USA TODAY 10Best
Vogel State Park named best for RV travelers
Best State Park for RVers (2020)
The top 10 winners in the category Best State Park for RVers are as follows:
- Mueller State Park - Divide, Colorado
- Nehalem Bay State Park - Tillamook, Oregon
- Lake Murray State Park - Ardmore, Oklahoma
- Cheyenne Mountain State Park - Colorado Springs, Colorado
- Lake Ouachita State Park - Mountain Pine, Arkansas
- Cape Disappointment State Park - Ilwaco, Washington
- Wilderness State Park - Carp Lake, Michigan
- Custer State Park - Custer, South Dakota
- Huntington Beach State Park - Murrells Inlet, South Carolina
- Vogel State Park - Blairsville, Georgia
Photo courtesy of iStock / MRaust
No. 10:
Elk, black bear, hawks and mule deer call this 5,000-acre Colorado state park home. The park offers year round recreation, including a campground set in a forest of fir, spruce, pine and aspen trees. Of the 134 sites, 99 offer electric hookups. All have a picnic table and fire ring.
Photo courtesy of iStock / Nick Wiltgen
No. 9:
Nehalem Bay State Park sits on a 4-mile sand spit between the ocean and a bay. Outdoors enthusiasts come here to hike, bike, fish, kayak, windsurf or simply walk on the beach. A 1.8-mile, forested bike path provides stellar views of the bay. The campground offers 265 sites with electric and water hookups.
Photo courtesy of iStock / raksybH
No. 8:
Oklahoma’s first and largest state park occupies 12,500 acres of forested hills around Lake Murray. The park is popular for fishing and boating, as well as hiking and ATV riding (there are more than 1,000 acres of trails for ATVs and dirt bikes). The park has nine RV campgrounds with 321 RV sites.
Photo courtesy of iStock / Monica Lara
No. 7:
A popular hiking spot, Cheyenne Mountain State Park has 21 trails for hiking, mountain biking and wildlife viewing, all within a 10-minute drive of Colorado Springs. The campground features 51 full hookup sites, each with a picnic table, fire ring and access to coin-operated showers and laundry.
Photo courtesy of Division of Arkansas Tourism
No. 6:
Set amid the Ouachita National Forest, 40,000-acre Lake Ouachita ranks among America's cleanest lakes and holds the title of Arkansas's largest manmade lake. The state park serves as a gateway to the lake and its many outdoor pursuits, including fishing, boating and scuba diving. The park’s 93 campsites include several full hookup sites right on the water.
Photo courtesy of iStock / Kubrak78
No. 5:
The Pacific Ocean meets the Columbia River at this Washington state park. Explore lighthouses, military bunkers and natural habitats within the park (beaches, old-growth forests, freshwater lakes and saltwater marshes). The campground has 50 full hookup sites and 18 partial hookup sites, as well as a dump station, restrooms and showers.
Photo courtesy of Mary Beth Kiczenski / Wilderness State Park
No. 4:
The 10,000-acre Wilderness State Park includes 26 miles of Lake Michigan shoreline, as well as numerous hiking trails, a swimming beach and a dedicated dark sky preserve. Of the 250 campsites, 18 offer full hookups for RV travelers.
Photo courtesy of iStock / tonda
No. 3:
Located in the rugged Black Hills of South Dakota, Custer State Park protects 71,000 acres of terrain and a herd of some 1,300 bison — one of the largest publicly owned herds on the planet — who are known to stop traffic along the park's Wildlife Loop Road from time to time. The park has nine campgrounds to choose from, including the popular Sylvan Lake Campground. Many sites include electric hookups and dump stations.
Photo courtesy of iStock / UWMadison
No. 2:
Most famous for the wide Grand Strand beach, Huntington Beach State Park has plenty more to offer, including excellent birdwatching, the state's best surf fishing and historical attractions like Atalaya, the Moorish-style winter home of Archer and Anna Hyatt Huntington and a National Historic Landmark. The park features more than 180 campsites, including some with full hookups.
Photo courtesy of iStock / ANCHASA MITCHELL
No. 1:
Vogel, one of Georgia’s oldest state parks, sits at the base of Blood Mountain inside Chattahoochee National Forest. The park is particularly popular during the autumn months, when the Blue Ridge Mountains put on a colorful display of fall foliage. RV campers can choose from 90 campsites with electric hookups.
