Looking for unique overnight RV camping experiences? How would you like to wake up on a vineyard in California or on a farm in Florida? Harvest Hosts is a membership program that offers RVers unique camping opportunities across the United States and Canada. We have been members since 2015 and absolutely love the program. If you are looking for a different type of RV camping experience, read our Harvest Hosts review.
Harvest Hosts Review
What is Harvest Hosts?
The way we describe Harvest Hosts to friends is that it’s an RV membership program that offers a different kind of RV camping experience. Instead of spending the night at RV campgrounds, you can patronize a local business and spend the night on their property. Businesses include wineries, farms, and museums.
Keep in mind that most hosts provide a space on their property to park the RV overnight. Don’t expect to have water, electric, sewer or bathrooms. We have stayed with hosts that provide electric and/or water, which is always a nice surprise.
Harvest Hosts Membership Costs
For $79/year, members have access to a listing of 700+ hosts around the United States, Canada and Mexico. Each host listing contains information such as GPS coordinates, max RV length, number of spaces, pet policy, facilities and more.
Harvest Hosts offers a 100% money back guarantee.
Note: the $300 lifetime membership option is no longer available.
Harvest Hosts Membership Add On + Golf
For an extra $40/year, Harvest Hosts membership can upgrade their membership to access 300+ golf courses and country clubs.
What We Like about Harvest Hosts:
More Than Wineries. We’ve stayed with quite a few hosts since 2015 and very few have been wineries. Others hosts included a trading post, dairy farm, flea market, produce farm and museums. Each host has their own unique charm and we always enjoy our stay, even down wind from the cows at the dairy farm.
Not Always a One Night Stand. The guidelines state that members are limited to one night with each host. We’ve found that after we arrive and meet the owners/managers of the property, they typically invite us to stay longer if we want to. We were able to stay for three nights at the winery in Paso Robles and two nights at the air museum in Pueblo because it was during the week and they had the space. Some hosts are only open on weekends which can limit the number of nights a member can stay.
Support Local Businesses. Members are asked to make a purchase during their stay. Harvest Hosts suggested a minimum spend of $20 to support the business. We find staying with hosts to be a great way to shop local and support small businesses. Instead of going to a chain grocery store to buy produce, we can visit a local farm and buy directly from them. It’s also provides an opportunity to learn about their story and their products.
Dog Friendly Hosts. Each host page includes information on whether they are pet friendly. Read the description for additional information about pets, such as leash requirement and business pets on property. It goes without saying that members are expected to pick up after their pets.
Meet Fellow RVers. Harvest Hosts members are awesome! We’ve met some great people along the way that we stay in touch with. There have been times where we are the only members on property and that’s pretty cool too.
Peace and Quiet. The hosts we’ve stayed with are typically outside the hustle and bustle of the city. Once the business is closed for the day, the parking lot is empty and silence falls over the property. We take advantage of those peaceful and quiet times to enjoy a good book, watch the sunset or star gaze. We have not run into a situation where the area was so remote we could not get cell coverage.
Beyond a Directory. The website includes comments, photos and videos submitted by members. You can search for hosts by location or along a route. There is also a trip planning feature where members can add hosts to a trip and refer to it at a later date. Oh, and there is now a mobile app for Android and iOS devices.
Rigs of all sizes. About 80% of the hosts can accommodate RVs of any size. You can also use the filter to find hosts that can accommodate the size RV you have.
Referral Program. Members earn $15 for each new member sign-up. New members referred by the existing member will also receive a 15% discount. Members can also earn a one year membership for each new host sign-up. If you decide to sign up for Harvest Hosts after reading our post, you can use our Harvest Hosts referral link to receive a 15% discount.
What We Don’t Like:
More hosts please. Some states/regions have more hosts than others and we wish there were more everywhere. The good thing is that new hosts are added every month and we’re notified of those via the member newsletter. As we travel, we also encourage businesses that can accommodate RVs to join the program.
Overall:
We would recommend Harvest Hosts to RVers looking for unique dry camping opportunities across the United States. It’s a great way to visit areas off the main road, discover new experiences and test your dry camping skills. At $79 for a single year membership, it’s more than worth it. Some of our favorite RVings experiences have been with a host.
Receive a 15% discount by using our Harvest Hosts referral link.
Harvest Hosts Video Review
We filmed a video about our Harvest Hosts experience when we were traveling in our Class A motorhome.
Editor’s Note: This post was originally published on March 9, 2016 and has been updated for comprehensiveness.
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Is this a good option for families? You mentioned dogs, but are kids welcome also?
Hey Lauren. Children are absolutely welcome at Harvest Hosts. Many of the farms have activities specifically for children and all the museums are family friendly. The one thing you’ll want to check is whether some of the wine tasting rooms have age restrictions.
Is there a limitation on the size of the RV? I have small self contain camper van that i use to travel mosltly on weekends. Is that acceptable?
