Thousand Trails Membership Explained– Is it Worth it?

If you are looking into traveling in an RV full-time or looking to escape harsh winters and summers by RV then Thousand Trails is an amazing option to make the on-the-road lifestyle affordable. It is also perfect for those that just love to RV or camp.

We have been on the road for two years and we purchased a used Thousand Trails basic elite membership right before we left. At first, we were in the dark about Thousand Trails. We had heard some varying reviews of the campgrounds but really had no clue as to what to expect. We bought a membership sight unseen because we knew it was a popular option for full time RVing and knew it would help us keep our budget in the long-run. 

Now that we have been traveling for so long, Thousand Trails campgrounds have become like our second home. When we have traveled through the midwest or areas that don’t have any Thousand Trails campgrounds we feel a little lost and are always relieved when we come back in an area with many of the in-network campgrounds. 

We have found Thousand Trails to equally be popular with both retired travelers and family travelers making it a great opportunity to connect with peers. We definitely run into more families who travel full time in Thousand Trails campgrounds than any other RV parks. Often times we will run into families several times unplanned in different campgrounds, much to our children’s delight. Most recently in Florida, we ran into a family the children had befriended in Northern Washington nine months prior. It’s fun to meet up on the opposite side of the country completely unintentionally. 

What is Thousand Trails

Thousand Trails is a network of 81 campgrounds and RV resorts located in various parts of the United States. The campgrounds themselves vary greatly in quality, but overall you will find decent amenities, friendly people, activities, and a community of like-minded travelers. 

In addition to the network of 81 campgrounds you can also increase your available resorts by adding on the Trails Collection for $218 a year. With the Trails collection, you get access to 108 additional campgrounds. This more than doubles your available campgrounds and can help extend stays especially in popular winter in destinations like Florida and Texas. The trails collection is also very helpful along the west coast. 

Thousand Trails Map

You can take a look at the Thousand Trails map to determine what areas you will be traveling in and if a membership or which kind of membership (or which zone) you would be interested in. The brown pins are Thousand Trails campgrounds and the blue pins are Encore properties that require the Trails Collection add on membership.

It’s very easy to make reservations with Thousand Trails using their online system and their interactive maps. They’ve recently redesigned their home page with the edit, cancel, and rebook features. The new homepage features quick links in the corner of the screen where you can also find this map.

How Long Can You Stay at Thousand Trails?

How long you can stay at Thousand Trails depends completely on your membership. With an elite membership (which is what we and most full-timers opt to get) we can stay at a park for 21 days and then we have to be out of that park for 7 days before we can go back. That being said we can go park to park with Thousand Trails without spending any time out. This is extremely beneficial when you are traveling in areas such as the west coast, Texas and the east coast because it’s easy to bounce around between Thousand Trails locations and not spend any time out of the system. In our two years of traveling, we have spent about 90% of our time in Thousand Trails campgrounds. It has most definitely worth the investment.

The Platinum, Platinum Plus, VIP membership plans also allow you 21 days in a park at a time but your advance booking window may vary between 120 days to 90 days. This may be important to you if you are trying to book during holidays or peak seasons. You also need to be aware of “high-use restriction” time periods. These tend to be areas that people like to winter such as Florida and California (we also noticed it in Las Vegas in the winter too).

Most memberships except the VIP membership are subject to peak season restrictions. This means that during high-use times you can only stay in a park for 14 days and you can only have two high-use reservations at a time. It does make wintering in warmer climates a little difficult but not impossible.

Encore properties (added on with your Trails Collection membership) work differently than the Thousand Trails resorts. You can stay 14 days at an Encore property for free unless otherwise noted (some have an additional cost of $20 a night) but you cannot have back to back stays at Encore parts. You have to be out of Encore properties for 7 days following any reservation. You cannot split up your 14-day stay. Regardless of how many days you stay at an Encore property whether it be 3 days or 14 days you have to be out of Encore parks for 7 days. However, you can go from an Encore property to Thousand Trails for 7 days and then and back. s

Thousand Trails Membership Levels

There are eight different Thousand Trails membership levels. Deciding what your needs are will help you determine which one is right for you. You can also determine if it’s better to purchase a new membership or a used one.

Memberships have a limit to how many times they can be sold and resold. For this reason, we recommend working with a broker, like Campground Membership Outlet. They will be able to navigate you through the process and help you understand all of your options.

If you are planning a more stationary lifestyle and don’t need access to all 81 resorts than a zone pass may be more of an affordable option. If you are looking into traveling the country and exploring as much as possible you will want to consider how long you want to stay places and how popular the areas you want to travel are. This will help you determine your preferences and whether the length of stays allowed are important as well as the booking windows as each membership level is unique in those offerings.

A nice thing about Thousand Trails memberships is that you can always choose to upgrade and pay the difference at any time. You can start with a zone pass, try out a few different campgrounds and opt to upgrade to a different membership level. You also get yurt and cabin discounts up to 50% off with some memberships offering one to several weeks free. It’s worth looking into if you think you will use that feature.

