Need a Campsite Idea?
Oct 20 2008
We’ve been staying at a few military base RV/camp parks during our trip so far. I’ll go into more detail in a later blog, but I wanted to pass along a tip if you’re thinking of where to camp or take your RV. The Cliffside RV Park at Whidbey Island NAS in Washington is a fantastic spot for either camping or staying in a RV. It is beautiful there. The camp sits on top of the cliffs above the beautiful water and across from Lopez and Orcas Islands.
So many things make it great. The host is a delightful guy with good knowledge of the area’s nature, the base, and the island; there is great beach access; the location is remote and quiet; it is well-maintained, and it’s cheap. Plus, from the park it is easy to explore Oak Harbor or Whidbey’s small towns like Coupeville or Langley. It’s also easy to get to Anacortes at the north end of the island for the ferry to Victoria, British Columbia. The best part of going to Anacortes is driving over Deception Pass.
We even stayed there during a blustery storm, and the time was still fun. The kids and I walked the beach —well, I walked while they played “runaway from the waves” (we did find out that wet shoes don’t dry well in a moist climate).
I’ll pass on other campsite information as we travel, but we were so impressed with Cliffside RV Pak that I had to mention it.
I better stop writing now, the light has turned green.
Just came across your blog through MOAA. Way cool! Fantastic idea. Linda (my wife) and I are planning on doing the RV thing after I retire from civil service in 6 years 146 days (not that I’m counting, you understand!) (I retired from the Reserves in 2005). We’d kinda like to travel about six months out of the year, taking our time to see areas more in detail than the whirlwind vacations we took with our kids (48 states).
Anyway, here’s a tip: The US Army Corps of Engineers is the largest recreation provider in the United States with more than 368 million visits annually to 4,485 sites at 423 Corps projects (383 major lakes and reservoirs) . They are linked to the national park pass system and have very reasonable camping rates and the areas are well maintained. Also — and this may not make sense for the trip that you’re undertaking now (again, way cool; I’m jealous!), but Corps recreation sites provide free camping for people who are willing to contribute toward maintenance/operations. In my case, as an engineer, I’d be helping for a couple of hours a day doing routine handyman work while my wife would be helping run the park entrance. This modus operandi is probably only usable for longer term stays; however, it is very definitely something to keep in mind.
Another tip: when on the road between destinations or if you may not have enough time to make it to your destination, many WalMarts will allow you to park overnight in their parking lots. The rationale that I heard was that RVers who are allowed to do this are more likely to come in to get various sundry items.
I plan on bookmarking your blog and keeping up.
God bless!
Pat
@ Pat: Welcome and thanks for the comments and bookmarking of the blog. Please do read our other entries and comment – it’s fun to have this “virtual” dialogue.
Thanks for the tips. I had heard of the Walmart option, but the Army Corps of Engineer sites is news to us. I like the idea of volunteering at their parks, especially with our children. Do you have a link for this?
Keep counting the days and let us know of other ideas you have!
Cheers,
Tom