Harvest Hosts - RV Camping Reviews

Harvest Host was advertised as a way to stay at unique and safe locations while maintaining a style of roaming freedom that is part of the appeal of RV Camping. However, it seems due to its growing popularity, it’s pretty much impossible to book same-day stays through Harvest Host anymore. Most sites were booked out for a month at least!

We paid the annual subscription and attempted to use HarvestHosts along a drive, but after calling every host within a specific radius in California, no one has availability. Some hosts seemed apologetic about it while others seemed exasperated at the stress load of managing RV hosting. We ended up finding 1 host about 1 1/2 hrs out of the way, so we were able to experience at least 1 host site but for the price and promise, we were expecting a different travel experience buying into the Harvest Host subscription.

I’d like to think this is just growing pains for Harvest Host and that eventually we can go back to easily booking same night stays. But most likely, given the way campsites book out months in advance in California, Harvest Host will likely end up going the same route and be an exclusive book-in-advance-only system. Wish I could take back my annual subscription purchase. Not sure we’ll ever be able to use this again.

Thanks to our hosts Dave and Diane for a wonderful shaded spot to spend our evening. Upon arrival Diane greeted and invited us for a wine tour by Meg who was very knowledgable and explained much of the local history including Bacon’s Castle and Hog Island. Dave joined us and took us on an extended tour of the farm and wine making facility. The goats entertained us with their antics of climbing the goat tower getting ready to retire for the evening. After having a large lunch earlier that day we opted for a simple dinner of baggette, cheese, snacks and Hampton Roads Winery wine purchased from their shop. The next day we took Meg’s suggestion and visited Bacon’s Castle followed by lunch at Surry Seafood. We also took a few bottles of Bacon’s Castle Red and other wines home with us. Our first Host experience was very positive! Many thanks!

We love this concept and when we paid for the membership last summer, we were ecstatic to try it out. Sadly, we have never been able to. We have tried nearly a dozen times (each time a different host) to reserve a night stay, and each time we have been unsuccessful. A couple of hosts said they had no availability for the foreseeable future, and the other host we contacted simply did not return our calls or respond at all. I understand, COVID made things more difficult for awhile, but then why charge people for a membership that they cannot use? I had a membership with a gym when the pandemic started and they put it on hold, I had a membership with a coffee roaster and when their factory had to shut down during COVID they put my membership on hold... but not Harvest Hosts. When I contacted their customer support they did not offer anything. They didn’t acknowledge any of our experiences or even mention them in their response. They only said they had taken us off of automatic renewal and would not be billed again. Disappointing is an understatement. But I am giving 2 stars because the creative concept is a great idea, if it actually worked.

Have only been a member for 9 months, but have stayed with 8 hosts. All but one were amazing!!! The properties were beautiful, the hosts were very welcoming, social and helpful. Many went above and beyond to make sure we were comfortable and show us around to teach us about their crops or animals.
Their products for sale were always quality. And many have websites to reorder if you would like.
Because of HH we have seen areas and met people we never would have if we were only staying in campgrounds or hotels/motels.
We have made friends with other campers we met at HH locations and stayed in touch with plans to meet up again.
I would definitely recommend HH! We LOVE it!

The reason I joined Harvest Host was when I visited the Six Sigma Winery over a year ago and staff told me about the program. I went home and signed up. This was my first trip staying there. I have a truck/camper so I was able to stay up next to a barn above the tasting room. It was quiet and the view was beautiful! I walked over 5 miles the first evening and a bit less the next night.

Patty was an awesome contact- we had a great conversation and I bought a few bottles of wine and chorizo sausage. They have 4 spots and most of them were occupied by Harvest Host folks.

I used Six Sigma as a home base and went wine tasting and hiking in and near Kelseyville during the day. I highly recommend this location!!!

As brand new RV’rs and brand new Harvest host members I was hopeful the membership would be beneficial.

Our very first long distance trip was from Detroit area of Michigan to South Rim Grand Canyon to St George Utah Zion Nat Park and then back to MI. All in 15 days.

We alternated two Harvest host and then campground, two harvest and then a campground for a total of 4 harvest host on the way to the Canyon and 3 harvest host plus other venues on the way back to Mi.

I have to say it was near flawless. Only one Harvest Host refused to accommodate us and that was due to Covid restrictions in the state of New Mexico.

All the hosts we used were right on and off the main freeways which also made it even efficient and timely.

Whenever a harvest host was open for business we always visited and made a purchase when appropriate.

Because of how well it all worked I just added the additional golf course optional section to our membership.

We are planning a month or two trip in 2021 and no doubt are very pleased to look forward to using the Harvest Host accommodations.