A panel of experts partnered with 10Best editors to pick the initial nominees, and the top 10 winners were determined by popular vote.
Congratulations to all these winning state parks!
About 10Best Readers' Choice Awards
Nominees are submitted by a panel of experts. 10Best editors narrow the field to select the final set of nominees for the Readers’ Choice Awards. Readers can vote once per category, per day. For any questions or comments, please read the FAQ or email USA TODAY 10Best.
The Experts
Ashley Rossi, Stephanie Puglisi & Alexandra Charitan - Togo Group
Ashley Rossi is the managing editor at Togo RV.... Read More
Ashley Rossi is the managing editor at Togo RV. She comes from a background in travel writing which has taken her from Australia to Haida Gwaii. Her favorite national park is Zion and she's helping her parents plan an epic cross-country retirement trip in an Airstream. Stephanie Puglisi is the head of content for Roadtrippers and Togo RV. She is the author of two books—See You at the Campground: A Guide to Discovering Community, Connection, and a Happier Family in the Great Outdoors and Idiot’s Guide to RV Vacations. Alexandra Charitan is the managing editor of Roadtrippers Magazine. She likes things that are bigger or smaller than they should be: novelty architecture, miniature worlds and anything made from fiberglass or neon. She dreams of visiting every state in the U.S. and will always stop for a Muffler Man.
Ashley Rossi, Stephanie Puglisi & Alexandra Charitan - Togo Group
Ashley Rossi is the managing editor at Togo RV. She comes from a background in travel writing which has taken her from Australia to Haida Gwaii. Her favorite national park is Zion and she's helping her parents plan an epic cross-country retirement trip in an Airstream. Stephanie Puglisi is the head of content for Roadtrippers and Togo RV. She is the author of two books—See You at the Campground: A Guide to Discovering Community, Connection, and a Happier Family in the Great Outdoors and Idiot’s Guide to RV Vacations. Alexandra Charitan is the managing editor of Roadtrippers Magazine. She likes things that are bigger or smaller than they should be: novelty architecture, miniature worlds and anything made from fiberglass or neon. She dreams of visiting every state in the U.S. and will always stop for a Muffler Man.
Jeff Cavins
Jeff Cavins is a technology veteran with over 22... Read More
Jeff Cavins is a technology veteran with over 22 years of senior-level experience in emerging growth technology, software, Internet and digital media companies. Highlights of his career include designing and developing the Instant Replay system the NFL uses today and creating over $32B in total market capitalizations. He co-founded Outdoorsy in 2015 and serves as Chairman and CEO of the largest and most trusted peer-to-peer RV rental platform.
Jeff Cavins
Jeff Cavins is a technology veteran with over 22 years of senior-level experience in emerging growth technology, software, Internet and digital media companies. Highlights of his career include designing and developing the Instant Replay system the NFL uses today and creating over $32B in total market capitalizations. He co-founded Outdoorsy in 2015 and serves as Chairman and CEO of the largest and most trusted peer-to-peer RV rental platform.
Megan Buemi
Megan, Senior Manager of Content Marketing at... Read More
Megan, Senior Manager of Content Marketing at RVshare, loves helping others discover their new favorite place in nature and has contributed almost 400 articles and counting to the RVshare blog doing just that. While at RVshare, she has launched guides to national parks, state parks, local travel and events to make choosing where to take that next RV trip as easy as possible. When she’s not helping travelers make memories, she’s exploring with her husband, daughter and rescue dogs. Megan’s happy place is in the woods, and she tries to spend as much time outdoors as possible during Ohio’s beautiful summers.
Megan Buemi
Megan, Senior Manager of Content Marketing at RVshare, loves helping others discover their new favorite place in nature and has contributed almost 400 articles and counting to the RVshare blog doing just that. While at RVshare, she has launched guides to national parks, state parks, local travel and events to make choosing where to take that next RV trip as easy as possible. When she’s not helping travelers make memories, she’s exploring with her husband, daughter and rescue dogs. Megan’s happy place is in the woods, and she tries to spend as much time outdoors as possible during Ohio’s beautiful summers.
