Learning About Campgrounds & RV Parks

The longer we travel, the more we learn of types of places that we can stay. If you can afford any price, or you move back and forth to the same parks each year, then skip this page . If you are like us, you travel randomly and will want all kinds of parks to fit your needs.

Type of Parks: We have stayed in 671 locations. Places to stay range from free overnights like Walmarts to high end parks like Motorcoach Country Club in Indio, California at $99/night (04-2012). There are free locations, private parks, city, county, state and federal parks, rallies, casinos, repair centers, truck stops, rest areas, friends homes and more . Elks members can stay at Elks Lodges, from free to $35 (02-2019). Private parks vary: parks for travelers only, parks for snow birds and parks with trailers and park models where people live full time. And there are private ownership parks where you can buy your own lot or rent.

Park Discounts: We purchased yearly memberships in FMCA, Good Sam Club , KOA, Passport America, Elks and Escapees. We recommend all except KOA. We feel that many KOA parks are overpriced and geared for kids. While you get 10% off with a membership; we just pay the full price when we stay at a KOA.

Searching for Parks: We do all our park searching on the Internet. This entire site is designed to be your one Internet portal to every site you will need. Our search order depends on our needs. If we want luxury or know the park we want, we go directly to their web site. If we want an couple nights on the way to somewhere, then we search in this order. Elks, Passport America, Escapees, Good Sam, Government Parks, Big Rig Resorts and finally surfing the web. Click the menu link Next to see how we find park in the Net.

Our Park Ratings: We have stayed at 477 parks and revisited some of them. We rate every site that we stay at, on a scale from 1 = (would, but rather not stay there) to 5 = (we would like to live there). We rated Beebe Bridge County Park in Lake Chelan, WA as a 4. It had only 30 amps and water, a dump site and showers, no other facilties! So what do we care about that it could be rated so high. We like a solid, spacious, level pad, a patio, nice grass, a clean park and a great view. This park would be a 5 with 50 amps, a spa and cable TV. We like clean showers, bike trails, a pool, volleyball and pickleball. But, we don't downgrade a park if it lacks these. You may not find our ratings valuable if your desires and needs are vastly different from ours.

Page 3700 last updated or audited on 02-17-2019     By Pete . Ellen Mattson

The Full Time Motorhome Living Guide

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