Top Benefits and Differences Between Popular Campground Passes

By Alexa Mosier
Budget Travel

Heading out in your RV without a specific campground in mind can be daunting for some, but with campground pass memberships, it makes travel easy! Pass memberships give you a network of locations you can camp at and allow you to take advantage of other amenities and discounts, too. 

Signing up for a membership program isn’t only for full-time RVers, though they certainly will get the most use out of it! You can generally recoup the cost of the membership from the savings you’ll earn within your first stay! Read on to learn more about the benefits of three main memberships: The Dyrt Pro, KOA, Harvest Hosts, and Passport America.

The Dyrt Pro

The Dyrt is a great way to search for campgrounds nationwide and see reviews from fellow outdoor enthusiasts. While you don’t need a membership to browse on The Dyrt’s main site, signing up for The Dyrt Pro has its benefits. You can expect great features like trip planning, discounts for campgrounds and gear, as well as availability for offline service (this really comes in handy in remote areas with no cell service!).

KOA

KOA Campgrounds have 500 locations across the US and Canada. Not only are these comfortable spots to stay for RVers, but they have tent camping and cabin offerings as well. Each location is chocked full of amenities for you to enjoy such as hiking, fishing, biking, swimming pools, climbing walls, horseshoe pits, mini-golf, basketball courts, jumping pits, and more. Most KOA locations even have fenced, off-leash areas for your fur-family to stretch their legs, too!

Harvest Hosts

Harvest Hosts is a membership network that invites self-contained RVers to stay overnight for free at nearly 1500 wineries, breweries, farms & attractions across the US & Canada. That’s right – you can stay for free at so many cool places with this membership. Of course, it’s encouraged to support the business of the host while you’re there! So use some of the cash that you save towards some fresh produce, wine, or a warm meal!

Passport America

Passport America was founded in the early 90s with the goal to fill empty campgrounds, and thirty years later, they are doing that and more! Having a Passport America membership allows you to get 50% off discounts from a network of over 1600 campgrounds across North America.

Member Benefits of the Most Popular Campground Passes

Benefit KOA Harvest Hosts Passport America The Dyrt
Geographical Footprint 500+ campgrounds across US & Canada Nearly 1500 wineries, breweries, farms & attractions across the US & Canada 1600 campgrounds across US, Canada & Mexico Connections to campgrounds across US and the Virgin Islands
Discounts 10%* off your daily registration rate all year long Stay for free at any Harvest Host location 50% off nightly rates for participating campgrounds Up to 40% off campground rates
Loyalty Program Accumulate points during each stay to get credit towards future trips
Additional Discounts and Deals KOA RV RoadHelp (roadside assistance), DISH, Goodyear Tires, Essex Credit (RV and boat loans), Geico, Route 66, Family Motor Coach Association, Big4 Holiday Parks, Discovery Parks and more Free monthly raffles Up to 30% off camping gear
Referral Program $15 for every referral to sign up $10 for every referral to camp, $50 for every referral campground to join Monthly contests – earn points through writing campground reviews. The most points win prizes and outdoor gear.
Mobile App Yes Yes Yes Yes
Membership Cost $33/year $79+/year $44+/year $36/year

Find More Places to Camp

If you’re not quite ready to sign up for a pass with one of these memberships, consider the network of Yogi Bear’s Jellystone Park Camp-Resorts. Jellystone has over 75 locations nationwide, and each park offers loads of amenities for the whole family. They offer a rewards program – the more you stay, the more points you acquire to redeem for free nights!

You can also stay at a state park near you or venture out to a national park, but if you’re looking for some unique camping experiences, check out this post!

 

This post may contain affiliate links.

Related