RV Traditions + Newest RV Park & Campground News

Copyright Janet Groene 2026. To ask about rates to reprint Groene content, email janetgroene@yahoo.com

GET THE JUMP ON RESERVATIONS. SCROLL DOWN TO SEE THIS WEEK'S BREAKING NEWS OF NEW AND CHANGING RV PARKS

 

        RV Travel Traditions to Treasure

You may mot realize it now but camping and RV travel make lifetime memories. Whether it’s a Labor Day weekend with the kids in a whizbang RV resort or sitting alone to see your first sunrise in a national park, you wish it could last forever

Here are some ways to begin now, with your next RV-adventure, to make RV traditions you will always cherish.  

Traditions for You Alone

You might start each day with a prayer or meditation in the driver’s seat  with its view of the great outdoors. Or do a yoga or tai chi workout at sunrise. Start a quilt. Or each day learn a new Spanish phrase or sonnet or Psalm. 

If you don’t already keep a travel diary make it a habit. It’s easier if you make entries at the same time each day. Use whatever style works for you, from pencil sketches to jotted notes to a letter to an imaginary friend. 

Twitter, Facebook and other social networks also make good daily habits, but don’t forget those friends who aren’t online. Postcards from you mean so much to shut-ins and the elderly.

 Traditions for Your RV

Call them habits or even a rut, everyday traditions can bring sameness and sanity to travel. Food traditions are always good. Bonfire Bean Soup and cornbread every Saturday night? A splurge lunch date every Wednesday at the nearest restaurant? Taco Tuesdays? 

Some traditions are best when the RV is peacefully plugged in for a while. Others are best when you’re on the road. One very practical habit is to walk completely around the RV before every start-up, even if you’ve stopped only a few minutes for fuel. Make sure everything is in order. It’s also a time to put your mind back into highway mode and the serious business of driving. 

Birthdays and holidays may call for new traditions when we're on the go. Cupcakes instead of a big layer cake? Cornish game hens instead of a big Thanksgiving turkey? A folding Christmas tree? 

Start a collection that's portable

Old traditions can be observed too. Go online to order flowers for folks back home. Keep a corkboard of photos and souvenirs. Start a Fun Fund where loose change goes at the end of each day. When the kitty is full, splurge on a special outing. 

You may designate times to take stock of your RV present and future. These confabs may be monthly, quarterly or yearly. Just stick to the schedule, like New Years Day or the Full Moon or every 10,000 miles. Where are you going? What are my travel goals? Do I want a larger or smaller RV? These days, reservations are a necessity, sometimes six months or a year in advance. 

Traditions for the Campground

You might find a place to mount a flag on your RV and raise the Stars and Stripes each morning. Or  become known as the neighbor who has tea time at 3 p.m. or coffee klatch at 10 and everyone can drop by. Or make your famous casserole at every potluck. 

With an RV you can play it by ear. Stay nimble.  Be free. Change your mind. Still, traditions can have a place in RV life too. 

WHAT IS FULL-TIME RV TRAVEL REALLY LIKE? 

 We spill our whole story, start to end, warts and all.....

We traveled full-time for 10 great years. 

 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 it's time 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

Is there RV park news near you? Destinations are in boldface; dates are in red. These late-breaking news spots are presenting to give readers  a heads-up on what’s new and what’s going to be new. No endorsement of any service or destination is implied..

NEW AND FUTURE RV PARKS & CAMPGROUNDS

Livingston Parish now has a luxury RV park,  just off I-12. The 450-site, 100-acre  Patriot RV Resort in Satsuma, Louisiana has full hookups, multiple swimming pools, a Lazy River, fishing, hot tubs,  pickleball courts and more. Check the website for the concert schedule in the amphitheater theater. See patriotsrvresort.com/

Expect continuing expansions through this year and next at the new campground in Indian Lake State Park, Lakeview, Ohio. Construction will mean temporary closings and rerouting, so get current nformation at  (866) 644-6727.The pet-friendly  park offers full hookups, waterfront sites, boating, a beach a dump station and a camp stOre in season. 

SCUTTLEBUTT

The 154-acre county-owned campground site in West The Dalles, Oregon has a good chance of coming back to life. A 48-pad RV park was begun just off Exit 82 of I-84. Full hookups, an ADA restroom and showers are already installed.  Now the county is considering finishing the project and opening it for short-term RV travelers with a limit of 14 days. Keep abreast of the story at https://www.wascocountyor.gov/visitors/ 

In Ellsworth, Maine a 28-site RV park is getting closer to creation. The Anchor In will have full hookups. See DisoverEllsworth.org/

EVENTS

Save the dates. This year’s Warren, Wisconsin Cranberry Festival will be held September 26-27. The Lions Club provides dry camping at the festival grounds. At least two full-service RV parks, Jellystone and McMullen, offer shuttle service to the festival. Make reservations ASAP.  For the 53rd year,  townfolk will put on a party that includes 100 food booths, 100 farmes market stalls, 300 flea markets,800 arts and crafts vendors,  a parade, the election of a cranberry queen, walking tours of the cranberry marsh, a cranberry pancake breakfast and music everywhere. See Cranfest.com/

CHANGES, UPGRADES, NEW OWNERS, EXPANSIONS

Now known as the Keeshkeemaquah Campground & RV Park, the former Shady Oaks RV Campground, found between Sidney and Austin, Manitoba, continues under the new name to be a family friendly getaway, Enjoy a  prairie landscape, full hookups, a swimming pool, volleyball and basketball courts, a pavilion, high speed internet, washrooms and showers,  an open area for sports and trails for walking the meadows and oak forests. At an altitude of’ 1 249 feet he park claims to have fewer mosquitoes.  Go to keeshcampground.ca/ 

The 30-site Oak Grove Campground in in Lincoln National Forest, El Paso Texas is now open again following extensive repair and clean-up after the devastating 2024 South Fork Fire. The campground has vault toilets, fireplaces, tables and trash pickup. No hookups, no reservations. Sites are available only to small rigs, 18 feet or less. See (www.) fs.usda.gov/r03/lincoln/recreation/oak-grove-campground/

Also reopened is the RV campground in Madera, California at the district fairgrounds. Fifteen sites have full hookups; the rest have water and electric. The rate is $65 nightly and there is a three-day limit. Reserve now for the fair in September. https://www.camplife.com/7060631/reservations/ 

DID YOU KNOW?

Sinks Canyon State Park, Lander, Wyoming holds an International Dark Sky Designation.   Some campgrounds in the park are open all year. Some are available by reservation. Some are first-come, first served. See wyoparks.wyogov/ to plan your visit to this world class destination.

WHEN TRAVEL EMERGENCIES HAPPEN IN YOUR RV

SURVIVAL FOOD HANDBOOK is a guide to survival when you're Out There and out of fresh provisions.  It's written just for RV travelers and campers who have limited storage space.

 Whether it's fridge failure, or you're broke  or quarantined or weathered in, stuff happens. See provisioning information, lists, tips and recipes made solely with stowed foods from supermarkets (not those expensive  doomsday rations).  Plan your personal three-day standby pantry with familiar, affordable staples for travel, home, boating and camping. 

Kindle or paperback, it's a great gift idea for yourself or a friend.  https://amzn.to/3mIfryC