception is the Townsend, TN KOA. We just found it too crowded together. On a trip to Yellowstone we stayed at KOA exclusively from home to Yellowstone. One of our favorites when traveling I 81 in Virginia is WYTHVILLE. Outstanding accommodations including great dog park. Bowling alley, food etc. A great stopover.
We are full time and in 2022 traveled nearly 9,000 in our coach leaving Houston in Jan. and returning in time for Thanksgiving. We stayed at 17 KOAs and in reviewing our costs…KOA was no more expensive, on average, than independent parks. We traveled to 26 National Parks through TX,NM,AZ,NV,CA,OR,WA,ID,MT,WY,ND,SD,NE, AND CO.
William’s AZ, & Silt CO, were two favorite KOAs. Most expensive was Trailer Village at Grand Canyon, West Yellowstone KOA and Mt Rushmore KOA.
KOA makes it easy for me to plan and the various levels of stay can effect your price. If over night a simple FHU is fine..if we are there for a few days…I maybe spring for the patio site. Kids? We don’t have any either and other than summer..we haven’t seen that many. The 10% discount and cashing in rewards (up to 50.00 off your stay besides 10%) makes KOA a fair contender for us. I like being able to plan months ahead…like as many as 12 rather than 120 days before. HH is fun but not free by any means
Forgot UT!
We have stayed there a few times. Way over-priced, and a very ugly, sterile place. Now, while writing this, my wife just informed me that she feels just the opposite way. Loved the one in Provo, loved the one in southern Utah, and she loved the one west of Albuquerque.
Many years ago we frequently stayed at KOAs. We even had their membership for a few years.
For some time now, however, we find them to be grossly overpriced for nothing special. I will review them when making travel plans, but virtually always find as good as or better campgrounds for lower rates in our travels, so we rarely do KOA anymore.
Even though we’ve kept our Rewards Program active every year, KOA tends to be our ’emergency backup’ place when we need FHU’s in an area we are unfamiliar with or when our travels are delayed. We tend to stay at the one in Rapid City, SD and we stayed at the Rawlins, WY in 2021 when very high winds closed I-80.
Our destinations are usually national parks and USFS CGs. KOAs are often transition night stops, handy for dumping tanks, taking on water, and getting showers. There are some we wouldn’t use again, as with other private CGs, but we have a couple that are routine stops.The Tucson KOA is our destination to visit friends in the area; in fact, a friend and I stay in a “kabins” on occasion, when I don’t want to take my trailer.
We’ve stayed at other non-public CGs too, but usually end up at a KOA. We’d had the membership for 15 years or more, staying in cabins, tents, popups, and our small TT, across the country.They can vary widely, from dismal to gorgeous.
We used to stay at the KOA in Butte, MT but it has become overpriced and an ugly “pit” (pun intended if you know Butte).
There is an even uglier fhu campground 2 miles west (also just off I-90) but it has clean, more modern showers and a huge truck stop within yards for really nutritious meals. Try it!
The KOA in Klamath Falls to visit friends is pretty decent, been to a few that will never stop at again. They were ok for rv’s 50 years ago, but they need updating badly if they want more than the small rv’s. We have a 35 foot fifth wheel.
As little as possible, KOA have to be the most expensive place to stay. Granted we only stay a night on way to one gig (volunteer or paid). We stayed in one coming from Wyoming to Ohio. It was nice, wooded, two rows in the shade and one row (pull thrus) not. I like KOA but not the cost. We go to NH and was looking for a place in NY beginning of May 2023. I couldn’t find anything except for KOA open. The KOA wanted $105 + taxes/fees!!! It took three days of searching but found a park open and reasonable.
Only stay when there are no other options, too expensive for what we want. We are a 40 foot 5th wheel with a bathroom, washer and dryer and everything else we need. So never use the campground facility. Why pay extra for things we don’t need.
We took a 7 week 6000 mile trip this past summer by vehicle and stayed almost exclusively at the KOA basic or deluxe cabins. Was much cheaper than a hotel and a lot quieter. Would definitely travel this way again.
Stayed in one 15 yrs ago because it was only CG for 50 miles. Never since. Too expensive. HORRIBLE arrogant attitudes. Have looked at some since and found SAME attitude. Not again.
KOA is too pricey compared to other RV parks. We only stay as a last resort.
Same. And they often seem to offer less than an RV Park for people not just looking for a weekend vacation. My most recent experience with a KOA they forgot to mention, or post on their website, that they had winterized the water not just at the full hook up sites, but the entire campground. They had nowhere to even fill up. Ended up having to connect to a spigot in a utility room in the office they use for filling mop buckets, and that was only after they realized they hadn’t told me ahead of time and there was nowhere around I could go to get water.
Hahaha…last resort. That’s funny 😀
We had a KOA we used to go to every fall in Ohio close to Mohican State Forest. Over the years it was bought out several times and each time the price jumped and they had less qualified staff. They kept adding cabins, taking away campsites, and seemed to cater more to “Glampers” than RVers so we stopped staying there. The place is still there but no longer a KOA. Not sure if they dumped KOA or KOA dumped them.
for many years it was annually at the KOA near Dayton, OH when we attended the Dayton HamVention amateur radio show. we haven’t been to HamVention in many years.
Been a member for more than 40 years but I am still very selective about which campground I stay at on my travels as not all are worth the money.
I guess you folks haven’t kept up much. There are now 3 levels of KOA campgrounds. Journey, Holiday, and Resort.
Journeys aren’t big on amenities and are therefore competitively priced with other RV parks and are great for overnights or a few days and aren’t set up to entertain kids.
Holiday and Resort levels cost more and have the family entertainment stuff like putt putt golf, etc.
We stay at the Journey’s a lot.
I wasn’t a big fan of koa but they really were reliable during the heart of the pandemic when we had to make a cross country trip. Now I count them in the mix like any other park. I still want to shout out a big thank you
Never, they are too expensive for our travel budget.
We find KOAs are consistently nicer then your average RV parks when traveling to our destination. Our favorite KOA is in Toosumba, MS. It’s a gem of a KOA.
Our preference is state park campgrounds and COE campgrounds, but we end up at lots of KOA campgrounds to get near where we want.
On getting to a place for long term, KOAs are nice, usually right on major highway. I also visit my wife brother in Tuscon, and stay at a KOA (had her sister stay in a KOA cottage with her grand kids too). I find I like State parks and COE, but KOA have the place for us to stay.
I put rarely, but the last 3 years the KOA’s that I wanted to stay at were totally booked 6 months in advance. so I have not been able to get in at any
The koa in Flagstaff AZ is amazing.
It is one that we use on a regular basis, on our way to/from both Rims of Grand Canyon (at least once a year) and if we head to Utah. It can get busy on weekends, but for us, it’s great because it’s handy to the routes we use, we know where to go to get food, gas, and the occasional other shopping needs.
We normally do not pick KOA camp grounds for our trips, but we have done so on occasion for our teenage son. Teens need a pool once in a while.
We stay overnight at a KOA (as in roughly sunset to sunrise) twice a year when we do our semi-annual migration. We have electric; 50/50 if we can hook up to water. It is a Holiday, but all those amenities are shut down for the season. It is our most expensive nightly stop. But the staff is pleasant, the bathhouse is clean. And, the next closest park on our route is far enough to throw off the entire 5 day route.
KANSAS CITY WEST / LAWRENCE KOA HOLIDAY