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 Dec 10, 2010
Many people associate RV travel with sunny summer fun, but there are plenty of exciting activities available for RV families that like to play in the snow. You’ll usually find RV Resorts that cater to winter campers near major ski areas, but skiing is just one of the winter activities available to RV families. If you’re looking for winter fun during the upcoming school break, pack up the family and head your RV toward one of these snow meccas:
If your family loves tubing, Copper Mountain in Colorado is tube central. You’ll love the conveyor-belt lifts that hoist you and your tube back to the top after each run.
Massachusetts’s Nashoba Valley sports the biggest tubing park in New England. Your thrill-seeking teens will want to give snow biking a try. The hottest new sport on the slopes, snow biking lets riders race downhill on bicycles outfitted with skis instead of wheels. You can also give snow biking a whirl at Durango Mountain Resort in Colorado.
If you’re looking for a quieter vacation, cross country skiers will find groomed tracks, backcountry trails and plenty of gorgeous scenery at Vail in Colorado, Killington in Vermont and Royal Gorge near Lake Tahoe.
If your family enjoys the offbeat, try snowshoeing at Maine’s Sugarloaf or Idaho’s Bogus Basin.
Always call ahead to reserve winter campsites before you hit the road. RV resorts geared to winter fun often fill up quickly, especially during school breaks.
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.
Posted by Ashley Gannon on Jul 14, 2010
People think of RVing camping as somewhat rugged luxury. It’s camping, after all. RV campgrounds are the last place you would expect to find Swedish massages, acupuncture therapy and herbal body wraps; but a new trend in luxury RV resorts is changing that. Wellness centers that offer many of the holistic health activities and pampering delights of high-class spas are the newest trend at luxury RV resorts.
While camping in beautiful settings with panoramic views of rugged mountains or pristine blue-water lakes, at these resorts RV campers can partake of host of wellness-oriented amenities that can include hot mineral baths, a variety of rejuvenating massage techniques, acupuncture therapy, herbal medicine treatments, healthy living seminars, meditation labyrinths, and popular or exotic exercise classes from Pilates and yoga to Zumba and Qigong – all while sipping natural spring water from onsite wells. It’s RVing like you never imagined!
Wellness-centered RV resorts are enticing RV campers with promises to pamper the body and soothe the mind. They particularly appeal to younger, more active retirees who are interested in taking better care of their health. The 90-site Springs at Borrego RV Resort in Borrego Springs, California employs licensed massage therapists and acupuncture practitioners to serve resort campers and hires experienced fitness and yoga teachers to lead classes. One of the largest RV wellness resorts, the 1,625-site Great Outdoors RV Nature and Golf Resort in Titusville, Florida, boasts multiple fitness centers, swimming pools and whirlpool spas with plenty of scheduled fitness activities to serve RV campers.
Posted by Ashley Gannon on Jun 14, 2010
These are not your grandfather’s RV parks! Sure, you’ll still find plenty of quiet, shaded RV campgrounds across America that feature the fishing pond, playground, swimming pool and grocery counter common to RV parks for decades. But to attract vacationing RV owners, many new RV parks have elevated the once humble RV campsite to exciting new heights worthy of any 5-star vacation resort.
Search RVT.com’s RV campground finder and RV owners will discover RV resorts that offer a lavish selection of onsite recreational activities, including: elaborate swimming pools with slides and lazy rivers, adventure mini golf, horseback riding, canoe and kayak rentals, bicycle rentals, naturalist-led nature hikes, supervised day camp activities for kids, 18-hole golf courses and driving ranges, community barbecues and hayrides, gaming rooms, tennis courts, hot tubs, billiard rooms, basketball courts, Wi-Fi and cable connections; big-screen TVs, laundries, mini-marts and more.
Many of the more elaborate RV resorts are located in southwestern states where RVers stay for months at a time to escape cold northern winters. These RV resorts offer many communal activities from spa treatments and fitness activities to ceramics classes, woodworking shops and creative writing seminars. RV Resorts usually place a greater emphasis on providing planned activities, entertainment and luxury amenities than typical campgrounds. Wine tastings, weekly dinner-dances, tennis and golf tournaments and talent shows bring camping RVers together and establish a sense of community.
