Posted by Ashley Gannon on Nov 23, 2011
If you’re planning to visit relatives for Thanksgiving, better finish packing your RV so you can hit the highway early. AAA estimates that 42.5 million people will be sharing the America’s highways over the 4-day holiday weekend. Despite still high gas prices, Thanksgiving travel this weekend is expected to be 4% higher than last year. That’s good news for RV campgrounds, especially those located near national parks that are hosting special Thanksgiving events this weekend. (Click the link to access RVT.com’s campground finder.)
If you’re looking for a memorable way to celebrate the holiday, drop by one of these national parks and join the festivities:
> Fort Pulaski National Monument in Georgia will bring to life the fort’s first Thanksgiving in 1862 with its 149th celebration of the Grand Thanksgiving Fete and Festival. Expect old-fashioned fun like wheelbarrow and sack races.
> Homestead National Monument in Nebraska kicks off its annual Winter Festival of Prairie Cultures on November 26 (through December 31). Learn about and share the winter traditions of the people who made the Great Plains their home during the homesteading era in the mid to late-1800s.
> Petroglyph National Monument in New Mexico will demonstrate traditional Pueblo bread baking in a homo oven host at its November 26 Holiday Open House.
> Fort Vancouver National Historic Site in Washington is offering guided lantern tours on Friday evenings through mid-December. Find out about fort nightlife in the 1800s while touring the fur store, counting house and bake house.
Posted by Ashley Gannon on Jul 29, 2011
Luxury RV resorts have polished the final rough edges off the wild and wooly image anyone may have had about RV camping. Today’s upscale RV campgrounds and posh RV resorts offer all the exciting activities and luxury amenities as their hotel counterparts. The only difference is that you bring your room with you when stay at an RV resort!
Some RV resorts now offer all the trappings of a mini theme park or a luxury spa — and often both! No longer merely a place to park your RV at night, luxury RV resorts have become vacation destinations in their own right. At posh RV resorts, you’re apt to find:
~ water parks with tubes, slides and lazy rivers;
~ well-kept tennis courts and sports facilities. Some resorts offer lessons with a pro or sports camps for kids.
~ bike, boat or horse rentals;
~ putting greens with access to nearby championship golf courses;
~ luxurious spa treatments;
~ planned social activities and kids’ camps; and
~ onsite gourmet restaurants.
While there are still plenty of RV campgrounds that offer a place to park your RV in the midst of the wilderness, even the iconic KOA chain now offers amenities that can include free Wi-Fi, swimming pools with slides, ice cream socials, bike rentals, mini golf, movies under the stars, supervised activities for children, and themed parties for adults. This is not your dad’s idea of camping! And aren’t you glad?!
Posted by Ashley Gannon on May 27, 2011
If you recently purchased an RV online, you’re probably packing up and getting ready to hit the highway for your inaugural family RV trip. RVers across the country will be on the road today, excited to get a head start on the 3-day Memorial Day weekend. The slight drop in gas prices makes it even more affordable to take the family on a weekend jaunt in your new RV.
With a summer of RV adventures in front of you, it’s time to start building some memories. Creating special family traditions will make your RV trips more memorable. Some traditions, like creating scrapbooks of your trips, can be planned in advance; but be on the lookout for odd, silly things that will make your family travels unique.
Here are a few ideas to get you started:
> Choose something everyone in your family enjoys and incorporate it into every RV trip. It can be something as small as stopping for ice cream on the road or ending each trip with stories and s’mores around a campfire. Choose an activity that can be done rain or shine (RVs let you “campfire” indoors during stormy weather).
> Create a Summer Memories scrapbook. Purchase a 3-ring binder and stock up on plain and colored paper, pocketed photo pages, markers and glue. Let the kids create their own memory pages and add photos and brochures from your travels to create a unique family memory of your RV summer.
Posted by Ashley Gannon on May 25, 2011
Many RV families will be making their first trip of the summer season this weekend. The start of the summer RV season, Memorial Day weekend packs RV campgrounds and state parks with camping families and plenty of energetic children. Before pulling your RV out of the driveway, it’s a good idea to review safety rules with your family.
> Make sure your first aid kit is well-stocked and onboard and that family members know where it is stowed.
> Post a list of emergency contacts and critical medical and prescription drug information where it can be easily accessed. Always pack a few extra days of prescription medications when you travel.
> When you arrive at your RV campsite, check the area for safety hazards such as broken glass, holes, protruding tree roots, poison ivy, drop offs, ravines, overhanging dead tree limbs, etc. Remove as many safety hazards as possible and report others to the campground manager. Make sure everyone in the family is aware of any safety hazards.
> Remind your children to stay within your site, ask for permission before they leave the campsite, and use the buddy system when they go anywhere.
> Carry sunscreen, bug repellent and plenty of water with you when you head for the beach or go on a hike.
