Tiny House Camping, is it possible? Allow us to kibosh the rumor that tiny homes are discriminated against in RV parks. We have traveled all over the USA with our tiny house, visiting more than thirty states, and we have NEVER been turned away from a private campground. Thousand Trails, one of the leading RV resorts in the USA, has openly expressed their acceptance of tiny homes. How cool is that?
Tiny House Camping. A List of Campsites & RV Parks we used from 2014-2015
Private campground reviews, organized by state. All of the below were willing to accommodate our tiny house from 2014-2015.
*Disclaimer: we cannot guarantee that these campgrounds still allow Tiny House camping. Call ahead.*
California
- Yosemite Lakes RV Resort – Thousand Trails. One of the nicest RV Parks we’ve stayed at yet. All the amenities, large level campsites located under shaded trees and right next to a beautiful creek. Wifi available. About an hour drive to the center of Yosemite Valley in the National Park.
Florida
- Crystal River, FL / Lake Rousseau RV Park – Located right on Lake Rousseau, about 15 minutes away from Crystal River where you can snorkel with Manatees! The park is nice, we walked and ran around it. $17/night with Passport America.
- Davenport, FL / Themeworld RV Resort – The park is located right next to a KOA and about 20 minutes away from Disney World. The park is very open, not many trees but lots of campers! We paid $26/night with Passport America.
- Everglades National Park, FL / Flamingo Camping – Awesome park down at the very end of Everglades National Park. The park is very open and in a great area. The downside: no sewer or Wifi (or Verizon coverage). But the park is beautiful and fun. $15/night with a National Park Annual Pass.
- Madison, FL / Yogi Bear’s Jellystone Park – Very cool park between Orlando and Pensacola. We were there in February and the park was almost empty. It’s beautiful, with lots of oak covered in Spanish moss and ponds of water. There are also many games and attractions for kids. We paid $24/night with Passport America.
Georgia
- Atlanta, GA / Stone Mountain RV Park – The RV park is located inside the Stone Mountain Park, which means that you have to pay a $10 day pass. The RV park itself is huge and very nice. It’s right off the lake and very close to the Stone Mountain Park attractions. Stone Mountain is an odd place but it’s fun to visit. We paid $16,50 / night with Passport America.
Louisiana
- Slidell, LA / New Orleans East Kampground: We were there during Mardi Gras, they had events going on and shuttles going into NOLA. It’s easy access just off the 10 freeway.
Maine
- Portland, ME / Bayley’s Camping Resort – Resort is the word. It’s the Disneyland of RV parks. 5 minute drive into downtown Portland. Lots of great restaurants nearby.
New Jersey
- Cream Ridge, NJ / Timberland Lake Campground – Adorable campground. Very family friendly. Sandy parking spots, which can be difficult for leveling but we managed. Lake views. Mini-golf. Row boats. Wonderful staff.
New Mexico
- Tucumcari, NM / Kiva RV Park – Wow this place has a lot of character! They want you to be social, so there is a communal fire pit and activities. Owners are very nice. The place is on historical Route 66 and has a few home made tiny trailers. It’s straight out of the 1950s and worth a stopover.
- Las Cruces, NM / Coachlight RV Park – This RV park is located behind the Coachlight Motel right off the 10 freeway. It’s right in between El Paso and White Sands National Monument, 50 miles from each. The park is pretty nice and clean. $18 / night with Passport America.
New York
- Croton-On-Harmon, NY / Croton Point Park – Awesome bathrooms. No pull through spots / back-in only. Hiking trails. Right on the Hudson. Only an hour train ride to Grand Central Station – $20 off-peak round trip, and Croton/Harmon station is right outside the park. Croton-On-Harmon is a cute little town with lots of yummy restaurants. No laundry on site, but there are laundromats in town. Expensive at $40 a night.
- Queensbury, NY / Lake George Campground – Right off the freeway, but you feel like you’re deep in the woods. Convenient shops nearby. Pull through spots. Internet was $5 a day for two computers, and the signal was strong. They even let us check out late!
North Carolina
- Asheville NC / Wilson’s Riverfront RV Park – Very conveniently placed close to Asheville. Small, not many spots. Right off the river with a great hiking/running trail going through. $15 / per night with Passport America.
- Lexington, NC / Cross Winds Family Campground – Lots of hiking. Beautiful spots in either the woods or out in the open. Some trails for hiking / running. $19 / per night with Passport America.
