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A recreational vehicle park (RV park) or caravan park is a place where people with recreational vehicles can stay overnight, or longer, in allotted spaces known as "sites" or "campsites". They are also referred to as campgrounds, though a true campground also provides facilities for tent camping; many facilities calling themselves "RV parks" also offer tent camping or cabins with limited facilities.
Allocated space (pitch/site) facilities may include:
Park facilities may include:
Occasionally, Electric Vehicle owners will use the electrical facilities at RV parks to charge their cars - especially in rural areas where other charging facilities are unavailable. In North America, "50 amp" (NEMA 14-50) connections are especially desirable for EV charging. The "30 amp" (TT-30), "20 amp" (NEMA 5-20), and "15 amp" (NEMA 5-15) connections may also be used, but offer progressively slower charging speeds. Outside of North America, 16 amp (caravan mains sockets) are common.
In Australia there is generally no differentiation between an RV park and a trailer park. The term "caravan park" is used to refer to both. The term "holiday park" is becoming increasingly common, with many parks increasing their stock of on-site cabins, often accompanied by a reduction in the number of caravan sites, generally having higher quality facilities than the standard caravan park.
Caravan sites in Europe range in facilities depending on their age. Most new sites will be built to high environmentally friendly standards and have facilities compatible with the newest vehicles.
The Caravan Club has 1 million members in Europe with around 200 self-owned campsites and over 2,500 third party certificated locations, more commonly known as CL sites. The Camping and Caravanning Club is a non-profit organisation which has been running for over a century and has over 400,000 members and 100 campsites in the United Kingdom. [1]
In France, Germany and Italy, to a lesser degree also in Norway and the Netherlands, a large network of dedicated stopover sites for motorhomes has grown since about 1980. These sites are called Reisemobil-Stellplatz in German or Aire de Camping-car in French. While these sites can usually not be compared to North American RV sites regarding size and facilities, they still fulfill the same purpose.
In New Zealand, motor camp, caravan park or holiday park are all terms typically used to describe overnight or long term vehicle-based camping. Along with powered sites for caravans, the parks usually offer tent sites and cabins, and a shared building with cooking facilities.
RV parks range from rustic facilities with no or limited utility hookups, as often found in state/provincial parks and national parks, to luxury resorts with amenities that rival fine hotels. Some high-end resorts restrict the type of RV that can stay to motorhomes of a certain length or longer, and/or newer than a certain year.
Most RV parks are open to allcomers and rent spaces on a nightly or weekly basis, much like a motel or hotel. A few parks operate on a time-share basis. Membership campground networks like Thousand Trails operate like clubs, with members paying an initial membership fee and annual dues. There are over 13,000 privately owned RV parks and over 1,600 state parks that cater to RVers in the USA. Many of these RV parks offer WiFi hotspot access on a daily, weekly, or monthly basis; occasionally, WiFi is included in the campsite fee.
Most RV parks are independent or operated by a government entity. In the United States, Kampgrounds of America (KOA), is the largest and best-known chain of RV parks, with Yogi Bear's Jellystone Park Camp Resorts a distant second. Good Sam Parks are mostly independently owned RV campgrounds endorsed by the Good Sam Club, a large association of US RVers that is operated for profit by the Affinity Group, Inc. Listings of RV parks can be found in printed directories; the best known are the annual ones by Woodall's and Trailer Life Magazine. Online and mobile app RV directories are provided by AmericaOnWheels.com, CampRate, Campendium, eCampGuide, MobileRVing.com, Reserve RV, RoverPass, RV Parks & Campgrounds, RVParkReviews, RVThereYet, The Dyrt and others. Overnight rates for most USA RV parks are US$15 to US$50, although some in cities and country parks may be US$10 or less; even free.
There is a subculture of "fulltiming" RV owners who live in their recreational vehicles on a permanent basis. They typically move from one RV park to another. The length of time that someone is allowed to stay in an RV park varies from park to park.
Utah Lake State Park is a state park in Provo, Utah, United States. The park is located at the west end of Provo Center Street on the east shore of Utah Lake and immediately northwest of the Provo Municipal Airport.
Camping is a form of outdoor recreation or outdoor education involving overnight stays with a basic temporary shelter such as a tent. Camping can also include a recreational vehicle, sheltered cabins, a permanent tent, a shelter such as a bivy or tarp, or no shelter at all. Typically, participants leave developed areas to spend time outdoors, in pursuit of activities providing them enjoyment or in a form of educational experience. Spending the night away from home distinguishes camping from day-tripping, picnicking, and other outdoor activities.
Campsite, campground, and camping pitch are all related terms regarding a place used for camping. The usage differs between British English and American English.
A recreational vehicle, often abbreviated as RV, is a motor vehicle or trailer that includes living quarters designed for accommodation. Types of RVs include motorhomes, campervans, coaches, caravans, fifth-wheel trailers, popup campers, and truck campers.
A caravan, travel trailer, camper, tourer or camper trailer is a trailer towed behind a road vehicle to provide a place to sleep which is more comfortable and protected than a tent. It provides the means for people to have their own home on a journey or a vacation, without relying on a motel or hotel, and enables them to stay in places where none is available. However, in some countries campers are restricted to designated sites for which fees are payable.
