Elks Club membership

[bigblueok]

Have a 36ft 5er and am looking into becoming an Elks Club member. From any searches I have found I notice there is no mention of site sizes. Does anyone have any experience with many of their sites being too small for their rigs, making it too limited to bother becoming a member?

[Bea_PA]

We have stayed at many Elk , Moose, VFW, and American Legion sites over the years. Most Elk lodges offer electric and a place to draw water, none of the ones we stayed at had FHU, and all expect a donation, some as high as $20. Austin TX wanted 20-30 for dry camping. If you are just looking for inexpensive places to stay I would suggest Passport America. We like to stay at the service clubs because they are usually friendly and we can get a good meal. PS just saw the post about the Florrisant Lodge, we stayed there many times while my sister in law was living. Great bunch of folks.

[Bull_Rider]

We belong to the Elks, and have stayed at Elk lodges from Washington State to Florida. In fact, one Elk lodge is in the Florida Keys, wonderful organization. Great people, safe places to stay, and more economical than many RV resorts.

I do know that there are some lodges that have specifically targeted RVers. They fast track the process and have a designated weekend to accommodate RVers. If I recall correctly this was in Arizona or Colorado.

A worthwhile organization and the RV benefits are a huge bonus.

[Blazing_Zippers]

I'm an ELK member. We have visited many Lodges in the past 7 years. The website can give info about individual Lodge accommodations or a Lodge in Carmichael, CA. has books with info.
Probably 40% of the Lodges in the U.S. have some sort of RV parking. The sites are as described earlier, from Spartan to quite nice--all for a small donation.
ELKS are a good group of people, and you'll be welcomed at all the Lodges. Actually, they're pretty safe places to park because most ELKS are older and pay attention to who comes and goes in the campground.
We've camp hosted for several years at our Lodge and have had a ball meeting travelers from the entire U.S.
Stop in at a local Lodge and check it out.

[DaveG39]

Garmp1, We have stayed at Florissant lodge a few times, but did not find yours. They are a friendly bunch of folks.

As far as staying at lodges, We have seen the range of full hookup sites that will accommodate large rigs down to a space in the back end of a parking lot with no hookups. Every place we stayed, we enjoyed the company of the lodge and donated to their particular charity. In a few they even ran an extension cord from their facility to my motorhome.

[bigblueok]

Thank you for the info.

[Janss]

I'm an Elk member. I went on an RV trip up California and Oregon coast and stayed at 8 Elks lodges in my motorhome. I think every one of them could accommodate your 5er. The different lodges have a wide range of facilities, from dry camping, to electric, to electric/water with or without dump station, to full hookups. Most of the lodges I stayed at had the RV spaces somewhere on their property, sometimes just at the end of the general car parking lot, some in the back or side of the building, some on asphalt, some on gravel. The Sedona, AZ Elks (where I live) have an adjacent section of property, separate from the main parking lot, with several sites for any size rig. Two Elks lodges I stayed at actually had separate RV parks about five miles away from the lodge.

Don't expect beautiful scenic spots though (except maybe for those separate RV parks), since most RV sites are just on the property with the lodge.

It's a nice amenity for reasonable "donation" amounts (determined by each lodge).

[WoodGlue]

The Elks always struck me as a good organization, full of nice people who especially help others.

Thank you to the poster who dug up the RV Listings. I hope to one day stay at an Elks Lodge.

WoodGlue

[Howard_T]

I have been an Elk for 27 years and enjoy the charitable goals, friendship, site amenities and good food and drink. During our 6 years full timing we stayed at many Elks rv sites. Some are beautiful RV parks but most are simple areas to park with electric and maybe a source to fill your water tank. Very few have dump stations. We enjoyed staying at Elks lodges because of the quick familiarity found between brother and sister elks at the bar. Oh, did I mention, there is almost always a bar! Not a huge point unless you are in a dry county. Being a private club they can usually still serve alcohol. Also the prices vary but are usually in the $15-$20 range per night. All of this can be researched on line.

[dalehelman]

You can ask to become Elk, but it is more like you have to be ask to become an Elk. I hope that makes sense.

[bigblueok]

robsouth wrote:
The Elks organization is about way more than a "camping overnight spot". I think you should investigate the reasons for being an Elk and consider what it means before you join up just to have a camp site. If those reasons mean nothing to you, why not just stay a Walmart?

Iam sorry I didn't clarify that I think it is an organization I would like to contribute to,
not just because of camping fascilities.

[garmp]

I am an Elk, but joined for other reasons than having a parking spot for my RV. This is a perk and only a small part of membership. Our particular lodge at the foot of the Jefferson Barracks Bridge in St Louis offers electric only hookups and is open to the general public, I believe but am not sure, for a small fee.
It is comforting to visit different areas, find a local Lodge and be immediately accepted for casual conservation, a cold beverage and insight to the local happenings, dining, events, sites, etc.
However not all Lodges offer RV parking/hookups and do vary service offered and prices.

[TenOC]

If you like the association of a group of people while traveling, then join the Elks. A good place to get a drink and an acceptable (not outstanding) meal while visiting with some very good people -- that is the TV show "Cheers".

[DutchmenSport]

I'm not an Elk, no desire to join their organization either. But a quick internet search landed me on their web site immediately. They sound like they are a good organization with some really good ideas. But it also looks like you can not just decide to join at whim. You have to be recommended (have 2 sponsors) to join (basically, you are "invited" to join). I know some folks in the Masonic Lodge, and theirs is the same way, you have to be recommended by someone from a local lodge.

Here's a link to their membership requirements: click here.

It looks like their campgrounds are locally owned. In order to make reservations you need to contact each facility. This page give a list of their campgrounds. Although the length of their spots are not listed, you'll probably have to call each one you're interested in to find out the specifics of their local facilities. Click here for Campground Info.

As with any club, you'll probably have a financial responsibility to help support your local club. Shoot... you can't even become a member of a local church without being expected to pledge 10% of your income! That's usually in the membership commitments.

[robsouth]

The Elks organization is about way more than a "camping overnight spot". I think you should investigate the reasons for being an Elk and consider what it means before you join up just to have a camp site. If those reasons mean nothing to you, why not just stay a Walmart?