campground camping

We’ve entered a new golden age for RV travel, partly because RV manufacturers are offering an astonishing variety of products at practically every price point. But this new golden age might owe even more to the increased quality and diversity of the American campground.

Choosing a Campground

If you want to travel on a budget, with limited amenities, state parks offer beautiful options in prime locations. If you want a campground with full-hookup sites (water, electric, sewer), a pool, and a modern playground, however, state parks might not be for you. Instead, reserve a site at a well-reviewed private campground.

Some private campgrounds offer luxurious amenities, such as tasteful landscaping, high-quality grills, outdoor furniture, and stone fire pits. The campground industry’s movement toward comfortable camping—or what some have called glamping—is more than just a trend.

In this book, we recommend a variety of campgrounds, but they lean slightly toward private campgrounds for one important reason: many of our state and federal campgrounds are outdated. Sadly, too many of these beautiful campgrounds, particularly the ones run by the National Park Service, cannot accommodate larger RVs. If your rig is shorter than 30 feet (9m) long, you might be able to find suitable sites in our national parks. But if your rig is longer than 30 feet, you’re out of luck.

A variety of options are available at every great RV destination, and this book points you to the best of them.

Making Reservations

Experienced RVers often know how to navigate state parks’ rather complicated reservation systems to book their favorite lakeside or oceanfront site. Novices might feel frustrated when trying to find a spot.

Call or book online at the minute they become available. These advance booking windows vary from park to park. Most state and federal parks use reserveamerica.com for advanced reservations. Go directly to the campground’s page within that site to find out how far ahead you can book.

Thankfully, reserving at private campgrounds is much easier. Most have online booking options, but we strongly recommend calling the campground directly to reserve the site that most suits your particular needs. Insiders know that a phone call likely gets you a better site than an online reservation. Most private campgrounds start reservations at least 1 year in advance.

Of course, it’s always possible to book an amazing site at a popular destination with short notice. But you might have to call several times and check for cancellations.

Moving In

When you pull into the campground, look for a sign that directs you to temporary parking for the registration area, which is almost always in the camp store. After paying your bill, you’ll either receive a map of the campground with directions to your site or, at many private campgrounds, a camp worker will take you there directly.

When you reach your site, locate and hook up to water, electric, and sewer, which are almost always clustered close together and easy to find, if the campground has them.

If you need additional help and you’re staying at a private campground, ask. Camp staff are trained to help. If you’re staying at a state or federal campground, which are often understaffed, you might need to ask for assistance from other campers. Many are friendly, handy people who are happy to help.

Campground Life

Campgrounds provide safe places for children to play and spontaneous communities to form. They’re also egalitarian places, where you might find a million-dollar motor home parked next to an old pop-up camper.

Show courtesy to your neighbors by obeying the campground’s posted hours for quiet time. Generally speaking, quiet time is enforced more strictly at private campgrounds where the owners live on-site. Some state parks are notorious for attracting campers who want to stay up late and party. To avoid these campgrounds, use the recommendations in this book or check online reviews. For the most part, the rangers at federal campgrounds run a tight ship and don’t tolerate noise after quiet time.

Most campers look at their campsite as their personal haven, so avoid using them as shortcuts, and if you’re traveling with children, instruct them to do the same.