Do you ever travel in your RV for a few days before you reach your intended destination? If so, where do you typically park during the travel nights? Have you ever considered parking at a Harvest Host location? This could provide you with an inexpensive and safe overnight parking option. Most Harvest Host locations also offer a decent meal and an experience of some sort for a small cost!
What is Harvest Host?
Harvest Host is a membership program that provides a list of thousands of participating businesses around the US and Canada that allow RVers to park on their property overnight for free! These locations include farms, wineries, breweries, distilleries, golf courses, community hosts, and an assortment of attractions like museums and other small businesses that have joined as Hosts. The company’s goal is to provide meaningful experiences for RVers and Hosts alike.
If you travel with a self-contained RV at least a few times a year, signing up for a Harvest Host membership might just be one of the best RV-related purchases you make! It can save you hundreds of dollars each year on campground costs. Not only that, but you can experience unique, entertaining, and beautiful overnight stays. Hear me out!
JOINING HARVEST HOST
To join, you need to purchase a Harvest Host membership plan starting at $99 annually. You can receive 15% off using our Harvest Host referral link, paying only $85 for your first year. This plan will give you access to FREE, unlimited, overnight experiences at over 3,000 unique locations across North America. If you are interested in adding golf courses and community hosts to your plan, you can pay a total of $179 annually- or pay $153 the first year using our referral link. This provides over 6,000 locations for you to choose from. If you don’t end up enjoying the membership opportunities, you can simply cancel your membership before year two begins or, with the company’s 100% money-back guarantee policy, request a full refund.
The key word to understand here is “overnight” experience. You can stay at a location for one night only. But I will say, there are many hosts that will offer an additional night if you make a good impression and they don’t have more RVers coming in. You must be invited though. If not, respect the rules and pack up by the morning.
SUPPORT YOUR HOST
Okay, here’s the catch- although hosts do not charge a nightly camping fee, you are expected to return the favor by using their service. For example, if you reserve a free night’s stay at a farm, consider purchasing some fresh veggies or eggs. If you stay at a winery or brewery but don’t drink alcohol, consider purchasing a gift for a friend or check out their merchandise section. Most venues offer food, so you could eat dinner there after you set up camp! Harvest Host suggests spending a minimum of $20 to support your host. Compared to the average $40 nightly fee most campgrounds charge, this is minimal. If you simply use Harvest Host for just 3 nights a year, the membership pays for itself. And then you can continue to use the membership for more free night stays for the rest of your year’s membership! Plus, you’re experiencing something new, you’re most likely enjoying privacy and stunning views, and you’re walking away with a product or possibly a satisfied tummy! This is also a great way to support small, family-owned businesses.
SEARCHING FOR HOSTS
There are a variety of ways to search and find the right host for you. One of the most used methods is searching by route. If you log into the mobile-friendly Harvest Host App, type in your from and to locations. Similar to Google Maps, your fastest route will load and the map will show you all of the host locations on your route. You can also search by location, state, or browse the full map. If you use the preferences menu you can filter the types of experiences you prefer, your RV size, and specifics like only selecting hosts that allow pets, slideouts, and extra vehicles.
If you’re not a member yet, you can view the host locations map but it won’t give you detailed information about the hosts. Once you join as a member, you’ll be able to see the exact location of each host and details about their business.
After searching the map and narrowing down a few potential hosts to stay with, you can click on each host’s profile and learn more about their business, what experiences they offer, the size RVs they can accommodate, if they offer any hook-ups or not, and their contact information.
Harvest Host recommends that you contact the host between a 24-hour to 2-week period before your expected arrival. Most hosts use the website’s online Request-A-Stay system. Or, you can simply call the host directly and ask for their availability.
EXTRA BENEFITS
Many of the hosts, especially farms, wineries, and distilleries, provide incredible views and a very private area to park your RV. Sometimes there is only one parking site available, but oftentimes there are a few. This can be a great way to meet other RVers but not feel crammed in a tight-fit RV park.
Since most host businesses aren’t set up for RVers, you’ll notice that many won’t have utility or plumbing hookups- so keep that in mind. But, recently, Harvest Host teamed up with the RV membership group Boondockers Welcome which includes a ton of hosts that do offer full hookups! For an additional fee, you can add another 3,000+ host locations around the US. The two major benefits to this are that Boondockers Welcome hosts offer 1-5 free night stays and about 70% of them offer hookups!
So, what do you think? Are you interested in trying out a Harvest Host membership? Remember, if you end up not benefiting from the service, simply cancel your membership and request a full refund with Harvest Host’s 100% money-back guarantee policy. If you’re ready for some adventurous stops along your route make sure you use our 15% off referral link to save some extra cash!
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