The Best Wi-Fi in RV Parks

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October 25, 2009

Wouldn’t it be nice for us travelers if we could find a list of parks with *really good* Wi-Fi?  There are lots of directories of RV parks which include information on whether Wi-Fi exists or not – but those of us who use these systems know that the quality varies *greatly.*  Some systems are blazing fast, and some are unusably slow. Then, the really bad news is that, even the blazing fast ones are subject to variation depending on the other users in the park.

Because of all these factors, most of us who travel a lot take our own Internet connection with us, either with a satellite dish or a cellular data card.  The main problems with satellite and cellular is that there are usage limits.  We don’t want to go over our limits with Verizon – I’ve heard of people getting $500+ bills for overages!  So, we keep looking for those parks with the really good Wi-Fi.

A few good parks

I can think of 3 places this summer where we had really good Wi-Fi.  Here they are:

  1. The Woods RV Park: Montgomery Alabama
  2. Oakwood RV Park: Clearlake, Iowa
  3. The Villages RV Park: at Turning Stone Resort & Casino, Verona, NY

And, there are a couple of other parks that have such stand-out Wi-Fi that friends have exclaimed about them “That’s the best Wi-Fi we’ve ever had!”  And, these friends are other fulltimers who know what they’re talking about.  Those parks are:

  1. Narrows Too: Bar Harbor, Maine
  2. Santa Fe Skies: Santa Fe, New Mexico

What about you.  Where did you find the *best* Wi-Fi Internet connection in your travels?

Leave a Reply

56 comments

  1. Anonymous

    KOA Wilcox AZ

  2. Anonymous

    We had great WIFI at the Pueblo South / Colorado City KOA Holiday in Pueblo, Colorado.

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  17. Its stunning to have wi- fi in RV parks also. I am feeling so much happy to read it , i can stay i touch with my connection .Great

  18. Used motorhomes

    Great job, I’m quite happy to read this article. I found your list of wifi campgrounds and downloaded it to my printer for quick reference. You are to be commended this is one of the best items i have found for checking out campgrounds with wifi. i know it took a lot of work. thanks
    http://www.rvlistings.net/

  19. david baer

    Its all about chasing shadows.
    By that I mean latching on to this or that latest, most innovative idea that some self styled money making guru has put out in the hope it’ll go viral and make them a lot of money off the backs of all the headless chickens who will follow them blindly down a blind alley. Its a shame but a truism nonetheless that people will follow where someone they see as an expert leads. Even if they lead them to certain disaster, which is what most of the gurus tend to do to their flocks.
    The trick is to recognize a shadow when you see it!

    http://www.onlineuniversalwork.com

  20. Andy

    We stayed at the Palms RV Park in Bakersfield on our way to Arizona this year. Wi-fi is included with your pad fee and very fast.

  21. Richard Drescher

    We are fulltimers based in Central Texas and until our current stay in TN we used a Hughes.net satelite dish and found it easy to setup and very good.

    When preparing to come to TN for a 3 year work assignment I spoke with the owner to Volunteer Park Family Campground in Heiskell (Knoxville) and was assured that they had very good WiFi. Therefore I left my dish in Texas. Never again. While they do have WiFi, it is spotty at best.

    Moral of the story, If you a dish or cellcard do not leave it at home no matter what the park you ar going to tells you.

  22. I stayed at the KOA in Moss Landing, CA, near Monterey, specifically because they offered free WiFi. Well the free WiFi went about 10 feet outside of the office and was very sketchy in terms of up-time. I needed to work out of my TT which requires me to have Internet service so I tethered to my iPhone. Fortunately I did the cellular antenna signal booster mod that really helped my download speed:

    http://www.modmyrv.com/2008/06/11/rv-cellular-antenna-booster

    I don’t understand why RV parks that offer WiFi don’t put repeaters in various parts of their parks. They are relatively inexpensive and are very easy to setup. I even offered to help the KOA do it if they got the parts. They weren’t interested. :/

  23. Steve Elliott

    Coffee Creek RV Park and Cabins in Santo, Texas has great WiFi (I get excellent-5 bars) at all times thru out the park, park also has great amineties.

  24. G. Mueller

    Grand Casino RV Park Hinckley, Mn. has great Wi-Fi anywhere in the Park.

  25. Wayne

    We have used the Srint card very successfully for the past 9 months. In the Smokies, at the Gulf Coast and in Rural Alabama and Mississippi (Corp of Engineer Parks) We recently got the 3GB connection card from sprint and find it very reliable. We have used three laptops at the same time, and it is marketed tobe able to use up to five, within 30 feet of the device. This device is Sprints answer to the Verizon card. With Verizon, we had difficulty getting good connections in many areas and were billed for additional fees, even though we only used e-mail. We prefer Sprint for internet connecting although we are devoted Verizon cell phone users.

