Rio Grande Valley Campgrounds

[wendyjeff]

I came across a site with a blog talking about the Rio Grande Valley but can't seem to find it. Anyone know where it is located? It included a link for a number of different things to see and do.

[JWEibeck]

I had a good friend that lived in that area: southeast part of Texas. He loved it.

[DGBPokes]

Welcome Home is the name of the RGV chamber of commerce activity newspaper.

[rgvtexan]

Check this thread.

http://www.irv2.com/forums/f59/snowbirds-404273.html

[Otoole]

The RGV is basically from South Padre Island west to Rio Grande City in south Texas. We have spent the last 3 winter seasons down there. There are no snowbirds in the RGV. They are referred to as Winter Texans. Take a look at Seven Oaks RV Resort in Mission, TX. This is a nice quite resort with good people and good management.

[twogypsies]

There really is no valley as you may think of it.... no mountains on either side . It's flat land with thousands of RV parks! It includes the area of a few cities.

[tundranurse1]

I have been to Park Place in Harlingen Texas a couple times. Best friends mom had a trailer there. Very nice small park. Harlingen is about an hour to South Padre beach.

[goldwingerx2]

We have been going to RGV (Harlingen area) for over 10 years and the valley really makes you feel welcome. There are thousands of parks large and small and all levels of amenities available. Our park is almost always full it is a smaller one with only a 100+ spots. A good source of info would be the “Winter Texan”.

[Kro1957]

Last year was our 1st year in the RGV. We spent 5 months there and intend on going back again this October and stay around 7 months.

The majority of the "Winter Texans" are retired folks or semi-retired. Although you do run into a some in their 30's,40's. A lot of Canadians also. I am big into music and there is no place with more music jams any place in the US. If you like to play, this is the place to go!! We even had residents from Florida who winter there because of their love for all the music jams all over.

We were at Mission Bell RV Resort in Mission Texas and we are going back to the same place. Wonderful people there. Made many friends and just can't get ourselves to go to another park in the Valley.

Since I play music at so many parks, we got to visit several and made it a point to visit as many parks just to get to see what was there. We probably easily hit over 100 and did not even make a dent in to all the parks that are down there.

There is no worry about advance reservations unlike Florida. You can just go and take your pick.

The locals sure make you feel welcome and overall we really enjoy it. We love Florida also but it is a whole lot less expensive in the RGV.

Do a google search for the "Winter Texan" paper. You can get an online subscription for FREE and it lists everything going on in the valley. You will find a printed copy of this paper in every park in the Valley. I can't remember if it is weekly or bi-weekly, but great resource for what you are looking for. All of the Parks/Resorts are full of activities from early morning to night. Our park does excursions, bike rides, group trips and they even had a cruise trip.

As you will hear from others, if you say your bored, it's your own fault. Great food down there too. We took 3 trips into Mexico, Pregresso I believe it was. The RX's are so cheap they are practically free. And you do not even need printed perscriptions, just tell them what you want and get it. A lot of great buys. Your $$ goes a long way there. If you like flee markets, the valley has dozens of them and they are huge!! But fun venues.

They also bring in entertainment from Branson MO, Nashville into the parks and the shows are a fraction to what you would pay back in Branson or Nashville. It is their off season back there so these folks come and book shows in the Valley. Our park probably had about a dozen or so shows and the cost was anywhere from FREE, $5, 10, 15. In some of the cases it was the park that subsidized or paid for the entertainers for our park. We have the largest free floating dance floor in the valley. I think max capacity is near 600. You do not have to be from the park to attend the shows that is why they advertise in the Winter Texan. However, if you are out of park and buying tickets at the door you might pay $1-2 more for out of park because the host park is subsidizing the difference the entertainers charge. I know because we were work campers and did the activities area. My wife and I also had to do the computations to pay the entertainers at the end of the shows.

If you like deep sea fishing there is a lot of opportunity for that also. I did not go last year, like many other things going on, just could not fit it all in but reports I got back from guys in our park who went were they had great success. Hope to see you down there!!

[TJFogelberg]

Kro1957, this is inspiring...looking forward to the winter of 2023-24 when I retire. Coming down from the Twin Cities of MN. Dipped my big toe in last Oct in Harlingen just to see what it's like down there.

[TJFogelberg]

When I was in RGV in Nov 2017,one park manager said there were fewer folks coming down than in the past. This surprised me, with 10,000 boomers per day turning 65, 400,000 new RVs shipping annually, and the booming economy, I expected it to be packed like Florida. Instead, there are deals and no need for reservations in many parks. May go down again this Nov Dec before returning to MN for tax season.

[TJFogelberg]

My plan (winter of 23/24) is to spend a month each in 4 or 5 parks from Orlando to Summerdale AL to RGV to the Ranch in Lakewood NM.

[W0GEN]

Originally Posted by Otoole

The RGV is basically from South Padre Island west to Rio Grande City in south Texas. We have spent the last 3 winter seasons down there. There are no snowbirds in the RGV. They are referred to as Winter Texans. Take a look at Seven Oaks RV Resort in Mission, TX. This is a nice quite resort with good people and good management.

Can you advise how the water tastes at Seven Oaks in Mission? I am debating whether I should bring a full water tank with us or not?

[twogypsies]

Originally Posted by W0GEN

Can you advise how the water tastes at Seven Oaks in Mission? I am debating whether I should bring a full water tank with us or not?

A full water tank from Iowa isn't going to last you long! You're going to have to break down and drink the Texas water. Get a water filter.