Whether you own your own rig or love the idea of renting a camper, an RV trip can be the ultimate family vacation. You get all the joy of camping and staying close to nature but with all the comfort of a fully-equipped cabin or suite. For families, your RV can serve as a home base on the go and a comfy chill spot for making lasting memories on the road and at your destination. And if you play your cards right, the RV campground can be a destination unto itself.
Whether you’re in the market for family-friendly pastimes, festive activities that are just for kids, or just a safe space where your crew can run wild, there are some pretty fantastic RV campgrounds scattered across the United States. To find out which of these kid-friendly RV parks should be on your family vacay bucket list, we drew on our decades of experience as RV campers while taking a deep dive into family and travel blogs for inspiration. Next, we turned to online reviews from sites like Google and Tripadvisor to see which of those recommended family-friendly RV parks have consistently high ratings across every platform. Get ready to get excited about your next family vacation as we break down the most amazing kid-friendly RV parks in the United States, according to online reviews.
Disney’s Fort Wilderness Resort in Orlando
Disney Parks
One of the great things about a Disney vacation is the company’s enduring attention to detail — every detail. For example, Disney theme parks are kept so meticulously clean that it’s not uncommon to see park guests using trash cans as tables after stopping by a food kiosk. So it should come as no surprise that Disney accommodations at resorts like Fort Wilderness are also infused with Disney magic.
We first stayed at this lush Floridian RV park sometime in the late 1980s when we were still young, and we can still vividly recall how green everything was. Having taken family RV trips from Oklahoma to New England and through Colorado and Wyoming, we’d seen plenty of RV campgrounds, and few offer shade trees and foliage around the individual sites the way Fort Wilderness does. This resort also features kid-approved play areas, pools, a dog park, and plenty of walking trails. In fact, there are so many activities here that you could skip the theme parks altogether and have a fabulous time — like horseback riding, segway tours, and carriage rides. Fort Wilderness holds a nightly kid-friendly event called Chip ‘n’ Dale’s Campfire Sing-A-Long, where guests get to sing along to their favorite Disney songs, roast s’mores, and watch an outdoor movie. If you visit the campground around Halloween or Christmas, the RV campers here really get into the spirit with all kinds of campsite decorations, lights, and inflatables.
Ocean Lakes Family Campground in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina
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If your idea of a family vacation is all about sun and surf, Myrtle Beach is a beautiful — and family-friendly — place to get a healthy infusion of both. This little slice of heaven boasts a cool 60 miles of uninterrupted coastline — a perfect backdrop for some of the most stunning sunsets you’ll ever behold. According to Tripadvisor reviewers, the Ocean Lakes Family Campground is the region’s wildly popular RV camping spot that more than lives up to its name. A sprawling oceanfront campground with a handful of inland lakes located inside the property, many of the resort’s RV sites are just a short walk from the beach.
For more contained swimming, Ocean Lakes features an Olympic-sized outdoor pool and a completely enclosed, heated indoor pool that’s open year-round or cooler weather. Another focal point for the park is the Sandy Harbor Family Fun Center. Ocean Lakes’ version of a mini waterpark and amusement park all in one, Sandy Harbor features a lazy river, winding flume slide, and mat racer. There’s also a kids’ splash zone for the little guys. And when you’re done swimming, you can check out an 18-hole mini golf course or cool off inside the arcade. The daily calendar is also full of crafty pastimes like family ceramics classes or DIY tie-dye sessions. And for kids ages 4 through 11, Kamp Starfish offers a chance to hang out with other kiddos every weekday.
Lake Hemet Resort RV Camping
Lake Hemet Campground
Too often, when it comes to RV parks, kid-friendly can be synonymous with gimmicky and overcrowded. But this is hardly the case at pastoral Lake Hemet. Southern California offers some of the most breathtaking mountain vistas in the country, and it doesn’t get much better than this stunning artificial lake. Located in the San Bernardino Forest in the San Jacinto Mountains, Lake Hemet is a reservoir lake where the fishing is every bit as plentiful as the region’s natural splendor. Lake Hemet RV camping is some of the most family-friendly in the country. It’s also one of the quietest, thanks largely to the park’s ban on things like jet skis and waterskis — one where many of the campsites back right up to the lake.
During the summer months, guests can splash around in the Splashing Eagle Swim Zone, a dedicated private swimming beach with a lifeguard and beach attendant. Lake Hemet is a great place to teach the kids to fish since the water is home to bluegill, crappie, catfish, and bass and is regularly stocked with lightning and rainbow trout during the cooler months. Boating is also a popular pastime here, and guests can even rent pedal boats that carry up to two adults and their mini-mes. There’s also the park’s FitKid program, a fun two-hour kids’ camp aimed at helping kids get familiar with nature.
