Boondocker's Welcome/Harvest Hosts

WOW! It's been a hot minute since I've updated. Life has truly been crazy these past several weeks! Anywhoo, I want to take a minute to fill you in on a little secret, Boondocker's Welcome! One of the reasons I waited to talk about this is because I recently downgraded my membership and wanted to be able to give an objective opinion on if that significantly impacted the way I use the app.

First, let me give you a little overview of the system. Boondockers Welcome/Harvest Hosts is an app that many RVers use to find a spot to park for a night or so, on their way to or from a destination. BW is full of hosts who offer a space on their personal property for you to park for up to 5 nights (at the host's discretion), while HH is located at a business and is limited to 1 night.

One of the things I LOVE about BW is meeting new people. Its amazing to me that people welcome strangers to their home/property to stay overnight, but I can tell you I've met some amazing folks this way. I was a host long before my first stay as a guest. I do still host, at my home in FL, and if you're interested in a stay please click the link below! https://harvesthosts.com/boondocking/millville-mansion-rv-space

This is a subscription based service BUT if you haven't tried BW or HH, on occasion I have 1 year free subscription to share, so find me on my socials and message me to see if I have one available!

As I mentioned before, this is a subscription based program, and I recently downgraded my membership. Originally I planned to utilize the service quite a bit, and being a host I thought I'd want access to alllll the things they offer as a guest. Once I started looking at my plans and routes, the first thing I did was pull up the app to see where I could fit in a stay. While there were many options on BW and HH, I found most of them either didn't have enough space or it was a 1 night max stay, and I was hoping to stay longer. Something else to keep in mind is, if its a BW, its at someone's home/farm and often times was too far out of the way for me to go. Another factor is hookups! Not all hosts have hookups, some have partial and some have all, but most have none, so be prepared to dry camp or look for one that allows generators if you need one. The way BW is set up, the stay itself is free, however if you utilize any kind of hookups, its customary to compensate the host for that. Most only charge a few dollars, I think every one I used charged $10 for the night. HH is a little different since its a business. If you stay on their property, with or without hookups, you are expected to make a minimum $20 purchase. One of the great things about HH is its a network of wineries, farms, breweries, museums and other unique small businesses, so you really get a glimpse of the local culture. All in all, I love the program, I just didn't want to pay for the features I wasn't using. As an "Extrordinaire Host" I have a free lifetime membership to the BW side of the program, and thought I'd test that out without the paid counterpart to HH for now. Best believe I'll upgrade again in a heartbeat if I need HH though, as its much less expensive as some campgrounds, even with making a purchase at a business.

Lets talk tiers! This is the most recent graphic from the website, illustrating what's included in each membership tier (prices excluded, please see link for pricing and locations map: https://www.boondockerswelcome.com/

I highly recommend trying it out if you're planning on doing some long treks, as it will likely come in handy for some stopovers, especially if you aren't reliant on hookups for everything. Here's a view from my most recent BW stay at a property offered by "Treyarnon" who had a lovely LEVEL gravel pad AND W/E hookups. The weather was beautiful and I really didn't even need the hookups, but hey, why not? I definitely want to do some kayaking nearby there in the future, so I'll be back for sure. They had an amazing covered dining area where we all shared dinner with some Bunk-a-Bikers from Italy, and a really cool outdoor shower (with HOT water). The stay was quiet and sooo relaxing. I had windows open all night and a great view when I woke up!

***** Highly Recommend!