In this Thousand Trails review I’m going to be talking about Thousand Trails campground memberships.

Specifically, we’re going to be talking about the pros and the cons of using Thousand Trails campgrounds.

And I’ll cover the various ways to become a Thousand Trails member and use their program.

Also, we will provide information about our experiences with Thousand Trails overall. And whether or not it has saved us money.

Now when you go online, you are going to find that there are some RVing subjects that are controversial.

Well this is one of those subjects. There’s lots of Thousand Trails complaints to be found online.

About whether they provide the kind of value that you would hope and expect.

Especially for the money that you invest in one of their memberships.

But even if Thousand Trails campgrounds do save money on camping costs, there are still some other questions that have to be answered.

For instance, do they provide all the amenities you are hoping for? And are they a good value for the money that you invest into a membership?

Those are very good questions that I will answer in this article. But before I do, you need to see the Thousand Trails memberships explained first.

Because you can’t really understand the pros and cons of Thousand Trails membership levels without knowing what they are. So let’s get started.

2025 UPDATE NOTICE – This article has been updated to include the latest Thousand Trails memberships. And a LOT has changed just recently in what Thousand Trails offers, so be sure to find out about the new changes as I explain them in this article.

Table of Contents

• How Does Thousand Trails Work?
• Huge Changes In Thousand Trails Memberships For 2025
• Thousand Trails Review Of The Regional Camping Pass
• Thousand Trails Regional Camping Pass Rules
• Who Should Get A Thousand Trails Regional Camping Pass?
• Where Can You Use Your Regional Camping Pass?
• Our Thousand Trails Review Of The Trails Collection
• The Rules And Benefits Of The Trails Collection
• How Much Does The Thousand Trails Trails Collection Cost?
• Thousand Trails Journey Membership
• How Much Does A Thousand Trails Journey Membership Cost?
• Who Should Get A Thousand Trails Journey Membership?
• Thousand Trails Explore Membership
• How Much Does A Thousand Trails Explore Membership Cost?
• Who Should Get A Thousand Trails Explore Membership Upgrade?
• Thousand Trails Adventure Membership
• How Much Does A Thousand Trails Adventure Membership Cost?
• Who Should Get The Thousand Trails Adventure Membership?
• Our Thousand Trails Review Of The Trails Collection Plus
• What’s The Main Benefits Of The Trails Collection Plus?
• How To Save On Thousand Trails Memberships
• Why This Is The Best Way To Buy A Thousand Trails Membership
• Comparing Thousand Trails To Other RV Parks And Campgrounds
• How Part-Time And Full-Time Travelers Can Save Money
• Our Thousand Trails Review Of Used Memberships
• A Market For Used Thousand Trails Memberships
• Our Thousand Trails Review – Is Thousand Trails Right For You Or Not?
• Our Thousand Trails Review – The Pros
• Thousand Trails Pro #2 – Campsites
• Thousand Trails Pro #3 – Reservations
• Thousand Trails Pro #4 – The Trails Collection
• Thousand Trails Pro #5 – Friendly People
• Thousand Trails Review Con #1 – Locations
• Thousand Trails Cons #2 – Park Conditions
• Thousand Trails Review Cons #3 – Seasonal Campers
• Thousand Trails Cons #4 – Rustic Campsites
• Thousand Trails Review Cons #5 – Initial Investment
• Thousand Trails Cons #6 – Confusing Options
• Who Should Get A Thousand Trails Membership?
• Other RVers That Benefit From Thousand Trails Too
• Another Point – What Kind Of Campsite Do You Prefer?
• Our Thousand Trails Review About Our Experience In The System
• Our Thousand Trails Review – How Has It worked Out For Us So Far?
• The First Year Of Our Thousand Trails Membership
  • • Our first trip costs
    • Our stay in the northeast
    • Our second trip costs
    • Our third trip costs
• Our Thousand Trails Review About The Total Savings Using Thousand Trails
• What About Weekly And Monthly Rate Savings At Other RV Parks?
• Our Thousand Trails Review – Adding In Our Yearly Dues
• Our Thousand Trails Review – Adding In Our Membership Costs
• What About The Cost Of The Trails Collection?
• What About The Savings You Get With Boondocking?
• A 2025 Thousand Trails Review Update
• How To Get The Best Membership Deal In 2025
• Our Thousand Trails Review Conclusion

How Does Thousand Trails Work?

I can’t tell you how many times I have heard Thousand Trails memberships explained by some as a time share.

But that is not a very good explanation of how Thousand Trails works. And I know because I have owned time shares myself.

In a typical time share, you buy a week or weeks at a resort. And you are only entitled to stay for the week(s) you bought at that particular resort.

Of course, if you join an exchange program you can trade your week(s) to stay elsewhere. But you still only have the week(s) you bought to trade.

Thousand Trails memberships don’t work like that at all. Instead, you can use a membership to stay at qualifying campgrounds any time of the year.

And you don’t have to exchange anything. You can use the same membership in RV parks all across the country.

And Thousand Trails has a lot of campgrounds in their program.

So you can travel throughout the U.S. and use your Thousand Trails membership as often as you like.

Or as often as the Thousand Trails rules allow for the membership you bought.

OK, now that you know how it works, let’s make sure that the Thousand Trails memberships are explained clearly.

Huge Changes In Thousand Trails Memberships For 2025

The first thing I need to cover here is important for anyone who has considered Thousand Trails before now.

Because what you may be used to seeing with Thousand Trails has changed a lot.

So here are the big changes from their past memberships to the ones they are offering now:

• No more lifetime memberships. I know that’s hard to imagine. But now all upgraded memberships are only available for a 2 year term or a 4 year term.
  
• At the end of your term, you have a choice to make. (1) you can buy another term of the level that you currently have, (2) you can upgrade or downgrade your membership level and term, (3) or you can stop your membership in Thousand Trails altogether.
  
