Guest Author - Evanne Schmarder

Half price camping!?! Usually if it sounds too good to be true it is…but in this case – with a bit of research and a small amount of cash – you can enjoy 50% off your campground stay at several parks across the US, Canada and even Mexico. The trick? Half price camping clubs.

Three prominent half price camping clubs are available to savvy campers – Passport America bills itself as the “original 50% discount camping club” and one of the most popular. Happy Camper has nearly as many participating parks and is growing in usage. Camp Club USA is the newest of the group and has its own unique benefits.

For a small fee any camper can “join” these clubs to take advantage of the discounts. Upon becoming a member you are sent a membership card and a campground directory. These directories are simply a listing of participating parks – not a rating guide like Woodall’s or Trailer Life. It’s important to know that these parks may put certain date, length of stay, or other restrictions on their discounts. Some may accept or even require reservations – other may not. Read the exceptions before making your plans.

The popular half-price club, Passport America, runs $44/year and continues to add parks to their current 1,347 (last I looked). It’s always best to call ahead to confirm their Passport participation – the rules are very loose allowing parks to drop out of the program mid-year. Although 50% off sounds great you have to be very choosy when selecting Passport America Parks. A quick cross-reference with your Woodall’s Campground Guide or Trailer Life Directory will help you determine if a park rates high enough to “make your cut”. Sometimes they do, sometimes they do not.

Happy Camper is the same type of 50% off camping club as Passport America, sports over 1,200 parks (according to their website) in their program and charges $44.95/year. Use their camping directory to choose a park and cross reference it with another camping guide to determine the park’s ratings – again, choosing the park’s rating level you are comfortable with and call ahead to assure they are still enrolled in the program.

Camp Club USA is the new kid on the block. Owned by the Affinity Group, (who by the way owns Good Sam, Trailer Life, Woodall’s, Camping World and more) Camp Club USA touts having “hundreds” of parks in their “system” as of March 2006. The big plus about Camp Club USA is that their parks must achieve at least a 3W Woodall’s rating to be included in the program. That takes plenty of the research and guess work out of choosing a quality place to stay. The Camp Club USA membership fee runs $49.95/year with a special Good Sam intro offer at $39.95/year.

Examine your camping needs and you might find that 50% off camping clubs suit your needs just fine.