Planning A Cross Country Travel Adventure

Here are some tips that might help make your planning you cross country trip easier!  

And don't forget, that you can travel across country and stay at cabins instead of with an RV!  

If you haven’t tried the KOA Trip Planner, we highly recommend it.  You can bookmark it at (https://koa.com/trip-planner/). It is a great tool for planning your trip. Simply enter your starting address, and your ending address, and press the “Get Directions” button.

What pops up next is a map with every KOA within 5 miles along that route. Your can change that option to 10 miles or some other distance, if a particular area doesn’t seem to have a KOA right along the route, but remember to add that extra travel time and expense to your trip travel calculations. 

Next, click on the KOA’s along the route that you estimate might be about 5 hours of travel time away. Then, Google the distance between those two destinations, until you find a KOA that is about 5 hours away. 

If you stop every couple of hours for potty stops, fuel, or meals along way, the 5 hours on the GPS equates to 8 hours of travel time a day. So we’ve found that 5 hours of travel time works about right for us, and equates to about an 8 hour day. If you spend an hour on lunch, or don’t want to be on the road for 8 hours a day, then lower the miles to 400 or whatever amount will work for your travel style. Fatigue becomes an issue if you travel more than 8 hours a day, and then of course, you run out of daylight too. So we try to arrive at or before dusk, so we’re not trying to get into an unknown campsite and set up in the dark.

Then, simply repeat this process over and over until you’ve completed your whole trip. If you’re planning a cross country trip, don’t forget to download The KOA Camping App! It is available for download at the Apple App Store and Google Play sites. It’s a great way to have 500 of the best campgrounds in the USA and Canada at your fingertips. For more information or to view a special video on the KOA Camping App, go to http://koa.com/get-the-koa-app/. It’ll help you find KOA’s across the county, and provide you easy access to their addresses for your GPS. It’s a great idea to carry that paper KOA directory too for backup just in case you need written directions to get you to the campground or RV Park.  Unfortunately, there are places that the GPS can’t find, and places where there is no cellular service. So until technology catches up, a plan “B” is always a great idea! 

In addition, “stuff happens”. There will be traffic jams, or high winds which means you need to slow down, so you can’t make your desired destination for that travel day. When that happens, you may need to find another park along the way to get you off the highway that became a parking lot, or out of the bad weather. So a physical directory and the app, will help you do both!

By Robyn Chilson                                                                                                              

Tim & Robyn Chilson own and operate Meadville KOA Campground.  Robyn can be reached at 814-789-3251.     

There’s an App For KOA!

Yes, there’s an app for that!  Check out the KOA Press release below! 

“KOA News Service – AUSTIN, TEXAS (November 21, 2013) – Kampgrounds of America has a new mobile device application (app) now available that will change the way campers plan their trips. The app was unveiled during KOA’s annual International Convention in Austin, Texas by Marketing Vice President Toby Hedges.

The new KOA Camping App is now available for download free for all mobile devices at both the Apple App Store and Google Play. The KOA Camping App allows campers to quickly use filters to search through KOA’s 486-campground system in North America, research different locations, make reservations and complete their transactions, all from their smart phones or other mobile devices.

The KOA Camping App also integrates with popular online navigation systems to provide hassle free directions from the camper’s current location to their favorite KOA.

App users will receive instant notifications to keep them up to date on the latest special offers from KOA, and KOA Value Kard Rewards members will be able to store and view their program information using the app.

The KOA Camping App is the perfect travel companion, since campground information and driving directions will also work when the user’s device is off line. Campers can even mark their favorite KOAs for later access, and receive emergency alerts to keep abreast of road closures, approaching storms or other emergencies – all directly from KOA campgrounds where they have reservations.

The KOA Camping App is available for download TODAY at the Apple App Store and Google Play sites. For more information or to view a special video on the KOA Camping App, go to http://koa.com/Get-the-KOA-App/”

Campers can now search for KOA Campgrounds, research different locations in the area, make reservations, complete their transactions, and get directions to the KOA of their choice all through their mobile device!  RVing at KOA Kampgrounds across America has never been so easy!  It’s pretty cool!  We hope you’ll check that out and add it to the list of camping and RVing apps that you have to have!

Speaking of things you have to have, we hope that you’re both asking for and giving camping related items this holiday season!  Don’t forget that you can purchase KOA Gift Certificates at https://koa.com/webtransactions/giftcertificate/purchase/default.aspx and  you can get PaCamping gift certificates at: http://pacamping.com/giftcertificates.htm

When you’re sitting around the holiday tables this year, it’s a great time to make plans with your family and friends for your camping vacations and weekend get-aways!  So, don’t forget to make those camping vacation plans this holiday season, and as always, we hope your plans include Meadville KOA Campground!  Don’t forget to book early so you get your desired campsite on the dates you want to camp!

And, until we see you next spring, or this winter at the RV Shows, we want to wish you and your family from us and our family, the very happiest of holidays and a Very, Merry Christmas!

By Robyn Chilson

Tim & Robyn Chilson own and operate Meadville KOA Campground, A President's award-winning KOA Kampground since 2011.  Robyn can be reached at 814-789-3251.  Kampgrounds of America, is now the world’s largest system of open-to-the-public family campgrounds.