HOW TO USE ALLSTAYS PRO TO FIND YOUR NEXT CAMPSITE

If we’re camping near home, we know where we want to stay, but if we’re traveling out of state we often need help in finding suitable places, especially if we want to hook up to electric or have access to water. In the early fall of 2019, we traveled from Michigan to South Dakota and Nebraska, using AllStays Pro to help us figure out our options each night. One of the highlights was a campsite near the Crazy Horse Monument in South Dakota where we could see the monument...right from our teardrop.

AllStays is a useful tool when planning a camping experience. One of the benefits of AllStays, is that campgrounds do not pay a fee to be profiled or included, so the information is user generated and unbiased. It includes over 37,000 private, state and national park campgrounds, as well as RV parks, boondocking locations, hotels with parking, Walmarts, and casinos. Many of these are places where you can stay the night for free. You can also find truck stops with dumping stations if you need to empty your tanks or cassette toilet.

If you have any of the following memberships or club discounts, you can access their location and service information on AllStays as well: Good Sam, Passport America, Escapees, KOA, 1000 Trails, Resorts of Distinction, AOR, and Coast to Coast. If you are an Elk or Moose Lodge member, this will help you find locations across the country where you can spend the night. AllStays shows all of the amenities and includes seasonal closing information, so you can travel with confidence knowing if there are water sources, toilets or restrooms, picnic tables, swimming pools, playgrounds, boat launches, hiking trails, laundry, propane, dump stations, internet access, etc. It will also indicate if the campground is pet friendly or age restricted. AllStays Pro will even show nearby restaurants, grocery stores, laundry facilities, post offices, hardware stores, veterinarians, and hospitals.

Currently, the AllStays app is only available for Apple products such as iPhones and iPads. We prefer to use AllStays Pro, which differs, as it is a website rather than an app and is available on any computer, tablet, or smartphone through web access. We can use AllStays Pro on our iPhone (using Safari). If you have an Android phone, you could use AllStays Pro by using your internet browser. AllStays Pro DOES HAVE MORE information than the app and is updated more frequently.

Here’s how it works

Use a browser or download the app and create an account. After logging in, you’re shown a map of the United States and Canada with a menu of available filters on the right of the screen.

You can search by using the search box in the upper left corner of the screen or you can zoom and pan on the map to any area of the United States or Canada. If you just want to search for National Forests you can filter your view so only those will show on your map. If you are not zoomed in to a tight area, then the number of locations that meet your criteria will be shown on the map.

Once you find a campground that interests you, click on the icon and more information will load. It will show the cost range, how many sites there are, the open season, and all other amenities. You can access the current weather, reviews, GPS coordinates from that one click as well. The phone number and website of location (if they have one) are also on that first click. You’re also given the option to navigate to the campground via Apple Maps, Google Maps, Waze maps (our favorite), or Sygic maps.

The website also has a full tutorial on how to use the site in case you have any questions. AllStays was created by an RVer for RVers. It may not be the prettiest interface out there, but it definitely has the most information.

There are different ways to subscribe. We opted for the multi-year option because it offered the largest discount. Currently, pricing is $34.95 per year. You can choose a renewing subscription, which renews at $32.95/year or a one year access for the $34.95 price. We purchased the 3 year subscription which saves you $10. Had I known how useful it was, I would have purchased the 5 years subscription which saves you $20. Click the link to go to go the Allstays website to see more information and to determine if AllStays Pro is right for you, too.