Compiled by Janet Groene
We scan the web, including local news and industry sources, for information about campgrounds and RV parks across North America. Those listed here are for you to investigate and evaluate. Always check further about any of this information if you plan to visit. Own a campground? Send news about your park to janetgroene (at) yahoo.com.
RV travelers are now landing at the spot where English colonists first landed in 1607. First Landing State Park, Virginia Beach, Virginia, is preparing for major renovations that will affect campsites and cabins from November 1 this year to June 30, 2025. The website will lead you through reservations for this period. Day use visitors are advised that guests are turned away when parking lot capacity is reached. The park has beach frontage, historic display and 20 miles of trails. ReserveVaParks.com. Website for park.
Oklahoma State Parks is transitioning to a new reservation system. As is, certain features like map viewing are not available. But the park staff promises that teams are working “around the clock” to improve the booking experience. If you have any questions or are having trouble with a reservation, call 877-OKPARKS (877-657-2757). Website.
Grab tickets now for three days of Camping with the Blues at the former Sertoma Youth Ranch, now the Florida Sand Music Ranch in Brooksville, Florida. Dates are October 18-20. The lineup is subject to change, but for now the headliners are announced as Piper and The Hard Times, winners of the 2024 International Blues Challenge Band Division. A limited number of RV sites with water and electric are available on a first-come basis. Parking outside the front gate is free. (941) 758-7585 Ranch website. Camping with the Blues website.
State park fee changes due to go into effect in the state of Washington next year. They’ll hit boat moorings by January 1 and campgrounds by May 15. Campsite rates will rise by $3 to $5 for standard sites, $5 to $6 for partial hookups and $6 for full hookups. Watercraft launch and mooring fees will increase accordingly.
What began as a farmer’s market in Poteet, Texas, has grown into a complete destination for camping, eating, shopping, a playground and special events venue. Farm to Familia now has a campground, café, stocked fishing pond, pavilion, dog park, tiny homes, restrooms and showers. Call (830) 276-1944. Website for farmer’s market. Familiaville RV and Tiny Home Resort on FB.
New this year in Cochran, Georgia, near Macon, is Yogi Bear’s Jellystone Park Resort with RV sites ranging from basic to full hook-ups. The resort has a full menu of activities, a pavilion, cabins, tent sites, fishing, swimming, laundry, a gift shop and dog park. An arcade is promised soon. Weekend activities are held regularly. Be there October 4 for the Fall Festival with hay rides, apple bobbing, food, contests and loads of family fun. Call (478) 934-6694 or visit the website.
Mainebiz reports that a new owner is in charge at the Pleasant River Campground in Bethel, Maine. It’s located on the Pleasant River for canoeing, fishing, hiking and biking. The campground has 75 campsites, 18 of them with full hookups, 29 with water and electric and 28 with no hookups. Available are canoe and kayak rental with shuttle service, playground, horseshoes, in-ground swimming pool and access to the Appalachian Trail. Wi-Fi is free throughout. The campground is open May 1 to October 31. Website.
Bring your best toe-tapping shoes to the Blazin Bluegrass Festival, scheduled for September 19-21 at the Sand Hill RV Park and Camp in Whitley City, Kentucky. Some campsites have water and electric. The campground has a dump station, water station and two shower houses. Contact Jarrod Waters (606) 872-1221; email: blazinbluegrasscamping@gmail.com Website for Festival (includes camping info).
Great news! The Mountain State’s new state park, Stonewall Resort State Park in Roanoke, West Virginia, opens its luxury resort amenities to campers on payment of a resort fee at check-in. Not all resort parks make this generous offer, and some parks ban campers from some or all of the resort’s luxury lodge facilities. For $15 per day, a party of four per campsite can enjoy the heated outdoor/indoor swimming pool, hot tubs and gym. The park’s Briar Point Campground has 40 full hook-up RV sites, seven of them with 50-amp service and all with complimentary high-speed Wi-Fi. (The campground also charges a small park fee.) See website.
The spotlight is on a hot new destination in Georgia just north of the Florida Line. A new Love’s Travel Stop is open on I-75 at Valdosta, Georgia. Outside the city is the growing and going Wild Adventures Theme Park and its new jungle safari-theme campground. This smaller Love’s offers five full-hookup, back-in RV sites (no pull-thru sites) and a dog park, a Bojangles, a Godfather’s Pizza and a Love’s Fresh Kitchen. Love’s at Valdosta.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will close the Cotton Hill Campground from September 15, 2024, to March 2025, while the water distribution lines are replaced. White Oak and Hardridge Creek campgrounds will remain open. The area is along Walter F. George Lake on the Georgia and Alabama border. Cotton Hill Campground website.
See last week’s Campground News.
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Thank you, Janet! Especially good to know about the campground near the Alabama/Georgia border! Thanks again, have a great weekend, safe travels, and safe stays! 🙂