• You cannot resell the new memberships. Since they only last for 2 or 4 years, you can’t resell them to someone else on the used market.
  
• The upgraded memberships are all-inclusive. That means there are no added yearly dues in the cost of the membership. And the Trails Collection of Encore resorts is included in the cost of each upgraded membership too.

So those are big changes in the way that Thousand Trails offers their memberships.

But no Thousand Trails review is complete without discussing their various membership options in detail. So here we go.

Thousand Trails Review Of The Regional Camping Pass

The most basic Thousand Trails membership level is the Regional Camping Pass.

It used to be called the Thousand Trails Zone Pass, but they have changed the name.

As of 2025, the Thousand Trails Regional Camping Pass costs $755 for a whole year of camping.

But that figure assumes that no discounts have been applied. And there are ways to get this membership for less.

But I’ll discuss that later in this Thousand Trails review.

Thousand Trails Regional Camping Pass Rules

So what are the Thousand Trails Regional Camping Pass rules? Well, here they are:

• You can stay at any Thousand Trails campground for up to 14 nights at a time. And it will cost you $0/night to do so in most cases.
• You may only stay at Thousand Trails parks that are within a region (or defined area). And you get to choose the region you want from 5 areas in the US.
• If you only stay 4 nights or less, you can move from one Thousand Trails campground to another. And there would be no need for time spent outside the system.
• If you stay 5 nights or longer in one campground, you must be outside the system for 7 days. After that, you can stay again at another Thousand Trails campground.
• You can make reservations for a stay at any Thousand Trails campground up to 60 days in advance.
• You can add the Trails Collection of Encore RV resorts for $450/year undiscounted.

Who Should Get A Thousand Trails Regional Camping Pass?

If you are not familiar with Thousand Trails memberships at all, this is a good place to start. In fact, this is where we started with Thousand Trails.

One of the great things is it allows you to learn how the system works. And you don’t have to invest a lot of money to do that.

It works very well for RV campers who like to camp on weekends or vacations. And it can also work well for some part-time RV campers too.

According to the latest figures, most RVers use their RV for a total of about 30 days a year.

So even if you get a Camping Pass at full price with no discounts, that averages out to about $25/night. That’s a pretty good value these days!

And the cost will of course be less if you get a discount on the Camping Pass. And I’ll explain how to do that later in this article.

So what happens if you decide that you don’t care for the Thousand Trails system though? Well in that case, just cancel your Camping Pass renewal. It’s that simple.

However, if you want to use it again for another year, it will automatically renew.

Where Can You Use Your Regional Camping Pass?

There are 5 defined zones of Thousand Trails campgrounds in the US.

They are the Northeast, Southeast, Midwest, Southwest, and Northwest zones. And you can view them here on this Thousand Trails Zones Map.

As you can see, most of the campgrounds in the system are closer to the US coasts. There is not a lot of them available in the middle of the country.

But if you live in or plan to vacation a lot in any of the five zones, a Regional Camping Pass could be a very good choice for you.

Now, only one zone is included when you get your Thousand Trails Camping Pass though. However, you can add zones for $125 per zone.

So if you lived in North Carolina, you could get the Southeast zone included in your Camping Pass membership.

But you might want to add on the Northeast zone too for another $125.

By adding zones, it extends your camping possibilities within the Thousand Trails network.

And lets you have more opportunity to use your Camping Pass in more places.

But remember that the number of parks you have access to can be increased by a lot in a different way.

And that’s by adding the Trails Collection to the Regional Camping Pass. So let’s talk about what the Trails Collection is.

Our Thousand Trails Review Of The Trails Collection

The Trails Collection is an add-on that can enhance the Regional Camping Pass. And give you more RV parks to stay in each night.

It is a group of RV resorts managed by Thousand Trails Encore. There are 110+ resorts that can be added to the 80+ Thousand Trails parks.

And these Encore parks are spread all across the country. The only downside is that they are again located mainly on the US coastal areas.

But that means that by adding the Trails Collection package, you could have nearly 200 resorts and RV parks for camping. And that is pretty impressive.

Just look at the map below to see the Thousand Trails Encore resorts across the country.

The Rules And Benefits Of The Trails Collection

So here are the rules and benefits of adding the Trails Collection to a Regional Camping Pass.

• You can stay up to 14 nights at a Trails Collection park
• You must then exit the Encore resort system for 7 days
• After the 7 days are up you can stay at another Encore resort for up to 14 days
• You can however move from an Encore resort directly to a Thousand Trails park without exiting the system and vice versa
• Most Encore resort campsites can be reserved at $0/night. But some charge up to $20/night extra
• There are a small number of resorts in the Trails Collection that are age qualified at 55 years of age
• The longest reservation window for these resorts is 60 days in advance

How Much Does The Thousand Trails Trails Collection Cost?

So how much does it cost to add on the Thousand Trails Trails Collection to the Regional Camping Pass?

As of 2025, the annual cost of this add-on is $450.

So for $450 you can increase your number of available parks by more than double the amount in the Thousand Trails membership system alone.

An important thing to keep in mind is that all the memberships I will discuss from here forward will include the Trails Collection.

There will not be any extra fee charged for adding it to the upgraded memberships. Because it’s already included in the price for each one.

Thousand Trails Journey Membership

OK, let’s suppose that you have used your Regional Camping Pass for a while, and you like what you see.

And you have decided to camp in your RV even more often throughout the year as you travel.

If so, you can think about upgrading your Thousand Trails membership level. And the next one in line is the Journey membership.

And here are the Thousand Trails Journey membership benefits and rules:

• You can stay in any Thousand Trails park for up to 21 days without moving.
• You can then transfer directly to another Thousand Trails park. And you don’t have to spend any time outside the system to do so.
• You also can now stay at all 80+ campgrounds in the network. So there is no more need for zones to stay in. You have the whole country included in your membership.
• You can extend any stay for an extra week after 21 days two times per year for $29 each time.
• Your window for making reservations extends to 120 days (4 months). And that’s a great improvement over the Regional Camping Pass.
• The Trails Collection of Encore parks is included in the cost of the Journey membership.

