Celebrate National Park Week with us from April 17 to 25! Share your love of the national parks and follow along with themed days throughout the week.
Friendship Friday at the National Parks is April 23
Friday, April 23 is Friendship Friday during National Park Week. After a year of being separated from friends and family, we need human bonds more than ever. Today we’re celebrating friendship, and talking about how to make and keep friends while traveling in an RV!
Making Friends While Traveling
On the surface RVing can seem sort of lonely; you’re leaving your network of friends and family at home to travel across the country. Won’t you miss being around people? One question we get asked all the time is how to make friends on the road, and luckily it’s pretty easy!
Overall, RVers are a very friendly group. (Looking to break the ice? Just ask about their rig, people love talking about their RVs!) Plus, with the outdoor nature of RV travel, there are plenty of ways to make friends even while social distancing. Introduce yourself at campsites, head over to the pool area if your RV park has one, or invite the people parked next to you to join you for a campfire. You can also go hiking with other RVers or explore a state or national park. Outdoor activities are a great way to have social interaction with new friends while staying a safe distance apart.
You can also make friends while traveling by joining an RV organization. There are great organizations such as Escapees and Fulltime Families that instantly connect you with like-minded travelers. These organizations give you an opportunity to meet up with new friends on the road, and they even host conferences and meetups so you can hang out with other Rvers. Many people create lifelong friendships with the fellow RVers that they meet through these groups.
If you’re looking for more suggestions, we have a great blog post with more ideas on how to make friends on the road.
Traveling With Friends
Whether you’re caravanning with other RVers or planning an epic multi state road trip with your 3 best buds in a Class C, traveling with friends is a blast and creates fantastic memories and bonding moments. But if you’re all going to be traveling together (especially for the first time!) there might be a few bumps along the way. To make things smoother, we have a few tips to keep in mind that will keep everyone happy.
Plan your trips and itinerary together. This may mean compromising, but make sure everyone has input on destinations and routes. If someone really wants to see a landmark or stop, make sure that their voice is heard.
Agree on what time you’re going to depart on drive days ahead of time. This way no one is surprised or not ready when it’s time to leave. If you love sleeping in but the other couple you’re caravanning with wants to leave at the crack of dawn, it could cause issues if you don’t set departure times beforehand. Also plan out how long you plan to be driving for the day. Don’t plan 8 hour drive days if one group only likes driving for 3 hours. Again, it goes back to compromise and planning ahead to make the trip flow smoothly.
Make sure everyone gets alone time. It’s pretty close quarters in an RV, and it takes some getting used to. Tempers can flare when you’re in such a small space all the time, so respect that people may need some time by themselves. Get outside, have some quiet time, and don’t feel like you need to be talking constantly if others (or you) want to be alone.
Even if you’re in separate rigs, don’t feel like you have to do every activity together. Let people do their own thing for a bit and come back together for meals or campfires. It will make the time you do spend together even better. We have more tips on traveling with friends in our article RVing with Friends: Tips for Having Fun and Avoiding Fights.
Partnership Projects
A great way for you and your friends to get involved in the national parks is through their partnership projects. The NPS works with communities and partners to improve the parks and keep them running. You and your friends can get involved by volunteering, looking into internships and employment, and even supporting and enhancing nature trails, historic buildings, and parks in your own community.
Where would you most like to bring a friend? What national park site would you want to explore together? You can share your stories on their social with the hashtags #FriendshipFriday, #NPSFriends, and #NationalParkWeek.
So whether you’re planning an epic road with your friends, or looking to make some new ones, we have all the resources you need for a great RV trip. This includes detailed information on all of the state parks and national parks, as well as the top campgrounds in each state. If you’re looking to road trip to several national parks, we have suggestions on the best road trips in each state. And if you need an RV to get you there, be sure to check out our great selection of RV rentals across the nation.
