How to Choose Your First Campground (A Beginner's Guide)

You've got the rig. Now comes a question that stops a lot of new RVers cold: where do I actually... go? You open a booking app, get hit with a wall of terms — full hookups, 30 amp, pull-through, back-in, FHU, primitive — and suddenly picking a place to sleep feels like a final exam you didn't study for.

Deep breath. It's a lot simpler than it looks once somebody translates the lingo for you, and that's exactly what I'm here to do. I'm Joe — Squatch to most folks — and this is part of my [RV beginners guide], here to help you choose your first campground without the overwhelm. Think of this as the "campgrounds with hookups" companion to my [boondocking for beginners] post. By the end, you'll read a campground listing like a pro and book your first site with confidence.

First, the Two Big Families of Campgrounds

Broadly, you're choosing between two worlds:

Public campgrounds — state parks, national parks, national forests, and Corps of Engineers (COE) parks. These tend to be more affordable, more scenic and natural, often near water, and a little more rustic (sometimes fewer or no hookups). The tradeoff: the popular ones book up fast, and amenities vary.

Private campgrounds and RV parks/resorts — think KOA and independent parks. These usually have more hookups, more amenities (pools, laundry, Wi-Fi, camp stores), and easier reservations, but they cost more and can feel more like a parking lot than a forest.

Neither's "better" — it depends on whether you want nature or convenience for this trip. As a nervous first-timer, honestly? A private park or a developed public campground with full hookups is the gentlest place to start. Learn the systems with a safety net, then get adventurous.

Decoding Hookups (The Big One)

"Hookups" just means what your site connects to. You'll see three levels:

• Full Hookups (often written "FHU") — water, electric, and sewer right at your site. This is the easy button: fresh water flows in, waste flows out through your sewer hose, and you're on shore power. For your first trips, full hookups take a ton of the learning curve away.

• Partial Hookups — usually water and electric, but no sewer. Totally fine — you just use your black and gray tanks and dump them at the campground's dump station before you leave. (My tank guides have you covered there.)

• No Hookups (sometimes called "primitive" or "dry camping") — no connections at all. You're running on your fresh tank, your battery, and maybe a generator. That's boondocking territory — great later, but not the easiest first-timer setup.

The electric part — 30 amp vs. 50 amp. Your RV has either a 30-amp cord (three prongs) or a 50-amp cord (four prongs). Generally, smaller rigs are 30 amp and bigger rigs are 50 amp. Book a site that matches your rig. You can use an adapter to connect to the other type, but on a 30-amp supply you won't be able to run everything at once (say, both AC units). Know which one your rig is before you book — it's one of the most common new-camper mix-ups.

Pull-Through vs. Back-In (This One Matters for Beginners)

This is the site's shape, and it's a big deal when you're new:

• Pull-through sites have an entrance on one end and an exit on the other — you just drive through and park, no backing required. These are hugely beginner-friendly, and worth seeking out (or paying a little extra for) while you're still learning.

• Back-in sites require you to reverse your rig into the spot — which, with a trailer especially, is a genuine skill that takes practice (and tests marriages, as we covered elsewhere).

There's no shame in booking pull-through sites your whole first season. Save the back-in gymnastics for when you've got some reps in.

Make Sure Your Rig Actually Fits

The mistake that ruins first trips: booking a site your rig doesn't fit. Before you reserve, check:

• Length restrictions. Many campgrounds cap RV length — often somewhere in the 25–40 foot range, and some older public parks are tighter. Know your rig's total length (and if you tow, whether they mean the trailer or the whole combo) and confirm it fits.

• Road access and terrain. Steep grades, tight turns, low branches, or narrow gravel roads can be a white-knuckle nightmare in a big rig. Read reviews for warnings.

• Site surface and levelness. Gravel, grass, or paved — and how level it is. (You'll still want to level up on arrival; my [leveling and stabilizing] guide walks through that.)

When in doubt, call the campground and just ask. "I've got a 32-foot travel trailer, will site 47 work for me?" No one will think less of you — they answer that question all day.

How to Actually Find and Book One

Here's your toolkit:

• Recreation.gov — the official site for national parks, national forests, and federal campgrounds. If you want the famous public spots, this is where you book.

• State park websites — each state runs its own reservation system; a quick search gets you there.

• Review and finder apps — Campendium, The Dyrt, and Good Sam are the big ones. They let you search by location, filter by hookups and rig size, and — this is the gold — read reviews and see real photos from actual RVers who've stayed there. Reviews will warn you about the stuff the official listing won't.

• Private park sites / KOA — book directly.

A few booking realities to save you heartache:

• Popular spots book absurdly early. Prime summer weekends at famous parks can fill the moment reservation windows open (often several months out — each system has its own booking window). If your heart's set on a bucket-list park in peak season, book the day it opens.

• Cancellations are your friend. Can't find a spot? People cancel constantly. Cancellation-alert tools will ping you when a site frees up — a genuinely great way to snag a "sold out" campground.

• Shoulder season is easy mode. Late spring and early fall mean better availability, lower rates, fewer crowds, and gentler weather. Perfect for learning.

• Read the reviews before you commit. Photos and RVer reviews tell you the truth about noise, levelness, Wi-Fi that actually works, and whether "waterfront" means a lake or a drainage ditch.

Squatch Tips: How to Choose Your First Campground

• Start with full hookups. For your first trips, water/electric/sewer at the site removes most of the learning curve. Get comfortable, then branch out.

• Book pull-through while you're learning. Skip the back-in stress until you've got some practice. Zero shame in it.

• Know your numbers before you book: your rig's length and whether it's 30 or 50 amp. That alone prevents the most common booking mistakes.

• Read the RVer reviews, not just the listing. The photos and honest reviews are where the real intel lives.

• When unsure, just call. Campground staff answer "will my rig fit?" all day long. Ask.

That's the heart of Camping with Squatch — taking the stuff that feels like a final exam and turning it into "oh, that's not so bad."

Print This: First Campground Checklist

Run through it before you book.

Match the Site to Your Rig

• [ ] Length fits the site's limit (know your total length)

• [ ] Hookups I want: Full / Partial / None — and it matches my plan

• [ ] Electric matches my rig: 30 amp or 50 amp?

• [ ] Pull-through (easier) or back-in?

• [ ] Road access / terrain okay for my size?

Do Your Homework

• [ ] Read RVer reviews + photos (not just the official listing)

• [ ] Check the amenities I actually care about (dump station? laundry? Wi-Fi?)

• [ ] Note quiet hours, generator rules, pet rules

• [ ] Confirm the cancellation policy

Book Smart

• [ ] Booking early enough for the season? (popular = months ahead)

• [ ] Considered shoulder season for an easier first trip

• [ ] Set a cancellation alert if it's "full"

• [ ] When in doubt — called and asked

Go Find Your Spot

Choosing your first campground feels overwhelming for about a day, and then it clicks — full hookups mean easy, pull-through means no backing, match your amp and your length, and read the reviews. Do that, and you'll book a great first site and spend your energy on the fun part: actually being out there. Start gentle, learn the ropes with a safety net, and before long you'll be the one confidently backing into a primitive site by a mountain lake, wondering why you were ever nervous.

And if you're still shopping for the rig itself — and want to make sure you get one that fits the kind of camping (and campgrounds) you're dreaming about — come find me at A&L RV Sales in Christiana, just outside Murfreesboro. Matching folks to the right rig for how they actually want to camp is my favorite part of the job. Give me a call or text at 615-653-7561, or follow along with Camping with Squatch for more first-timer help. No pressure, ever — I just want you out there and camping happy.