Expert’s Guide To Urban Camping In An RV
RV camping isn’t just for the wilderness. Whether it’s for one night stopovers or as a cheap alternative to hotels in popular cities, urban camping in an RV is on the rise. And regardless of whether or not the city is a “traditional RV destination,” many of the most popular cities in the US have evolved to accommodate RV resorts within their metropolitan areas.
With that in mind, RVnGO has put together some tips for how to go about planning your urban camping experience. We’ll go over what exactly counts as urban camping and the best ways to do it, plus cover some of the best cities in the US to explore from the comfort of your RV rental.
Let’s begin!
What Is Urban Camping?
Urban camping in an RV refers to RV camping within a city or otherwise urban location. In this instance, urban camping takes place in designated parks and lots rather than traditional campgrounds. That being said, urban camping in many places may surprise you for the amount of green space and natural features within the parks.
Urban camping is often used interchangeably with the term stealth camping, but it’s a misconception to say that they’re the same thing. Stealth camping typically occurs in campervans and is illegal in many cities. Urban camping is not (but more on this later).
Where traditional RV camping is about getting in touch with nature, urban camping tends to be centered on the convenience of RVs as cheaper ways to travel than in hotels or with flights.
Ins And Outs Of Urban Camping In An RV
Plan Your Route Precisely
Specifically, plan your route in and out of the city as precisely as you can. Even experienced RV drivers can tell you that manuevering an RV of any size within a city is a challenge. Given the size and weight of an RV, we recommend doing research on all the possible ways in and out of the city. This way, you can find the path that offers the easiest, smoothest ride. That may be less turns, or quieter or wider streets. Regardless, the longer way may be more convenient.
If you’re driving a towable RV such as a travel trailer or fifth wheel, we highly recommend measuring the tail swing before your trip. This is already standard practice, but it’s doubly important when traveling in cities.
Another component of planning your route precisely involves choosing your gas stations ahead of time. To avoid getting into tight jams— literally— we recommend planning your gas top ups in accordance with the best spaces available. By this, we mean that you may want to top up on gas before you get into the city.
Gas stations along highways are often easier to navigate in due to the volume of cars and diesel trucks. Gas stations in cities mean tight spaces to navigate in. Even if you’re doing fine on gas, we strongly recommend keeping topped up by taking advantage of empty or spacious gas stations rather than waiting until the last minute and having to rely on less than ideal routes.
Avoid Rush Hour
Similarly to planning your route precisely, you’ll want to avoid rush hour in and out of the city for obvious reasons. If you’re able to, plan your travel so that you’ll be moving around outside of these times in the morning and evening.
Remember, traveling in an RV is inherently slower than traveling in a car. Even if your trip seems like it’ll take a certain amount of time according to your directions, take into account that you’ll likely be driving at around 55 mph on average. Then recalculate your arrival times.
If it’s unavoidable that you’ll be navigating the city around rush hour, finding the best route in via the first tip becomes extremely important.
Consider Alternatives To Campgrounds
By this we don’t mean random parking lots or residential streets. Because you’ll get in trouble for that. (Because it’s illegal in most cities.)
What we do mean is looking up ahead of time whether or not there are any special exceptions in the area. Casinos often allow RVs to camp in their lots for a certain amount of time and sometimes for free (though, as we said, you’ll have to confirm this on a case by case basis). Parking garages sometimes honor similar arrangements, wherein you certain types of RVs can be camped overnight for a fee.
RVnGO does not recommend doing either of the above things without researching and getting in touch with the right people first. However, if you’re able to, and if the area that you’re staying in feels secure, it’s a good alternative for brief overnight stays at cheaper rates.
Use Public Transportation
Although it may sound like a no-brainer, it’s worth mentioning that many urban RV campgrounds will position themselves nearby public transport. In best case scenarios, the front of the campground itself will be a bus-stop, if not located close to one. In these instances, it’s great to use public transportation to get around the city when you need to if you don’t have a car with you.
Cities With Great Urban RV Camping
Las Vegas
One of the RV friendliest cities for urban camping in the US is none other than fabulous Las Vegas! With a dozen different RV resorts directly within the city, and some even along the main strip, Las Vegas is one of the top RV destinations in the country.
As you may imagine, the urban camping profile of Las Vegas is underneath neon lights and on top of asphalt lots. If you stay in resorts closer to the edge of the city, you’ll find more luxury amenities like swimming pools and grassy areas. They’ll also likely be quieter digs.
Main Street Station RV Park is a popular RV campground located in the heart of Las Vegas. For RV parks still within city limits but closer to the edges, try out King’s Row RV Park and Oasis Las Vegas RV Resort.
New York City
Although New York City may not strike you as an RV destination, the incredibly popular Liberty Harbor RV Park gets you within 15 minutes drive to the heart of Manhattan. (Well, not counting Manhattan traffic.)
The RV park itself is located in Jersey City. As the name suggests, the park overlooks Liberty State Park’s marina. Despite its humble appearance (quite literally a grand parking lot), the park is famous for its amazing views of the harbor, Manhattan just across the way, and the Statue of Liberty in the distance.
For access to Manhattan, Grove Street metro station is ten minutes’ walk down the road from Liberty Harbor RV Park.
Austin
On the whole, the majority of Texas’ most popular cities are RV friendly destinations. What sets Austin apart is the quality and proximity of its multiple urban camping locations. Austin, in general, tends to surprise first-time visitors because of the breadth of its green space and natural features. Tucked along the edges of Austin’s center is the Zilker Metropolitan Park, a sprawling oasis of trees and water, including a spring-fed municipal pool that’s popular to cool off in during the summer months.
Sandwiched between Zilker Metropolitan and two other smaller parks is Pecan Grove RV Park. Despite its decisively urban location, the park is sheltered beneath numerous trees and grassy areas that gives it such a unique atmosphere. For an urban camping experience that comes with the natural features of classic RV camping, be sure to check out this RV resort.
Miami
As one of the most popular beach cities in the US, Miami is no stranger when it comes to urban camping. Between Miami and Fort Lauderdale above it are nearly a dozen RV resorts that cater to a range of budgets and desired amenities.
On the outskirts of Miami and neighboring Hollywood, Holiday Park and Embassy RV Park are both a half hour’s drive to Miami city center. Both parks are a 20 minute drive to Fort Lauderdale.
Urban camping in an RV is particularly great in Florida where so many of the most popular destinations along the coast are easily reachable in short trips. This way, you’ll have access to all of the best places that Florida has to offer and do so without breaking the bank!