KOA

[olfarmer]

Wow, one night at a KOA in Sioux Falls, South Dakota was $60, guess this is the last KOA I will stay at! Stayed in a nice campground near Mt. Rushmore for $40.
😞

[Lwiddis]

You weren't ripped off. You could have said no and left, and saying no is the most effective way to lower prices.

[soren]

time2roll wrote:
Yea burn $200 of fuel for the day and then the campsite costs $10 too much? wow

I see what you did there. Yer' tryin' to introduce them tricky maths to confusacate the issue. I never falls fur that!

Seriously though, a trip to a tax free state, with gas at 10% less than neighboring states, by the time you add it up, an overpriced campground really isn't a deal breaker. Now if we are talking about ocean area campgrounds, it can be a bit shocking, but it beats paying 3x as much for a nearby hotel.

[time2roll]

Yea burn $200 of fuel for the day and then the campsite costs $10 too much? wow

[jjjandrbaker]

ChuckV1 wrote:
I agree with qcloss, we were going to Delaware to see the daughter but after looking at the price's per night we turned around in Ohio at a KOA which was $45 a night pull thought full hookups an headed back home ...

Am I interpreting this correctly? You planned a trip to visit your daughter in Delaware, got as far as Ohio, didn't like the campsite prices, so you called off the visit and headed back home? It sounds like you just hopped in the vehicle and took off without any kind of planning.

[soren]

gcloss wrote:
$60 a night is a bargain compared to what some campgrounds in the Northeast are charging. Some of the Jellystone's, one in Gardiner NY and another in Quarryville PA charge more than $100/night in July and August.

That's pretty crazy. I live just up the road from Quarryville. You can get a lot closer to the center of the action, in the Amish country, at places like Country Acres, in Paradise, for $40 bucks less. Kind of like the KOA in Watkins Glen NY. We ended up there with friends, on a fall weekend. The campground is nothing special, nor is the area. The friends made the reservation, and I knew nothing about cost until I paid the bill, at $77 a night. Had I known, I would of passed. There are nicer places in the area, for half that.

[pennysmom09]

We have not found KOA cg' s over priced. Actually we have found KOA 's usually a bit nicer than many. Location and season is usually the reason for rates above $50. I also don't feel paying these higher rates is being ripped off, since we all have wheels and are not forced to stay anywhere.

[soren]

Anmacc2 wrote:
My DW has a serious health issue. KOAs are all networked so emergency response has easy access to directions if needed. Response can come right to your site. To each their own but we stay almost exclusively at KOAs.

Been involved with a few emergencies in random campgrounds. Believe me, if this gives you peace of mind, by all means, but don't think that it's any safer in a KOA. Most CGs do an excellent job of making sure help gets where it's needed ASAP. KOA doesn't have any magical lock on responsible management, or caring neighbors.

[BB_TX]

I have stayed at some independently owned, non chain RV parks that were poor with unlevel sites, high grass, unfriendly employees, and much over priced. Therefore I recommend no one ever stay at any independently owned, non chain RV park. :S

[mikhen]

Average price in Pa for an AVERAGE campground is 60-65 per night. There are very few less than that, and a few more than that.

[imgoin4it]

KOA campgrounds have three different classifications. They are "journey", "holliday", and"resort". Journey is a basic rv park for overnights and usually the least ecpensive. As the amenities go up in the higher classifications, so does the price. We stayed at quite a few journey parks last march and found the price pretty comparable to others in the area.

[jarata1]

olfarmer wrote:
Wow, one night at a KOA in Sioux Falls, South Dakota was $60, guess this is the last KOA I will stay at! Stayed in a nice campground near Mt. Rushmore for $40.
You think that's high come to the northeast that's middle of the road pricing everywhere
😞

[ChuckV1]

I agree with qcloss, we were going to Delaware to see the daughter but after looking at the price's per night we turned around in Ohio at a KOA which was $45 a night pull thought full hookups an headed back home ...

I you have the KOA book or on line it shows you what they have, the more things they have like pools an bikes, cabins etc the cost will go up per night, also the amount of people an animals as well...

We are at a campground outside of Rapid city that is just as nice as any KOA we have stayed at an has more features like covered picnic tables an extra water at each site, large game room, large meeting room, very nice laundry building, fire pits at each site, pool, cable TV, wifi an a large number of 50amp pull thoughts for only $45 a night plus tax an they show you to you site an make sure your lined up so you have no long runs of your hook-ups. Also lots of shade tree, owners are really nice folk an the park is neat a clean along with well kept ...

The KOA at Rapid City is ok but can't come close to this park we are staying 8 miles further down the road ...

Safe travels

[gcloss]

$60 a night is a bargain compared to what some campgrounds in the Northeast are charging. Some of the Jellystone's, one in Gardiner NY and another in Quarryville PA charge more than $100/night in July and August.

[TravisG]

Not taking up for KOA at all but any chance this was during the Sturgis rally? Also, it is the peak time of the year up there.

[OutdoorPhotogra]

This is a semi-frequent discussion and I'm one of the ones who likes KOA. I'm not brand loyal but I'll pay $10 more per night for KOA. I get the 10% discount so that helps.

The complaints about $60 routinely shift to motel comparisons. I've stayed in Super 8 or similar a few times over the last few years and to say it is an unpleasant experience is an understatement. And if the motel is anywhere other than timbuktoo, you may pay closer to $80. A decent hotel is now $100+ even on an interstate stop (Holiday Inn Express, Hampton, etc) and it seems hotel taxes are worse than campground taxes.

To each his own but $60 isn't bad anymore. Can you do it nightly when full-timing? No. If I'm on vacation with my family, it's not a bad deal and I mix municipal parks with water and electric for $12, cheaper privates, etc. as I go. Just depends on what is available. I've had great experiences at municipal, non-affiliated private, and KOA's that I would quickly recommend to others.

I've camped coast to coast twice on 30 day trips and did not have time flexibility of a retiree. I would say my average nightly cost is around $50. Highest price was in Anaheim near Disneyland. Lowest was a municipal park in MN ($6 if I remember right). Two worst experiences, both over $60/night were a locally owned campground in NE and a Yogi park in WI.