Harvest Hosts and Boondockers Welcome

[joelm]

We've visited a number of Harvest Hosts and, if you choose carefully, they can be a great experience. Sounds like what they offer just isn't for everyone.
We have a self-contained Sportsmobile (Ford Transit based).

One first Harvest Host was a vineyard in California. We slept in the vineyard with a beautiful sunset view. We "paid" by enjoying a late afternoon wine tasting.
We've also stayed at a "hobby farm" where we were offered eggs from about 5 different species of bird. An olive oil farm and a sky diving location. There was also the maple syrup farm with a tour and tasting. There was a farm with a range of products, some of which are only legal in some states, was interesting too.. Another highlight was an orchard where we were forced to buy perfectly ripe peaches and other fruit. That was a tough one!

Due to the one night limit, we've found it mostly useful when we are in transit and it can be a challenge to find one in the right place were we can arrive at the right time.

Parking can vary from a nice field to a driveway, so you want to read the reviews and figure out what works for you.

There are (almost always) no services, you need to have water, a bathoom solution and be able to dump and fill elsewhere, but that's true of actual boon docking as well.

[Glippie]

I joined but quickly cancelled. My camping is mostly along the coast and there weren't any participants. You don't get the list of participants until after you join. Customer Service was great and quickly refunded. I've used Hipcamp twice and both were good experiences.

[chubba]

We are hosts and also users. In the west it hasn't been as necessary since there is so much federal land you can boondock on, but in the Midwest and east it's been wonderful, especially when visiting cities. We almost never pay for a camp site. We haven't used the Harvest Host side of our membership yet, but I highly recommend the Boondockers Welcome site. We've met so many great people and learned of local gems we might not have heard of.

[marret]

Thanks everyone, much appreciated.

[dawgtnt]

We've been using Harvest Hosts for the past year and just signed up for the Boondockers Welcome portion. I use it as a safety net when it can be difficult to find camping spots. No parking lots for me.

Typically we boondock whenever we can (prefer solitude), use campgrounds (state, nat'l parks, forest service, BLM) and then pick Boondockers sites. So far we used it for on-the-go traveling, where there is no boondocking, full campsites and typically near city areas. They have lots of options but we typically choose booze sites . Last year we stopped at 3 wineries on way home via Interstate 5.

They would like you to buy something to support the business (which we had no problems doing....wine was very good) and be considerate that they are a business. We basically stayed in the Vinyards. One place even had a "outhouse" set up with running water for a flush toilet and sink.

For me the one drawback is the no outside shower. We have a porta-potty which is fine for us and can do the indoor shower if necessary. I also do not cook (use microwave) so no cooking outside is not a problem.

Kelly

[MikeChapelHill]

My wife and I have used Harvest Hosts twice in the past year when transiting to another location. Both were great locations. One was a small vineyard in eastern Maryland, and we did wine tasting and bought a few bottles of wine. We set up on the road alongside a vinyeard. No facilities, but we are self contained SMB Sprinter. There wer 3 other campers there at the time.
The second time was this past spring in Western NC, nestled into the Smokeys and on the Pigeon River. They had several sites positioned as camping sites, with a picnic table and a nearby portapotty. Very nice. They raise a breed of hog from eastern europe with curly fur, and you can buy sausages they make. No hog smells! Neet scenery being on the river.
Mike