A nice sized yard, immediate access to nature and spectacular views? A quiet neighborhood along a babbling brook, maybe a place to have a fire and listen to the sounds of crickets go symphonic on a nightly basis? Did I mention that you could move every few days or weeks if you get really comfortable without any moving expenses other than gasoline? This is more or less what living in state parks is like.
Utilities are included when available. When we first started this whole full-time traveling around in an RV thing, we would just go wherever. Small towns were quite popular with us. We wanted to be in on the action, close to bars and restaurants. This landed us in plenty of privately owned RV parks. That style of travel is fun, particularly as you have less children. As our little entourage of rugrats grew in number, our desires changed a bit.
What follows is a succinct explanation of the average costs, typical hookups, and more or less what to expect from state parks around the United States. Listed by state, with a picture or two here and there, and our notes and the thoughts of other full-time travelers sprinkled throughout.
It was six months into our relationship, the Lady and I—along with my then 9 year old son—were living in a Volkswagen Bus and making a pilgrimage from Texas to Florida. A small state park just outside of Mobile, Alabama set the scene for a romantic dinner of smoked salmon and torn bread, a little mustard, a few pickles, and some beers.
The sun set down over the Gulf of Mexico, and it was all quite serene. We were young and in love then, that mad kind of early love that makes everything—a butterfly flapping its wings or a semi spewing noxious black gas into the air—more beautiful. I want to be positive about Alabama, and so there it is.
