2007 Campground Directory

[BirdingRVer]

I am thinking about replacing my old campground directories (2004 for Woodall’s and 2005 for Trailer Life). Anyone have a recommendation?

I haven’t really noticed much difference between the Woodall’s and Trailer Life; since both are owned by the Affinity Group I guess that is to be expected.

Any thoughts on the CD that is available with either directory?

[awaywego]

I use both but I believe Woodall's have more of the Mom and Pop campgrounds that we like to stay in.
Trailer Life seems to cater more to the resort type campgrounds.
My opinion only.

[Cyrus]

I have been getting the Trailer Life books but have not looked at the Woodall's. I bought the Trailer Life CD, which I like for locating a campground near where I want to stop. I have trouble locating the campgrounds using the book. The CD also lets you plan your trip via the mapping program. When you highlight a campground you see the same information that you see in the book.

After reading awaywego’s comment about Woodall’s having more of the Mom & Pop campgrounds I might pickup a copy. That might explain why people that we are going to visit tell us there are a lot of campgrounds around them but I don’t see that when looking at Trailer Life?

[richfaa]

We are re-evaluating the Campground directories. There was a time when they were about all there was, now there is so much information on the internet. The C.G must "participate" to be listed in the directories and there are many that do not so you can still miss a C.G in the area.Example: Google "Campgrounds in Ohio" and tons of information come up. The area chamber of commence and visitors bureau usually list everything,The yellow pages on the internet are also a good resource. We have maybe 4 or 5 directories in the camper but in the last year we rarely use them but rely on the internet with excellent results. Give it a try..see what you think. Also it is noted that more and more C.G's are listing their Lat/Longs on their web sites so winding up in a middle of a field is no longer a option.

[Parrothead]

I have to agree with Rich on this one. I hardly ever use a book anymore. The internet has so much more information and it is current. Those big books take up a lot of room and are heavy.
Happy trails....................

[Mrs. CountryGuy]

Rich and Sue

Maybe a few more details about HOW you go about using the net and not a book to discover campgrounds. I have not done that much net camping, but am interested

So, you start with say, Google, and then type in State?? County?? City name??

Would love an example.

[uhftx]

My Favorite and I still have it is an oldie but goodie. I like the format and although the material is outdated in some instances. (its actually interesting to see the changes)

This is an old 1991 Alstate Motor Club camping guide (bought it in a book store, I never was a member). Its about an 1 1/2 thick and is just for the East Coast. But I love the way its organized.

You don't have to know the exact name of the City. All you have to know is what area you are looking to stay within . The map grid gives you the listing by groups, the campgrounds in that area.

What a concept. Something useful! Its what we need today. The trailer life and Woodall's all rely on the exact name of the Town/City that the campground resides, to find more info. I am not comfortable with that format. I'm use to it now but....

So. it will not list free wifi (its old). But is pretty good at listing amenities graphically. For instance pond swimming is listed in a table with a different icon than a pool. And boat launches are also listed which, was important, when I was tenting and towed a boat. The point is, that, the types of fishing, store, laundry, and lake/ocean are also listed by different icons as well as wooded vs. open sites. It still lists the essentials like X amount of sites X amount of pull throughs and X tent sites. And you wouldn't believe the differences in rates from just over a decade and a half.

The state parks are listed towards the end of the private campground within the same state and the federal ones are listed after that.

All in all, its a great organized way, of listing campgrounds.

Just pick the area where you want to visit and remember the map coordinates. For instance G4 and go to the page that has the 'G' listings Look for the G4 section. Then look at the rates and Amenities and figure out where you want to stay. Absolutely awesome (in my book)

Anyway it is no longer published. I've searched the web and looked for a more updated version. I wonder if the woodalls or Trailer Life CD would allow the same type of search. I've only had the W and TL print versions.

[sailer]

I know for a fact that the woodels book is how big a add you buy to see how many stars you get that is a fact try to look at asheville nc and the top place is bear cerrk rv or somthing like that but it s serounded by highways and also a city street runs rite through the rv resort we were there ups and fedex ran through all day long ,, we pd for 3 days and left after 1 day , only half refund but i was glad to go john

[padredw]

Since we bought our first fifth-wheel 10 years ago, we have used the Trailer Life Campground Guide and that only. I wouldn't leave home without it. Sometimes I do not agree with the evaluation scores--sometimes I feel they are too high for a particular campground in which we have stayed, and sometimes too low. Nevertheless, as a general aid to selection I find the printed guide very helpful.

When the first CD came out I ordered and used in in connection with the printed guide. I have bought or updated every time a new version has been released. Just last night I updated with the 2007 Service Pack 2. I can't give a report on the effectiveness of the upgrade because I haven't had time to use it, but I expect to continue to find it useful. I use it primarily in the planning stage before I ever leave home, but also consult by using my notebook computer while on the road. I give it very high marks. I do NOT use a GPS. I have a full navigation system in our Lexus automobile, and based on that usage I feel no need for one in the pickup while towing.

Since I have gone thus far in detail, I will note one problem with the Service Pack 2. On my notebook it worked perfectly because the program was already on drive C. On my desktop where I keep a backup copy the Service pack did not install correctly because the program was on drive E, and the Service Pack insisted on installing to drive C, without any provision for change in the setup procedure. I have contacted the publisher and am awaiting the response. Since that only affects my backup, it is not crucial.

Bottom line for those who have read thus far: Printed Guides: Trailer Life Campground Guide and the Trialer Life Atlas. Computer program: Trailer Life Campground Navigator. No GPS. Satisfied customer!

[Chuck and Carol]

We still use the printed books. I don't always take my laptop. Plus, not everyone has a computer.
I have the Woodalls east coast guide. Smaller that the big bulky book.

[msmoonsatx]

I have a 2004 version of the Trailer Life Guide. We also use the Woodalls and Trailer Life web sites for current updates. This can be important considering campgrounds change ownership or close. We found out the hard way in Missouri. We had used an out of date directory many years ago for a campground on the west side of St. Louis. It gave us directions to a KOA near Times Beach. We followed the directions until we got to a huge fence telling us to roll up our windows and not to proceed any further. Of course the campground was no longer there. This was one of the infamous EPA clean up sites.

As mentioned the internet is not available at all locations when traveling and a paper copy is handy.

[mcculloe]

Carol,

A good resource if you're looking to not use the books and do internet research is:
http://campgroundreviews.com/

I'm not associated with them in any way, but it seems to have quite a following. It doesn't rank campgrounds itself, but rather is a database of people's reviews all well organized.