How Much Does A Thousand Trails Journey Membership Cost?

If you have a Regional Camping Pass already, you can upgrade at any time to the Journey membership.

And as of 2025, the cost of this membership level is $2,000 per year for a 2 year term. And $1800 per year for a 4 year term.

But those figures, like all of the costs I give you in this article, is undiscounted.

So you may be able to get it for less. And I will discuss that later in this Thousand Trails review article.

Of course, you may be able to get a discount for the remaining time left on your Regional Camping Pass too.

And you can pay for the membership in cash. But you can also finance it through Thousand Trails too.

Typically financing your membership upgrade requires a minimum 10% down payment. And there’s no interest applied to the remaining balance.

And the option to finance an upgraded membership applies to all of them.

This is a great option for many RVers. And maybe it’s something that could help you afford an upgraded membership as well.

Keep in mind that unlike past upgraded memberships, no additional yearly fees are added.

So there will be no dues to pay, and the Trails Collection is included in the cost of the Journey membership.

Who Should Get A Thousand Trails Journey Membership?

Well, now we are getting into the area where full-time and part-time RVers benefit most.

Obviously, the membership cost is more up front. But if you travel and camp a lot, it may be a very good choice to control your camping costs.

And as camping nightly fees keep rising in the years ahead, this is a way to lock in lower costs for future years.

Thousand Trails Explore Membership

Next in the membership upgrade path is the Thousand Trails Explore membership level.

And here are the benefits and rules for that membership upgrade:

• You can stay in any Thousand Trails park for up to 21 days without moving.
• You can then transfer directly to another Thousand Trails park. And you don’t have to spend any time outside the system to do so.
• You also can now stay at all 80+ campgrounds in the network. You have the whole country included in your membership.
• You can extend any stay for an extra week after 21 days two times per year for $29 each time.
• Your window for making reservations extends to 150 days (5 months).
• The Trails Collection is included in the cost of the Explore membership.

Obviously, the big draw of this membership is the 150 day camping reservation window.

This allows you to reserve campsites a month earlier than the Journey members.

And as more people come into the RV lifestyle, that benefit will only get better over time.

Otherwise, this membership is pretty much the same as the Journey.

But it also comes with some perks that include added annual cabin stays in the Thousand Trails system. And some family perks as well.

Also, you can use the no-interest financing option for this upgraded membership too.

How Much Does A Thousand Trails Explore Membership Cost?

As of 2025, the Thousand Trails Explore membership costs $3,000 per year for a 2 year term. And $2,700 per year for a 4 year term.

But later on in this Thousand Trails review, I’ll show you how you can get this membership for less.

Who Should Get A Thousand Trails Explore Membership Upgrade?

Once again, full-time and part-time RVers benefit most from this membership.

Especially since the upgrade cost has increased at this point. And that puts it farther out of the reach of many weekend and vacation RV travelers.

But it also works well for those that travel a lot and like to have flexibility in their travel plans.

And it’s helpful if you like to stay at Thousand Trails and Encore parks that are popular. That’s because you have an extra 30 day reservation window.

Thousand Trails Adventure Membership

So now we get to the top of the upgrade path. And that is the Thousand Trails Adventure Membership level.

And here are the membership benefits and rules for this upgrade:

• You can stay in any Thousand Trails park for up to 21 days without moving.
• You can then transfer directly to another Thousand Trails park. And you don’t have to spend any time outside the system to do so.
• You also can now stay at all 80+ campgrounds in the network. So there is no more need for zones to stay in. You have the whole country included in your membership.
• You can extend any stay for an extra week after 21 days four times per year during off-peak times for $29 each time. And two times annually during on-peak times for $99 each time.
• Your window for making reservations extends to 180 days (6 months).
• You have special privileges at RV resorts in the Thousand Trails Trails Collection Plus.

So as you can see, the main benefits of the Adventure membership is pretty much the same as the Journey and Explore memberships.

But there is a big difference. And that has to do with the Thousand Trails Trails Collection Plus.

And that is a group of Encore RV Resorts that are also available for camping reservations.

In the Thousand Trails Adventure membership you get special privileges in those parks.

Just skip farther down in this article and I will explain what those privileges are.

But there are also more benefits in the form of extra annual cabin stays too. And additional family perks as well.

How Much Does A Thousand Trails Adventure Membership Cost?

As of 2025, the cost for this top level membership is $4,000 per year for a 2 year term. And $3,600 per year for a 4 year term.

These are undiscounted costs. But look farther down in this Thousand Trails review to find out about savings on this membership.

Clearly, that is a bigger investment for many RVers. But as I said above, the main attraction is the addition of the special privileges at the parks in the Trails Collection Plus.

But there are no added yearly dues to pay. And no additional cost for the Trails Collection Plus either.

And once again, the cost of this membership can be financed with a no-interest payment.

Who Should Get The Thousand Trails Adventure Membership?

Obviously, the cost of this membership is higher. And that means that most weekend and vacation RVers would not benefit from it.

But if you are a full or part-time RV traveler, it could be well be worth it. Especially if you like to have the largest reservation window possible.

It also appeals to those who want an extensive list of RV resorts and campgrounds to choose from.

And you will see why that is true in the next section. So let’s explain the benefits of the Trails Collection Plus that is included in the Adventure.

Our Thousand Trails Review Of The Trails Collection Plus

Remember I said that the Thousand Trails Adventure members get special privileges in the Trails Collection?

Well, it’s called the Trails Collection Plus. And here are the benefits, rules and costs of the program:

• You can stay up to 21 nights in the Encore park system
• You can move from one Encore park directly to another without staying outside the system at all
• Your reservation window for campsites extends to 90 days in advance
• This add-on is only available with an Adventure membership. And it’s included in the cost of the membership.

