We get the Indiana DNR State Park annual pass because we camp so much at different Indiana State Parks. The entrance fee (even if camping) is $7.00 per vehicle for in-state residence. The $50.00 annual pass pays for itself pretty fast.
We also have a Good Sam membership. We use Good Sam campgrounds when travel longer distances (Usually 4 times a year), and since we have the membership, we search for Good Sam campgrounds first for overnights. The savings for overnights with the membership has paid for the cost of the membership more than many times over for us.
We use to use KOA also. But have dropped the annual memberships since we opt for Good Sam campgrounds now. But occasionally we do stay at a KOA for overnights when traveling. But in the last 3 or 4 years, we haven't stayed enough to break even on the annual membership. So, we've skipped the KOA membership for a few years now, even though we usually end up at at KOA at least once a year. The difference in the discount price and the full price for a single night campsite at KOA does not pay for the membership. It takes about 3 times to break even (depending upon the cost of the campsite).
The thing we like about the KOA and Good Sam memberships is the fact they are an annual, one-time membership with no future strings attached. They are relatively inexpensive, and if you use their campgrounds two or 3 times a year, you break even on the cost of the membership. If you use it more, you come out ahead.
Memberships like Thousand Trails are life-long memberships that require several thousands of dollars for simply joining, are restrictive, and still require annual dues and such for the rest of your life, are almost impossible to get out of, and you are legally bound to the annual (very high priced) required fees as part of your contract. I highly advise NEVER going with a camping membership that requires you to sign a "contract." They work just like time-shares, and you'll hate it after the first year, and you are now enslaved forever.
As with any membership, if you don't go camping... it doesn't matter which one you have, you loose money. You have to go camping to benefit. So, if you are a one-time-a-year, two-week a year camper, do the math for the number of night you're staying at one of the membership campgrounds and see if the cost will benefit you.
Good Sam does offer more benefits than just saving 10% at their designated campgorunds. You also get a discount when purchasing from Camping World, Flying J fuel stations, and some other things. So, it's really, just a matter of how much you take advantage of their associated benefits if they (or any of them) are worth the cost.
