Harvest Hosts
Any experience anyone wants to share? Pros, cons?
Forum Discussion
36 Replies
I phoned Good Sam to renew my membership last week. The tiers have changed. I was offered a $100 membership that included "boondocking" sites. I asked if that was the same as Harvest Hosts or Boondockers Welcome. He did not know. I hypothesize that Good Sam is offering the HH/BW list (apparently, HH & BW merged). I cannot think of what else it could be. I cannot imagine that Good Sam would create a duplicate directory.
I did not buy the $100 membership. Maybe I should upgrade to find some more suitable camping sites for my next 1500 mile snowbird adventure. We have found our favorite sites in Ohio, Kentucky, and Georgia, but I need ideas for a quieter return thru NC, TN, VA, and WV.I bought auto-renewal. Three year plans are no longer available. I would not want to forget and buy the $100 plan again in 2026 if we could not use it. My impression from another thread is that the sites are not on main travel routes. One would really want a reason to get to that winery. I remember when I craved one beer a day. Since then I have lost my tolerance and now I'm Molly Hatchet.
Matt_Colie wrote:
Deadticket,
That be the case, you need to look long and hard at BW, a lot of us welcome dogs and can have power available for a fee.
Matt
Agreed Matt, I have 2 BW sites and allow (well-mannered) dogs at both and offer 15 amp electric for free to my guests.
Several BW places that I stay at have a runway and allow me to fly in & out. I doubt you’d find any HH locations that fit that bill.- Deadticket,
That be the case, you need to look long and hard at BW, a lot of us welcome dogs and can have power available for a fee.
Matt - Curious, are you finding lodges that offer power?
- Just got done reading the comments in full. Great info! I am an Elk and have overnighted at many lodges. Ive always felt safe. Seems like Harvest Host may not work for me as I travel with two dogs.It sounds like I would have to call each site and enquire. Food for thought.
- We're hosts here in Mexico. It's a great program. We are three hours from the border so for those that request a stay it's great for recovering and preparing for their Mexico trip.
We are size limited but we enjoy the rving company and sharing stories with Mexico rvers and newbies. We have a couple here this weekend. A tour of the area, happy hours and chats.
We haven't used them as a guest but we are looking forward to it. - Funny that someone should mention the multi-night issue. We are BW Hosts and one of the few within striking range of a museum complex. Very often a member will as about the museum and then I offer them at least three nights. Get Here, Do the museum part, relax one night do the village area, recover and then depart. We live nearby and regularly spend a bunch of days in the museum and grounds.
Matt - We use both Harvest Hosts and Boondockers Welcome (now the same company, but keeping things separately). We prefer Boondockers because most places have the option to stay multiple nights, and many have hookups. For example, We had a six night stay in Centuria, WI at a 'hobby farm'. Super friendly folks, 50 amp power, and water. And we had a wonderful stay south of Fort Worth on an 80 acre hay farm with power hookup. The couple hosting were especially welcoming.
Our experience has been nothing but positive. As is the norm in the RV community, the people (hosts) have been amazing. More than helpful, anxious to provide a positive experience.
As an aside, I am always puzzled by postings that comment negatively on a question without experience. I’m sure any OP is looking for real world opinions from people that have actually used the experience or product. - We prefer Boondockers Welcome because most will permit a 2 or 3 night stay and some have electric.
JaxDad wrote:
Matt, the two gals that started Boondockers Welcome (very close to here in Southern Ontario) sold the whole thing to Harvest Hosts last year.
BW & HH are one group now.
Unfortunately they resisted identifying the former BW hosts separately but if you know what you’re looking at it’s pretty easy to tell them apart.
Yes, they sold it, and it is a good thing that the buyers had a couple of years almost shut down by the plague to get it close to right.
It is better now, but in many ways it still does not work as well as it did before. Jmho
Matt
