Privately owned and operated campgrounds that stay open during winter often serve as base camps for a wide range of winter recreation activities, ranging from skiing and snowboarding to snowmobiling, ice fishing, and ice skating. Some campgrounds also have unique on-site winter activities you won’t find anywhere else.
Here are a handful of exceptionally fun campgrounds to spend time at this winter.
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Cascades
In the Pacific Northwest, Mt. Hood Village RV Resort in Welches, Oregon (outside of Portland), is a popular winter basecamp, with Mt. Hood Skibowl just 13 miles away. Mt. Hood Adventure Park is also just another 2 miles down the road.
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Winter visitors to Leavenworth RV Campground, near the Bavarian-themed town of Leavenworth, Washington, east of Seattle, will enjoy beautiful Cascade Mountain views as well as close proximity to Stevens Pass Ski Resort. Additional winter activities include cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, and ice fishing at Fish Lake, just a few miles from the resort.
Winter visitors to the 300-plus site Chehalis RV Campground in Chehalis, Washington, can enjoy beautiful hiking trails and local area attractions that include winter fishing in the Cowlitz River, known to have one of Washington’s best runs of steelhead trout.
Midwest
In the Midwest, several privately owned campgrounds also stay open during the winter months, including Evergreen Campsites & Resort in Wild Rose, Wisconsin, which offers dry camping with electrical hookups and a water hookup for guest use. The campground is next to a 70-acre lake popular with ice skating and ice fishing enthusiasts. Nordic Mountain, which offers skiing, snowboarding, and snow tubing, is only a 20-minute drive from the campground.
Rocky Mountains
Terry Bison Ranch in Cheyenne, Wyoming, offers a train ride across the ranch to view a bison herd in the snow. Another winter activity onsite includes horseback riding. The ranch also has its own steakhouse and a 43-site RV park that’s open during winter.
Belmont Hot Springs RV Park and Resort in Garland, Utah, is a unique winter campground. It offers a 60-foot-deep mineral hot springs lake that’s popular with scuba diving enthusiasts—even in winter, according to park owner, Michael Yamin.
Park City RV Resort in Park City, Utah is a popular base camp for skiers and snowboarders who can enjoy three world-class ski resorts nearby, including Canyon Mountain, Park City Mountain Resort, and Deer Valley.
Winter recreation enthusiasts in Colorado often stay at the 9,600-foot Tiger Run Resort near the historic mining town of Breckenridge. The RV resort is close to several popular ski resorts, including Breckenridge, Keystone, and Copper Mountain—Vail is also about an hour away (depending on road conditions).
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Visitors to Westerly RV Park just north of Durango can enjoy a variety of activities such as hot air balloon rides, skiing at Durango Mountain Resort and Purgatory, and winter train rides on the historic Durango Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad. While the famous train does not go all the way up to the historic 9,200-foot mining town of Silverton during the winter months, it does offer shorter winter train rides up to Cascade Canyon.
“We have folks who come for the balloon festivals, including during the winter,” said Westerly RV Park co-owner, Eugenie Schlittgen. She added that many of her guests also enjoy a quick walk across the street to the newly upgraded Durango Hot Springs Resort & Spa. “That’s a big draw all year long. But it is especially nice to warm up our winter guests, especially after a day of skiing!” Schlittgen said.
Sierra Nevadas
In California’s Sierra Nevada, several privately owned and operated campgrounds accommodate winter recreation enthusiasts, including Mammoth Mountain RV Park & Campground in Mammoth Lakes. This RV park and campground features plowed RV sites with electric hookups as well as a water filling station and dump station. Other amenities include restrooms with hot showers and an indoor swimming pool with a Jacuzzi. Winter activities in the Mammoth Lakes area include snowshoeing, cross-country skiing, downhill skiing, and snowmobiling.
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In the greater Lake Tahoe area, winter recreation enthusiasts often stay at Tahoe Valley Campground in South Lake Tahoe, which has RV sites and rental accommodations, including park models. Other Lake Tahoe area campgrounds open in winter include Village Camp Outdoor Resort Truckee-Tahoe in Truckee, which offers RV sites as well as cabin rentals.
In California’s Sierra Nevada, several privately owned and operated campgrounds accommodate winter recreation enthusiasts, including Mammoth Mountain RV Park & Campground in Mammoth Lakes, which features plowed RV sites with electric hookups as well as a water filling station and dump station. Other amenities include restrooms with hot showers and an indoor swimming pool and Jacuzzi. Activities in the Mammoth Lakes area include snowshoeing, cross-country skiing, downhill skiing and snowmobiling.
RELATED: Winter RV Camping Packing List
In the greater Lake Tahoe area, winter recreation enthusiasts often stay at Tahoe Valley Campground in South Lake Tahoe, which has RV sites and rental accommodations, including park models. Other Lake Tahoe area campgrounds open in winter include Village Camp Outdoor Resort Truckee-Tahoe in Truckee, which offers RV sites as well as cabin rentals.
Further to the south, Thousand Trails Yosemite Lakes in Groveland, just outside the western entrance to Yosemite National Park, is also open in winter, offering a variety of RV sites as well as furnished park model rentals. Yosemite Lakes is about 30 minutes from cross-country ski areas and a little over an hour’s drive from Badger Pass Ski Resort in Yosemite.
There are also more than 15 fishing lakes within an hour’s drive of Yosemite Lakes, including Don Pedro Reservoir, Cherry Lake, and Hetch Hetchy Reservoir in Yosemite National Park.
