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SCROLL DOWN FOR THIS WEEK'S EARLYBIRD REPORTS OF NEW, UPCOMING, CHANGING AND CLOSING RV PARKS AND CAMPGROUNDS
WARM THOUGHTS FOR Cold RV’s
Why wait for warmer weather when so many great RV parks and resorts are open all year? Here are some tips for November RV trips:
* Get a safety check up on the RV furnace if you haven’t used it for a while. Does it need new filters? Vents open and free of insect nests and blown leaves?
* Are your indoor and outdoor wardrobes updated for November’s cold rains, warm afternoons, frosty nights, shivery mornings and buffeting winds? Don’t forget nightwear and maybe a change to flannel sheets. My favorite bed warmer is a 12-volt mattress pad.
* Most RV floors get seriously cold for pets even when “room” temperature is comfortable. Consider a thicker (and maybe heated) nest for Rover and Kissy Kitty and warm pants for kids who play on the floor.
* Stock up with ingredients for “comfort food” soups, casseroles, oven meals and campfire coals. Bring bone broths, satiny sauces and gravies, a bouquet of hot sauces, rum for hot toddies and , garlic bread to serve hot and dripping with butter. When eating outdoors, warm plates and bowls before adding hot food.
* When you write to Santa, ask for the best new, insulated coffee mugs and new gimmicks such as ear muffs with built-in Bluetooth and battery heated socks.
* If you use campground restrooms, you need a thick terry robe and turban to wear back to the RV.after a hot shower. I made mine out of thick terry bath towels. .
* Change your white windshield cover for a dark one. It will drink in the sun’s rans even on cold days.
More? Share your trips and let me know if may credit you by name.
WILL 2026 BE THE YEAR YOU BUST OUT AND GO FULL-TIMING IN A SELF CONTINED HOME ON WHEELS?
Do you dream of living and traveling in a complete home on wheels? Living Aboard Your RV, 4th Edition by Janet Groene & Gordon Groene is a total guide to the full-time life on wheels. Should you sell the house or rent it out? Downsize possessions or put them in storage? Too young to retire? See our chapter on ways to make a living anywhere. Kids on board? We cover home schooling and also an exit strategy if and when the time comes to settle down. Order at any book store or let Amazon gift wrap and ship it for you. https://amzn.to/29XFEkq
RV PARKS & CAMPGROUNDS; GOOD NEWS/ BAD NEWS
Locations are in Bolface; Dates are in Red. Is your state or province in the news this week?
NEW RV PARKS & CAMPGROUNDS
This news may be incomplete for travel planning. it's present here so you can follow the story and pounce when reservations open.
* Approved in Baldwin County is a Planned Urban Development near Stapleton, Alabama that wil include the Southern Park RV Camp. Part of the Daphne-Fairhope-Foley metropolitan area, this part of Alabama is known for its beaches and golf courses. Stay tuned as this story develops. An opening date for the projtect has not been announced.
Opening soon near Flagstaff, Arizona, the Flagstaff Mountain RV Park will open sometime next winter with high-speed WiFi, a camp store selling supplies including beer and wine, spaces suitable for all comers from van lifers to pet owners and easy access to Flagstaff’s local trails and city life. Get your inquiry in now to learn of earlybird perks and discounts. (928) 547-2851
Coming to Mirrilton, Arkansas in about six months will be the Petit Jean Gateway RV Park with 18 RV hookups, and aa community coin laundry.
UPGRADES, CHANGES, NEW OWNERS
Renovations are coming to Cozy Embers Campground and Cabins, Bradford, Pennsylvania, thanks to a $20,000 grant from the The Harvey L. Golubock Business Competition The former KOA doesn’t appear to have a website yet and current links may not be up to date. While in Bradford, don’t miss the Zippo Museum.
