Posted November 15, 2024 – Narrated by Jim (updated January 2025)
(Due to the video below, there is no podcast)
Imagine camping in a pampered vineyard …
overflowing with ripening grapes.
Or on a farm…
with frolicking goats…
a place where you can watch your neighbor take a bedtime bath,
and select freshly harvested organic produce,
or walk to the fields with a hand basket to harvest on your own.
Maybe (like us) your “camping heaven” is in the parking lot of a roadside brewery, …
a rural oasis with remarkable tastings.
We’ve been members of Harvest Host since 2016 …
and every year since, we have felt like VIPs with a pass to stay overnight in the most beautiful private grounds in the U.S. and Canada – quiet vineyards, breweries, farms, museums, and golf courses in rural, suburban and urban areas.
Since joining, we’ve stayed at 163 locations! Unless someone steps up to contest us, Living in Beauty holds the record for the most visits.
In exchange for a complimentary night of camping, usually in a beautiful location, we are asked to patronize the host with at least a minimum purchase …
such as, a bottle of wine or a tasting served by an expert sommelier, a flight of beers, fresh cheese or ranch eggs. At participating golf courses we can play a round of golf and/or enjoy a meal at the clubhouse restaurant. There’s nothing better than waking up to fresh hot coffee and a full breakfast just steps away from your campsite.
For an additional fee some hosts offer up to four nights and/or electric and/or water hookups. 100% of the proceeds go directly to our hosts.
No matter how hard you try, it will be better than you can imagine.
Below is a short video of some of our experiences over the last eight years as we camp overnight in the most beautiful and unique locations in North America.
While the Holiday Sale mentioned in the video above ended on January 12, 2025, if you click the image below and use the promo code: LIVINGINBEAUTY you will receive a 20% discount on your First Year’s membership.
Below is a funny video produced by Harvest Hosts.
You may enjoy reading all of our blog posts about Harvest Hosts:
- Harvest Hosts – A Elegant Alternative
- Hopes, Dreams, and 100 Bottles of Wine
- Harvest Hosts – One Night Delights
- Harvest Hosts – Memory Lane
If you want to see the exact route we travel, click here.
*photos in this post (unless otherwise noted) were taken and copyrighted by Living In Beauty.
Follow “Living In Beauty” via Email
Enter your email address and receive notifications of new posts by email, about once or twice a month. We will not sell or share your email address, and you can unsubscribe at any time.
We love Harvest Hosts too! We’ve stayed at some great ones over the past few weeks. Most recently, we stayed at Rio Grande Winery which had delicious wine, a beautiful patio area, a corn maze, and pickleball courts!
Thanks for the tip about Rio Grande Winery in Las Cruces New Mexico. We will check it out! Jim
We love HH! I’m pretty sure we learned about them through your blog. We tell every RV-er we meet about them. My idea of heaven is driving around the country to try as many as we can! We’ve stayed at wineries, breweries, distilleries, an organic farm, a train and toy museum, and others. Always unique and special!
Jenn and Craig, great to hear from you two again. Glad to hear you heard about them from us. We try to tell everyone about Harvest Hosts. Great times!! Jim
We too love HH and use them frequently. We recently stayed at a drive in theatre in Virginia that maybe our new favorite! Until the next one 🤠
Jerrod, is the drive-in theatre in Virginia you are talking about Hulls Drive-In in Lexington, Virginia? We will put it on our list. Thanks! Jim
Have been a member and also was a host – awesome organization!
Polly, We agree with you… Jim
We love HH as well, and have stayed at quite a few over the last few years. Not as many as you guys, but we intend to keep adding to our total in the coming months and years. Absolutely a great way to break up the travel between longer term destinations. Nothing better than a 225 mile travel day and then pulling into one of these exceptional spots for a relaxing evening and a bottle of wine, and then heading out the next morning to keep the journey going.
Shawn, we could not agree with you more! Well said!!! It is a wonderful way to end a long days drive. Jim
We love Harvest Host! We don’t do it for saving money, we do it for the adventure. It is lovely to sample wines, beers, or spirits and then walk home. We Tallahassee Museum of Automobiles was fantastic! We only stopped there because it was a Harvest Host and I am so glad we did.
