Fall is my favorite season for RVing. The days are cooling off again, the leaves on many deciduous trees have begun showing their golden hues, the second (southbound) of the great semi-annual North American avian migrations is in full flight and, for the most part, the crowds of vacationers have gone back home.
Far too often, the easy destinations within a couple hours’ drive of town are overrun with appreciation during summer, so we tend to avoid RVing during the summer months and, instead, make the most of the off seasons — especially fall.
It’s also easier to find better campsites, or campground reservations at all, during autumn because the demand is lower. You can have that summer-camping activity level and find beautiful scenery, temperate days and cool nights — but with no crowds. It just requires a little planning and a high state of readiness to take advantage of quick-and-easy fall weekends near home. Here’s how we do it:
Keep all your gear in stackable-style plastic packing tubs that are easily transportable. Keep a checklist that you can run through quickly and have all your gear tubs packed, stacked and ready to go Thursday night, to be quickly loaded into the camper when you get home from work Friday. That way as soon as you get the tie off, you can hit the road!
Practice setting up at night in the driveway, so it’s a familiar chore when you arrive at your destination late on Friday night. Keep meals on Friday simple. Box, bag dinner or drive-though (make it decent) might be a good way to save some time on the road and get you to camp before it’s too late, while appeasing potentially cranky passengers. Let people sleep late Saturday morning if you get into camp late Friday night – it tends to maintain a positive attitude.
These are just a few of the strategies we use to help best take advantage of the fall weekends and better RVing opportunities after the dog days of summer have gone. Now start planning your fall adventure… pick a place to go, and enjoy my favorite season!
