Selecting an RV Park

We’ve all read the reviews on RV parks. You can get reviews on the internet, in travel books and from other RV’ers. Some people love a park for one reason or another and it might be a park we totally dislike. Or, we really might like it.

Some folks may base it totally on location or price while others on amenities or even the neighbors. The problem is you never really know what the reviewer is thinking and it changes from one review to another.

If you sit around with a group of RV’ers discussing the parks they have been to you’ll also find differing opinions. I wish there was a standard but that wouldn’t even be accurate for someone else. Our own opinions can vary from one time to another that we actually visit the same park. It depends on what we’re looking for at the time.

We don’t usually mind being close to a freeway or train track but how close? There are some great parks out in the middle of nowhere. However, we normally don’t like staying too far in the boonies for over a few days.

So, what do we like and not like? Well, as of this moment (subject to change tomorrow) we normally don’t care to stay long where there are lots of permanent residents or 6-month snowbirds. We don’t like huge parks either. That’s more like moving into an established neighborhood. Didn’t we just move out of that environment? We like the parks just for RV’s and not park models or such. That doesn’t mean we won’t stay there. We will but it’s not our first choice.

Here’s a stereotype for you …. It seems to us that RV’ers are just a little more adventuresome and independent. They like to go places and do things. Some folks start out wanting to be that RV’er but soon find out it isn’t for them and that roots fit best. Full timing RV’ers are definitely a different breed.

When looking for a park we’re going to be at for a while, I like a park with a few activities. I’m not sure exactly why though. Most times I find we’re just too busy to take part in them. However, it’s nice knowing we can if we want to. I do like a heated pool and a hot tub and often take advantage of those … if I have time.

Many of the park policies you can find out before arrival. Very few tell you about cell phone or aircard reception. To me that’s the difference between whether we’ll actually stay or not. I believe this bit of information should be in every park review just because it’s important to ME. However, you rarely see it. Some parks are so deep in the trees that satellite reception is even difficult. They’ll offer cable instead but we don’t want limited cable. We want to be able to use our own Dish Network with a zillion channels …. even though we hardly know what’s on more than two or three of them.

How would you rate BLM or COE parks? You can’t compare these to a Thousand Trails or Passport America ... or can you? It has few amenities and often is close to nothing. However, sometimes those are just the places people may want to stay. The price is usually right, the sites are big and the stress level low …. well, low if you don’t need to dump your tanks or aren’t out of water.

With all the choices around that’s just where we’re at right now … on BLM. I might write a review that includes you’re even able to walk your dog in your PJ’s because you can and I did. I certainly hope no one is out here with a camera or I might see myself on another blog.

Ratings are subjective and don’t really tell the story. We’ve stayed at places with very low ratings and loved them. We’ve also stayed at places with high ratings and pulled out before our dollars were up. I don’t know the answer. I just know the numerical ratings or reviews don’t really tell the whole story. The reviews tend to be opinion based and don’t always stick to just the facts. They only tell you what someone else felt based on what was important to them … not you. Factoring in an opinion from someone you don’t know may cause you to dismiss a park that could have been one of your all-time favorites.

I’m trying to think of my favorite park just to post it here but it keeps changing. Some of our favorite parks didn’t have a pool so how can it be our favorite? Sometimes the places we remember the most have nothing but a great location with super access to where we want to be. I can tell you some places we have thoroughly enjoyed and why but I can’t tell you our favorite. I can also tell you some places we absolutely didn’t care for that others loved. The reason for a park being our favorite may not be a reason anyone else would want to stay there.

Maybe I’ll put my thinking cap on and come up with a few of our favorite parks. Maybe I will.