indyfabz

Yeah. $30 is a good deal for that neck of the woods. I actually visited Fort Wadsworth for business a few times. It's accessed by the last exit of the Staten Island Expressway. I remember the Coast Guard guy we were to meeting telling us in an email not to miss the exit or else we would end up in Brooklyn and have to pay the outrageous Verrazzano Bridge toll to get back to Staten Island. IIRC, it was $10 back then. Think it's close to $20 these day.

dwmckee

I stayed in a rather full KOA once and they gave me one of the last RV sites available. I set up my tiny fly at the back of the site between two big RVs. I spent the rest of the night being awoken every 30 minutes by an incoming RV pulling into my site for the night then seeing me at the back of the site. Each one stopped and thought about it with their giant headlights on me for about 5 minutes, then likely cursed me and slowly backed out to try and find another site. That went on all night leaving me wondering each time if that would be the RV that did not see me over their hood as they parked on top of me... If you find yourself in this potential situation, barricade yourself in with a picnic table or two at the entrance to the site.

I swear at times I could feel the heat radiating from their headlights...

Tourist in MSN

The mention of a KOA reminded me of a positive experience I had at one KOA. We checked out a hiker biker site at Manchester Beach State Park (I think that was California, not Oregon) on the Pacific Coast and then checked out the KOA about a mile away. The KOA also offered a hiker biker site rate, but in a regular campsite and it was much better than the state park. That state park had no showers or washrooms, they had water and outhouses. We enjoyed the KOA much more, used washing machines and showers, etc. In this case, the KOA was well worth it.

DropBarFan

One would assume the campsites are numbered & assigned but I suppose late RV arrivals might to to park in the wrong spot. I once had a beach-side campground reservation, some guy had taken my assigned spot so I took another spot. Was rather funny since the 'stolen' spot was right next to the beach access path where the night wind blew strongly through the gap in the shrubs & buffeted his tent all night.

Colorado Kid

I stayed in several KOA state parks back when I toured the East. Rv's with their generated running all night, drunks etc. Choose your place to stay
for the night, wisely.

cyccommute 

KOAs aren’t “state parks”. They are commercial campgrounds run by individuals as a franchise. I’ve stayed in KOAs (as well as many other commercial campgrounds) extensively. I’ve had one negative experience at a KOA in upstate New York and even that wasn’t all the “negative”. The campground just happened to have more extended stay guest than usual and had a large number of golf carts to get around on the grounds. It was also one of the larger KOAs I’ve ever been to.

As to disturbances, KOA have quiet hours and I’ve never seen anyone violate them. I’ve never seen an RV running a generator in one of them because the RVs are hooked up to the electrical system and don’t need a generator.

Many people talk about campgrounds being party places for the locals or having bad elements visiting them. I’ve stayed in campgrounds that are both remote and highly trafficked. I’ve never had any problem with anyone at a campground. In the west, almost all forest service campgrounds have hosts. Even the remote ones are remote enough that people don’t go there to party. Campgrounds, especially commercial campgrounds, don’t want a reputation as a “party spot”. It would drive away their main customer base which are rich(ish) retirees.

staehpj1

Yep, KOA are definitely a different animal entirely than state parks.

My experience with KOAs has been that they are well run and tend to be quiet and have tons of amenities, but be pretty expensive and to most often cater to a different clientele that the touring cyclist market. They tend to cater to families and retirees who don't tolerate loud noise at late hours and want a nice experience. They usually have really nice facilities with tons of extras like pools, really nice outdoor cooking stations, laundry, recreational stuff, activities, you name it.

Now and then I have run into one that catered to cyclists a bit more and had cheap rates for them. This is more likely to be the case on a popular cycling route. I stayed in one of those on the PCH and it was kind of amazing all of the amenities that they had for the very minimal fee. Most of the others I have see had a very high fee that I'd consider prohibitive when touring since I am not looking for all of those amenities and don't want to pay too much for them. I have seen the per night rates approach that of a room in a budget motel in the area. I wouldn't mind paying a little extra here and there for a KOA. but IME they tended to either be too pricey or (rarely) a great deal.

indyfabz

You should see the Missoula KOA. They actually have people patrolling the grounds in golf carts at night. I've stayed there several times before and after tours. Always quiet at night. Worst problem I have had is that someone didn't pick up after their dog near my site.

The one thing you do have to watch out for there these days are the rabbits. A couple of years ago, someone who lived in a trailer home near by let two rabbits loose. They bred like rabbits. There are now dozens of them roaming the grounds. They'll hop right under your picnic table while you're sitting there.

stevepusser

The ACA did set up some discount rates for members at certain nice RV parks along their routes, but the inland Oregon and California State Parks very often have dedicated hiker-biker sites, not just the coastal parks. You can also check out fairgrounds and county parks, which may have very nice campsites at good rates, yet can be quite unknown outside of locals.

I'm familiar with some of the inland California parks--do you have a route set yet? If it's the coast route, you should be able to do the whole route without ever staying at an RV park, though the Manchester KOA is a lot nicer than the state park.

flyjimmy

The age of the RV policy is not so much about appearance as it is about the issue of abandonment. Most trailers decline in price quickly and many are abandoned at RV parks and leave the RV park with both legal and financial burdens.
We go to RV parks often and at least in the North East tent camping is generally permitted. I have to agree that the State and Federal parks are generally more scenic and private with larger sites. They are also much more affordable. Especially since the hookups in the RV parks are generally not needed for tents.

John N

I am happy to stay wherever is available. I have and will stealth camp but it is not my preferred choice. One website that I use to find campsites is https://www.rvparky.com/ . There are many apps out there. They have a filter to show only those that supposedly allow tents. About 60% accurate. As others have said, they are not always willing to allow tents. That said, if you are anything but a male aged 25-55, you have a much better chance when you show up in person assuming you are "clean cut", i.e. look like a "responsible" person. Also, a lot of the newer RV parks don't even have bathrooms let alone showers so there is a valid reason they may not want non-self contained RVs in their park.

Tailwinds, John

gracehowler

We have had some success with "Wikicamps, usa". It is a handy phone app that has a good set of filters, it's not perfect, but helps us locate a site when in a unfamiliar land.
R&J

indyfabz

This is a shot from possibly the worst commercial campground I have stayed at. The KOA between Hill City and Mount Rushmore in SD. The shot doesn't really capture how crowded it was, with trailer and RV lined up. I booked a tent site with no hook ups in advance and asked for some shade because I was going to be on a bike. The site I was given was wide open with no privacy whatsoever. Fortunately, it was a cool and breezy day so it was nice to have some sun.
At night I went to the spa pools and they were full of drunk yahoos.