Planning a camping road trip? Save gas with our tips!
Photo by: Ariel da Silva Parreira (Stock Exchange)

Welcome back to AllCampgrounds! Camping season has begun, and you might think the biggest question on everyone’s mind is which great park or camp grounds to visit.

Sad to say, though, gas prices are making a big impact on whether your local camp grounds are seeing a boom or a bust!

Now, RV campers have known for a long time that fuel prices make a difference, but for those more used to tent camping, $4-a-gallon gas makes for a tricky balancing act.

Here are some tips on saving gas on camping trips!

Compare gas prices: If you’re planning a camping road trip, you can save a pretty penny by knowing good spots to refuel. Thanks to competition, prices can fluctuate in a big way even between stations that are relatively close together. If you own a smartphone, try a free gas price monitor application like GasBuddy. Users participate to update the prices on these apps, and you can search your local stations to find the best deal. If you don’t have a smartphone, you can check Gas Price Watch from your computer before leaving.

Try your local camp grounds: It might sound strange to hear this on a camping blog, but the fact is that many local campgrounds – which, naturally, you can get to the easiest – don’t have extensive websites. In fact, the closest privately owned camp grounds might be difficult to impossible to find online! These smaller camp grounds tend to be seasonal and rely on a smaller community of tent campers who spread word of mouth. So, break out the ol’ telephone directory before you feel confident there’s nothing close by. You may have to call on the phone or visit to get a good idea of the grounds.

Camp during the week: During camping seasons, medium and large-sized camp grounds can see a run on their spaces over the weekends. Plus, if your preferred park is a blended tent camping and RV camping area, then traffic can actually turn pretty fierce as convoys move in and out around the camp. As you know, start-and-stop traffic can wreak havoc on your gas mileage. For a smoother ride to and from your camping vacation, reserve early and aim for mid-week. Monday through Thursday tend to be the slowest times at most camp grounds, even during the season.

Check out Kampgrounds of America: As you can see from the official KOA campground directory, there are A LOT of KOA franchise camp grounds around the United States. In states including Washington, Utah, Montana, Texas, and New York, you might find that a KOA campground is your closest bet. KOA welcomes tent campers or RVers, and often includes fully-stocked cabins for rent as well. Plus, with a 10% off KOA Value Kard, you can easily offset the price of gas and earn points that stack up to even deeper savings. To top things off, the Value Kard makes reservations even easier than before.