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Old 10-31-2021, 03:41 PM   #1
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Favorite Harvest Hosts

Harvest Host users - what’s your favorite Harvest Host spot you’ve stayed at and why? I have avoided some hosts because the information was too sparse and the reviews tend to be of the strictly “friendly and level” type without much more info. Would love some details to make an informed decision! Thanks all.

Tonight I’m at the Wildlife West Nature Park in Edgewood, NM, just outside of Albuquerque. It is a wildlife rescue park for animals indigenous to New Mexico that can’t be released into the wild. This has been a highlight of the trip.

Purchase: Entrance at $9/pp (there is also a gift shop and you can make donations)

Site: In their gravel parking area. I was the only one here on a Saturday night. I’m completely level (but in part cause I had my choice of where to park). I can hear highway noise, so that may bother some. The sunset and sunrise were beautiful. No hookups of any kind, but 4 bars of LTE on AT&T without boosting, and video streaming via cell was fast.

Experience: The park is small. They estimate 60-90 minutes to go through it. I took 2.5 hours because I love learning about animals and taking photos. Could have stayed longer. This is not a traditional zoo by any stretch of the word. It was built primarily by teenagers under guidance via the Civilian Conservation Corps. They’ve got 25 animals or so in large spaces, plus old farm equipment and a replica western town area. Animals include Elk, Cougars, Owls, Deer, Birds. During the busier months, there are animal encounters, but in late October, it is walk-through. On Saturday afternoon there were perhaps 10 other people in the park. Each animal includes information on why it is there (injury, illegal wild animals as pets that have imprinted on humans) and basic animal facts. Other than a short nature trail, it has a concrete path throughout that is wheelchair accessible although not all of the exhibits would be fully viewable from a wheelchair. There are benches throughout for sitting. Total walking path is about 1.25 miles (I logged about 2.5, but I doubled back to favorites and went in and out and around to get many angles). It’s’ a photographer’s dream, whether pro or just for fun. If you can, come during golden hour before sunset for amazing views and photos.

Ease of Access: Easy access within a mile off route 40. The driveway is gravel but well maintained. There is a Walmart super center within a mile for stock ups.

Vibe: I called ahead, the volunteer on the phone was welcoming and said come on over, we’re never full (but still call ahead). When I got here, I parked to one side and left the nearer spots for day use people. Same volunteer greeted me, I filled out a little form, and he was very nice. Shared info and a map of the park and I paid my $9 for entry. He answered questions when I came back after touring. There were no staff in the park itself on this lazy Saturday afternoon.

This is my preferred type of Harvest Host experience (what’s yours?) - Although I’m super friendly, I don’t like feeling like I’m in someone’s yard or have to make forced friendships.

Note: The gate closes at 6:00 PM and opens at 8:00 AM and you can’t get in or out when closed. I thought this was great because it was Halloween weekend and I was happy to be away from mischief, but this may bother some.

I love this place and never would have found it or stopped were it not for Harvest Hosts.








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Old 10-31-2021, 03:45 PM   #2
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The names of hosts are not given to non Havest Hosts members for a reason.

You may have violated the programs terms and conditions.
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Old 10-31-2021, 04:25 PM   #3
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We are still in the learning and exploring stage of RV'ing.
At first exposure, HH seemed "forced" as you mentioned.
Places such as are great to hear about. Thanks
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Old 10-31-2021, 05:15 PM   #4
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Originally Posted by EA37TS View Post
The names of hosts are not given to non Havest Hosts members for a reason.

You may have violated the programs terms and conditions.
I’ll check with HH immediately. Their partners (such as the wend lands on YouTube) share host info all the time, so I thought I wasn’t to share lists. My bad - wait for update next I’ll take down the post immediately if they request it.
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Old 10-31-2021, 05:34 PM   #5
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Variety

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Originally Posted by happy View Post
We are still in the learning and exploring stage of RV'ing.
At first exposure, HH seemed "forced" as you mentioned.
Places such as are great to hear about. Thanks
We use HH intermittently and have found it a good addition to the mix. We much prefer the hosts that are museums and businesses of one sort or another. When out for months, we tend to stay at destinations, such as a national park or a beautiful COE campground, for 2-4 days, then on the road en route to some major event (family gathering, concert, etc.). Every other week or so we’re in a small RV park with good laundry and WiFi. When driving and in need of overnight it’s either a HH or cabellas or rest stop. I’m always fascinated by the variety of travel patterns for RVers!
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Old 10-31-2021, 06:03 PM   #6
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Originally Posted by Suki View Post
We use HH intermittently and have found it a good addition to the mix. We much prefer the hosts that are museums and businesses of one sort or another. When out for months, we tend to stay at destinations, such as a national park or a beautiful COE campground, for 2-4 days, then on the road en route to some major event (family gathering, concert, etc.). Every other week or so we’re in a small RV park with good laundry and WiFi. When driving and in need of overnight it’s either a HH or cabellas or rest stop. I’m always fascinated by the variety of travel patterns for RVers!
How do you easily find COE campgrounds?
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Old 10-31-2021, 06:26 PM   #7
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https://www.thorforums.com/forums/sh...&postcount=666

An internal Thorforum link to our stay last night at a harvest host.
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Old 10-31-2021, 08:06 PM   #8
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Originally Posted by sportcoupe View Post
How do you easily find COE campgrounds?
The Allstays app has a unique symbol for COE campgrounds- the letters ACE superimposed over their castle logo. Just scan over to where you want to go and look for the symbol, usually around COE built lakes.

David
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Old 10-31-2021, 10:06 PM   #9
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Amazon has a couple different COE guides .... atlas.
They are good old fashioned paper.
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Old 11-01-2021, 01:57 PM   #10
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Finding COE campgrounds

Campgroundreviews.com (which stands alone and is also integrated into rvtripwizard), allows you to filter your searches, including by COE campgrounds.

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Old 12-04-2021, 10:42 PM   #11
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Harvest Hosts OK

Quote:
Originally Posted by EA37TS View Post
The names of hosts are not given to non Havest Hosts members for a reason.

You may have violated the programs terms and conditions.
I checked in with Harvest Hosts, not wanting to violate their terms of service. A downside is that they aren't very quick at answering email! But, here is their response: "This is not a violation of the TOS in any way, but we do encourage that you obtain the Host's permission on what details they would like shared. Many Hosts would love to have the advertising! We share on our public Facebook pages images and names of our Host locations, so we ensure that you are ok to speak about your favorite experiences!" I had asked at the host, so we're in the good. Thanks for prompting me to check!
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