Posted by Ashley Gannon on Apr 21, 2010
Orlando is singing her siren song, luring RV families young and old to come play and live the fantasy. If you have small fry, a trip to Disney World to rub shoulders with the big mouse and his furry friends is probably at the top of your list of RV vacation destinations. If your children are middle school age or older, you might take a pass on the tamer rides at Disney and head straight for Universal Orlando. Universal’s new Wizarding World of Harry Potter exhibit set to open in May is getting all the buzz and is expected to pack the park for months with wizard wanna-bes and their helplessly muggley parents.
Orlando and the entire central Florida region from Tampa/St. Pete, through Orlando and across to Cape Canaveral have become a beacon for family vacationers and RV travelers. The area is dotted with RV parks and RV resorts with all the amenities. Disney World even offers beautiful RV camping right on the grounds.
Traveling by RV is the perfect way to cruise Central Florida with your family. When you’re RV camping, you’re not tied to a single park. You can relax on Tampa’s beautiful Gulf Coast beaches and take in Busch Gardens’ wild animal park before heading to the frenetic interior parks. Finish your trip with a tour of Cape Canaveral and a relaxing day or two on the Atlantic Coast before heading your RV for home.
Posted by Shawn Friesen - Director of RVT.com on Jul 17, 2009
In this economy, few people can afford a vacation home; yet they dream of a summer cabin in the woods or a lakeside cottage to escape to on the weekends. After days of baking in hot, noisy, smoggy, concrete-wrapped cities, they thirst to immerse themselves and their families in the soothing, cool, green lushness of nature. With the growing popularity of RV resorts, RVers are discovering that they can afford that idyllic vacation home they always dreamed of — despite the economy!
Popping up across America and Canada like an oasis in the desert, RV resorts are growing quickly in popularity. Generally located in pristine wooded areas or along lakes within a short drive of large cities, RV resorts allow families to escape the city while keeping the cost of towing and gas low. RVers purchase a resort site or rent one long-term. While some drive out whenever they get the chance, many resort dwellers park their RVs on their site year-round. When they arrive to relax, everything is set up and ready to go.
At many resorts sites include decks, firepits, storage sheds for recreational equipment, boat docks, even fencing for dogs. At some resorts, you bring your own RV; others feature RV park models with all the amenities. Resorts of this sort are generally upscale with RVs finished and laid out to resemble a community of cedar-shake cottages or log cabins. Artful landscaping and swales provide privacy screening for each lot. Communal amenities often include walking paths, recreation centers, swimming pools and planned events.
Whether you opt to join a designed community or just find a beautiful place to escape to, RV resorts make it possible for you to enjoy the benefits of a vacation home for a tiny fraction of the price.
Posted by Shawn Friesen - Director of RVT.com on Jun 17, 2009
RV campsites are getting the luxury treatment. A host of exciting new amenities is showing up at RV campsites and resorts across America. Perennial standbys — mini golf, pinball machines, swimming pools, fishing ponds and basketball hoops — are still around, but they’re being quickly elbowed aside by hot tubs, athletic courts, fitness centers, laser tag, Wi-Fi connections, electronic game rooms, water parks, elaborate water slides, skate parks and gourmet coffee shops, to name a few.
Your family can still enjoy bingo nights and hayrides, but more RV sites now offer summer camps for kids that include gold panning, dinosaur digs, pottery making, historic re-enactments, horseback riding, boating and much more. For adults, there are wine and cheese tastings, dances, barbecues, stocked fishing lakes and tours of historic sites.
RV camping is attracting a flood of new devotees happy to save money while vacationing, and these former resort dwellers are looking for the same amenities and luxuries they enjoyed at swanky island resorts in happier financial times. But that’s not the only thing spurring campground owners to modernize their properties. An influx of still-active retiring Baby Boomers, plugged-in teens in tow, is embracing the relaxed RV lifestyle, introducing a new generation of travelers to the RV industry. Many campgrounds hope to attract these upscale parents by offering activities to keep the kids – and their parents – occupied and happy.
Their plan seems to be working. RV campsite rentals were up by 3% on Memorial Day weekend and demand is expected to rise over the summer. “A lot of people are camping today instead of other forms of travel,” Bobby Cornwell, director of the Florida Association of RV Parks and Campgrounds, told the Palm Beach Post, adding that RV owners are camping more than ever.