Eugene T. Mahoney State Park in Nebraska
Eugene T. Mahoney State Park/Facebook
Situated roughly halfway between Lincoln and Omaha in Nebraska, Mahoney State Park is an absolute gem for RV camping families. As a Tripadvisor reviewer put it, “This place has everything!” The RV park is attractive and well-appointed, with all the amenities you want when RVing it with kids, like playgrounds and plenty of mature trees situated around nice, clean campsites. But it’s really all about the extras — and there are plenty of them at Mahoney. It’s the kind of place that seriously undersells all of its features, which means you’re constantly uncovering something new every moment you’re there. It’s also one of the few kid-friendly RV parks with plenty to offer tweens and teens.
Here, you can find all the Great Plains adventures your family could dream of. There’s horseback riding, canoeing, biking, fishing, paddle boating, and basketball, just for starters. The park also features an outstanding swim complex, disc golf, and mini golf. An elaborate indoor play area full of labyrinthine tubes and ball pits for kids to climb around in offers a rainy (or hot) day respite. There’s also an outdoor theater where fun, family-friendly melodramas are put on during summertime. Guests can also check out a rock climbing wall or the Go Ape! zipline and ropes course. The hiking is also exceptional, with guests following trails past Indigenous burial mounds to climb an observation tower and take in stunning views of the Platte River.
Winding River Resort in Grand Lake, Colorado
Winding River Resort/Facebook
In terms of charming spots to make fantastic family memories, it doesn’t get much better than Colorado’s Winding River Resort, situated on the Colorado River where the Arapaho National Forest and Rocky Mountain National Park meet. A former 19th-century logging camp Infused with the spirit of cowboys and chuck wagons, Winding River is like a little slice of vintage Americana that will have your little buckaroos singing, “Yippee-ki-yay!”
While the campsites themselves are pretty standard, they’re surrounded by the living representation of purple mountain majesty. It’s the perfect setting for getting would-be cowpokes acquainted with their equine brethren. A one or two-hour horseback ride runs along the Colorado River, where you’ll get up close and personal with mountain wildlife while trailing through dreamy settings straight out of a fairy tale. For little ones ages two through six, pony rides are available during the summer, so they don’t have to miss out on all the horsing around. The park also offers summertime hayrides up to the Sarsaparilla Saloon. And around the Christmas holidays, old-fashioned sleigh rides are available.
Winding River also features an animal farm open from June each year, where kids can befriend furry pals like bunnies, piglets, calves, chicks, a miniature horse, and a burro. And you can even dine like you’re on the Oregon trail when you get a Western breakfast from an authentic 19th-century chuckwagon.
Tall Pines Campground in New York
Tall Pines Campground & River Adventures/Facebook
If you’re dreaming of a kid-friendly campground that hearkens back to the golden age of RV camping and calls to mind the simple wonder of childhood summer camps long ago, Tall Pines Campground is what you’re looking for. This New England locale situated on the Unadilla and Susquehanna rivers has all the vintage charm of a bygone era with all the amenities of a well-appointed modern RV campground. And there’s plenty to keep your whole crew entertained while you’re there.
Guests can take advantage of the lazy river life by renting a kayak, tube, or canoe. Tall Pines has a whimsical pirate-themed playground, an old-fashioned ice cream cart, horseshoes, two arcades, mini golf, volleyball, an inground pool, and a fishing dock. Many of the amenities are free thanks to the campground’s Stay & Play Wristband Program, which is sure to keep your family entertained from dawn until dusk. For a one-time $30 fee for the summer, Chippy’s wristbands grant guests access to all sorts of goodies — laser tag, remote-controlled cars and hoverballs, unlimited mini golf, croquet, giant tic-tac-toe or checkers, a bubble machine or sprinklers, and even float tubes, rafts, and pool toys. There’s even a “crafty cart” to keep everyone busy. And if you really want to relive your childhood at Camp Wobegon, Tall Pines offers a fun activities program with new weekly themes like Disney Week, Jurassic Dinos, Retro Week, and, of course, Pirate Week, to name a few.
Pigeon Forge/Gatlinburg KOA in Tennessee
Pigeon Forge / Gatlinburg KOA Holiday/Facebook
Anytime you’re not sold on where to park your rig, you’re pretty much guaranteed to find a quality campground at the nearest KOA. Much more than a national franchise that’s just corporate enough to ensure you’ll get a clean site without any unpleasant surprises, KOA campgrounds like the Pigeon Forge site can be something of an oasis for camping families. As one Google reviewer put it, “The amenities are amazing for kiddos. My son had an absolute blast,” adding, “This is definitely our new favorite place for vacation and we will definitely be back!”
While this campground is close to destinations like the Great Smoky Mountain National Park and Dollywood, there is enough to do on the grounds that it could easily serve as your endpoint. The pool is among the nicest you’ll find at an RV park, with its hot tub and lazy river. Another highlight is the gravity rail — imagine a relatively tame cross between a zip line and a swing. The campground features an outdoor movie spot and plenty of games like cornhole, ladder ball, bocce ball, and horseshoes on their games lawn, while at the gem mine, kids can dig around for treasure. There’s also a “jumping pillow” — basically, a bouncy house minus the house. A kid-friendly fun train serves up some excitement for the Doc McStuffins crowd, and during the summer months, there are ongoing recreational activities like karaoke, crafts, face painting, ice cream socials, and even BINGO.
