Free Stayovers with Boondockers Welcome & Harvest Hosts
Sometimes things seem a little too good to be true. The first time we heard about RV membership services like Boondockers Welcome and Harvest Hosts we thought there must be some sort of gimmick to it. Who would let you stay at their home or on their farm for no money (and potentially even let you use some of their resources like water and electricity)? We wondered if there would be surcharges or other gotchas. Or, perhaps it would be very difficult to secure a stay over (like at State and National Parks). It seemed hard to understand how this camping model really worked.
Since the cost of an annual membership of both organizations is very low (less than the cost of one night’s stay at a typical RV park), we decided to give them a try figuring we had little to lose (especially if we were able to stay at least one night during the annual membership term). Joining is very easy and is all done quickly online. Once you complete payment, you can then sign into each of the websites and write up a profile that describes yourselves and your RV. It is significant to note that both services require the RV to be completely self-contained (meaning sleeping, eating, cooking, and sanitation are all enclosed in the RV — toilet, sink, and grey tank are required). Once your profile is set up, you can search the available locations (with descriptions on what is offered). After you decide on a location and verify it can accommodate your rig length, you can then make a stay request (on Boondockers Welcome, this is done entirely online through messaging with the host and on Harvest Hosts you actually have to call or text the host).
Boondockers Welcome allows searches by location on a map with host sites depicted by a trailer. When the trailer is clicked on, more information appears about the location which can then be opened to reveal the site details (e.g. number of spots, maximum length of trailer, house rules, utilities available, reviews by users …..). Incredibly, there are plenty of Boondockers Welcome locations across the US and Canada (and sprinkled throughout the world)! Most of the Boondockers Welcome locations allow stays of up to 2 or 3 days, but hosts may allow a longer stay if they choose. Once you find your desired location and verify the space can accommodate your RV / trailer, you enter your arrival date and number of days you want to stay from the pull down menu. After your request is submitted, you are prompted to message the host and tell a little about why you are travelling. The host will then view your profile which lists your RV type and make a decision on your stay. You will receive an email (and text) with the acceptance decision as soon as it’s made. It’s good to stay in touch with the host through the messages center as your arrival date gets close.
Harvest Hosts, like Boondockers Welcome, provides a search map to find locations. The map is color coded with icons denoting if the location is either a winery (red wine glass), farm (yellow barn), museum or other attraction (green building), or brewery / distillery (brown beer mug). You can enter some preferences such as RV length, if the location is pet friendly, and the type of location when you conduct a search. Once you find a location that looks good, and click on it, you will see a description, including the address of the business along with how many spaces are available, the maximum RV length allowed, and if the location is pet friendly. To reserve the spot, a number is provided to either call (or sometimes text) the host. Generally, acceptance is given on the spot over the phone or via text.
While both Boondockers Welcome and Harvest Hosts provide places to stay for your RV adventures, they are oriented a bit differently. Boondockers Welcome locations are usually provided by fellow campers or those interested in travelling by RV. The properties are generally the hosts’ homes (which could be driveways in cities or spots on large parcels of land or farms outside the city). And, it seems like the primary motivation of many Boondockers Welcome hosts in providing overnight stays is to meet and help out fellow travelers as well as socialize with them. Hosts also get discounts on guest memberships and credits when guests stay (another incentive to become a host). These hosts generally don’t expect anything in return for your stay and are often very generous in their time and resources. So, it’s important that guests are well-behaved and appreciative to keep this system working. Harvest Hosts locations on the other hand are mostly businesses which have space to accommodate certain size RVs. In general, the Harvest Hosts location does expect the guest to make a purchase. Since Harvest Hosts locations are mostly wineries and farms, this often means purchasing a bottle of wine or other product from the farm. From our experiences in California, the Harvest Hosts locations seem to offer less in the way of utilities (e.g. water, electricity, dump) than Boondockers Welcome locations.
Our overall impressions of both memberships are extremely positive. After signing up and logging in, we found that it is usually very easy to secure reservations (often with very few dates already blocked for any given location). And, given the extremely low annual price of each service, joining both seems a no-brainer. There really isn’t much of a gotcha in these services (beyond the expectation of buying something when staying at Harvest Hosts locations). Boondockers Welcome seems to be the better value if your goal is to have plenty of places to stay on your travels and aren’t looking specifically to stay at a farm or winery. For example, if you are doing a cross country road trip, Boondockers Welcome provides great opportunities for free stops all along the way (and many in scenic locations). And, there seem to be more Boondockers Welcome sites within big cities, whereas Harvest Hosts locations, being mostly wineries and farms, are often out of the city. For those who love wine, joining Harvest Hosts would be a must. Staying at a vineyard and having a wine tasting can be a special experience. Boondockers Welcome locations also include farms and other special properties as well, so unique experiences aren’t just limited to Harvest Hosts.
We recently had a memorable Boondockers Welcome stay on our way home back to San Diego on a 10-day trip up to Coos Bay, Oregon. We were looking for a stayover at a halfway point between Oakland and San Diego. We found a miniature donkey farm on the Boondockers Welcome map and messaged the host. She was especially gracious and we booked an overnight stay right away through the online messages center within the Boondockers Welcome website. We did have to drive down a long dirt road to get to the farm, but it was well worth it. The farm is situated on over 20 acres and we were told we could park anywhere! We parked high up on a hill on a nice quiet space overlooking the valley below (near one of the miniature donkey enclosures). We had access to water if we needed it. The host was really nice and spent the afternoon with us showing us her animals and allowing us to feed and pet the miniature donkeys. We gave the host a small gift (Peanuts oven mitt with kitchen towels set) to show our appreciation. The night was extremely quiet and the stars were out. After breakfast, we said goodbye to the donkeys and drove off. It was one of the best stops on our entire trip!
Our first Harvest Hosts stay was at an olive oil farm in Paso Robles. The host had one spot behind their barn facing a grove of olive trees. The location was on our way from Santa Barbara to Oakland and, therefore, wasn’t too far out of the way on our trip. Other than a quick greeting from the host (and purchasing a $20 bottle of olive oil), we were on our own in a very quiet location (the main house was a far distance up the hill). There weren’t really any hookups (although we were offered a $40 / night electrical hookup which we declined). We had our solar panel and plenty of water (and propane gas for our hot water heater and stove), so we were fine without hookups at this location. We enjoyed being out in the olive orchard and seeing the stars at night. The experience was very tranquil and felt much nicer than any RV park we had visited. After breakfast the next morning, and then a long walk in the country, we just drove off having gotten our money’s worth out of the annual Harvest Hosts membership in just this one stay.
Based on our great experiences and the low cost memberships of both Boondockers Welcome and Harvest Hosts, we highly recommend both subscription services and think it’s very easy to get your money out of them within just a visit or two. The current subscription price for an annual guest pass at Boondockers Welcome is $50. If you want to join Boondockers Welcome:
CLICK HERE TO JOIN BOONDOCKERS WELCOME
The current subscription price for an annual guest pass at Harvest Hosts is $70. However, currently there’s a 15% off promotional coupon for Harvest Hosts if you would like to join and give it a try.
CLICK HERE TO JOIN HARVEST HOSTS
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