Elite Basic Membership- Resale Price Around $3750

• 81 resorts
• 21 nights park to park with no time out of system
• 120 days in advance reservation ***some unique campgrounds 90 day advance
• High Use restrictions apply for 14 days during winter in California and Florida
• can extend for 7 extra days twice a year after 21 days for $29
• Average dues tend to range between $549 and $650 (usually broken up by month)

VIP Membership- Resale Price Around $2900

• 60 resorts
• 21 nights park to park with no time out of system
• 120 days in advance reservations
• No high use restrictions- can stay 21 days during high use times
• Average dues tend to range between $549 and $650 (usually broken up by month)
• Platinum Plus Membership- resale price $2650 
• 60 resorts
• 21 nights park to park with no time out of system
• 120 days in advance reservations
• High Use restrictions apply for 14 days during winter in California and Florida
• Average dues tend to range between $549 and $650 (usually broken up by month)

Platinum Membership- $2500 Resale Price

• 60 resorts
• 21 nights park to park with no time out of system
• 90 days in advance reservations
• High Use restrictions apply for 14 days during winter in California and Florida
• Average dues tend to range between $549 and $650 (usually broken up by month)

Ultimate Odyssey Membership- new membership

• 81 resorts
• 28 nights park to park no time out of system
• 180 days in advance reservations
• High Use restrictions apply for 14 days during winter in California and Florida
• can extend for 7 extra days twice a year after 21 days for $29
• can extend for 7 extra days twice a year after 14 day high use restriction for $99
• Average dues tend to range between $549 and $650 (usually broken up by month)

Elite Connections Membership- new membership 

• 81 resorts
• 21 nights park to park no time out of system
• 180 days in advance reservations
• High Use restrictions apply for 14 days during winter in California and Florida
• can extend for 7 extra days twice a year after 21 days for $29
• Average dues tend to range between $549 and $650 (usually broken up by month)

Thousand Trails Zone Passes (Camping Pass)- $565 annually 

• Choose a zone where you will be camping: 
• Southeast – 23 RV resorts  Northeast – 14 RV resorts Southwest – 18 RV resorts Northwest – 18 RV resorts Midwest – 8 RV resorts
• One zone has annual dues of $565
• Ability to add zones for $49
• 14 days in system and 7 days out
• High Use restrictions apply for 14 days during winter in California and Florida

Trails Collection Membership ( Thousand Trails Encore Resorts)- additional $218 to existing TT Membership yearly

This is an add on collection for those that already have memberships. Here are the added benefits.

• Must have active Thousand Trails membership
• 90 parks no additional fees
• 108 Encore resorts
• 18 parks have additional $20 a night fee
• some parks are age-qualified at 55 
•  limited sites available at each park
• 60 days advance booking
• 14 days in and 7 days out

Thousand Trails Membership Costs

The membership costs vary greatly depending on what level you choose to buy into. We purchased our Elite membership used from Campground Membership Outlet and it cost us about $3700. You can choose to buy directly from Thousand Trails if you would like to use their financing options and they can roll your monthly dues and payments together.

The cost of a new membership will usually cost more than trying to find a used one. A new elite connections plan directly from Thousand Trails will run closer to $5,000. 

Thousand Trails Membership Dues

Currently, Thousand Trails membership dues cost $50 per month or a total of $599 a year. If you have a membership you can pay the $599 in full or in monthly installments.

Thousand Trails Membership Sales

If you are looking to buy a used Thousand Trails Membership or if you want to sell a Thousand Trails membership, we highly suggest you work with Campground Membership Outlet. They work with prospective sellers and buyers to transfer and exchange Thousand Trails memberships of all levels.

We worked with Campground Membership Outlet to buy our used Elite Basic membership and it was a smooth and easy process.

They send you over a list of available memberships for sale and you quickly select the option you want. They take care of the paperwork for both the seller and the buyer and then work with Thousand Trails to get it all transferred over.

It really is a seamless process but I will caution it can take three weeks for Thousand Trails to get it switched over. At that point, you can make reservations but it may not be official for another month or two. So if you plan to hit the road and want to buy used then it’s best to get the process going well in advance.

If you’re wanting to sell they are also an invaluable service and can help you sell your membership quickly. There are some special rules that apply. For instance, if a pass has been upgraded from a Platinum to an Elite they can only be resold as an Elite once and then it can be resold one final time as a Platinum. It can get confusing quickly. Using a broker helps you understand all of the rules

Our Favorite Thousand Trails Campgrounds (So Far)

Thousand Trails Lake Conroe, Willis, Texas

Amazing amenities and facilities. Our family loves Lake Conroe. We love close proximity to shopping and the kind staff. It’s a great place to escape winter or if looking to visit the Houston area.

Thousand Trails Moody Beach, Wells, Maine

What a beautiful spot if you are itching to get to Maine. Close to the ocean and delicious fresh lobster stands. We loved exploring this beautiful area and the campground had a nice pool, large playground, and fun activities for the family.

Thousand Trails Seaside RV Resort, Oregon

We love the location here as well as the campground amenities. A nice spacious indoor pool, sauna, and hot tub and it’s close proximity to the beach and local attractions. It’s a beautiful spot.

Thousand Trails Orlando RV Resort, Clermont, Florida

You can beat all the amazing shopping and attractions close by. This is the largest Thousand Trails park by far and in the winter it’s booming with families and retirees and lots of activities. It also offers two pools and fun activities happening daily.

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