Long time RVers, new HH users. I read about it on a forum for RVers. Currently traveling around the perimeter of the U.S. from home (Florida) clockwise until we get back home. In northern CA and looking for something different in an area with few parks that sounded appealing to us. I reached out through HarvestHosts , got a quick acceptance from a “host” with a very interesting and unusual farm. Our first HH stay is in 4 nights. I appreciate the communication from HH HQ. Regular reminders about how to be respectful guests on the properties we visit.

HarvestHosts and process seem to work well. HH is on its way to complementing the other tools I use to plan trips and book sites.

This is in Albany Oregon. A cool spot to hand out, with hard working and friendly employees. Laura was very nice and accommodating. I sampled several brews and a couple of whiskeys. The beer was very good. Whiskey wasn’t to my taste, but to each their own. There were people playing ping pong and shuffleboard. There was also a party going on at one end of the large room. Very friendly, mostly local crowd. I found a concrete pad to park our trailer on at the West end of property by a fence, nice and level. Next morning was an easy unobstructed, short backup of the trailer in order to leave. I would definitely recommend!

Harvest Host has made it so easy and safe for us to find these amazing places to stay. It’s such a win win for the host and the guest because it’s likely that we may have not discovered a winery, a brewery, a farm, etc… had it. It been for HH. We most frequently feel like we’re on vacation in our van, even when we’re officially not. Such an awesome concept that works great. Thank you for creating this opportunity through a simple, fun clean app and the cost, which comes to less than one hotel stay. Like I said, win win. I’d give 💯 stars if I could! ⭐️ 🌟 ⭐️

What a great stay. The grounds are immaculate. The people that work their are so friendly. We ate at the restaurant and it was awesome! These are great grounds to walk around on. Our 5th wheel faced a small lake with lots of green grass. Sat and Sunday’s they have music on the patio. Small market for extra goodies and a 50’s diner for ice cream treats! You can’t go wrong staying there. We will def go back as it’s so peaceful. Huber’s winery and distillery is just around the corner...no RV parking there. They have a great farmers market. Wines and whiskey are the best we’ve found so far! Both are a must to see when in the area. Thank you for a great stay!!

What a nice experience we had today. This was our first HH experience and it did not disappoint . We left ct drove thru the night arrive in the am looking to get some rest and do it all over again. We were greeted by eric he gave us all kind of options as to where we wanted to park and we parked overlooking the vineyard , how very nice , then after a nap we were ready to sample some wines again it did not disappoint all so good it was hard to divide on one so I decided on 3. Such a nice place I would love to come back to the area and spend more time. Thanks again for hosting us ...

We recently purchased a vintage airstream and found HH through Instagram; we just enjoyed our first two HH stays over Thanksgiving weekend and are so excited to explore more! What a VERY fun and cool idea... I love that we can easily find places we wouldn’t otherwise know about, and get to support small businesses, while also staying in such beautiful and interesting spots! We’ve already recommended HH to many friends and will continue to spread the good word! Can’t wait until our next trip!! 🙌🏼

Before the merger, I was able to find BDW hosts and places to stay easily in the BDW app. (BoondockersWelcome) I also stayed at some HH places before the merger with the HH app. However after the merger, oddly every BDW host I choose (in the latest HH app) does not have dates available for me to choose on the online request. I usually look for today and tomorrow. Please tell us there is or will be a way to do this on the HH app (iOS iPhone): to search for hosts based on the hosts available dates. That was possible in the BDW app and or was very user friendly. I can't believe this feature is not available in the new HH app. To me, this makes HarvestHosts very unusable and I can't recommend this framework to anyone until this gap is corrected.

The latest update is awful. Locations used to pop up when you looked at the map. Now you need to put in a location, which I don’t always have when I’m traveling around. When I do put in a location it tells me no hosts were found but I know there are hosts there as the website map tells me there is. Which the website requires a route or location too. Locations should just show when looking at the map like they used to. It helps me better plan routes and trips.

The road leading to the winery is very low with trees hanging over the road ( 33 ). My rig hit a lot of branches. I am about 13’ tall. When we arrived it was pouring with rain. The gravel road looked pretty narrow with big puddles and turning around looked very difficult. This is what the owner explained when we called. I was towing so my 40’ rig with a jeep in tow made me uneasy and I decided it would be prudent not to attempt access. The place looked quite loverly and I was looking forward to a glass of mead but alas, my desire did not outweigh my fear. My suggestion is to limit the parking to a rig no longer than 30’. Just my opinion.

On a cross country trip, we had our first experiences with Harvest Host, it was truly a wonderful experience!
Each place we stayed was a treasure and a unique experience. We stayed at wineries, a cider farm, an Alpaca farm and a wonderful Air and Space Museum, my view out my window was a space capsule. All the Hosts were helpful and friendly.
Harvest Host has grown and there are many more places we look forward to exploring. What a nice way to travel and to
get off the highway and experience towns and places you might not see otherwise.

