Please send your news about the coronavirus pandemic as it applies to RVers to editor@rvtravel or submit it here.
Thank you to all the RV Travel readers who have sent us information, much of which we have included here. We have been working so fast that we have not had time to thank you all. So thank you! (You know who you are.)
Read yesterday’s extensive news coverage of the coronavirus pandemic and how it’s affecting RVers.
Did you miss reading this recent reader essay? RV Life in a Coronavirus World: “Mr. President, please open our campgrounds!”
UPDATE ON OUR FRIEND Gary Bunzer, the RV Doctor
Gary is battling COVID-19 in a Seattle area hospital. He has been in ICU for a week now. He is heavily sedated and on a ventilator, and continues to be in critical but stable condition. The drugs have him pretty much out of it, so he is not communicative with anyone. His family is hopeful about a good outcome. Read our story about Gary and leave him a message.
The Escapees RV Club has cancelled its 2020 Escapade. All who were registered to attend the June 21-26 event in Rock S have been contacted via email with information about receiving a full refund. “We are confident that this is the best decision, based on a number of factors regarding the ongoing concerns with COVID-19,” the group said in a member newsletter.
Across the country, more than 1,000 retired, former and current National Park Service employees are calling on the U.S. Department of the Interior secretary to close all national parks during the coronavirus pandemic. “No one has ever died because they were not able to see LBJ’s ranch or ancestral settlement on any given weekend,” wrote Trevor Wright, a maintenance worker at the former home of President Lyndon Johnson, now the Lyndon B. Johnson National Historic Park in the Texas Hill Country.
The Jackson Rancheria Casino Resort east of Sacramento is closed and that includes its RV park.
Sisters, Ore., near Bend, has closed its Creekside Campground and dump station.
In addition to previously announced closures, the following services and operations, originally scheduled to open between now and May 1 along the Blue Ridge Parkway, are postponed until further notice: Price Park Campground and Picnic Area and Linville Falls Campground and Picnic Area.
In Wells, Maine, high density accommodations like hotels and other lodging facilities including campgrounds and RV parks can no longer be occupied.
Medicine Hat, Alberta, is relaxing measures for RVs within city limits to accommodate those who might be self-isolating. Typically, occupation of an RV is limited to 24 hours. But that’s now relaxed as long as RVers not block streets or sidewalks, and a suitable plan for draining tanks and hooking up water or power is in place.
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👍 Grand Design RV recently pledged a donation of 1,000 N95 respiratory masks and many sets of protective nitrile gloves to Beacon Health System. The donation will assist many healthcare professionals and volunteers in their continuous support and care of those affected in the Elkhart County, Indiana, community by the COVID-19 virus.
RV TRAVEL reader Richard Bauer reports: “We’re currently at the Sun Life Vacation Resort in Mesa, Arizona. A sign at the entrance indicates that no over-nighters and no reservations accepted until fall. Office staff today assured me that we can remain in the park but once we check out we cannot return.” The park is a Cal-Am property, one of many in the greater Phoenix area. Read a statement from Cal-Am Properties about its new policies.
TIP: Are you self-isolating all by yourself? Lonely? How about adopting a dog or cat? They make great friends. Visit your local animal shelter and bring home some love.
Seven National Park Service campgrounds in the New River Gorge National River and one in the Gauley National Recreation Area on Tuesday became the latest West Virginia outdoor recreation amenities ordered closed in an effort to slow the spread of the coronavirus. In the New River Gorge National River the National Park Service operates campgrounds at Glade Creek, Grandview Sandbar, Army Camp, Stone Cliff Beach, Thayer, Brooklyn and War Ridge/Backus Mountain. The Gauley River National Recreation Area’s lone campground, Gauley Tailwaters, is also now closed.
Harbor Beach, Michigan’s, North Park Campground is closed until at least May 15.
Adams County, Wisconsin is urging people to not visit the county and reminding those that do of campground changes. If they have a permanent campsite in Adams County they will be instructed to self-quarantine for 14 days upon arrival if they come from out of the area. The town of Rome has also suspended all camping permits until April 30.
Montana’s Flathead National Forest campgrounds are now closed.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis became one of the last few governors in the U.S. to issue a stay-at-home order amid the coronavirus pandemic Wednesday. Businesses that provide daily necessities, including grocery stores, pharmacies, banks, gas stations, pet supply stores, laundromats, hardware stores and others (we believe RV parks), will remain open.
Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) has been receiving an influx of calls and reports of false social media posts and even robocalls claiming that hunting and fishing seasons are canceled, that valid licenses are no longer required to hunt and fish, or that park fees have been rescinded due to the COVID-19 outbreak. The reports are false.
👎 HAVING A BAD DAY: Jeff Treneff, a member of our RV Coronavirus News group at Facebook, posted this Wednesday: “Oil Creek Family Campground in Titusville PA, is cancelling my April 16 reservation until further notice due to PA state order. Got an email this morning from Summerville Lake Retreat in WV, cancelling my April 25 reservation, stating the governor ordered all WV campgrounds close immediately.”
Hot Springs National Park has closed its Gulpha Gorge campgrounds, including its restrooms and picnic area.
In the state of Arizona, the stay at home order does not restrict RVers from moving from one RV park to another. Private campgrounds are allowed to stay open with no restrictions, although some may voluntarily choose to close to help the spread of the virus.
The City of Mansfield, Ohio, announced Wednesday afternoon that its Clear Fork Reservoir campground is closed.
RV STOCKS: Yesterday’s Closing: Camping World down 17.22%, Thor down 9.55%, Winnebago down 2.01%.
Can’t find something at your local store? Amazon may have it.
HOW TO WASH YOUR HANDS
From the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), this short video shows you the most effective way to wash your hands to get rid of germs.
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The small staff of RVtravel.com is working overtime to bring you the news about how the current pandemic is affecting the lives of RVers. In the meantime, most of our advertisers have stopped their campaigns due to necessity. We are able to continue because of our nearly 5,000 readers who have become voluntary subscribers. Please consider making a pledge today, no matter how modest. UPDATE FROM THE EDITOR: If you are being hit financially by the pandemic, please take care of yourself: don’t worry about us. But if you are doing okay, we could use your help.
New Facebook Group: How the coronavirus is impacting RVers. Get updates throughout the day about park and campground closings, cancelled rallies and RV shows — and more. Join in the conversation with other RVers about what’s on all our minds right now.
If you are a member of an RV club or are affiliated with an RV-related event would you please let us know if its gatherings, meetings, etc., are cancelled or postponed because of the coronavirus? We’ll pass along the info to our readers. We appreciate any news related to RVing that’s relevant to the present crisis. Please submit it here. Thank you!
Correction for Florida…..The State Parks are CLOSED.
How can you adopt a pet when your in self-isolation?
Voluntarily closing campgrounds does not help stop the spread of the virus. It forces the RVers there to move somewhere else, exacerbating the spread of the virus.
hi, leaving Quartzsite AZ mid april, heading for Brookings OR, will be traveling up the 99 hiway thru California, any info on open rv parks would be greatly appreciated. thanks and safe travel to all
We need the government to tell states to re open RV parks and campgrounds for us. Those who full time are having a hard time to find a place. I do know Escapee’s is trying. We all need to contact our representatives and let them know, we are good to go as a self contained unit out there. Stay safe everyone and it seems the food stores are with new hours, stocking up their stores. Of course, we still have the people out there who think they need 400 rolls of toilet paper or paper towels, but hopefully, that wlll subside sooner than later! I know when someone comes in to the park we are at, we try and be a good neighbor and ask if they need anything. Let’s all be good neighbors and make this stressful time a little easier for your neighbor. You will be the better for it!
Adopting a rescue animal is not always a viable option for those of us that are FT in thier coach. Most private nonprofit rescue organizations & some county shelters will not even talk to you when they find out you don’t have a fenced back yard and a single family home.
It really depends on where your living at the time.
Just received notice that my reservation at Mississippi State Park for next week has been cancelled. Add MS to your ‘closed’ RV parks.
3/2020, when everything changed. It won’t be the same ever again. What’s left to say? Maybe we’ll do better next time?
The legend of Ben Ure Island is that his wife would watch for revenue cutters hoping to intercept her smuggler husband when he sailed home through the pass; she’d light a fire on the high point to warn him.
This time, somebody forgot to heed the warning fire.
I just tried to join the group on Facebook and was scrolling down a list of possible complaints about the group when a message came up (from facebook, I assume) that basically said my complaint would be recorded. I DID NOT LODGE A COMPLAINT!! I was trying to join the group!