RV Parks and Campgrounds
RV parks and campgrounds come in many sizes. Families will find campgrounds and RV parks nestled in or near the national or provincial parks, recreation areas, beaches, mountains, major tourist attractions and large cities. With over 14,000 RV campgrounds and parks throughout the U.S., RV travelers can find a park or camground to fit every budget and activity.
Types of RV Parks and Campgrounds
There are a wide variety of parks availble across North America. What's the best one for you and your family?
- A Campground is a camping area, usually in a natural or rural setting. A campground accepts tenters and usually RVs.
- An RV Park usually has devoted significant attention to formal development of the park site. It generally caters to RVs and their requirements. Often an RV Park does not accept walk-ins or tents and sometimes does not accept tent trailers or other non full-hookup units.
- Franchise Parks belong to one of several nationwide franchises and may offer membership discounts; camping cabins; special events; cartoon characters; standard rates, amenities and recreation; etc. The attraction of a franchise park is knowing what to expect. KOA and Yogi Bear's Jellystone Park (Leisure Systems) are two prominent franchises.
- A Season Lease Park has sites available with weekly or monthly rates. Seasonal sites provide for spending the winter in the sunbelt, the summer near great fishing or other similar long-term camping.
- An RV Area in a Mobile Home Park is a special section for RVs within a mobile home park (a park for permanent living). It may or may not have its own recreational complex. It is adjacent to and shares management with the mobile home park.
- RV Spaces are spaces that are reserved for RV travelers at places such as mobile home parks, camp resorts, RV dealerships/service centers and next to motels.
- Public Campgrounds are managed and financed by the government: local, county, city, state, federal and provincial. There is usually little formal development. Some campgrounds within national parks and monuments are managed by private enterprises, in which case there may be more development.
- Camp Resorts include those facilities offering lots for sale only, membership only, condo parks, time share parks, etc. Rarely, if ever, do these places accept overnight travelers. Thousand Trails and Coast to Coast are two common camp resorts.
- Clothing Optional Parks are not designed to cater to the "average, traveling-down-the-road type camper." They may be totally nude or clothing optional
Locate RV Parks and Campgrounds
To locate an RV campground or park, search the extensive databases of two well-known directories -- Trailer Life Campgrounds, RV Parks & Services Directory or Woodall's North American Campground Directory. Each directory is updated annually.
Or, search the database at GoCampingAmerica.com, the official website of the non-profit National Association of RV Parks & Campgrounds (ARVC), the trade association representing the commercial RV park and campground industry throughout the United States.
Search Woodalls | Search TL Directory | Search GoCampingAmerica.com
RV Clubs | Search RV CLubs | Search GoCampingAmerica.com
Find the Best RV Vacations in North America
To evaluate an RV park or campground, we recommend reviewing our guide to campgounds, which includes notes on the types of accomodations, the features and pricing.
A Note on RV Campround and Park Ratings
Trailer Life currently provides three ratings of camprounds, each on a scale of 1 to 10. The first number is a rating rating of RV park facilities. The second number is a rating of park cleanliness of restrooms. The third number is a rating of campground atmosphere.
Woodall's assigns two ratings to each privately owned campground or RV park. One rating is assigned to the facilities at the park (sites, roads, service buildings, restrooms, hookups, etc.). A separate recreation rating is also assigned. Both facilities and recreation ratings range from 1 to 5. Keep in mind the final ratings are a composite of several different areas of interest.
For a complete explanation of the Trailer Life and Woodall rating systems, please see their respective websites.
