The RV park you choose can make or break your road trip. Lucky for you, Savvy Sojourner is here to help! Here are some tips and tricks to help you choose the perfect RV park that will set your next trip up for success.
Savvy Sojourner Pro Tip: Make sure to start looking for RV parks early! Due to the growing popularity of RV travel, many RV parks and campgrounds fill up 9 months to a year in advance. I am not exaggerating when I say that I start booking RV sites at least 1 year in advance.
Step 1: Mapping Out Your Location
Pull up your favorite mapping app and let’s get started! I know that you are temped to skip this step, but trust me it is crucial! Begin looking at your destination and everything around it. If you are taking a road trip, begin planning how many hours you are going to travel each day and what towns are going to be good stopping points. If you are visiting a National Park, look at where places of interest are located within the park and which entrances are the most convenient. Map how far apart each location is in miles and in driving time. Make a lot of notes and become as familiar as you can with the area around your destination.
Now you may be asking yourself what all of this mapping has to do with finding the perfect RV park. When you travel somewhere new, it is really hard to determine how far apart places are from one another (either in miles or time). Towns that look close on a map may actually be hours apart from one another, due to winding mountain roads or roads with high traffic. Many National Parks are huge and towns or RV parks that are close to the entrance to a park may be very far away from the hiking trails or attractions you want to see. Spending time learning about the area will save you extra driving and stress once you arrive!
Step 2: Make a Wish List of RV Park Amenities
Before you start looking at specific RV parks, you need to know what you are looking for. A great place to start is to make a list of amenities that you must have and would like to have. Amenities on these lists are very specific to your needs and to the trip that you are taking. Don’t be surprised if the items on these lists are different from one road trip to the next!
Must Have RV Park Amenities
Must haves are non-negotiable amenities that you need to make your RV stay as comfortable as possible. These can be things inside the RV park or things near the RV that will make your stay easy and convenient. I am willing to bet that this list will change as you take more trips and stay in more RV parks. Things you don’t think are important to have in the beginning might become a must have over time. When my family started out, we treated RV parks more like campgrounds. We didn’t think we needed hook-ups or anything fancy. After staying in our first site with full-hookups, sites with power and water became a permanent item on our must have list!
Examples of Possible Must Haves:
- Hookups (Full, Power/Water, etc)
- Type of Site (pull-thru or back-in)
- Wifi/Cell Reception
- Are Pets Allowed?
- Proximity to a National Park, town, or specific location
Like to Have RV Park Amenities
After you decide what must have, you can start thinking about what amenities you would like to have. These amenities are things that would be nice, but your stay would not be ruined if a park did not have them. While staying is a site with full-hookups is ideal for my family, staying in a RV park for a few days without a sewer hookup is not the end of the world. Not ideal, but not a deal breaker.
Examples of Possible Like to Haves:
- Restrooms or Showers
- Laundry Facilities (in the park or nearby)
- Campfire Rings/Picnic Tables
- Pool
- Clubhouse
- Site Surface (gravel, cement, or dirt)
Step 3: Researching and Booking a RV Park
Now it is finally time to find and book the perfect RV park for your trip! This is the time where you get to search for RV parks in your desired area, look for amenities, and read reviews from those who have already stayed there. Then when you find the perfect RV park, you need to research any discounts that will help with your budget. But, where do you find all of this information?
Researching RV Parks:
There are several different ways to find and research RV Parks, from a simple Google search to RV park apps. I have two resources that I use for each and every trip my family takes. The reviews I have found on each of these sites are accurate and come from real people who have not been paid for their reviews. They are honest and very accurate to what you find when you actually arrive at the park.
- RV Life Campground Reviews: Website Link
This is my go to resource for researching RV parks. Many of the reviews are written be people who RV full time. This means they are RV park experts and give a lot of valuable insight, including suggestions for activities to check out near the park! The mapping feature also makes it very easy to find every RV park near your destination. Make sure to download the RV Life app so you can access these reviews anywhere you go! - Campendium: Website Link
My second favorite resource is Campendium. There is a large variety of parks nationwide and the reviews have proven to be very accurate. The website is also very user friendly!
Savvy Sojourner Pro Tip: Make sure to leave your own reviews of all the RV parks you stay at. You can easily make a profile at RV Life or Campendium. Writing a review only takes a few minutes and will help out your fellow sojourner. Take a penny, leave a penny, right?
Click here to read my personal RV park reviews.
You can trust me to tell you the perfect RV parks and the parks that should be avoided!
Before You Book Your Site:
Now that your research is complete and you have found the perfect RV park for your trip, it is time to book…almost! Before you book I suggest looking into any discounts. Yes, I am always looking to save a little money wherever possible! Rather than booking online, I prefer to go old school and actually call the RV park and book over the phone. This allows for me to ask for discounts and to double check that the site they put us in will actually accommodate our travel trailer.
Possible Discounts:
- Active/Retired Military
- First Responders
- Senior Discounts
- Membership Discounts (Good Sam, Passport America, AAA)
Finding the perfect RV park for your next trip does not have to be an impossible task. Starting early and doing the work will set you up for success. However, sometimes you can do everything correctly and still end up in RV park that is less than ideal. It has happened to me several times and it will happen again. If it does happen, don’t let it get you down! The truth of the matter is that our family uses a RV park like a hotel and most of our time is spent enjoying our vacation. (But, make sure to leave an accurate review of your stay to help those who are looking to stay there after you!)
For more Savvy Sojourner tips on planning a successful trip, click here!
Happy Sojourning!
Meghan