What’s The Main Benefits Of The Trails Collection Plus?

Of course, the ability to stay longer at each Encore resort is a big plus.

Your stay moves from a 14 day maximum with other memberships to a 21 day maximum instead.

And for many, being able to move seamlessly from Encore to Encore park and back without any time outside the system is huge!

I know that as full-time RVers, we lobbied for this kind of benefit regularly.

Remember though, that the Trails Collection Plus is only available to Thousand Trails Adventure membership owners.

So you can’t access its benefits on any other Thousand Trails membership at any price.

How To Save On Thousand Trails Memberships

OK, it’s time to explain how you can save money on Thousand Trails membership levels. That should be part of a Thousand Trails review too.

Of course, if you call Thousand Trails directly you can get a membership anytime you want.

But you won’t usually get any really good bargains that way. And you’re not really sure who you will be working with.

However, when we decided to upgrade our Thousand Trails membership, we learned about a way to save money on our purchase.

Other full-time RVers in Thousand Trails explained it to us. And I will share that insight with you now. Here is what I recommend:

Contact Joanna & Patrick Parizo by email at [email protected]

Or you can call them at 631-921-1674 or 352-396-6835.

If you work with them, you will get the best deal and the lowest prices on new Thousand Trails memberships.

Why This Is The Best Way To Buy A Thousand Trails Membership

They are very easy and pleasant to work with. Just be sure to tell them that Duane at RV Inspection And Care referred you.

You cannot get any lower discounted price on a Thousand Trails membership than what they offer you as a reader of my content.

They do represent Thousand Trails, but they bring a much more personal experience to the whole process.

And since they represent Thousand Trails at the Tampa RV Super Show each year, they always have the best discounted deals handy.

They have already helped lots of RVers save on their membership cost. And I’m sure that they can do the same for you.

Also, you won’t encounter any high pressure sales with them in the process.

Thousand Trails Review – Are The New Membership Options Worth It?

So now we have to ask the all important question. Are these new membership plans worth it or not?

To find out for sure, I think a benchmark is needed. To compare Thousand Trails costs to the normal nightly stay cost in other RV parks.

And the best figure that I know of as an average nightly RV park cost these days is about $50/night.

You may spend less for an RV park campsite. Or you may spend more.

But these days I feel pretty comfortable that $50/night is the average amount for a nightly campsite stay.

So using that figure, let’s compare nightly Thousand Trails costs to normal RV park costs.

Comparing Thousand Trails To Other RV Parks And Campgrounds

So now let’s use the $50/night benchmark to determine whether the new Thousand Trails memberships are a good deal for you, or not.

Remember the Regional Camping Pass costs $755/year. And it’s best for weekend and vacation RVers.

So at $50/night, if you stay more than 15 nights at RV parks, Thousand Trails could be a good buy.

And the latest industry figures tell us that most vacation and weekend RVers camp for an average of 30 nights a year.

If that’s the case with you, you could save money with a Regional Camping Pass.

How Part-Time And Full-Time Travelers Can Save Money

What about part-time and full-time RVers though? Are the new upgraded plans cost effective for them?

Well, the Journey membership would have to be used more than 40 nights/year to be a better deal than just staying at other campgrounds.

At least that’s the cost at the most expensive 2 year plan. And remember, that is also an undiscounted cost as well.

So you could save even more money by getting a big discount on the 4 year plan instead.

The Explore plan would call for your staying more than 60 nights to be a better deal. Once again, at the 2 year undiscounted amount.

Finally, the Adventure membership would have to be used 80+ nights to be less expensive than other campgrounds.

And that’s using the cost of the undiscounted 2 year plan.

Final Thoughts About The Cost of The New Memberships

So if you are a part-time or full-time RVer, I still feel that the new plans can be financially beneficial.

But only if you will be using the membership enough to make it a good deal.

Most part-time RVers I know are usually on the road at least 3 months a year.

And at that rate, all of the upgraded memberships could be a viable choice for them. But especially the Journey could be useful for them.

However, if you are a full-time RVer, the new plans are definitely worth it in my opinion.

Because the more you use them, the lower your nightly cost will be. And full-time RVers are often constantly staying at RV parks.

So their nightly costs can really be low in the Thousand Trails system of parks.

In fact, if an Adventure membership holder spends 300 nights a year in Thousand Trails, their nightly cost will be only $12/night.

That’s at the 4 year term undiscounted membership level. But any discount will bring that figure even lower.

And that will be using full hookups in most cases. So water, sewer, garbage and electric costs are all included.

And if you choose a lower cost membership, the costs go down from there too.

Clearly then, the new Thousand Trail upgraded memberships can still save lots of money for the right RVer.

But is there another way to get a Thousand Trails membership that may lower your costs even further in the long run?

Yes, let’s talk about that now.

Our Thousand Trails Review Of Used Memberships

Yes, there is another way to save money on Thousand Trails upgraded memberships. And that is to buy a used membership instead.

So part of my Thousand Trails review will explain how you can get a used membership too.

You see, one of the great features about past Thousand Trails upgraded memberships is that they could often be resold.

Of course, that has changed in 2025. But there are still plenty of older lifetime memberships that are available.

And since the new 2025 changes have gone into effect, the lifetime memberships have become even more attractive.

So let me show you how to find a used lifetime Thousand Trails membership now.

A Market For Used Thousand Trails Memberships

We personally had a great experience with Campground Membership Outlet when we looked into this option.

So if a used membership may be more attractive to you, contact Kimberly to find out more.

She can give you plenty of information on used Thousand Trails membership levels.

And she can explain the Thousand Trails used lifetime membership costs as well.

For us, we could have bought a used lifetime Thousand Trails Elite membership for around $4500.

But that was about six years ago and they are a little more expensive by now.

So just give her a call to talk about it. She won’t pressure you and she will be a big help all along the way.

