rvparkreviews.com - favor couples?

[kohai]

Just a random thought. We just finished a 2 week trip with the little kiddos. We were picking RV parks based on reviews on rvparkreviews.com. We started to notice a trend -- the parks with higher reviews were also parks that didn't seem to have play areas for the kids. 🙂

I wonder if the reviews on that site are skewed such that those doing the reviews prefer parks that are less "kid friendly."

[Jimbow-USAF_Ret]

If you want to go to a munchkin friendly park, go to Asheville East KOA in Swananoa NC.

[docj]

Whitehall wrote:
I don't understand the need for swingsets and other "amenities" that can be found on any school playground. Camping is camping. It's all part of the adventure. To me, kid friendly means trails to hike, fires to start (in the fire pit, of course) streams to fish, lakes to kayak, tide pools to explore, and wildlife to view. We don't need a pool, turf, or organized activities. I leave developed parks to seniors and others who want things nice and tidy (and quiet).

You express a perfectly valid opinion, but, as one of the administrators of RVParkReviews, I will tell you without hesitation that yours is by, by no means, what all people are looking for in a campground or RV park. There is no single definition of what people want to have at places they RV and there is no right and wrong. Everyone is free to define RVing as they wish.

[Whitehall]

I don't understand the need for swingsets and other "amenities" that can be found on any school playground. Camping is camping. It's all part of the adventure. To me, kid friendly means trails to hike, fires to start (in the fire pit, of course) streams to fish, lakes to kayak, tide pools to explore, and wildlife to view. We don't need a pool, turf, or organized activities. I leave developed parks to seniors and others who want things nice and tidy (and quiet).

[kohai]

docj wrote:

Campfire Time wrote:
What's the definition of "kid friendly"? Does that include swimming pools and play sets? I consider state parks kid friendly, it's pretty much all we camped in when our daughter was little. But state parks often do not have the built in activities that a KOA or Yogi Bear does.

I think many people associate "family friendly/kid friendly" with a park that has at least some activities for children and families. There's no defined list of activities, but things like pools, beaches, playgrounds, video games, mini-golf would be examples.

I don't think there's any reason why a state park possibly with water access and, maybe, a playground wouldn't be considered family friendly.

I agree. I'm not complaining about the parks we stayed at with great reviews -- they were great and we were spoiled when we were at less awesome parks. Just after staying at a few at the beginning of the trip and then towards the end of our trip we had a park with a simple swing set and a small sandbox, my boys were very happy. Most notably, they weren't under my feet and wrestling each other non-stop.

My post was mostly to point out that for people with kids, there is a bit more digging necessary to enjoy it. That was news to me.

[docj]

Campfire Time wrote:
What's the definition of "kid friendly"? Does that include swimming pools and play sets? I consider state parks kid friendly, it's pretty much all we camped in when our daughter was little. But state parks often do not have the built in activities that a KOA or Yogi Bear does.

I think many people associate "family friendly/kid friendly" with a park that has at least some activities for children and families. There's no defined list of activities, but things like pools, beaches, playgrounds, video games, mini-golf would be examples.

I don't think there's any reason why a state park possibly with water access and, maybe, a playground wouldn't be considered family friendly.

[Campfire_Time]

What's the definition of "kid friendly"? Does that include swimming pools and play sets? I consider state parks kid friendly, it's pretty much all we camped in when our daughter was little. But state parks often do not have the built in activities that a KOA or Yogi Bear does.

[Naio]

docj wrote:
encourage people to read our reviews and not to rely solely on a park's numerical score. Only by reading a review can you determine if the reviewer's perspective on the park is likely to be similar to yours. If someone downgrades a park because there are lots of kids running around and you are traveling with a family that includes children then this one may be for you even though it wasn't for the other reviewer.

I strongly agree!

Kids are not the issue for me, but there are certainly other things that reviewers up- or down-grade parks on that I feel just the opposite about.

I basically ignore the numerical rating unless it is terrible, and just focus on the text. And if the number IS terrible, I look to see if it is based on one lone review, by a person who sounds like a nutjob :).

[docj]

As one of the administrators of RVParkReviews.com I can assure the OP that we don't in any way skew results towards parks for couples or families. However, as others have noted, there are some (mostly older) RVers who dislike having children running around a park with the associated noise, etc, even if the children are well behaved. Some are quite vocal with respect to looking for parks at which there is peace and quiet. Some of these folks are also the ones who object to campfires, another typical part of family fun.

Since the RV demographic is skewed towards older RVers, it's therefore not surprising that these factors result in some skewing of the ratings toward "quiet parks" over those that are more active. I have personally processed numerous reviews for KOA's and Jellystone parks (two that cater to families) that contained comments along the lines of "there's a lot of stuff here that we weren't interested in."

There's no way we can prevent this from occurring, but I always encourage people to read our reviews and not to rely solely on a park's numerical score. Only by reading a review can you determine if the reviewer's perspective on the park is likely to be similar to yours. If someone downgrades a park because there are lots of kids running around and you are traveling with a family that includes children then this one may be for you even though it wasn't for the other reviewer.

Joel Weiss
RVPR Administrator

[westernrvparkow]

Kid friendly parks just plain have more things to potentially go wrong, and hence more chances for a bad review. Kids running around unsupervised will either earn a bad review from another camper if the kids aren't brought under control, or a bad review from the parents because the overbearing, rules waving Neo-Nazi park owner asked them to reel in their kids.
All those amenities for children cost money. The more things cost, the higher the rates and there is a group of people that will give a bad review to every single park that charges more than they want to pay, regardless of whether or not it is actually worth it. If you don't include everything in one fee, we get the "they nickel and dimed us to death" review.
Then all those kid friendly amenities are prone to be criticized. The playground is too small. The pool is too crowded. The jump house made their child barf. There were weeds in the ball fields. Things close up too early. They stay open too late.
Most RV parks tend to be children tolerant, not children friendly. They cater to travelers and a few kid items generally keep everyone reasonably happy. If you want true kid friendly, you need to look for the Yogi Jellystone Parks, the KOA resorts and parks affiliated with amusement parks and the like. RV Parks tend to be like mid level hotels. They don't actively spurn children, but it sure isn't their bread and butter customer.

[TucsonJim]

Us folks that are retired and travel a lot probably skew the reviews for the parks that suit our needs. Travelers with children probably don't have the opportunity to camp as many days per year due to other commitments such as work. Since the data is an aggregate of all input, it's probably not influenced as much by families.

[azdryheat]

Most parks aren't very kid friendly, at least the ones we've stayed at over the years. Not that they dislike kids but I believe there just isn't the demand for them.

[toedtoes]

Just look at this website. The majority of posters are older with no kids still at home. So, yes, there is a skew - but it's a legitimate skew.

[eubank]

The reviews on rvparkreviewers are sent in by folks like yourself and myself; the aggregates are just simple mathematical averages of whatever people send in. If there is bias, then it's just that folks with kids aren't sending in (enough) reviews.
🙂
Lynn