When it comes to premier camping, frequent RVers say there’s nowhere like the South to hitch up and enjoy the outdoors. Campgrounds in Georgia, Florida, North Carolina, and Tennessee were among the top winners in the 2024 RVshare.com Campies awards, based on an August 2024 public vote.
Taking the top spot as the best luxury RV resort and best winter escape campground is Camp Margaritaville Auburndale, located between Orlando and Tampa Bay. This unique campground offers 326 RV sites, including 11 “Motorhome Suite” sites. Each space offers full hookups for travelers, along with free cable and Wi-Fi throughout the campground. In addition to easy access to Central and Western Florida attractions, amenities include two pools and a waterslide, a kids park, pickleball and basketball courts, and a fitness center.
For those looking to get out in the summer with their pets, the public survey says there’s no better place than the RiverWalk RV Park in Jonesville, N.C. Earning awards as the best summer escape campground and best pet-friendly campground, the campground is located in Yadkin Valley Wine Country, within driving distance to three state parks. The campground itself features riverside RV spaces and a beachfront dedicated for dogs to play in the water.
Two other North Carolina RV parks earned honors in the awards. The ever-popular Jellystone Park Golden Valley in Bostic, N.C, just west of Charlotte, won the award for best campground views. The Cape Hatteras / Outer Banks KOA Resort in Rodanthe, N.C., won for the best waterfront campground for its location on the Outer Banks peninsula along the Atlantic Ocean.
When it comes to traveling throughout the nation’s parks, Skidaway Island State Park in Savannah, Ga., was named the best state park campground. Among national parks, Elkmont Campground – situated in the heart of the Great Smoky Mountains in Gatlinburg, Tenn. – won honors for the best national park campground.
The only campground in the north to earn honors was the Mendota Hills Campground in Amboy, Ill. Located west of Chicago, the campground features regular weekend events across their 130 acres of wooded and open land. Small wonder, then, that it was voted the best family-friendly campground.