Just tell her that Duane from RV Inspection And Care sent you. That way you can get the biggest discount on a used membership.

So up to this point, it should be clear that Thousand Trails can save the right RVer lots of money on nightly camping.

And that can be true of either a new membership or by buying a used one.

Now let’s discuss whether the Thousand Trails parks are a good fit for you or not.

Our Thousand Trails Review – Is Thousand Trails Right For You Or Not?

A Thousand Trails membership works great for some people. And it doesn’t work well for others. That’s the honest truth!

That’s why I recommend that you try the Regional Camping Pass first.

That way you can try it out before you upgrade to a more expensive option.

For us, it has been one of the best decisions we have made for our full-time RV travel life. And we know plenty of others who feel the same way.

But that doesn’t mean that Thousand Trails memberships are perfect. And we acknowledge that.

So now that we’ve covered the Thousand Trails membership levels and the costs, more is needed.

Let’s talk about the pros and cons of Thousand Trails campgrounds in our Thousand Trails review now.

Click here to visit the Thousand Trails website

Our Thousand Trails Review – The Pros

So let’s start this section of our Thousand Trails review first with the pros, or advantages.

And the number one pro, and I mean you just can’t get around it, is that $0/night cost.

When you are making reservations in the campground system in Thousand Trails and it tells you that you owe $0/night, that’s a great feeling!

So once you buy your new 2025 membership these days, that’s it for costs. And the new plans have no yearly dues or add-ons to pay for.

But of course, the annual dues for our older Thousand Trails membership at this time is about $600/year.

And the Trails Collection adds $450/year as of this writing in 2025.

But even with all of that together, spreading that cost out through the year, it’s less than $4 a night for us when we are traveling a lot.

And don’t forget that it’s the cost for camping with full hookups every night. Now, to me that’s a big pro!

So yes, Cheri and I have enjoyed full hookups including 50 amp electrical service all across the country. And that’s included in our $0/night.

That’s been pretty much our experience wherever we have gone in Thousand Trails.

Also our older Thousand Trails Elite membership allows us to go from park to park nationwide.

And we are still able to maintain that $0/night figure when we do.

But there are more pros to mention in this Thousand Trails review. Ones other than nightly camping costs.

Thousand Trails Pro #2 – Campsites

The next pro is that you can fit almost any kind of rig into Thousand Trails campsites.

I have seen them all out there, I mean everything from tents and pop-ups to the biggest rigs.

And if you have a larger rig, you have to consider whether you can fit in some campgrounds.

But with Thousand Trails it’s generally not an issue at all. It certainly has not been a problem for us. And our rig is a 40 foot diesel pusher!

Of course, there might be a few with tighter restrictions than others. But you can put almost any rig in most Thousand Trails campgrounds.

Here’s another pro in this Thousand Trails review:

Thousand Trails Pro #3 – Reservations

If you plan ahead, you can get almost any reservation, anywhere, anytime, with Thousand Trails.

Especially if you have one of their upgraded memberships.

Now I know that some folks are not big planners. They like to fly by the seat of their pants, and are more last-minute kind of people.

And that’s fine. They love to be very spontaneous, and that’s the way they like to do things.

And interestingly, they too are still able to get good results from Thousand Trails with reservations most of the time.

But if you are a planner, then it gets so much easier.

In fact, you can make reservations even in parks in high traffic regions. If you start well enough in advance.

For instance in places like Florida, Texas, and Arizona. Even in the winter time.

And many of these Thousand Trails parks are incredibly nice.

So by planning ahead you can usually get the reservations you want, when you want them.

Now as of 2025, planning is becoming even more important since RVing continues to grow in popularity.

And that is making it a little more challenging for those who like to camp spontaneously.

But making reservations in Thousand Trails well in advance still works well in most cases.

And of course, the longer reservation window your membership provides, the better and easier the process becomes.

Thousand Trails Pro #4 – The Trails Collection

Now another pro is the Trails Collection that I mentioned earlier. The 110+ Encore parks and resorts across the country.

And no Thousand Trails review should leave out this advantage.

This allows you to have access to so many more campgrounds throughout the country.

And you can visit them just like you do Thousand Trails, and stay for $0/night in most cases.

So, let’s say that you add the Trails Collection parks to your Regional Camping Pass. Or that’s it’s included in your upgraded membership.

In that case, you will now have nearly 200 campgrounds around the country to be able to stay at.

And that’s a really nice pro to have access to such a large network of campgrounds.

Thousand Trails Pro #5 – Friendly People

Now here’s something else that I’ll mention on a personal basis that is a pro to us.

And that is we have found that in the Thousand Trails system there are some really friendly people.

So if you’re friendly, and you like people, most likely you’re going to enjoy Thousand Trails.

That’s because there are lots of other folks in the system that are friendly and easy to get along with too.

But not everything is always rainbows right? As always, there’s some cons as well. So we need to talk about the cons too.

And here is the first Thousand Trails review con:

Thousand Trails Review Con #1 – Locations

One very big con is that Thousand Trails is not available everywhere in the country.

In fact, they tend to be settled mostly in the coastal areas, up the East and West Coast, and across the South.

So there’s a whole area right in the middle of the country that has no Thousand Trails parks available.

And some find it really irritating to have no Thousand Trails in areas where they like to camp.

For instance, where the national parks are in Utah, Wyoming, Montana, and Idaho.

And even going across into North and South Dakota, and then heading down into the Plains states. No Thousand Trails there.

So that is a con to many who find that very difficult to deal with. They can’t just go anywhere in the country and find a Thousand Trails park.

Thousand Trails Cons #2 – Park Conditions

Another con is that there are some parks in Thousand Trails that are not in the best shape. They should be, but some are definitely not.

However, the majority of parks that we have stayed at so far in the system have been fine.

There were a few things that we might want to see improved, but overall they were really good parks.

However, there are some parks where it’s clear that they need to be doing more work though.