Mount Rushmore KOA Resort in South Dakota
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A breathtakingly gorgeous landscape in the heart of South Dakota’s Black Hills is the backdrop for this stellar kid-friendly KOA RV campground. And it’s not much more than a stone’s throw from attractions Mount Rushmore, Wind Cave National Park, Jewel Cave National Park, Black Hills National Forest, Crazy Horse Mountain Memorial, Custer State Park, and the National Presidential Wax Museum.
Oregon Trails generation take note, as one of the highlights of this campground is the Chuck Wagon Supper Show. Guests start by taking a long, romantic ride either on horseback or in a covered wagon (horse-drawn, of course) to a mountain meadow for this open-air shindig. Under the wide open sky, guests get to take in an authentic cowboy musical revue while dining on locally grown steak grilled over a campfire. If that’s not Western enough for you, KOA Rushmore also hosts an authentic rodeo that’s free for park guests. The campground also offers scenic horseback rides through the hills of South Dakota. And there’s even a spot for kids to pan for real gold.
When you’re ready to give the old Justins a rest, there are plenty of non-cowboy activities afoot, including two swimming pools (one has a water slide), mini golf, and a climbing wall. You can even rent a UTV to explore the countryside.
Hersheypark Camping Resort
Hersheypark Camping Resort/Facebook
Simply driving down the street in Hershey, Pennsylvania, is enough to make any kid smile, thanks to the Hershey kiss-shaped street lamps lining the city’s streets — a memory we still cherish from childhood. More than just a chocolate paradise, the town is home to Hersheypark, an amusement park that’s been in operation since 1906. And for RV-loving families, there’s no better way to see it than kicking up a campsite at the Hersheypark Camping Resort.
Located conveniently adjacent to the amusement park, the RV grounds are attractive, with pull-through sites shaded by mature trees (even if they are a bit on the close side). The park features all the activities you want in a family-friendly RV park. There’s a recreational area with pastimes like shuffleboard, volleyball, and basketball available and a lovely outdoor pool that’s open all summer long. During the summer months, the campground features a full schedule of activities like animal encounters and magic shows. And there’s a good chance you’ll run into a chocolate character like a Hershey bar mascot, which can be a sweet treat for the little ones in your crew. There’s also a shuttle running from the RV park to the theme park, making it easy to go back and forth with a motley crew in tow.
Jellystone Park at Mammoth Cave
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Any kid can tell you bears love caves almost as much as picnic baskets — cartoon bears, anyway. And even if your Gen Alphas are still unfamiliar with the sandwich-swiping cartoon king Yogi Bear, there’s still a pretty good chance they’re going to love Jellystone Park near Mammoth Cave. This campground is located near a whole handful of spelunking adventures, including Onyx Cave, Diamond Caverns, and Mammoth Cave, just to name a few. The campsites themselves are fine enough — but that’s not what you’re here for.
Jellystone’s attractions include Karst Beach, a sandy beach on a 2.3-acre lake with plenty of shallow water for little cubs to splash in. If you’ve got bigger kids in your party, you’ll want to shell out for the Wibit obstacle course while you’re there. At Jellystone, you’ll find an activity pool and splash pad complete with things like bucket fountains and water guns. There’s also an 18-hole mini-golf course, jumping pillow park, gem mining sluice, arcade, and pedal car track.
A rec center offers daily activities like sand art or ceramics painting. There’s even a chill spot for little bears to watch movies. Starting on Memorial Day each year and running through Labor Day, character hayrides are scheduled several days out of the week, complete with singalongs and storytelling from Yogi and friends. They even offer a convenient app to help you plan ahead since, let’s face it, travel with kids often requires plenty of planning.
How We Chose Our RV Parks
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As lifelong RV campers, we’ve seen every extreme in terms of campground quality at just about every stage of life so far. We’ve experienced the joy of finding an unexpected free book library in the middle of a thousand-mile journey. And we’ve felt the pure, unadulterated misery of learning why you don’t use an RV washing machine while going down the highway. With three neurospicy kids of our own, we also know firsthand how important it is to find a campground with solid, family-friendly entertainment and all the amenities to keep everyone happy. And that means a lot of research goes into every trip long before any campsites are booked.
We started this list by diving into dozens of blogs like Mom Trotter and Campendium, scratching away with our trusty pencil anytime we saw a campground pop up again and again as a family-friendly winner. Cross-checking our list against reviews on Tripadvisor and Google to make sure each campground chosen was a consensus rather than an anomaly, We kept only those with the most consistently glowing family reviews. Because by the time you’ve driven eight hours with three restless tweens, the last thing you need to hear is, “Mom! Dad! We’re bored!”