Some hosts can not accommodate larger RVs. Your camper van should be fine as long as it’s self contained.
Here is the answer on what types of vehicles are allowed “All classes of RV’s are allowed (Class A, Class B, Class C) including Motor Coaches, Fifth Wheel Campers, Travel Trailers, Toy Haulers, Camper Vans, Truck Campers, and Schoolies. Towed Vehicles are also acceptable.
All Vehicles must be fully self contained: Your RV must have an interior toilet and built-in holding tanks for waste water. Porta-potties are acceptable but must be dumped off-site at an appropriate facility. The dumping of any gray water on Host properties is prohibited. You must have interior cooking facilities. Sorry, no tents of any kind allowed.
Prohibited: Tents, campers with tent pop-outs, mini-vans, sleeping in cars or trucks.”
Is there many places to stay in New Jersey?
Hey Laurie. There are several hosts in NJ.
I’m interested in joining Harvert Host, my question is, do you have any idea what percentage of the host offer electric hook up? We have a brand new 5th wheel which is fully self contained, but a generator just isn’t in the budget yet. We will want to run our air conditioning and I think we need to be plugged in to do that.
Very few will have standard 20 amp outlets you can plug in to but that won’t be enough to run your AC. Almost none have 30/50 amp RV hook-ups. Also, unless you’re camped all alone someplace, it’s bad etiquette to run a generator all night as your neighbors or anyone in the area will have to listen to it all night.
If it’s so hot you need to run your AC, I’d suggest staying at a campground where you can hook up. When it’s cooler, you can run your fans during the night off your batteries which keeps things nice and cool. If you really like the idea of staying away from campgrounds, consider getting solar and more battery capacity rather than a generator.
I can’t find the code to receive the 15% discount to join Harvest Hosts.
Hey Paulette. When you click on our referral link http://harvesthosts.refr.cc/joeandkaitrusso you’ll see the code at the top of the page.
We will be traveling and towing a dinghy vehicle behind our motor home. Will we be allowed to take our dinghy out to sight see and leave our motor home parked at the Harvest Host location for several hours during the day?
When we had our Class A towing a Jeep Wrangler, we were able to leave the motorhome at the host location and go explore the area in the tow car. However, every host has different policies, my recommendation is to contact the host you’re interested in staying with directly.
Joe, I was interested in Harvest host but then the annual rate went from 49.00 to 79.00 30% increase in January
Couldn’t find an answer to why a such a high increase was warranted. So I’ M. OUT!
Hello! We will be travelling cross-Canada this summer. Towing our trailer, self-contained.
Is there a way to view the Canadian host locations? Haven’t yet purchased our membership but plan to do so! Many thanks. Susan and Mark
Hi Susan. I’d recommend contacting costumer service to inquire about the Canadian host locations especially if you have a specific area in mind.
We have a 24 ft trailer and use a quiet generator for power to be self contained. Is this allowed?
Connie. We haven’t run into any issues with generators. You can always double check with the hosts before you arrive.
Hello Kait and Joe! I have so enjoyed your videos as I prepare to go full time next fall!! I will be in a mini van though. Is there any restrictions on that?? I of course will have my own water and toilet set up. And cooking. But just won’t have tanks. I’m soooo looking forward to this next chapter in my life!!! Thanks for all you do for all of us!! Mickie
Hey Mickie – Your rig must be fully contained in order to stay at a Harvest Host location. If you have any questions as to whether or not your your van qualifies, shoot Harvest Hosts a note and I’m sure they can help. Congrats on this new chapter of your life!
Does one have to make a reservation with the camp host?
Hey Carla. There aren’t any camp hosts, but you will need to call the business ahead of time.
Thank you! What I meant to say was ‘host’, not ‘camp host’!
We have a 26′ trailer camper that we pull with a Dodge Ram. Are theses welcome at the Harvest Hosts places or is it just RV’s?
Hi Judy. According to the program your camper needs to be a self-contained RV. “No tent-trailers, outdoor kitchens or tents of any kind are allowed.”
Hello,
HHs sounds fabulous! My husband and I are wondering, however, if we may be limited in host options as we only will purchase organic fruits and vegetables.
Hey Laura. That’s a good question and one I would ask the owners of the program as they will be able to let you know if there are organic farms in the program.
Hi are there hook ups for water / elec / dump stations ? For any harvest host members.
This sounds like a lot of fun. Do you pay the camp host if so what are usually the cost ?
Terri – there is no cost to stay with the host, however it is expected that you patronize their establishment. There isn’t a minimum and typically we only go to hosts that we would be interested in purchasing something from. That said, if you don’t drink but want to stay on a vineyard, for example, then consider buying a bottle for a friend.
We are now overnighting at our first Harvest Host site. Thanks for the discount link. Looking forward to many more interesting stops across America!