And honestly, there was one park that we would not go back to at all. It’s just not being cared for.

Now, that being said, let me again say, that’s not the rule. It’s the exception.

There are many fine parks and resorts in the Thousand Trails and Encore system though.

And I have to say that we have seen evidence that Thousand Trails is investing in their parks now.

They are working to try to upgrade them and really bring all of them up to snuff again.

So hopefully in the future, some of those lower quality parks will be cared for. And if so, I will be able to say that this is not a con anymore.

Thousand Trails Review Cons #3 – Seasonal Campers

Another con that many find irritating, is that some Thousand Trail parks have lots of seasonal campers. Or even long-term residents.

Some find it very difficult to see them in a park that they are paying a membership for.

But the truth is that we’re still getting our reservation at the RV park for $0/night.

So as long as I can do that, it doesn’t bother me. But for some, it’s a real irritation.

So that could be another con with Thousand Trails Parks that needs to be considered.

But now let’s consider another possible Thousand Trails review con.

Thousand Trails Cons #4 – Rustic Campsites

Another possible con is that Thousand Trails usually will provide a rustic campsite.

So if you are not into that type of campsite, that’s a big con for you. What do I mean by rustic?

Well, it means that you’re probably going to have either a gravel or dirt campsite to park your rig on.

Of course, there are some very awesome sites set in natural settings among trees or next to lakes.

But for the most part, you’re not even going to drive around in the park on paved roads.

And there will not usually be concrete or asphalt pads to put your rig on.

So if you want a really modern upscale type park, be aware that it’s usually much more of a rustic setting in Thousand Trails.

And if you don’t like that kind of setting, it could be a problem for you.

So any unbiased and honest Thousand Trails review needs to mention this.

Thousand Trails Review Cons #5 – Initial Investment

Another con is that it does require somewhat of an investment to get one of the upgraded Thousand Trails memberships.

These are the ones that allow you to travel from park to park across the country. And I covered the membership options earlier in this article.

Generally speaking, on the used market you’re probably going to need to invest around at least $4,500 or so.

That is, as of the time of this writing in 2025. And who knows how much the used memberships will go up in the future.

Especially since they will now become more and more scarce and difficult to find.

Of course, if you are buying a new upgraded membership from Thousand Trails in 2025 it starts around $2000 per year for a 2 year term now.

However, keep in mind that there are no-interest financing options that can be available to you.

But the cost of Thousand Trails memberships keep going up. So who knows how much they will be in the years ahead.

And for some people, that is just too much money to come up with for a camping membership. So for them it’s a big con.

Thousand Trails Cons #6 – Confusing Options

And there is one more con, or disadvantage, we want to talk about. That is that there are lots of confusing options in Thousand Trails membership programs.

When you speak with the company’s membership sales this becomes very apparent.

Because with each different add-on there are also restrictions that come with it.

After a while, it actually becomes very confusing. This is because there are just so many details that have to be understood and remembered.

I explained the major benefits and rules of each Thousand Trails membership above in this article.

But there are lots of smaller rules with each membership that are not so obvious.

I didn’t get into those details because I find that in most cases it just confuses people.

And it’s the big benefits that are the most important anyway. So that’s where your focus needs to be in my opinion.

But considering a membership is not simple, and I fully understand the irritation that many RVers feel about this.

And I agree that the system should be much simpler. It should be easier for folks to be able to decide what kind of membership they want.

And it should be very clear what they’re getting. But that’s not always the case.

So having someone who is helpful and personable guide you through the purchase process is important.

For that, just check my recommendations for personal assistance earlier in this article. They are:

Contact Joanna & Patrick Parizo by email at [email protected]

Or you can call them at 631-921-1674 or 352-396-6835.

And they will be able to make the whole comparison process much easier.

But the complexity of Thousand Trails memberships is an unfortunate con to be aware of.

Who Should Get A Thousand Trails Membership?

So now let’s talk about what kind of RVer or camper best fits into the Thousand Trails system.

And this is an important part of a Thousand Trails review.

First, number one and foremost, are full-time RVers who are on a budget.

In other words, they need to keep their camping costs under control. And Thousand Trails is designed to do that really well.

Now maybe you have a lot of money. And it really doesn’t matter to you what you spend on camping costs.

Well, someone like that doesn’t necessarily have to think about getting a Thousand Trails membership.

But if you don’t fit that criteria, then it’s really good for full-timers that need to be on a budget.

It helps them watch their camping costs and keep them reasonable.

Other RVers That Benefit From Thousand Trails Too

Yet another kind of person that’s really good for a Thousand Trails membership are RVers who camp a lot on weekends or vacations.

They can get a Thousand Trails Regional Camping Pass for the year for $755 in 2025.

And for them it’s a great way to sample the system and see how it works. And it will usually save them money on camping costs too.

So even these kind of campers get benefits from Thousand Trails at the Regional Camping Pass level.

Another Point – What Kind Of Campsite Do You Prefer?

Another person that benefits from Thousand Trails is people who like rustic campgrounds. You know, they like to be in nature.

They don’t really want to be around big cities and things like that as much. In that is you, then you are going to really like Thousand Trails.

But a Thousand Trails membership is not going to benefit folks that want the best of everything in their campground membership.

And maybe you are the type of person that really wants the best luxuries and amenities. You want to go first-class.

And if you are not really flexible with not always having the best, Thousand Trails is probably not for you.

That’s because you have to be flexible and adjustable in the Thousand Trails system to be happy in it.

So you need to consider that when trying to determine your RV camping needs and wants.

Then you can decide whether they line up with what Thousand Trails actually provides or not.

Our Thousand Trails Review About Our Experience In The System

Now, Cheri and I really like Thousand Trails. It works great for us. It’s saved us a lot of money.

And our Thousand Trails review reflects that we are satisfied overall with our camping membership.

We have liked most Thousand Trails and Encore parks almost everywhere we have gone.

