I know we are not the only campers who stay at a place a week or more to explore the surrounding area. We use the Trailer Life directory, and of course consult the RV park reviews. What seems to be missing is the weekly rate. It doesn't seem that it would be too hard to add it. The daily rate is not helpful in determining it as there is no uniform ratio between the weekly and daily rate. In many cases it is the same as 3-4 days at the daily rate, but in many others it is 5,6 or even 7 days. I have found cities where the park with the highest daily rate has the lowest weekly rate, and vice versa. Often the park websites are not complete, so one ends up calling a number of parks to get information. This takes up time for the park staff as well as the campers. Not all parks return phone calls, or reply to emails (bad idea-we select parks from the ones that do!). As we have our budget, we need to know this information before making a reservation or pulling into a park. Is there a national directory (of independent parks) that has this information?
Hi, I have a feeling that weekly rates may sometimes be flexible. If the park is having a tough time the rate might wonder downwards. That would make getting accurate information onto RVpark reviews difficult. If low cost is part of one's camping style there are web sites that offer such information. My personal favorite is: http://freecampsites.net/
Short answer NO. It would be impossible for any publication to publish correct, current rates including all potential discounts for all RV parks. Parks change rates all the time. Parks have different seasons, different rates and different discounts at different times of the year. Publications have several month's of lead time before publication. By the time any publication hit the shelves, it would be outdated. Also, most businesses prefer to limit access to their pricing to places where they can secure sales and reservations. They want you to be on their websites and their phones so they can lock down a sale. Books can't offer that.
In addition to what Pianotuna had, here is another website: http://freecampgrounds.com/ I didn't know there was a freecampsites.net I think the people that do freecampgrounds.com are the same ones that do rvtravelforum.com JJ
Okay, didn't know weekly rates move around so much, but makes sense now. I don't mind paying the going rate for a short stay- but when in an area a week or two is when I like to "shop around a bit", as often gone all day exploring in various directions anyway. As long as "free" entered the discussion one of my favorites is the book "Don Wright's guide to free campgrounds". I generally go online, and don't carry many books, but this is one of the exceptions. I have found campgrounds not listed elsewhere. The first time I used the book I found and stayed at a free public campground in Colorado, with brand new restrooms and spacious sites on the river. It was right next door to an RV park with small sites, fairly old restrooms,and only overlooking the river.
