While jumping from location to location, we tend to listen to three different types of content: 1st Wave on SiriusXM (because… 80’s music, of course), various comedy channels, or The Dave Chang Show podcast. If you’ve ever listened to Dave Chang, you know he’s incredibly opinionated…so much so that there’s a standard bit on the podcast called a MOIF, which stands for “My Opinion is Fact.” Here’s our very own MOIF on what makes a great RV resort:

We can boil it down to three key criteria: Activity. Proximity. Beauty. 

First, activity. We’re not talking about site-sponsored activities here (no, we are still not playing pickleball, although Michele did love the fitness classes at our site in San Diego). For us, the best RV resorts are those where the place is nicely humming, but not loudly. That means other RVers are coming and going on a regular basis, and we see the resort staff out and about tending to the place. It also means that the resort doesn’t have too many longtime residents (folks who actually live at the site). We’re not fans of those resorts for two reasons: it’s easy to feel like an outsider there, and those places are often not maintained as well.

Our recent stay at Dead Horse Ranch State Park in Cottonwood Arizona offered just the right level of activity. It was stunning, with gorgeous mountain views on all sides, and relatively quiet. But, because it’s a state park, there were folks coming and going all the time, and there were terrific campground hosts who were always zipping around in golf carts keeping things neat and tidy. By the way, Dead Horse Ranch also (surprisingly) fit our proximity criteria — there were miles of wonderful walking and hiking trails right outside our door, the local town of Cottonwood was really fun, and we were short drives away from Jerome (old mining ghost town reinvented as an arts/food community) and Sedona. 

When it comes to proximity, Sun Outdoors Resort in Chula Vista was also pretty amazing. We know that we need a good mix of urban living and outdoor experiences—from this RV resort we could hop on the train and be in downtown San Diego in minutes, or hop on our bikes and explore the San Diego bay for miles. 

Finally, beauty. The RV resorts we visited in Moab and Kanab Utah probably top the list for beauty (although we’ve spent time in so many beautiful places…it’s tough to choose!). During the day, we had incredible views of the hills and mountains around us, and the evening skies were stunning. Both of these were also laid out really nicely (lots of space and privacy) — Dark Sky in Kanab particularly so. It’s a new, family-owned campground where the RV’s are parked head to foot instead of side by side. Sounds silly, but it really made it feel like we had the place to ourselves! 

Any of you out there who have camped/RV’d – what’s your criteria??