5 Epic KOA Campgrounds You’ll Love

KOA campgrounds (aka Kampgrounds of America) are the most well known campgrounds in the USA. Their brand dates back to 1962; launched in Billings, MT near the Yellowstone River. Back then the nightly rate was a whopping $1.75.

Flash forward to 2019 – KOA is almost 500 campgrounds strong and maintains some of the highest quality standards for RV campgrounds across America.

We’ve stayed at many KOAs and have always enjoyed their consistently great customer service and resort style amenities.

Today we’re excited to share the 5 most epic KOA campgrounds in the lower 48. We’ll give you insight on the price, amenities and nearby activities. Each site will also have a unique KOA Vibes score to help you gauge just how vibin’ each park is!

Full Disclosure: This isn’t a paid post and we have no affiliation with KOA.

KOA Moab

Price: $56.99 and up

Why You’ll Love It: The Moab KOA offers full hookup sites, tent camping and camping cabins. Along with standard KOA features like a pool, playground and general store; the Moab KOA also offers a bike repair & cleaning station for cycling enthusiasts.

This park is dog friendly. There’s a lot of room to walk your pup around the park and to play fetch at your site. They also offer an off leash dog park with two sections for large & small dogs.

Best Nearby Activity: Arches National Park! There’s so many great hikes in the National Park. Canyonlands is also a short drive away. ALSO, remember to check out downtown Moab. It has a diverse restaurant scene and local breweries.

What’s the Word: “Our Someday Is Now” on Campendium says, “We’ve stayed there multiple times over the past 3 years, every time it gets better. They have new owners and they are putting money into the park and making improvements. They now have the laundry room and pool completed.”

KOA Campgrounds Vibe Score: 8.4/10 Great resort, awesome workamping staff, and Arches is our favorite National Park!

KOA Port Huron

Price: $55 and up

Why You’ll Love It: The Port Huron KOA campground has tons of free onsite activities – jumping pillows, multiple pools, horseshoes and tetherball are just a few ways to entertain the family.

For a small fee you can also play onsite mini golf and rent bikes! This full service park rounds out the family experience with its dog friendly amenities like complimentary doggy bags and large dog park.

Best Nearby Activity: Great Lake access. Get out and book some tourist activities on the water – from the historical Huron light ship to Huron Lady river cruises – there’s plenty of fun time to be had!

What’s the Word: Hobbes on Campground Reviews says, “This is a large resort park. Very family and kid friendly. Too many activities for kids for me to name. I was a little surprised at how low the noise level was considering the amount of kids here.”

KOA Campgrounds Vibe Score: 7.3/10 The spot may be a little tight, but the resort is beautiful and has a great location!

KOA Santa Cruz

Price: $85 and up

Why You’ll Love It: Location!!! The KOA Santa Cruz is positioned to give you easy access to Monterey, Caramel and Santa Cruz.

But, the park has so many activities, you may never get out and explore. A basketball court, large playground, a new pool and an outdoor movie cinema are just a handful of the many onsite amenities.

The KOA Santa Cruz is a true luxury RV campground. If you’re into luxury camping – you might want to check out our list of the 11 Most Luxurious RV Campgrounds in the USA 🇺🇸

Best Nearby Activity: Amusement parks, aquariums, shopping and fine dining area many of the nearby activities to explore.

What’s the Word: Campn on Campground Reviews says, “We love it here! So much to do right in the resort but perfect location to visit Santa Cruz (30 minutes), Capitola (one of our favorite beach towns) Aptos, and Monterey.”

KOA Campgrounds Vibe Score: 8.9/10 The beauty of the California coast and the comfort of a KOA – it’s a great mix!

KOA Myrtle Beach

Price: $52 and up

Why You’ll Love It: This KOA resort has all the standard amenities we’ve come to love! The outdoor movie cinema kampfire, splash pad, hay wagon rides and campfire theatre are a few of the unique activities you’ll discover at KOA Myrtle Beach.

ALSO – the KOA offers a free beach shuttle!

Best Nearby Activity: Amusement parks, museums and live music are among the best activities you’ll find in the area.

What’s the Word: Weedabago on Campendium says, “Nice big park with lots of shade and very quiet. Clean pool and splash pad for the kids. Very upscale for a KOA and excellent location. Easy walking to shops and restaurants.”

KOA Campgrounds Vibe Score: 8.2/10 It’s a hoppin’ town and a family friendly KOA!

KOA Pigeon Forge

Price: $54 and up

Why You’ll Love It: The Smoky Mountain National Park is the most visited park in the USA! KOA Pigeon Forge (considered a Holiday Resort) acts as the perfect basecamp to explore the nearby nature and the awesome tourist activities.

The park has outdoor games like ladder ball, horseshoes, frisbee golf and bocce ball. Once you want to get out and explore – simply hop on the trolly and stroll around downtown Gatlinburg.

If you’re looking into a Smoky Mountain Vacation – check out our list of 11 Smoky Mountain Campgrounds You’ll Love!

Best Nearby Activity: This is a toss up! We love the National Park and the fun tourist stuff. Fortunately, you can do all of it from the KOA Pigeon Forge.

What’s the Word: The Family Glampers on Campground Reviews says, “The campground is easily situated right off the main drag between Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg – so you’re super close to everything this mountain town has to offer! Check in was seamless – we arrived and pulled into one of the two check in lanes.”

KOA Campgrounds Vibe Score: 9.3/10 Super family friendly & awesome location!

Overall: KOA Campgrounds for the Win!

The camping experience at KOA is great for family travelers. As our daughter grows up, we look forward to taking (even more) advantage of their unique amenities and friendly service.

During the 2019 RVX Conference KOA shared exciting new ideas on how they can create an immersive camping experience and make check in & check out even easier.

If Free Camping is you thing…

We love camping across this amazing country. And, we really love it when its free. Here’s our list of the 20 Best Free Campsites in the USA.

If you haven’t tried free camping before, also known as boondocking, take a look at our beginners guide to boondocking filled with everything you need to know to get started.

Become a FREE CAMPING INSIDER and join the 100,000 campers that love to score the best site! Simply enter your email below.