Julia, great to hear from you again. You brought up one of the wonderful advantages of camping at a Harvest Host. Being able to enjoy what the location has to offer and then “walking” home, usually within a minute or two. Stay safe out there and happy travels! Jim
Thank you! Safe travels to you!
Fantastic. Have been following your blogs for several years now. We are not full timers but we do get 80 nights or more per year in our trailer (just counted and we are over 100 this year) and love every one of them. Getting close to 45,000 miles on our trailers since 2016. Harvest Host has become a key part of our planning as well. Why do 400 miles on a travel day, when you can split it in two with a stay at one of the many wonderful Harvest Host that seem to be all over the place. We find HH to be an amazing way to split up the travel between major destinations. With some water in the tanks, and our batteries and other power sources charged up, a night (or more) without hook ups is a piece of cake. In fact it is down right easy just to park, not have to worry about water and sewer hoses and electric cords, and often not even unhitching the trailer, and settle in for a relaxing evening… Continued safe travels……
Shawn, Great point about staying hitched. At the end of a long day on the road, it’s a relief to simply park and tend to some serious self-care.
Enjoy your travels!
Thank you for this information. We have heard of Harvest Hosts, but never looked into it nor joined. My wife and I are discussing it and we will more than likely join because of this article. Thanks!
Marcus, thanks for sharing your comment. We think you will enjoy Harvest Hosts as much as we do. If you join, let us know what you think. Jim
We learn something new from you every time you post a blog. Thank you for sharing. When we start traveling soon, we will join Harvest Hosts, maybe before the deadline in January. 😋
Mary, great to hear from you! Thanks for following Living in Beauty. If you join, and use it, you will have wonderful experiences. Jim
Thank you for this. I am going to share it with my husband.
Joyce, if you have any questions, please reach out to us.
Nice info
Umair, thanks! Glad you found value. Jim
We ❤️ Harvest Hosts!
Jennifer… so do we!!!!!!! Jim
While HH sounds wonderful and we know a lot of people who use it, Mark and I are too cheap for it. Now anyway. We usually camp for free, anywhere in the world. Our budget is too tight to account for splurges like meals, bottles of wine, etc… Unfortunately. But, I’d like to stay at HH locations in the future. Maybe when we’re retired and back to RVing in North America. It all sounds lovely. 🙂
Liesbet, as always, wonderful to hear from you. You brought up a good point. Staying at a Harvest Host location is not ‘free.’ The agreement is to buy something from the host, preferably around $30. What is funny is that sometimes we spend a lot more than that. But it is not for a campsite, but for quality product, like wine, beer, produce, museum entrance, dinner, etc. For example, last week at Hatfield Creek Vineyards, we did a wine tasting, loved the wine, bought a bottle for ourselves, a bottle for a future gift to someone, and a dozen farm fresh eggs. It would have been cheaper to pay for a campsite, but then… we wouldn’t have had an amazing experience sleeping in a vineyard, drinking great wine, having a gift for a friend, and eggs hatched within 24 hours ago. Of course, camping for free on BLM land, or a free spot offered in a community is much more economical, and we try to do that as often as we can to help with the budget. Carmen and I admire you and Mark’s ability to find amazing camping spots where ever you go. We love following your blog, Roaming About. Jim
Thanks for mentioning our blog and following along, Jim. Harvest Hosts offer a great alternative to boondocking with extra perks, wonderful experiences, interesting people and stories, and high-quality products. I think it beats staying at RV parks! 🙂
❤️
Wow!
Aries, thank you! Jim
This is not the first time we have heard about Harvest Hosts. We haven’t been able to decide if it would be worth the annual cost, but you have given us inspiration to not only reconsider joining Harvest Host, but also you have reignited our discussion about starting to travel full-time. Traveling full-time in our RV is probably not something we can do immediately, but your blog let’s us live vicariously through you two. We are always right there with you! Hope you don’t stop sharing your adventures.
