State Parks

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Our kids are now grown but my wife and I usually stay in either state parks in our home state of Tennessee or nearby Virginia. We also use state parks in Florida which are very nice and affordable. We also use a lot of nearby Forest Service campgrounds in the Cherokee National Forest here in Tennessee.

The middle part of our state also has some very nice Corp of Engineer parks that are very affordable and always close to good fishing. :)
 
My favorite here in California is the Sonoma County Park system.  Especially Doran Beach ;D  No hook-ups, but there is a dump station.  With state budget cuts I prefer local or Federal park systems.
 
We go to state parks several times a year.  Kentucky Horse Park is the closest one to our house, but there are a few others within one hour. My son loves the motorhome, so he and I go often and my wife will either stay home for the night or two, or go along if the mood strikes her.
 
We are so lucky, in that we have probably 30+ State & Federal campgrounds within a 3 hour drive...and we use them a LOT!

Interestingly, in our ~150/nites over the last 2.5 years, we've NEVER stayed in a 'private' campground - unless you want to count the Daytona Speedway Infield during the Rolex sports car race each year...

We love the COE's, and have an incredible Natl Park in our Gulf Islands - Ft. Pickens on Pensacola Beach is 20 minutes from our house! Then there are several state parks, state forests and some boondock spots we love.
 
For those over age 62 who regularly stay at Colorado State Parks:

A Lifetime Pass is available to permit obtaining a free annual Park Pass every year for life. Must apply at a park office at any State Park to obtain. With this Lifetime Pass showing the card each year when your Annual Pass expires gets a new Annual Pass without charge.
 
Rancher Will said:
For those over age 62 who regularly stay at Colorado State Parks:

A Lifetime Pass is available to permit obtaining a free annual Park Pass every year for life. Must apply at a park office at any State Park to obtain. With this Lifetime Pass showing the card each year when your Annual Pass expires gets a new Annual Pass without charge.
Click to expand...

Actually, I'm pretty sure the discount is for seniors 64+ and Colorado residents. Many states only offer the discounts to state residents. Some give the discount to any senior.

Wendy
 
Aspen Leaf Pass - $35 per vehicle (CO Residents 64 years or older). The Aspen Leaf pass is available for purchase at any time of year and is valid for 12 months from date of purchase.
Aspen Leaf Multiple Pass - $18 per vehicle.  After purchase of Aspen Annual Pass, senior must be in whole or part owner of additional vehicles to be eligible for a discounted multiple pass. 
Aspen Leaf Lifetime Card - $175 (purchase of card allows for one Aspen Free Pass each year when card is presented.  Card itself does not provide entry) 
 
You can find information on senior and disability discounts for all the state parks in our library here. Many offer discounts but the majority are for residents of the state. Of course, my philosophy is that it never hurts to ask at any campground, restaurant, store, etc. if they give a discount.

Wendy
 
Working in a National Park, at the bookstore, I can tell you it is in the top ten questions.  #1 is usually, where are the restrooms?  #2 is where is the Canyon, or where is Old Faithful. 

Answer, we do not have senior discounts, but, if you would like to join our Association, I can offer 15%. 
 
Thank you for the above corrections for age to get a Colorado Lifetime Pass/Card.
I did not check but noted that I got ours 18 years ago when I was 62. So the age requirment must have changed over the years. I cannot remember all of the times we have stayed in State Parks but I am sure that the Lifetime Pass has more than paid it's way. I know it has saved the cost of 18 annual passes in Colorado.
Also, Our Golden Age Passport that I obtained at age 62 has saved us many dollars over the past 18 years at National Parks, BLM, Corps of Engineers, National Recreation sites, etc.
Depending on each individual situation, that may vary from us, we have found it very worthwhile for our having lifetime Memberships with Good Sam Club, Passport America, KOA, and CLC ChecKINN Direct.
 
Thank you for all of the replies! I have some more questions if you guys will be so kind as to answer. If you do stay in a state park, do you generally use the bath houses at the park or use the bathroom/shower in your trailer or coach?? Is it a drain or pain to have to lug water back to the RV and make provisions to empty the gray/sewer tanks ??
 
We always use the "facilities" in our m/h.  We don't stay long enough anywhere to use up all our tank capacity, so it hasn't been a problem.  If we were going to stay longer than a week, I guess we'd consider using the shower/toilet at the park bathouse.  Many of them are just fine, we're just not in the habit of using them much.
 
We haven't used a campground bathhouse since we got our first motorhome in 1972.  That's nearing 40 years!  The reason we like RVing is so we have what we need with us, especially toilet and bath facilities.  As long as you're careful with water consumption you shouldn't have a problem.  We do use a lot of full hookup campgrounds but not always.  Most state and national parks have dump stations and fresh water even though there are no hookups.  It's not difficult as a rule because we empty on the way out if necesary.  If we stayed anywhere longer, then it's easier to go to the dump station because you're not hooked up with hoses and cords.  You may have to bring in awnings and slides, but that's not a big deal.  Depending on the location sometimes we see people going to dump with their antennas and solar panels in the upright position.  Obviously you can't do that where there are a lot of trees, but you can out in open areas.

ArdraF
 
We usually use the showers in the campgrounds where we stay. I like being able to use as much hot water as I want. And the shower in our 28-footer is on the small side. Besides that, we use the shower as a coat/storage closet and I don't want to have to move everything out in order to shower.

Wendy
 
We've stayed in a few State Parks and we've always been able to use our own facilities.  I like to take long showers and really, that hasn't been a problem.  We have a 10 gallon tank and it seems to recycle pretty quickly.  Usually, we take turns taking our showers.  So, if my DH is going to take his, I won't take mine for at least an hour and that way we both have plenty of hot water.  When we dry camp, I do try and conserve with dish water and cooking, etc.  Showers are just something else and that's exactly why we bought our MH, to use the facilities...JMO  The only issue that I've run into at a State Park was that they had very specific times that you could run your generator.  That was a problem because our old MH seemed to need to be recharged after 6 hours or so.  Especially, if we watched TV the night before...our battery would beep in the middle of the night and we really would need to run the generator, especially if we wanted coffee!!!
 
I can't rembember ever using the bathhouse in any state park where we have stayed. In fact, I can't remember ever using the bathhouse in any RV park where we stayed either. We have always had a nice shower in our RV's that we use. Over the years, when I have been traveling on business, I have used the showers in various Truck Stops that are free for drivers who fuel at the truck stops. They vary in convenience but over the years I note that they continually improve.
 
We've used showers in campgrounds some of the time, usually when there's no sewer hookup, so we don't have to drive to the dump station as often.
 
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