The most unique (and fun!) membership we have!
One of the coolest camping memberships we have is Harvest Hosts. It’s such a simple, yet brilliant idea! For a small annual fee, you get access to an entire network of farms, wineries, breweries, museums & now golf courses that you can stay one night at a time, for FREE.
There are a few rules…
- You must be self-contained. This means having your own power source, water supply and a bathroom on board.
- You have to call ahead to make your “reservation.” There is currently no on-line reservation system and some hosts require a certain amount of time as a courtesy. Others you can “book” day of. Just make sure to read each hosts description and requirements.
- While certainly not required, it is common courtesy to make a purchase from your host whether it’s a bottle of wine or another product (we bought homemade jam!) they sell.
- Unless invited, the maximum stay at a location is 24 hours.
We recently stayed at Golden Acres Ranch on our way out of Florida. It’s a working farm with chickens, TONS of goats, sheep, a donkey and a miniature horse named Tyrion (after Tyrion Lannister of course… where my Game of Thrones fans at!?).
After we were directed to our parking spot and all set up, we let the dogs run around in the fenced in area they had for them. This was SO cool because Piper & Ella had been cooped up all day and loved getting the energy out. Plus, they got to see chickens for the first time and learn how an electric fence worked! (Don’t worry, they were totally fine!)
We were even treated to a tour of the farm AND got to help feed all the items before nightfall. That was the coolest part!
The farm also has a small store on site where they sell good they make. The mayhaw jelly & blueberry jelly were DELICIOUS. I am still eating it on my toast most mornings and sad that I will run out soon!
It was such an awesome experience to meet the family who owns the farm and learn some of the ins and outs of how it runs. Without Harvest Hosts, we certainly would not have had this experience. And I’d say it beats stopping overnight in a parking lot…
If you’re on the fence about a Harvest Hosts membership… I definitely recommend doing it NOW before the price jumps in 2019. You’ll be grandfathered in to the lower price of $49. Plus with our special link, you’ll save even more and score the membership for just $44. After 12/31/18, the price will increase to $79/year.
I’d say the only downfall to this membership is that depending on where you are, sometimes there aren’t any hosts nearby or they are quite off the beaten path. But it seems that they are constantly recruiting and adding new hosts, so hopefully as the program expands, it will be easier to find hosts along your route.