The 147 RV site in the RV park at the Center at Forest County, Hattiesburg, Mississippi is getting a tune-up. The park has full bookups but they are in need of he current updating. Rates are by the night, week or month. The 16-acre park complex houses a conference center with arena and restaurant. Next door is the Forest County Lake. See Visit Hattiesburg.org/
The San Marcos River RV Resort in Lockport, Texas, formerly the Leisure Resort, is getting a new look with the addition of mini golf, a basketball court, and a playground. Guests enjoy walking trails, swimming and tubng the river and planned activities such as hayrides. Accommodations are in cabins, tent sites, tree houses and 125 RV sites. Go to SanMarcosRiverResort,com/
In Venice, Florida the former Camp Venice RV Resort is now an environmentally-sensitive county park. It will still offer riverfront campsites while upgrading hookups and creating access to other nearby nature sites such as Snook Haven Park. The park is on the Myakka River and is also near Sleeping Turtle Reserve. See SarasotaCountyParks.com/
Whitehorse Campground in Whitefish Horse Camp, Oregon is about to get a new polish. The county park’s Upper Loop will get expanded campsites, water and electric to some sites full hookups for others, and a redesigned traffic pattern to accommodate more and larger RV’s. The transformation will come in phases starting with new restrooms in Phase One next year. Get details at the county website, JosephineCounty.gov/ or call (541) 474-5285 (Also see Closures below.)
RV PARK & CAMPGROUND CLOSURES
A 12-month closure is in the works for Isla Blanca Park in South Padre Island, Texas while a $12 million expansion takes place. The 577 RV sites will get more modern hookups and traffic patterns will be improved for larger vehicles. The beach including pavilions, concessions and a boardwalk will remain open. Got dates and details at CameronCountyTX.gov/
Davidson River Campground, Pisgah Forest, North Carolina is closed until May, 2026 for repairs and improvements including a new bathhouse. Other campgrounds within the national forest remain open. See PisgahHospitalityPartners.com/
EVENTS
Admission to all South Carolina state parks will be free on Black Friday, November 28. Historic home tours will also be free at Rose Hill Plantation, Redcliffe Plantation and Hampton Plantation. Reservations for the home tours open on November 10. Camping fees will apply as usual. Start at SouthCarolinaStateParks.com/
Wyoming is always the prime place for road trips and 2026 will be doubly travel worthy. Throughout the state special events will make America’s 250th anniversary. This is also the year the Devils Tower National Monument, the nation’s first, will turn 120 years old. Make a special trip to Vintage Park in Gillette, Wyoming where the Frontier Art Museum will expand its exhibits of camper vans, neon signs and frontier nostalgia. Check often with https://TravelSWyoming.com/
Don’t miss the Feathered Friends & Fine Art exhibit at the park lodge at Maumee Bay State Park, Oregon, Ohio. The free exhibit includes more than 30 pieces including paintings, printmaking, music and photography. It’s open now until January 16, 2026. The park’s campground has full and partial hookups but water hookups and some shower houses are closed in winter. At present the nature center is also closed for two months of renovations. See Ohio DNR.gov/
Be one of the first hikers on the Steve Newman Audio Trail when it opens on April 1 at East Fork State Park, Batavia, Ohio. The year-round park has 23 RV sites with full hookups, 376 sites with water and electric and 17 equestrian sites. Each has a picnic table, paved pad and fire ring. The park has a dump station, flush toilets, camp store, playgrounds, mini golf, a nature center and a beach and boat ramp for campers only. (866) 644-6727.
Save the date. The Appalachian Music Festival at Pike Lake State Park, Bainbridge, Ohio is scheduled for June 20, 2026. T Campsites will go early. The park has a 13-acre lake, trails and campsites with electric hookups. (740) 493-2212.
SCUTTLEBUTT
* New owners are in charge at the Skyway Camping Resort, Greenfield Park, New York,: (845) 647-5747. The resort has more than 160 campsites, sports and other planned activities, a swimming pool in season, a camp store, laundry, dog run and hot tub.
Will there be a new RV park in the Coachella Valley? It’s possible that the former Thermal Ranch will become a 230-acre community with focus on equestrian housing, polo, competitions and fun. The plan calls for 300 RV sites plus homes, a hotel, a village with restaurants and shops, and venue spaces for the entertainments the valley is known for. Keep an eye on this story for future developments.
City-owned Bergstrom Park in Woodland Park, Colorado has added two small parcels of land that will make way for more RV sites. Check it out for next season at WoodlandPark.gov/
SEE WHAT YOU MISSED PAST WEEK. SCROLL DOWN
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