Is Harvest Hosts For You?
Our Boondockers Welcome campsite was near here, Shiprock, New Mexico.
Is a stay at a Harvest Host location an ideal place to go? What is Harvest Hosts? Harvest Hosts is a program for a person that travels in their RV (does not matter if you are part or full time), to stay a night for FREE. But their is a catch: the membership is NOT free, but the stay is, sort of. Lets go into the pros and cons of Harvest Hosts, so you can make an educated decision whether you want to try this membership program or not!
PROS:
A safe place to stay for 1 night.
A unique place to stay, such as a winery, a farm, breweries, or attractions.
A go-between spot for your travel destination.
Low annual membership fee.
No Walmart parking here!
1000s of locations throughout the U.S.
Book online effortlessly.
CONS:
Annual membership fee, with plans ranging from $84 - $152, subject to change.
Most people purchase something at the Harvest Hosts site they are at, such as a wine bottle if they are at a winery. Not sure if this is a con, but if you are trying to save money, this is something to think about.
Sometimes hard to contact the hosts to book a site online.
Some Harvest Hosts have size restrictions about your rig.
Might be difficult to locate on a map if far away from a city or a town.
Harvest Hosts has 3 plans and I will share what they are about:
Harvest Host Classic: stay in unique places, such as farms, wineries, breweries and distilleries, campground partners and attractions. Thousands of locations available for the low price of $84.15 yearly (regularly $99 per year).
Harvest Hosts + Boondockers Welcome: same as the classic except more locations available to camp in. Boondockers Welcome was a separate entity until they merged with Harvest Hosts and now have lots of locations together! The annual fee is $143.65 (regularly $169 per year).
Harvest Hosts Access: the best of all plans, same as the above plans, but so much more! You can camp on golf courses and have access to a membership to Escapees RV Club (I highly recommend this club!). The annual fee for this is $152.15 (regularly $179 per year).
My thoughts are this: it is not badly priced, has plenty of places for you to visit, each a unique place, and something you may not see at a traditional campground. We sometimes had a hard time getting hold of the host as summertime is a busy time for them. Just remember, there are other Harvest Hosts out there for you to have your own adventure.
Have you camped at a unique place before?