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So, you’ve got your camper, you’ve done your shakedown cruise, and now you’re ready to hit the road for a real vacation…but how do you find campgrounds? There are several ways – I usually use a combination of them depending on where we’re going. Here are my top three, plus a few others.
- Probably the easiest way is to google the name of the city or attraction and then the word campground. You’ll get a list of campgrounds in the area. Click through them to find out rates and availability. This is probably my least favorite method – I like to know a little bit about the campground.
- Two big name campground chains are KOA and Good Sam Club. Both have memberships you can purchase which then allow you to save money on your stays at their campgrounds. When we had our pop up, we paid $24/yr to be a KOA VKR member (it’s now $30/yr). Typically the prices are higher, but when we were camping in a pop up, the extra cost was worth it because it meant that the bathroom/shower facilities would be clean. They also have books with all their campgrounds in them. KOA’s is here and the app is here. Good Sam’s is here and the app is here. Their book and app contain more than just Good Sam campgrounds.
- Woodalls – They are connected with Good Sam, but they have a variety of books available so that’s why I’m giving them their own line. This is probably my favorite way to look for campgrounds. The website is full of information and they also have a book you can purchase. I like being able to look at a map and see what campgrounds are nearby, how they rate (based on a third party review) and then look up the website.
Here are a few other ways. I haven’t used them as much, but they may work for you.
Free and Low-Cost Campgrounds – All campgrounds in this book are $12 or less. To get the $12 or less, they use the cheapest price for a campsite – it could be a senior rate or a resident rate. The free campgrounds are normally primitive – no electric, no water, no dump station. I like the idea of boondocking, but right now it isn’t something we want to try – way too hot in Florida! However, in the future, we’re hoping to go on longer trips and staying somewhere free for a few nights would really help the bottom line! Please note that only 44 states are included. Make sure you do your research before heading out.
- I came across a website for a family who was going to full time for a year. I started following them on Instagram and followed tags to other fulltimers. There are a lot of great campgrounds out there and these people find them! Plus, you can get ideas for future trips.
- A website I have just recently discovered (again, through some of the fulltimers I follow) is campendium. They have a fairly comprehensive list of campgrounds that campers can review and upload pictures. You can register and add your own reviews too.
- When we bought our camper, they told us about RV Parks app. We downloaded it, but haven’t used it much. It’s here for Android and here for Apple.
How do you find out about campgrounds?
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