But we’re the kind of folks that are fairly easy to get along with on most things. And we easily adjust to most situations.

We don’t always expect the best, and we’re flexible as a result of that. So it has worked well for us.

But Thousand Trails does not work for everyone.

So we all need to be honest with ourselves about what we expect from RV campgrounds in our travels.

And that will help you make the best decision about whether a Thousand Trails membership works for you, or not.

But there is one more very important thing to explain in detail in this article.

And that is the history we have had since becoming Thousand Trails members.

Our Thousand Trails Review – How Has It worked Out For Us So Far?

OK, from here on I’ll be covering our personal experience in the Thousand Trails system.

And give you the facts and figures of our journey with them so far.

So to start with, we have been Thousand Trails members for over 5 years now.

And we didn’t want to write about this subject until we had fully experienced the Thousand Trails system.

But now we’ve been out there and we’ve camped in their system for a while.

And we have the dollars-and-cents figures worked out. So now we want to share that with you.

And by the way, these are not just opinions on what the facts and figures are. But rather, the cold hard facts on how they worked out for us.

Just keep in mind that we bought one of the older lifetime memberships in 2019.

But as I mentioned above, there are still great savings to be had with the new 2025 Thousand Trails memberships too.

So let’s go ahead and get started using our first year’s camping costs on our cross-country RVing trips.

The First Year Of Our Thousand Trails Membership

First of all, we started our trip in Arizona. Then we traveled across the bottom of the country until we got close to the east coast.

After that, we made a big turn and went right up into the Northeast. So from Arizona to our destination in New Hampshire, it was a 3300 mile trip.

We did it in one hundred days. So it took us a long time. Why? Well, we are not one of those RVers that just wants to be on the go all the time.

In fact, we think that the destination is not the only part of the journey you should enjoy.

So we like to stop and get to know the areas we’re in for a while.

And we enjoy getting out on some day trips and enjoying the culture in each part of the country.

So because of how we travel, it took us 100 days to go 3300 miles.

Now during that 100 days, we only spent 11 nights outside the Thousand Trails system.

The only reason why we went outside is because there wasn’t a Thousand Trails park in that particular area.

So now we want to look for a benchmark figure that we can use per night to know what Thousand Trails saved us on this first trip.

Our first trip costs

So on that first trip across the country, those 11 nights outside Thousand Trails averaged out to cost us between $35 and $40 a night.

That is how much it cost us to stay at conventional campgrounds on that trip a few years ago.

Of course, camping costs are even higher now in 2025. But let’s still use the lower figures from a couple of years ago that reflects our experiences then.

And keep in mind that any higher nightly cost now would make the savings even greater at this point.

So let’s use the lower average cost of $35 a night that was useful back when we first got started in Thousand Trails.

Then let’s apply it to the nights that we were in Thousand Trails instead of conventional campgrounds.

So in total, we stayed 89 nights in Thousand Trails. And if we multiply that out (89 nights times $35/night), Thousand Trails saved us $3,115 on that trip.

In other words, that’s what those nights in conventional RV parks would have cost us for 89 nights.

Because we stayed in Thousand Trails for $0/night. And that’s pretty impressive!!!!!!

Our stay in the northeast

But then we arrived in the Northeast. And we were there for about 60 days.

Out of that 60 days, we spent only 7 nights outside of Thousand Trails.

So let’s use that same benchmark figure of $35 a night for conventional campgrounds.

And that means that during the other 53 nights we stayed in Thousand Trails parks in New England, it saved us $1,855!!

Now we need to make one point here about being in the Northeast in the summertime with an RV.

And that is that if you have done that, you know that $35/night is not going to be sufficient for nightly camping. Not by a long shot!

You might find some places like that. But the reality is that it was honestly more like $50 or even close to $60 a night on average at conventional campgrounds.

And of course, these days that nightly figure for camping is even more.

But we are are still going to use that $35 a night benchmark average for campgrounds across the country. Even in New England in the summer.

As it will help explain how much our Thousand Trails membership saved us.

And it will make sure that the savings I’m covering here, if anything, are lower than what they really were.

Our second trip costs

Now after being in New England for a couple of months we left for Florida.

And our Florida trip was a 39 day trip altogether. During that time, we stayed seven nights out of the Thousand Trails system.

So once again, we will use the $35/night benchmark for the other 32 nights that was in Thousand Trails.

And if we do that, Thousand Trails saved us another $1,120. Because Thousand Trails only cost us $0/night!

So as you can see, the savings are really adding up now.

Our third trip costs

Then after being in Florida for a brief time, we headed back to Arizona for the winter months. And that was a 45 day journey.

And on that trip we stayed a total of 10 nights outside of Thousand Trails campgrounds.

So then the remaining 35 days on that trip we were in Thousand Trails campgrounds.

And if we again use that benchmark of $35 a night, a total of $1,225 was saved on that trip.

All right, now I’ve gone through a whole lot of facts and figures here about our travels a few years ago. So let’s get to the bottom line.

Our Thousand Trails Review About The Total Savings Using Thousand Trails

And that is that we made three long trips across the country that year. The first year that we used our Thousand Trails upgraded membership.

And the total saved is $7,315 on trips that took us just eight months to complete. Now why do I say that?

Because that still left 4 more months to go in the year. But in just 8 months we had saved over $7,000.

Now, I always knew the savings were pretty good. But going over the facts and figures again, I have to say that is really impressive!

Of course, I know what some are going to say though. Wait a minute Duane, you’re not being fair!

What About Weekly And Monthly Rate Savings At Other RV Parks?

Because you could have gotten some weekly rates, or perhaps monthly rates along the way.

You’re right, conventional RV parks do offer better rates for those time periods. But here’s the thing I have found.

Weekly rates at RV parks save you some money. But that’s not where the real savings is. It’s in the monthly rate.

And we are not doing this to be spending a month or more in a campground in any one location.

As you can see, we are traveling quite a bit. We’re not doing it fast, but we’re definitely moving along.

