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Where do you search for parks?

dedmiston
Moderator
Moderator
What are some of the best websites for searching for places to stay?

We're kind of flaky in that sometimes we know exactly which city we want to stop in and make reservations in advance, and other times call and book our camp when we're an hour or two out.

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21 REPLIES 21

garmp
Explorer II
Explorer II
I generally start withAll US Campgrounds and fine tune from there. As mentioned earlier check google maps for the green areas.Rec.gov is another good starting point. /And my very best favorite site for checking the campground is Toad Hall. This gentleman has compiled one of the most complete informative site I have ever seen. He may not cover every campground or area that you seek, but the ones he does is spectacular. (Great RailRoad info also).
Our 2351D Phoenix Cruiser, Jack, has turned us from campers into RVers and loving it!

Veebyes
Explorer II
Explorer II
Campgroundreviews can be hit or miss. Was searching around for info on a GA CG today & ran into a terrible review for it. Seems the camper wanted to cut short his stay because of the weather & the owner refused to give a refund. Unhappy camper gave a 2/10 review. Say what!!!!!

Checked on the camper. Sure enough, only a few other reviews. Problems everywhere he went.

I start with 10/10 then deduct 1 for every item not happy about. Poor value for money, no table, no fire ring where expected, no WIFI if expected for money, poor WIFI if WIFI does not work as expected, really bad roads or site. Each is worth a point deduction. If the person at check in is not Mr/Mrs Congeniality I don't much care. They would have to really rattle my cage to earn a point deduction.
Boat: 32' 1996 Albin 32+2, single Cummins 315hp
40+ night per year overnighter

2007 Alpenlite 34RLR
2006 Chevy 3500 LT, CC,LB 6.6L Diesel

Ham Radio: VP9KL, IRLP node 7995

ExxWhy
Explorer
Explorer
I use google maps and look for little green patches in the area I want to go. That usually will find most all the state and local parks. For a national forest, I go to the forest website.

Doesn't help find rv parks, but we almost never stay in them.

mdcamping
Explorer
Explorer
jplante4 wrote:
mdcamping wrote:
I always start with Campgrounds reviews.com

If I'm not comfortable in what is written in the reviews or just to few I will then research trip adviser or google.


There are a couple of tools on the campground reviews web site that will help you in this. First is the number of reviews. If there are 2 reviews, well one is the camp ground and one is the nearest competitor. So you cam pretty much throw out the high and low.

The other is the previous reviews by the reviewer. If you see a bad review and discover that particular reviewer basically hates everything, that would lead me to disregard that review. Some people aren't happy until you aren't happy.

Finally, my cutoff is a rating of 7.5. This is from personal experience.


Sometimes if I see a reviewer who is constantly scoring low scores on their review history, maybe the reviewer is miserable but at the very least the reviews are consistent. So in some cases there is valve to those reviews as I know its the reviewer and not the campground.

A reviewer who's score history is all over the place I find it very hard to find any value in the reviews, especially if there is few reviews and the reviewers profile has little additional information. :C

Mike
2022 F-150 3.5 EcoBoost 4X4 Supercrew GCWR 19,500 157WB
Payload 2476 Maxtow 13,800 3.73 Equalizer 4 Pt Sway Hitch
2017 Jayco Jay Flight 24RBS
Old TV, 07 Toyota Tacoma, Double Cab, Factory Tow Pkg, retired towing at 229K. (Son now owns truck)

jplante4
Explorer
Explorer
mdcamping wrote:
I always start with Campgrounds reviews.com

If I'm not comfortable in what is written in the reviews or just to few I will then research trip adviser or google.


There are a couple of tools on the campground reviews web site that will help you in this. First is the number of reviews. If there are 2 reviews, well one is the camp ground and one is the nearest competitor. So you cam pretty much throw out the high and low.

The other is the previous reviews by the reviewer. If you see a bad review and discover that particular reviewer basically hates everything, that would lead me to disregard that review. Some people aren't happy until you aren't happy.

Finally, my cutoff is a rating of 7.5. This is from personal experience.
Jerry & Jeanne
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mdcamping
Explorer
Explorer
I always start with Campgrounds reviews.com

If I'm not comfortable in what is written in the reviews or just to few I will then research trip adviser or google.

In addition if I need more specific information on a particular campground or area around the campground I will post here, iRV2 forum or sometimes some of the smaller camping forums.

Mike
2022 F-150 3.5 EcoBoost 4X4 Supercrew GCWR 19,500 157WB
Payload 2476 Maxtow 13,800 3.73 Equalizer 4 Pt Sway Hitch
2017 Jayco Jay Flight 24RBS
Old TV, 07 Toyota Tacoma, Double Cab, Factory Tow Pkg, retired towing at 229K. (Son now owns truck)

Veebyes
Explorer II
Explorer II
Campgroundreviews.com is as good as the people who take time to post on it. There are more than enough reviews on Disney but not enough on some little town CG in MT, if it is even listed. The little ones that take some finding tend to be the real gems.
Boat: 32' 1996 Albin 32+2, single Cummins 315hp
40+ night per year overnighter

2007 Alpenlite 34RLR
2006 Chevy 3500 LT, CC,LB 6.6L Diesel

Ham Radio: VP9KL, IRLP node 7995

docsouce
Explorer II
Explorer II
I do a Google search in the area where we are planning to stop, then see what the various reviews that come up when I click on the campground. I really like campgroundreviews.com (formally RVparkreview.com) but I'm finding that many of the reviews are older. Now this could be because we were in some very "off the beaten trail" locations this summer.
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Edd505
Explorer
Explorer
RVParky and http://www.campgroundreviews.com/
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DutchmenSport
Explorer
Explorer
Trip planning and future reservations: Individual State DNR web sites.
On the road, unplanned, an hour or two in the future: Google search: "Name of city and state, Campgrounds" Hits all over. Select one, call. Spend the night.
We also use the Good Sam directory (Find a Campground) on GoodSam.com

Ed_Gee
Explorer
Explorer
AllStays Camp & RV app has been my choice over the past years. Well worth the small price for the app.....or use the website for free. I find its features and filtering more useful than even RV Parky.
Ed - on the Central Oregon coast
2018 Winnebago Fuse 23A
Scion xA toad

JAC1982
Explorer
Explorer
I just use Google Maps and look at the area I want to stay in. Sometimes I'll put in "Campground" so they all pop up. Then I go through them and read reviews and look at Visitor Photos.
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Jayco-noslide
Explorer
Explorer
I guess it takes a smart phone but the free APP, ParkAdvisor is all we use. It shows all types of campgrounds on a movable map with different symbols for private, state parks, nat'l parks, etc. and even town parks with sites. Shows approximate cost, amenities, distance and sometimes photos and revues. You can also then go to the park's website. It's all we need.
Jayco-noslide

Veebyes
Explorer II
Explorer II
Pick the area. Have a look around with my trusty old MS, S&Ts. Dig a little deeper with RVPRs. No joy there, dig deeper still with Allstays. Short list CGs & look at websites.
Boat: 32' 1996 Albin 32+2, single Cummins 315hp
40+ night per year overnighter

2007 Alpenlite 34RLR
2006 Chevy 3500 LT, CC,LB 6.6L Diesel

Ham Radio: VP9KL, IRLP node 7995