Margaret, glad to hear this blog post might help you and your husband make a decision about joining Harvest Host AND maybe hitting the road full-time. It is kinda hard to believe we have been traveling more than 3,000 days, living on the road inside our Airstream. It has been amazing, and the 163 nights we spent in a Harvest Host location has made it all the better. Stay safe out there! Jim
Je vais écrire mon message en français si vous me le permettez! Vous pourrez , vous et vos lecteurs, facilement le traduire avec “Google traduction” et ainsi je me sentirai libre d’exprimer mes émotions avec mes propres mots.
Je tiens d’abord à vous féliciter pour votre blogue mais surtout pour votre choix de vie qui est si inspirant. Il ne faut pas en douter même si avec le temps, la vie devient un peu plus difficile ou un peu plus compliquée. Nos limitations physiques nous rappellent souvent à l’ordre. Mais elles nous privent de vivre pleinement notre vie si nous les écoutons trop. Choisir la facilité/le confort et/ou la sécurité n’est jamais le bon choix à mon avis.
Il m’arrive d’avoir de grands doutes sur ce dont je dois réaliser pour les années à venir et je dois avouer que j’aime me référer à vous pour m’aider à me recentrer.
Vous êtes si inspirants.
C’est peut-être le fait d’être une femme seule mais je pense qu’avec une Airstream un peu plus petite que la vôtre, j’y arriverais.
Le voyage lent me semble être tellement approprié.
Après 9 ans sur la route, c’est ce que vous proposez de vivre et je suis d’accord avec vous à 100%.
J’ai une décision à prendre et ce sera en lisant votre blogue que je vais sans doute la prendre.
Je vous souhaite une belle continuité et je vous appuie à 100% sur le ralentissement de vos déplacements.
Avec toute mon amitié!
Marie-Claude du Québec
WE TRANSLATED THIS INTO ENGLISH FOR OUR FOLLOWERS
I will write my message in French if you allow me! You and your readers can easily translate it with “Google translate” and so I will feel free to express my emotions in my own words.
I would like to first congratulate you for your blog but especially for your choice of life which is so inspiring. We must not doubt it even if with time, life becomes a little more difficult or a little more complicated. Our physical limitations often call us to order. But they prevent us from living our lives to the fullest if we listen to them too much. Choosing ease/comfort and/or security is never the right choice in my opinion.
I sometimes have great doubts about what I must achieve for the years to come and I must admit that I like to refer to you to help me refocus.
You are so inspiring.
Maybe it’s the fact that I’m a single woman, but I think that with an Airstream a little smaller than yours, I could do it.
Slow travel seems so appropriate to me.
After 9 years on the road, this is what you propose to experience and I agree with you 100%.
I have a decision to make and it will be by reading your blog that I will probably make it.
I wish you a great continuation and I support you 100% on slowing down your travels.
With all my friendship!
Marie-Claude from Quebec
Marie-Claude, we are so happy to hear from you. It is thrilling when a follower reaches out to tell us that we’ve been helpful. It sounds like you are at the precipice of a major life decision and we wish you all the best.
What you say about life’s difficulties is so true. They will come. No one escapes complications, limitations, disorder and sadness. But if we do not withdraw into our troubles, we can overcome.
Travel is about reaching out and taking risks in pursuit of joy and we are passionate about slow travel in our Airstream. If you think this lifestyle is for you, we would be honored to connect you with people who can help you sort out the details, beginning with the Ontario Canada Airstream Club:
https://airstreamclub.org/ontario-canada
Also, you may email us at any time and we will respond promptly.
Thank you for reaching out.
Safe & Happy Travels!
Carmen & Jim
You two never fail to amaze us. We have been followers for years and have tried to read your articles when we receive a notice in our email inbox. We missed reading about Pico until just now. So sorry to hear of losing him. He was such a big part of your adventure. We are not full-timers by any stretch, but we do go out many times during the year. After reading this and watching the video, my husband and I are now seriously considering joining Harvest Host. Hopefully before the deadline of the sale you mentioned. It would be wonderful to meet you two if we are ever in the same place at the same time.
Betty, thank you for your comments. If you have any questions about Harvest Hosts, just let us know and we will try to answer them for you. Maybe someday our paths will cross on the road. Stay safe out there and happy travels. Jim