Newbie planning a trip

[rkjendal]

I'm new to RV stuff, just bought a 2019 Flagstaff HW tent trailer and am planning a trip around the county for our 50th anniversary next year. We'll be staying in some national parks but not all the time. What is the best resource to use to find good RV campgrounds and their services?



Thanks in advance for any input
Roy

[JayArras]

There are lots of discussions about this if you do a search. You can start here.

[ependydad]

Here’s an article that I wrote about that. See if this helps:
https://learntorv.com/lets-go-trip-p...-and-websites/

[pgandw]

Just like reviews and ratings, there is no one source that you will agree with all the time.

In a pop-up, your camping style is going to (or should) have a lot to do with the campgrounds you pick. Questions to think about:
- do you have black and gray water tanks to dump after a few nights?
- will you use campground toilets/showers or the ones (if you have them) in your pop-up?
- water - how long does your water tank last? Or will you expect water hook-up at the site?
- without reservations and being in a PUP, (at least in Colorado) you often get sent to the dry camping sites (nothing but a parking space, table, and possibly a fire pit). Do you have the battery to handle that, are you OK without air conditioning?

Once you have a handle on how you want to camp, you can read the web reviews with a more knowledgeable eye on what the reviews say. We select a campground, then go to the web reviews and photos to get an idea if it's what we want. If not, we select another campground. Even then, we sometimes find the site or campground is not what we expected.

As an example, in Colorado, real shade is a precious commodity. And the bug infestations have forced both private and pubic campgrounds to remove many pine trees, which were shade at one point. Others have nothing but scrub trees to begin with. We prefer shade, and at least screening from our neighbors. Therefore, sites in an open field are just not our style.

For us, reviews where the campground is described as "rustic" or the staff as "rough" are often the most interesting places. It takes some digging around to find out why those terms are used. If a 5th wheeler or motorhome describes the campground as "rustic", it usually means no WiFi, non-paved sites, minimal convenience store, and lack of those types of amenities.

hope this helps, enjoy your trip
Fred W
2019 Flagstaff T21TBHW A-frame
camping Colorado and adjacent states one weekend at a time
Fred W
2019

[valleyduo]

Allstays.com will show you a lot of places you can stay and filter for some amenities you may want at the parks. It's still wise to further research any place you select to be sure it's what you're looking for.

[Micro Mom]

Also note that some campgrounds won’t accept pop ups or trailers with foldout tent bunks. The ones we came across when we had a pop up restricted them due to bears.

[D W]

Back in the early '80's when we first started camping we jumped right in to get our feet wet. No internet back then, we used a book. It was called "Woodall's Campground Directory". In addition to that we use MILEPOST for Alaska & Canada. It was trial and error for the first year, but we educated ourselves and decided what type of camping WE liked. These days there is the internet with campgrounds galore. A word of advice, pay no attention to reviews. They are all subjective with individual "opinions" and no facts. You will learn real fast the difference between an RV Campground and an RV Resort. One thing for sure, there's something out there for everybody.

[bikendan]

Originally Posted by Micro Mom

Also note that some campgrounds won’t accept pop ups or trailers with foldout tent bunks. The ones we came across when we had a pop up restricted them due to bears.

The only National Park campground that has a permanent ban on soft-sided campers, is Fishing Bridge campground in Yellowstone. All the other major YNP campgrounds allow them. Plus Fishing Bridge campground is closed this year.
Apgar campground in Glacier NP(not sure about St Marys) Grand Teton NP and Yosemite NP allows them.
Which campgrounds are you referring to?

[Micro Mom]

Originally Posted by bikendan

The only National Park campground that has a permanent ban on soft-sided campers, is Fishing Bridge campground in Yellowstone. All the other major YNP campgrounds allow them. Plus Fishing Bridge campground is closed this year.
Apgar campground in Glacier NP(not sure about St Marys) Grand Teton NP and Yosemite NP allows them.
Which campgrounds are you referring to?

We live in the East. I can’t remember specifically which campgrounds, but it was a mix of public and private ones in Tennessee and North Georgia. That was about 14 years ago. Perhaps things have changed.