How do you choose a campsite?

[Wemustrv]

Good Luck with your endeavor. We are primarily Corp of Engineers, Federal parks, State, County and City parks when we stay at a park. We love off grid, boondocking, and we use Harvest Hosts when traveling down the road. Throw in an occasional Walton RV Park( Walmart) as well. I use a multitude of camping apps and google maps to select where we ae camping. As Kevin mentioned the best for me is a level site that is well established an compacted so as not to settle in and that has space and shade. I do not want to be crammed in as many of the private parks are.

 

[CaptainGizmo]

On your OP, you mention “if there was an app or website”…well, there is.
And, based on your “survey”, every one of those criterium are used in RVTripWizard, which pulls its data from CampGroundReviews.com.

I’ve not found any other resource as comprehensive.

But, others are bringing up good additional info/criteria; most of which would need to be derived from an easy browse through the Reviews, Photos, and Satellite imagery; all of which are easily accessed from RVTW.

 

[Jim]

On your OP, you mention “if there was an app or website”…well, there is.
And, based on your “survey”, every one of those criterium are used in RVTripWizard, which pulls its data from CampGroundReviews.com.

I’ve not found any other resource as comprehensive.

I will echo what CaptainGizmo said.

I used RVTripWizard last year to plan our entire trip, and I used it to plan 2024 as well. There is a learning curve, and sometimes Trip Wizard get a bit clunky, but for the most part, it's a pretty good app. A very cool feature allows you to export your planned trip and then import it into your Garman. So much easier than trying to modify a trip that the Garman has plotted for you.

 

[RVThereYet]

After all the above mentions, here is what I think an RV Park, Resort, Campground should have.
Level sites
Water
Electric
Nearby dump station
Spacing from the neighbors
Shade trees
A picnic table on the passenger side of the site
Easy access to maneuver in and out of cam site

Hope you endeavor is a HUGE success!!!

 

[Ozarker]

My first comment in the forums, yes, I'm brand new, green, a newbie!
WARNING: My first "RV", but I'm old, retired and know dang near everything (LOL).

Got my TT this week, but I recall camping from my younger years, did much of my growing up at a State Campground on Table Rock Lake in Missouri, so .....

I've only backed up my TT twice, so you need pull through sites.
Utilities (electric-water) are greatly desired not necessary.
Near Nashville is a great location, suggest you get with local venues for discount tickets, shows, local attractions, stay here and save kinda thing. (Did I mention Branson, Mo. campgrounds?)
Having sunshine all day or at least most of it is important to us, we're solar! We also need a shade tree, see if you can wrangle both.
Saw comments about pricing with different options, I'd think that's great if you can. However, better check with your attorney about charging for utilities of any kind, State Law can turn you into a utility company and that means big problems and fines if not done properly. With utilities in one section of the grounds at one price and another section without is probably fine, charging for usage could be trouble.
Big YES to discounts for weekly use.
You already bought your 50 acres so you can't do much about location and proximity to stores, shopping, etc.
Good luck with your project!

 

[DavidRamey]

When I camp in a campground, I camp only in State or Federal campgrounds because they are more scenic and cheaper. I also boondock. I go camping to get away from cities and civilization. I also don't reserve camping spots, I go FCFS.

 

[Dan_Frisbie]

Two types of stays…
First is the stop along the way to our destination (usually a concert or bike rally).
This accommodation needs to be along or near our route, easy in/out, decent amenities (shower/toilet), and somewhat quiet.
Second is the destination camp. This one needs to have privacy as our number one requirement. We usually stay in gov’t campgrounds for this reason. Most commercial places have the pads too close to each other with no buffer between them. We also look for good restroom facilities, water for paddling, and plenty of room to let the dogs run (outside of the immediate camping area).
Price factors in to both and gov’t campgrounds and parks are usually cheaper.