So monthly rates were really out of the question for us.

So then we get back down to that $35 a night average for most RV parks, in that year.

And I feel it’s reasonable to use an even higher figure as a benchmark for camping costs now.

Clearly then, there is definitely savings in using Thousand Trails. Because our nightly stay in their system was only $0/night.

Our Thousand Trails Review – Adding In Our Yearly Dues

Of course, that’s not counting our dues or what we paid for our Thousand Trails membership either.

We are just talking about the nightly stay which is $0/night.

But as I showed earlier in this article, the cost of dues spread out over a year is less than $4 night.

And that’s including all of our extra expenses for using our membership that year.

So the savings are still very real in Thousand Trails!

Now let me make another couple of points here. On all of these trips where we stayed at Thousand Trails campgrounds, we had full hookups.

None was without full hookups which included 50 amp electric, water, and sewer. And that’s an important point to me as well.

And we also never had a reservation refused. That’s also very important.

Because I often hear RVers talk about how they just can’t seem to get reservations at campgrounds.

Well, we never had one refused, and have never had a single problem reserving a spot. And that continues to this day!

Of course, we planned our trips out well in advance. We like to do it that way, and by doing that, it no doubt helped us.

But we had no refusals for a reservation at any Thousand Trails Park. It all went very well.

Our Thousand Trails Review – Adding In Our Membership Costs

Of course, we have to say in all fairness that we have an upgraded older lifetime membership. So we have to consider the cost of that too.

But you know what? By adding it all up this way, Cheri and I came to some important conclusions.

We figure that in these first three trips alone we have saved over $7000 in nightly camping costs.

And that more than covers the cost of our upgraded Elite membership that we bought in 2019. And that is in the first eight months alone of that year.

So that’s not even considering the savings we accumulated during the other four months of the year.

And going forward, that original membership cost doesn’t apply from year to year any more.

Especially if you cover the cost of it in the first year’s savings.

What About The Cost Of The Trails Collection?

And what about the Trails Collection? It’s true that it does cost us a little bit more yearly than just the Thousand Trails parks alone.

Of course, it’s already included in the new 2025 memberships. But what I’m covering here is just our experience with our own membership.

And we like the Trails Collection because it gives us a lot more parks to choose from.

And that’s a big help if you are a full-time RVer like us who likes to travel the country a lot.

Now so far, we have considered the real world savings that Thousand Trails has allowed us on RV camping.

And I honestly don’t know how we could have gotten our camping costs any lower than with Thousand Trails.

Not and have full hookups which include 50 amp electric, water, and sewer all on-site.

What About The Savings You Get With Boondocking?

Of course, some will say that the cost of camping can be cut down quite a bit with boondocking, or dry camping, though.

But there’s a lot of extra effort that goes with boondocking. And I’ve made that point in other articles.

For instance, it means you have to bring your power with you. And you’re going to have to bring your water with you too.

You’re also going to have to manage all of your waste tanks and so on. Whereas in Thousand Trails all of that is taken care of for you.

The other thing is that boondocking can only be done easily in certain parts of the country.

For instance, most boondocking spots are located in the western part of the US. That’s where you find a lot of BLM (Bureau of Land Management) land.

But in the Eastern US, places to boondock become more and more scarce as you go. And that’s another real consideration.

A 2025 Thousand Trails Review Update

There is a lot to consider when reading through this Thousand Trails review.

And if you are still with me here, I appreciate your patience and perseverance!

But some may wonder whether things have changed for us since this was first published.

But I can say confidently that we have come to appreciate and value our decision to buy a Thousand Trails membership even more now.

The costs for staying at the average US campground has increased a lot over the past couple of years. And that makes our membership value even better.

Also, Thousand Trails has been expanding the number of available campsites.

And they are actively upgrading many of the older parks in their system too.

And the value of our membership on the used market has gone up as well.

To the point that we could easily get the vast majority of the amount we paid for it back if we chose to sell it.

How To Get The Best Membership Deal In 2025

So if you want to get all of your questions answered and get the best deal possible on a Thousand Trails membership, here’s what you should do:

Contact Joanna & Patrick Parizo by email at [email protected]

Or you can call them at 631-921-1674 or 352-396-6835.

If you work with them, you will get the best deal and the lowest prices on new Thousand Trails memberships.

They are very easy and pleasant to work with too. Just be sure to tell them that Duane at RV Inspection And Care referred you.

That way you can be sure to get the best discount on Thousand Trails memberships possible.

They are Thousand Trails membership specialists, but they bring a much more personal experience to the whole process.

In fact, they usually represent Thousand Trails at the Tampa RV Super Show each year. And they always have the best deals handy.

Now the only issue that hasn’t improved much with Thousand Trails is the complexity of membership choices. And they can help with that too.

But hopefully, this article has also helped clarify your choices and make the decision an easier one to make.

Our Thousand Trails Review Conclusion

The bottom line in this discussion is that we feel that the numbers don’t lie. And I hope that our Thousand Trails review has made that clear.

The upgraded campground membership we bought with Thousand Trails has paid for itself already.

And that’s just within the first eight months of our first year of use. Also, it has continued to save us money during the past few years as well.

And we are poised to continue saving money on our nightly camping costs as we go forward.

So without question, it has saved us some very serious money overall.

And even the buyers of the most recently released memberships can still save big on camping costs too. And I covered that earlier in this article.

So all of that means that the savings with a Thousand Trails membership are very real.

And it means that you can travel cross-country and enjoy your RV trips with Thousand Trails as well.

You can also stay most of the time within their system as we did. But you can choose how much you wish to stay in Thousand Trails. It’s up to you.

And remember that for many, a Regional Camping Pass is just fine for their needs. Especially if they aren’t a part-time or full-time RV traveler.

So I hope this Thousand Trails review has been helpful for you. If you have any questions about what you have read, please comment below.

Have safe and happy travels!