  26. Mrs. Angie Lee

    My husband and I stopped at Roamer’s Retreat in Lancaster PA. The campground owners gave us a warm welcome and greeted us with a smile as we entered the office, even tho they were busy with other campers. They made us feel important, not just a number. As we walked around we spotted various motorhomes with Satellite dishes and one gentleman using the Internet at his site. We walked right past him so it was easy to see his screen and hear it. He was online. After settling into our site, I took my laptop and nestled into a comfy chair outside and got onto the Internet. It was strong and and smooth and I didn’t have one problem. The wifi worked great there.

  27. Roger

    This was mentioned as a good park earlier. We recently stayed at Santa Fe Skies: Santa Fe, New Mexico and asked for the best site for a good WiFi connection. They put me in a site that was a $6 upgrade because of a patio and closest to the office. I said just give me the best regular site, which turned out to be the site next to that. If there was no one parked in the more expensive site next to us our reception was fine. If someone was parked there it was slow and spotty. I can’t imagine it being good at any of the sites farther away or if blocked by another rig.
    We are presently at http://www.distantdrumsrvresort.com in Camp Verde, AZ and it is by far the best WiFi we have ever had. Fast connection and no problems in 1 1/2 weeks. It is also in a great location close to Sedona, Cottonwood, Jerome and many historic sites. We have changed to a month. Outstanding facilities and fabulous staff.

  28. Wow this is really nice news for rv holder that Wi-Fi connection is now available in RV Parks. Now they can stay connected to e-mail and the World Wide Web with Wi-Fi connection.

    Vishu

  29. S.C. Okie

    Boyd’s Campground, Stock Island, Key West, Fla. also has wi-fi. Theirs is free to the guests in the CG. Our daughter & her hubby said that it is pretty good. I didn’t try or mess with it, though. Just another one to add to the list.

    RIGGAROB: I’ve never camped at Sigsbee Park, but it sure looks nice, what with the warm tropical breeeeeezes and fishing! What more could you want?? 🙂 Just about any of the locals, i.e., “Conchs”, can point you directly to Sigsbee Park.
    It is necessary to check in at another building over by the NEX. 🙂

  30. Susan

    I tried WiFi the first winter out and had nothing but trouble. But I don’t understand why anyone has problems with overages on data cards. I pay @ $60/month for unlimited with Sprint and it never costs more (unless I use it out of the country).

  31. We thank Lani for her comments about our “Excellent WiFi” system in our Park. However she noted our name as Crater Lake RV Resort and that is incorrect and will lead others astray. Our correct name is Crater Lake RV Park located in Prospect, Oregon.

    We have installed an extremely high power system with 10G of bandwidth and it is free to all of our guests.

    Regards, Jim Lee / Owner

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  33. The park where we live advertises that they have wifi and they do. It is always available up on their marina porch or inside their office. They have worked to provide it to their facilities, however, it goes down frequently and we must wait for them to get it repaired or tweek’d. It was out from Dec to April last year. It is good to check before settling down in one park for a long period of time.

  34. Fred

    Houston West RV Park has antenna mounted too low. If an RV is between you and the antenna, the signal strength is too low to pick up. Otherwise it’s free.

    RIGGAROB – just checked the campground wi-fi access at Sigsbee RV Park at Key West. The daily rate is $7.95, the weekly rate is $12.95 and like you said the monthly rate is $21.95. Maximum stay w/ hookups is 2 weeks IF you can get a reservation – which takes 7-8 weeks while you dry camp. If you are equipped to dry camp you can stay longer than two weeks. They push the use of Sprint, Verizon and ATT broadband cards for a reason.

  35. Richard

    Just stayed at KOA/Mt. Pleasant/Charleston SC and the wifi wasn’t very good there…really hard to get a good signal unless you are right under the antenna at the office. And it was mostly very slow. I’m not sure many parks understand that they need a “big pipe” to handle all of the people who want to get on at the same time.

  36. Wow – such great information! I started to copy it all down to display in a spreadsheet somewhere – but I just don’t have the time. So, I set up a form and I’m hoping that anyone leaving a comment here will also go to the page
    Wi-Fi in RV Parks
    And enter the information there. That way it can be gathered for future reference.
    Thanks!

  37. riggarob

    This isn’t for all, and it’s not free, however, we dry camp at the Naval Air Station in Key West, and there is an outfit that covers the area w/ wi-fi. It cost 20 bucks/month, but it is still way cheaper that an air card. I don’t mind doing this, as I have run into the same type situation at other CGs. Also, I use Radio Labs Wave Magnum USB antenna, and it really pulls in the spotty wi-fi. Robbie

  38. Ronald

    The one wifi park that comes to mind is The Oasis in Amarillo TX just off of I-40. Great free, fast wifi as well as free cable and laundry. BIG pull through sites with concrete slabs as well. All of this for $20/night; stay 2 get the 3rd. night free!!

