Save money and avoid crowds with off-season camping

By Bob Difley

Along with food and fuel, campground expenses rank among RVers top expenditures. So if you can take a big bite out of what you lay out for camping you have taken a big step in keeping total expenses manageable. One way to accomplish this is by taking advantage of off-season camping, which also has other advantages as well.

Following is #6 from my ebook, 111 Ways to Get the Biggest Bang From Your RV Lifestyle Buck, about off-season camping.

Why camp in the off season?

Camping in the off seasons offers a variety of advantages over prime time: you have fewer crowds to contend with, fewer rowdy neighbors staying up half the night drinking and talking loud around their campfire, fewer noisy children, a much quieter campground, more available campsites, more wildlife, and often prices are reduced. Weather is the biggest deterrent to camping in the off-season, but with the school year and not weather determining when the off season is, you can enjoy warm weather before Memorial Day and after Labor Day. And with proper planning your off season trips can be fun and enjoyable rather than uncomfortable.

How to find campgrounds that offer lower off-season prices

Off season camping fee policies change from year to year and state to state. So ask questions and check with authorities to find out the current policy. Some state parks offer reduced rates in the off season and/or during the quiet mid-week days ( for example Massachusetts off season camping).

Many desert campgrounds offer reduced rates before and after snowbird season. Some forest service campgrounds, after turning off the water supply for the winter and releasing their camp host, do not charge to camp. Ask at the forest service offices as these would be camp specific rather than a broad policy.

►Tip Keep notes in your campground book or journal on campgrounds that offer reduced off-season rates, you may not remember from season to season.

►Tip Offer your services to rangers in the off-season and often you can get a hosting or caretaking position—and free camping–out of the deal. Parks are strapped for money and many are not only willing but eager to trade out for work that their budgets don’t cover.

I want to thank all of you who purchased my ebook, 111 Ways to Get the Biggest Bang From Your RV Lifestyle Buck [Kindle version], which has now risen to the #2 seller in the Parks & Campgrounds Travel Reference section of Amazon.com.

For more RVing tips take a look at my Healthy RV Lifestyle website, where you will also find my ebooks: BOONDOCKING: Finding the Perfect Campsite on America’s Public Lands (PDF or Kindle), 111 Ways to Get the Biggest Bang for your RV Lifestyle Buck (PDF or Kindle), and Snowbird Guide to Boondocking in the Southwestern Deserts  (PDF or Kindle).