Forest River Inc. is an American manufacturer of recreational vehicles, cargo trailers, utility trailers, pontoon boats, and buses.
A campervan, also referred to as a camper, caravanette, motorhome or RV in North America, is a self-propelled vehicle that provides both transport and sleeping accommodation. The term describes vans that have been fitted out, whereas a motorhome is one with a coachbuilt body.
The Conecuh National Forest in southern Alabama covers 83,000 acres (340 km2), along the Alabama - Florida line in Covington and Escambia counties. Topography is level to moderately sloping, broad ridges with stream terraces and broad floodplains.
The Caravan and Motorhome Club is an organisation representing caravan and motorhome users in the United Kingdom and Ireland. It was founded in 1907 and now represents nearly one million members.
Poe Valley State Park is a 620-acre (251 ha) Pennsylvania state park in Penn Township, Centre County, Pennsylvania in the United States. The park is surrounded by Bald Eagle State Forest. Poe Paddy State Park is 4 miles (6.4 km) to the east. The forests of the park surround the 25-acre (10 ha) Poe Lake. Poe Valley State Park is in isolated Poe Valley which lies between Potters Mills on U.S. Route 322 and Millheim on Pennsylvania Route 45. The park was closed during the 2008 and 2009 season while the lake was drained for dam repairs and the park facilities were upgraded.
Greenleaf State Park is located near Braggs, Oklahoma, and is situated around the 930-acre (3.8 km2) Greenleaf Lake. Greenleaf Lake was built in 1939. There is an 18-mile (29 km) hiking trail that begins inside the park and makes its way around Greenleaf lake and into the adjacent government land of Camp Gruber.
Mark Hammerton Group Ltd was a UK-based travel organiser and travel publisher specialising in camping, caravanning, motorhome and mobile home holidays on campsites in France, Spain, Italy and other European countries. The Group published the market-leading Alan Rogers campsites guides and offered a European travel service for readers including ferry bookings. The Group was acquired by The Caravan Club in 2012 under the brand Alan Rogers Travel Group, along with its subsidiary company Belle France, which offers walking and cycling hotel holidays.
Alan Rogers Guides is a campsite guide publisher. It was started in Britain in 1968 by camp enthusiast Alan Rogers. The guides aim to place enhance the quality of the campsites; campsites cannot pay to be in the guide. Travel guides have been published every year since 1968. In 2018, Alan Rogers Guides celebrated its 50th anniversary.
The Camping and Caravanning Club is a not-for-profit membership organisation for camping and caravan enthusiasts in the United Kingdom. It was founded in 1901, and has over 730,000 members.
Meadow Lake Provincial Park is a northern boreal forest provincial recreational park along the Waterhen and Cold Rivers in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. The park was founded on 10 March 1959, is the largest provincial park in Saskatchewan, and encompasses over 25 lakes in an area of 1,600 km2 (620 sq mi). The park was named "Meadow Lake" after the city of Meadow Lake and Meadow Lake. The city and the lake are not in the park and are located about 40 kilometres (25 mi) south-east of the nearest park entrance, which is about 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) north of Dorintosh. The length of the park stretches about 113 kilometres (70 mi) from Cold Lake on the Saskatchewan / Alberta border in the west to the eastern shore of Waterhen Lake in the east.
A motorhome stopover is a place designated for the purpose of overnight stopping for recreational vehicles or motorhomes. Motorhome stopovers are usually operated by local authorities. These vehicles can stay overnight or longer depending on terms and conditions specified on a sign by each locality. Parking is in accordance with local building codes and road traffic law.
SMONEĆTEN Campground is located in the town of Sidney on Vancouver Island, British Columbia. SMONEĆTEN Campground is 20 hectares of forested parkland and can be accessed from the Pat Bay Highway. Previously, SMONEĆTEN Campground was managed by the province of British Columbia and known as McDonald Campground. Today SMONEĆTEN Campground is a part of Gulf Islands National Park Reserve. The campground was renamed to SMONECTEN in 2021.
Cotton Tree Caravan Park is a heritage-listed caravan park at Cotton Tree Parade, Cotton Tree, Sunshine Coast Region, Queensland, Australia. It was added to the Queensland Heritage Register on 3 April 2009.
The term recreational vehicle (RV) is often used as a broad category of motor vehicles and trailers which include living quarters for designed temporary accommodation. Types of RVs include motorhomes, campervans, caravans, fifth-wheel trailers, popup campers, truck campers and Park Model RVs.
Dispersed Camping is the term given to camping in the United States on public land other than in designated campsites. This type of camping is most common on national forest and Bureau of Land Management land. Designated campsites often offer services to the campers, such as trash removal, toilet facilities, tables and/or fire pits, which are not available at dispersed camping locations. Although dispersed camping takes place on public land, each managing agency has specific regulations for dispersed camping, though they generally all also require campers to follow Leave No Trace guidelines. In addition, some public lands restrict camping to 14 days. Other terms used for this type of camping can be boondocking, dry camping or wild camping.
