One tool that has become invaluable to us as we find places to say is the AllStays Pro web and mobile app.
One of its key benefits is that campgrounds don’t pay to be profiled, so it’s truly an unbiased source of information.
It also includes both private and state and national park campgrounds, whereas other directories focus on only one.
For example, the Good Sam Camping directory (which merged a few years ago with North American Campground Directory and the Trailer Life Directory to become a single directory) focuses only on privately owned campgrounds; Recreation.gov includes only federal locations; and while ReserveAmerica.com includes federal, state, county, and private locations, it includes only a subset of locations.
AllStays is an online directory of over 30,000 campgrounds across the United States.
AllStays has categorized all of its 30,000+ campgrounds by various factors, such as type of campground, facilities available, and rates. These categories enable users to quickly identify RV parks of interest and contact them to make reservations.
Along with campground information, AllStays has details about amenities along the travel route, such as truck gas stations to make it easier to fill up your RV, dump stations (at places such as campgrounds, gas stations, and rest areas), stores with RV goods, and locations with low clearance bridges and overpasses.
There’s also an additional app for finding RV dump stations.
Overall, it provides for over half a million different search combinations based on your specific travel criteria.
Here’s how it works:
After logging in, a user is presented with a map of the United States, with a menu of available filters on the right.
Users can search by keyword using the search icon on the left. In this example, we searched for “Everglades.”
Users can also select specific geographic regions, using the zooming capabilities of the map and pan to any area of the U.S. In this example, we’ve zoomed to the western part of the U.S.
The user can also filter by the camp area characteristics, using multiple selections. See the sample list below.
For example, a user can select to search only National Parks, National/State Forests, and state parks, as in this example. The number of locations meeting the criteria is shown by the numbers on the map.
In this example, we’ve zoomed in further to the Moab area in Utah. In the map, we can see the different icons for National Parks, National/State Forests, and State/Prov Parks.
Since not all National Park or state parks have RV sites available but are limited to tent camping only, I further filter the results to only campgrounds with RV sites. I do this by selecting “RV sites” under the “Amenities” box in the right filter column.
The result is a filtered list of RV campgrounds in the area that are run either by the National Parks, National/State Forests, or State parks. If that was too limiting, I could add in Independent campgrounds as well to find more potential locations.
AllStays users can then click on the icon for each campground for more information. For example, clicking on Dead Horse Point State Park outside of Moab shows me the location and that it has 21 sites, a max RV length of 50 ft (which can be useful information if you’re driving a big rig), and 20/30/50 amp sites.
Although not visible in this screen shot, if I scroll down further, I see that they also have a dump station and are pet friendly.
Further, I’ll be given the option to navigate to the campground via Apple Maps, Google Maps, Waze maps, or Sygic maps. There’s also a button to direct you to reserve online for those campgrounds that have this feature.
If I selected the “Website Link,” I’ll be brought directly to the Dead Horse Point State Park where I can find more information and make a reservation.
The full list of characteristics that can be used to search and map the various locations to facilitate you RV adventures include:
- Campsite type: independent, KOA, BLM, county/city parks, National Parks, National/State Forests, military, etc
- Fuel stops/rest areas: By truck stop brand (e.g., Flying J Travel Plaza, Pilot Travel Centers, Loves Travel Stops), rest areas, welcome centers, etc.
- Stores/supplies: Walmart parking, Cracker Barrel, Cabelas, Home Depot, etc
- Bridges/Grades: Low clearance from 7-8 ft to 15ft, covered bridges/tunnels, runaway ramps, etc
- Amenities: RV sites, dump station, accepts big rig, full hookups, pull thrus, showers, laundry, pet friendly, cable tv, etc
- Clubs: Good Sam, Passport America, Escapees, etc
- Rates: Free, $12 and under, $21 and under, $31 and under, $41 and under, over $41
- Rating: 1 to 5 star reviews
- Elevation: Under 5,000 ft, 5,000-7,500 ft, 7,500-10,000 ft, over 10,000 ft
There are some other features that I haven’t gone into in detail, but check out the website to learn more about its features.
AllStays Pro is available as a web application for a PC, or as an app for iPhones in the AppStore or as an Android app in the Google Play store.
The annual subscription cost is $29.95 per year with a renewing subscription or $32.95 for one year subscription. Check it out to see if it meets your needs!