    I have NO connections to the park, just totally impressed with a park less than 3 years old offering all of the above at a fair and reasonable price. We stayed an extra 3 days just because of the great, clean facilities and the above extras.

  39. Roland

    Cajun Palms RV Campground in Henderson, La. off of I-10 has the best WIFI service for speed and access. And it is free with camping fees.

  40. Donna H.

    Pine Mountain RV Park in Pigeon Forge, TN has great wifi. It’s new, so the landscaping is still quite small, but the office staff is very accommodating. They have at least 3, maybe 4 wireless routers scattered throughout the park, not just near the office. It’s associated with the motel across the street, so you have access to an indoor pool and hot tub (required by my 2 girls).

  41. Howard

    Kent, Washington KOA near Seattle has good WiFi, friendly staff & great amenities.

  42. Jere J.

    After several parks in the Pacific Northwest we were very pleased with the wi-fi at the KOA in Placerville Calif. Very fast and reliable.

  43. Oldfulica, there are WiFi adapters that are oten better than the built-in laptop adapters. WiFi is 2-way radio. A better radio/antenna combination is going to give a better connection. Check out http://www.wifisavvy.com for articles and suggestions.

  44. Michael Rawson

    I had a Sprint Aircard for several years but unfortunately canceled it about 6 months ago when we did not travel and now should like to rejoin the aircard world. We use the internet primarily for email and about an hour a day to read the paper so we are not super users. Any advice on which carrier has a relatively reasonable connect cost and wide coverage in USA and Canada? Thanks. MichaelR

  45. Barb O

    For you Snow Birds, Phoenix Metro RV Park in north Phoenix, Arizona has great “FREE” WiFi, heated pool and spa and great office personnel

  46. Oldfulica

    Has anyone tried a Wi Fi Booster for RV parks? We purchased a Hawkins miniature parabolic dish that fits into the USB port, while we were getting intermittent reception in Yuma last year. The reception seemed to improve but we still had periods when it wasn’t perfect. Can anyone comment on a device they may be using to improve performance?

    -1
  47. Betty

    Country Waye in Luray, VA has great free WiFi connection – fast and dependable.
    Misty Mountain Camp Resort in Greenwood / Crozet, VA has good free WiFi.
    Endless Caverns in New Market, VA (beautiful place) has good free WiFi – better in some sites than others, but overall fairly dependable.

  48. LarnSuz

    We just left Peaceful Pines RV Park in Cheney, WA. They have good WiFi, the park is clean,with excellent managers. If you like trains the track is not far away. We personally felt right at home listening to the trains.

  49. C O'Rourke

    Mayberry Campground Mount Airy, NC has great line of site (with the office) WiFi and terrific staff / owners! Very quiet! Attracts people from all over NC and beyond and they keep coming back!

  50. Larr

    Weatherford TX’s Oak Creek RV Park on I20 is a really good WIFI spot.

  51. J Webber

    I can agree with Selene M above. I’m there right now. Reception on the upper level is great, CG is clean and quiet. The only problem with the WiFi is that the KOA logo keeps popping up when changing web sites, not all the time, but often.

    JOHN

  52. agesilaus

    I see Verizon is down to $39/mo for their aircards now.

  53. Selene M.

    Fancy Gap KOA, Fancy Gap, Virginia has great Wi-Fi reception, at least on the lower level where we’ve stayed twice. On top of that, the hosts are terrific people and the campground is neat, clean and very quiet.

    The Hoover, AL RV Park also has great Wi-Fi. No “it” factor since it’s basically a parking lot, but extremely clean, quiet (except for stadium activities) well-lit and has great hookups.

  54. Great topic and one that is really important for me and my husband. We are full-timing and he works from the road, so the internet is critical for us. For the most part, we rely on our Verizon MiFi which allows us 5gb/month. So far, we’ve had no issues and we use our laptops every day for many hours. (We are just very careful to not watch videos).

    However, when we do find a park with WiFi, we prefer to not use our own resource and rely on the park. So, here’s our list of those parks that immediately come to mind as having great WiFi:

    East Canyon and Jordanelle State Parks in Utah. – Very impressed with these parks!

    Sycamore RV Resort in Sycamore IL. Required password but good for one week and worked well.

    Blue Lake RV Resort in Bonners Ferry, ID. Great park and great owners!

    Crater Lake RV Resort in Prospect, OR

    SanSuzED RV Park – West Glacier, MT

    Teton Valley Campground, Victor ID