Ohio
- Nashport, OH / Dillon State Park – Lots of hiking. Showers were great. In the middle of a state park.
Pennsylvania
- Burnt Cabins, PA / Ye Olde’ Mill Campground – Loved this place. Right off the freeway. Has a lot of character. Some trails nearby. An awesome old mill as a backdrop. Super long pull through spots. A cute little shop that’s in a really old cabin serves as the camp store. Lots of local treats inside. The owners are also very nice.
South Carolina
- Aiken, GA / Pine Acres Campground – This is a simple RV park between Augusta GA and Columbia SC that allowed Tiny House camping in 2014. We only stayed overnight so we didn’t get to test the amenities. It looked nice enough though. We paid $15 / night with Passport America.
Texas
- Fort Stockton, TX / Parkview RV Park – We just stopped there on our way from Austin to El Paso. The RV park is OK. We arrived late and left early so it’s tough to have a relevant opinion about it. $11 / night with Passport America.
- Georgetown, TX / Berry Springs RV Park – About 30 miles north of Austin, it’s an RV park with many campers parked next to one another. Facilities are nice. $14 / night with Passport America.
Washington D.C.
- College Park, MD / Cherry Hill RV Park – Expensive place, but the closest Tiny House camping we could find near Washington DC. There’s a bus that picks you up on the property and takes you to a nearby train station. It’s about an hour trip into town and will cost you $8 each way. The park has all the amenities, and more. But it’s going to cost you about $60 a night! Ouch!
I JUST called the Salinas/Monterey KOA and the guy on the phone told me they “Do not take park model type homes.” He said they only take rv camper types… very discouraging 🙁
Author
Tiny houses aren’t park models, campgrounds designed for travel trailers and RV’s don’t usually accept park models unless they have a designated area for them. If you mentioned “tiny house” over the phone, make sure they understand it’s a travel trailer and NOT a park model nor a mobile home.
How do you find a park that will allow your tiny house that is not rvia certified? Do you call ahead and inform them that you have a non-rvia tiny house, or do you just figure it out when you get there? My husbandand I plan to be moving quite a bit in the next couple of years and we’re wondering if a tiny home would be right for us. His job might not put us in very rural areas, not popular vacation destinations, so I’m trying to figure out how the parking situation works. Thanks!
Author
Honestly we’d just call and said we were coming over with a 24′ travel trailer (tongue included) and what kind of hookups we’d need. We never had an issue even as we arrived at the RV parks. Tiny Houses are getting more and more popular, I’m not sure how that will affect anything but we didn’t have an issue. It was always short term parking though, never long term. We stayed in RV parks that required RVIA certified units, though we never really knew ahead of time, and we still didn’t have an issue.
Hi there. If you were given the chance during your travels to stay at a “RV” park specifically aimed at tiny home travelers, what amenities would you like there to be for your tiny home? Would you be more willing to stay in a tiny home community park as opposed to a true RV parkif the costs were comparable or less?
Author
Yes of course! Things like composting, vegetable growing, water conservancy, solar, other like minded people. You’d probably want similar amenities too though (shower, toilet, laundry and hookups).
Have you found most parks to be pet friendly? I have two small pups that I’d like to bring on a road trip with me next year 🙂
Author
Every park we’ve been to has been pet friendly (on leash).
Have you parked in Big Sur, Monterey, or Carmel Valley in California? We are looking for longterm RV parking, if you know of any.
Author
Nope, we haven’t… We don’t really stay anywhere long term so it’s not our expertise. Good luck
Do you know of any places to park tiny homes in Idaho? Thanks.
Author
We’ve never been there… I would ask Macy Miller from MiniMotives, Kristie Wolfe from Tiny House On The Prairie or even Tiny IdaHomes. Good luck.
Awesome tiny house you have!! love your taste!
I have two questions:
. would you know a place to park a tiny house in the Los Angeles area?
. Do you think a -French- mom and her 9 year old daughter could get the most out of this experience? I’ve lived in tiny spaces before I got a house but not my daughter. I don’t see many similar examples online from other tiny-house people… just wondering what your thoughts are. 😉
Thanks!
Author
Honestly, we’re not sure about LA. Tiny Houses fall under camper laws, so whatever applies to those. Which means that you probably can’t live legally in a tiny house in LA. Doesn’t mean you can’t do it, we know people that do it in other cities and have even been featured in local news and such. We also know of people raising kids in tiny houses. Some even have two kids. It’d be a very bonding experience for sure.