Mar. 12: We have been on the road for just over 2 months now, and have stayed at a variety of campgrounds including RV resorts, private RV campgrounds, county and state parks. How do these differ?
Actually, they have a lot in common. Just about every place that says it will accommodate RVs has a flat parking spot to camp, an electrical hook-up (30 and/or 50 amp) and a water tap. (The one exception to this was the parking lot in the Savannah Visitor Center, which is just a parking lot.) Most also have a sewer line hook-up, picnic table and some type of fire pit. As well, most have a “dump station” (a centralized sewer line), bathrooms and showers, and almost all have some type of laundromat. They all have quiet hours from 10 p.m. to about 7 a.m. and I must say that the residents adhere to this and also keep the facilities clean. (Bathroom and shower cleanliness seem to be a major component of campground ratings.) Many have some type of store that sells some camping supplies and junk food (although not things like milk, which would be handy).
The sewer line deserves some extra comment. I mentioned before that RVs have 2 storage tanks: “black water” for the toilet and “grey water” for everything else. To date we have not got to the point where the black water tank has been full. We can say from experience that 4 “RV showers” (2 days x 2 people) or 5 days of kitchen use and hand-washing fill the grey water tank. (An “RV shower” uses a lever to turn the water off when it is not needed – e.g. when lathering up – so that it uses quite a bit less water than a regular shower while maintaining the same water temperature.) If there is no sewer line, then the RV must be moved to the dump station to empty the tanks. This is the same effort that is required to pack up and leave, so it is not something we really want to do. We have learned that if there is no sewer line and we are staying several days, we need to use disposable dishes and cook meals that do not require a lot of cleaning up, as well as using the campground shower.
County and state parks tend to be in natural beauty spots, and to devote only a small part of the park to RV camping. As a result, they often have bicycle or hiking trails, beaches, lake front, etc. They are usually pretty, and often have nicer camping spots than the private campgrounds. In Georgia we stayed at both state and county parks that also had a golf course (although I think that in both cases there was an additional fee for golfing). They cost from $25-$35 nightly.
County and state parks have a few features that might discourage some campers, though. Firstly, they are often far from the highway – it is a bit daunting to drive a large RV on a small road. Secondly, they don’t have a lot of spaces, so they may be full, especially on the weekend. Thirdly, they usually have time limits of 2 weeks (state) or less (county). Fourthly, they are most likely to lack a sewer at the campsite (although many do have them). Fifthly, they often do not have wifi (although they may have great cell reception). And finally, some of them have gates that are locked when the office is closed. A locked gate could just mean that you get a key code, and need to jump out of the car to open and close the gate, but in a couple of places it meant that you have to be at the campsite when the gate is locked (no parking outside the gate) which could be as early as 7:00 p.m.
Because there are no long-term residents in the county and state parks, most campers are touring, or local folks out for the weekend or school break.
Private RV resorts and parks almost always fill the site with camping spots and so have little room for aesthetics at the actual campsites, although some are located on small lakes or rivers or border other attractive features. Many of them have dog-walk areas, or have (or are close to) fenced in off-leash dog parks. They all have sewer hook-ups. They might originally have been located at remote spots, but since they are not the actual tourist attraction, they tend to be in places that attract other tourist oriented businesses, such as motels, restaurants and RV service centers and so become part of a “strip” with strip-mall ambience. As well, much of their business comes from long-term renters, including both campers who use their RV as a cottage and people who need to be close to job sites, which are relatively long-term but not permanent.
The main differences between a “resort” and a “campground” seems to be that resorts have leisure facilities such as tennis or basketball courts, horse shoes, fishing ponds, etc. As well, resorts have some type of social hall, although they do not always have social activities. Although the most expensive place we stayed was a resort, the other resort we stayed in was priced on the low end. It was, however, still nicer than most of the campgrounds with plenty of places to walk away from the campers and well-maintained public areas. As well, the campsites tend to be a bit more private (but not much) and usually the long-term campers are in a separate area from the short-term. They always claim to have wifi (although it can be quite poor). We have paid between $35 – $65 for resorts. They often have weekly, monthly or annual discounts.
The private campgrounds tend to have sites that are pretty closely packed – I have already posted photos of the RV parking lot. However, they have full facilities and are usually clean and quiet. So far, most of the ones we have stayed at have had some interesting attractions which vary widely – one had dog obedience training facilities, one had a menagerie, one was adjacent to a flea market, etc. Often there is just one big area, although they still try to separate the long-term and short-term campers. We have paid between $25 – $50. They often have weekly, monthly or annual discounts.
A mobile home park is different – they cater to much longer term residents. Although some offer RV spaces, my impression is that these are for longer-term contracts and would appeal mostly to people wanting a space for several months.
One thing that has surprised me is that there do not seem to be small camper-oriented businesses at the private campgrounds. One resort we stayed at did have an ice cream stand, run by someone living on the premises. (This was well-utilized both by the campers and by the maintenance crew.) I would imagine there is scope for some other businesses, especially for people who want to work part-time – e.g. hairdresser, seamstress, pet-sitters, laundry drop-off, car and RV maintenance. But perhaps there are zoning or insurance reasons for not allowing this. I am not sure whether the ice cream shop is legally attached to the resort – perhaps it was in place of the campground store.
So far, we have been in the eastern USA, on the main routes between the north and the Florida warmth. And of course it is winter. Things may change as we head into the summer months (and more campgrounds are open in the north) as well as when we head out west.
p.s. Since I wrote this, we are now staying at the Raccoon Mountain Campground, which is private. Not only does it have all the amenities of a “resort” it also has a network of hiking trails that go up the mountain. As well, the Raccoon Mountain Caverns, limestone caverns with cave formations, are on the property. As I said, you cannot generalize about campgroups.