Where RV going to stay (once we get there)?

The time has come to think about departing San Antonio. We have enjoyed exploring this lovely city and its many historic, cultural and recreational offerings. May 1 is fast approaching, and we still have a lot of ground to cover before reaching Aztec Ruins National Monument. So, next Monday, the journey resumes.

Leonard, Sprocket and I will travel more than 1,700 miles of highway between March and May, passing through Texas, Oklahoma and Kansas before heading for northwest New Mexico. Trip planning for us has been fairly easy, mostly because Leonard and I have similar travel styles. Neither of us likes to be rushed - “Hurry up so we can get there and have fun, dammit!” is not something you'll hear from either of us – and we both enjoy travel for travel's sake, as opposed to seeing it as a necessary evil. That said, we also share a tendency towards inertia, whereby trip planning starts with one of us asking, “Where do you want to go?” and the other responding, “I don't know, where do you want to go?” Eventually, restlessness prevails, and we pull out the maps.

Deciding on what towns to stay in is one thing, choosing RV parking spots quite another. From the beginning, Leonard and I were keen to stick with facilities known to be well-managed, clean and safe with rates that fit our budget. As chief planner, responsibility for locating parking spots falls to me, and I rely on a combination of resources to get the job done. Here's a list of my “go to” sources:

 

* Good Sam RV Travel Guide & Campground Directory

In 2012, the Good Sam RV Club merged two widely-used directories, Woodall's North American Campground Directory and Trailer Life Directory, into a single guide. Most listings are for private parks, but some public campgrounds are also included.

While some prefer the print version, a recent RV industry survey showed that an increasing number of RVers (like me) are moving towards web-based publications. The search feature of this site makes it easy to sort out parks by city and amenities (big rig parking, swimming, etc.) and frequently includes a link to the park's own web site for a more detailed look. Plus, not having to worry about where you're going to store a giant book is a nice bonus.

 

The caveat here is that Good Sam RV Club is a business that relies to some extent on sponsorships for revenue. This may or may not influence the club's objectivity when it comes to rating parks.

 

* RV Park Reviews

This web site is a kind of Angie's List for RVers, relying on user-submitted comments to create reviews of private and public parks. If a park's manager treats guests like suspects in a robbery investigation or if the on-site workout room advertised as “full of equipment” turns out to be a small closet with a 1980's era treadmill squeezed in, you will hear about it here. You'll also learn about hidden gems where things like scenery and friendly management make up for amenities that a larger, newer park might have, such as a large, paved site or planned activities.

 

The caution here is that there's no vetting of comments. Anyone with an ax to grind can sharpen away. I find that comparing RV Park Reviews to other sources produces a check against attempts to bias these ratings, one way or the other.

 

* Google maps

Typing the name of a specific park into Google map's search will yield a map pinpointing the park's position and ratings, submitted by Google+ members.

Further probing via Google Earth lets me get a closer look at the prospective park and surrounding area. Knowing where the nearest railroad tracks are or just how low the branches on all those lovely trees surrounding a potential parking site hang comes in really handy (as do pruning sheers).

 

Using all the above, I identified our next parking spot. Goose Island State Park in Rockport, Texas gets good marks all round, including perhaps the most important rating system of all, the Timm Annual Budget Affordability Scale. That's one guide I follow very, very closely.

Google Earth view of Goose Island State Park campsites. No overhead obstructions or ground-level barriers to beware of. Just the Gulf of Mexico, straight ahead. Sweet!