I live in Los Angeles, CA. One of the biggest cities in America. There is nothing nearby. And then if you drive up to Santa Barbara county (huge wine region. Hundreds of wineries) there is absolutely zero places to stay. We’re currently in NAPA. The one place that they should have harvest hosts. They have ZERO hosts in Napa valley. There are two semi nearby. One 30 min away and one over an hour. To advertise yourself as a winery stay app. (I understand there are breweries and farms, golf, etc) it’s a crime not to have hosts in America’s premier wine region. Basically THE region that America is known for. It’s just extremely disappointing to pay for a app that has nothing to accommodate you. Obviously it’s why they don’t let you see the map before you pay. Feels scamish.

For a modest annual fee you have hundreds of optional places to overnight. We have stayed in about 15 from New Mexico, Nevada, California and Oregon. The majority are wonderful places to stop. A few are just parking lots and a few require you to spend money. Some of the wineries have high fees for tasting, $20/person. Most are in the $10 range and do not require it. Check them out ahead of time to know their policies.

We have recommended this service to a number or RVers.

My husband found this spot on your app. It was the most relaxing and beautiful places. The location was outstanding and the gorgeous views were breathtaking. We did a wine sampling and enjoyed talking with the winemaker. We bought two lovely bottles of wine. The owners, Neil and Cindy are obviously hands on people. Neil told us the farm is 175 years old. Isn’t that incredible? We thought so. We enjoyed so much learning about the farm’s history. We greatly appreciated the hospitality and thank you for sharing your amazing farm with us!

Being a harvest host member is a privilege and a treat. Unfortunately, HarvestHosts could be a lot better especially in the search feature. Sometimes, the ratio of the locator dot to the amount of harvest host locations obscures where one is on the map in favor of what one is looking for. Also, it would be nice to be able to see the listings not only on the map but also in a list view inside of the parameters that one searches. It is a little tedious to have to touch every single location to see what it is specifically other than just a farm, winery, museum, etc.

The “new” app worked fine. Then there was an update. Worked for awhile, then no locations would show up. Repeatedly stated “no internet connection”. Logged out and back in. Still nothing. Finally deleted app and reloaded another “new app” per Harvest Host email. Works again. They announced a yearly fee increase from $49 to $79 beginning January 1, 2019 because they have put on more staff to make a better experience for members. I’ve added reviews and photos 3 separate times for the same 2 vineyards, received email acknowledgement on all. After 2 weeks, still not posted. Maybe the member dues should have doubled to hire quality staff

We stayed at the Horizon Golf Coarse last night. We got there about 1pm. Spoke to the gentleman at the golf pro shop. He was very nice and helpful. We parked in front of the driving range. The area was quiet and really had a nice view.

We had lunch in their restaurant. Food was very good and the meal price was also good. The restaurant had a fireplace that was really unique. Very cool! Also the restaurant looked over the golf coarse.

Definitely a great spot to stop at. I would highly recommend it.

We rolled in weary and found a well lit level lot. The sun rise was beautiful coming up on the airplanes. This is a hidden gem. If you are a military buff you will love it. The curator was friendly and knowledgeable. Allow extra time to enjoy your stay. We did not call ahead. They have 110 and water if you need it. They have an emergency number up on the door if you need to contact them. Train track is near but not a problem.

Became members last year but did not use it. Finally decided to try it out. We got soft start installed on AC so only needed a small generator to power this 35 ft 5th wheel toy hauler. So far we stayed two nights one at a Cavern the other at a winery. I now will take this into consideration when I plan our trips so we can avoid paying for a quick single night stay and we will stay away from Walmart’s. App works great!!!

We’ve used HarvestHosts now several times on a 3-month trip through Canada and Alaska where hosts are less numerous—we’ve had amazing hosts. It’s always a more personal experience, like staying with a friend who has a nice place to park your RV. HarvestHosts is simple to use and fast to load, you get the contact info and you’re on your own to work things out with the host. Civilized.

We utilized Harvest Host for the first time last night as we just purchased a new RV. HarvestHosts is user-friendly and provides a nice description of each host. The reservation process was quick and easy with great accommodations and product offerings. We look forward to our trip to ME next month where we will again stay at several Harvest Host locations.

We just pulled out of 1812 Brewery and enjoyed another amazing evening. We were disappointed that it was too late (Traffic) to have one of their great craft beers. We had stopped earlier this summer and enjoyed their offering greatly. Cody is a great guy and this beautiful spot is a welcome respite. Work the drive, just take your time. You will be very pleased you stopped, enjoyed a beer, a bite and a pastoral setting for the night.

We were delighted with our stay at this boutique winery. We missed the tasting room cutoff, but Gregg opened up,shop for a private tasting and it was fun to meet and get to know about this winery. We parked right next to the field on a grassy patch- which our dogs thoroughly enjoyed, then sipped delicious Huston wine around our portable fire pit before getting back on the road for the last leg of our adventure.