> Only build campfires in designated fire pits and keep a bucket of water and a shovel handy. Campfires should be constantly supervised by an adult and put out using both water and soil.
Posted by Ashley Gannon on Apr 27, 2011
If you’re planning to visit a national park this summer, you might want to book your RV camping reservations now if you haven’t already done so. With high travel costs leading a marked increase in domestic travel, the U.S. National Park Service is bracing for a record-busting summer tourist season. Last year more than 281 million people visited America’s 394 national park areas. This year, the park service expects attendance figures to increase by 10% or more as people seek less expensive vacation destinations closer to home.
Increased visitor volume is expected to further strain the competition for the limited number of onsite RV camping spaces available at national parks. Typically, only a portion of national park campsites are available for advance reservation. At the most popular national parks a certain number of campsites are available only on a first-come-first-serve basis to accommodate campers. RV campers should consider booking camping space at a nearby RV park and purchasing an inexpensive multi-day park pass.
Even if an in-park campsite is available, RV campers often prefer to book a reservation at a nearby private RV campground. Private RV campgrounds typically offer amenities not available at national park campsites, including more spacious campsites, Wi-Fi, swimming pools, playgrounds, an onsite camp store and onsite firewood.
Posted by Ashley Gannon on Dec 20, 2010
RV parks, campgrounds and resorts across the United States are giving active U.S. troops a special holiday gift this year — the gift of camping. RV campgrounds in 17 states have already signed up to participate in the national Tents for Troops program that offers free camp sites to active military personnel and their immediate families. Program organizers hope to have Tents for Troops sites available in all 50 states before Christmas.
“Creating a place to enjoy life away from the field,” is the goal of the novel program initiated by Charlie Curry, owner of Toutle River RV Resort in Washington. On the Tents for Troops website, Curry says, “It is a very small way of saying ‘Thank You’ for all the hard work and sacrifices men and women in the military make.”
Numerous enthusiastic RV park operators have joined the program with many also offering free use of onsite RV motorhomes or travel trailers. Curry, who has been providing free camping to active military personnel for a while, says RV parks who choose to participate will be providing military personnel a needed respite from duty and their families a wonderful opportunity to enjoy their time together.
RV campground owners are urged to visit the organization’s website and join Tents f or Troops.
Posted by Ashley Gannon on Oct 25, 2010
Don’t cover up your RV and store it away for the winter yet. Fall offers wonderful camping opportunities for RV owners. Unlike summer when campgrounds, parks and attractions are packed with vacationing families, the pace of RV life slows down once the kids go back to school. RV traveling is more relaxed in the fall. There’s less competition for campsites at RV campgrounds and national and state parks, especially on weekdays. Campgrounds and parks are a little quieter, hiking and biking trails less crowded, lines at popular attractions shorter. Fall RVing is more relaxing, more contemplative, a delightful change of pace that allows you to indulge your urge to turn down an unknown road and see where it leads.
A great time to take your RV on a little road trip, fall offers majestic views of Appalachian and Rocky Mountain vistas. If you’re looking for solitude, immerse yourself in nature with a hike through the pristine wilderness of the Quebec Run Wild Area in southwestern Pennsylvania. Forbes State Forest just north of the Pennsylvania-West Virginia border offers 60,000 acres of dense forest cut by well-marked trails that lead you to gurgling streams, waterfalls and laurel swamps.
If you crave fun, excitement and genuine down-home American weirdness, take in one the many harvest festivals that sprout up in small towns across America each fall. From garlic to watermelon and mushrooms to pumpkins, these festivals showcase a wild array of creative ways to use local produce. You haven’t lived until you’ve tasted pumpkin fudge!
Posted by Ashley Gannon on Aug 16, 2010
If they build it, will they come? It’s a gamble, but casino investors are betting that RV owners will flock to a casino built to cater folks that travel in motorhomes and travel trailers. Penn Harris Gaming last week announced plans to build a casino resort and RV park in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. If approved and built, the casino development would feature an RV park with full hook-ups and amenities for RV travelers as well as 36 on-site RVs available for rental by casino guests.
The proposed casino resort/RV park is the latest incarnation of a new trend in RV resort development. RV resorts and campgrounds that are designed around a particular interest are on the rise nationally. Late last year NASCAR announced its intention to build NASCAR-licensed RV family campgrounds. In partnership with Morgan RV Resorts, the first 13 NASCAR-themed RV parks opened this June in 8 states. The branded resorts immerse RV families in a total NASCAR experience with Sprint Cup and Nationwide series races shown on giant screens, exclusive pre- and post-race programs, driver interviews, race official interviews, on-track commentary and other events available only at official NASCAR RV resorts. Special tailgate events, parade laps, kids games, barbecues and designed to bring NASCAR fans together to share race day excitement.
Expect to see more branded RV resorts and RV parks dedicated to special interests in the coming years. As the RV Nation continues to grow, more major brands will use RV resorts as a way to court consumer interest and loyalty.
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