How to Boondock: Harvest Host, Part 1
Can you get across America only using Harvest Hosts? We had to find a way to get our truck (“Max”) and travel trailer (“Casper”) from Oregon to Maine in the midst of a pandemic requiring social distancing and with many RV parks closed. Trying to plan a 3,000-mile journey in uncertain times with limited options could be extremely difficult…or could it be easy?
WHAT ARE WE DOING?
In March of 2019, as the country began facing the Covid-19 pandemic, we were working our way up the Oregon Coast on our way to Portland. Casper was already scheduled for long-term maintenance and warranty work and we had tickets to fly to Maine for a month for appointments and to see family. Looking at the possibility of airlines cutting flights, and States closing borders, we decided to move our departure date up, and we ended up arriving in Maine on 17 March.
Our hopes of getting back to Max and Casper and returning to our life of full-time travel by the end of April were high. Two and a half months later we found ourselves still in Maine, and still struggling to figure out what the next step was. All we knew was we needed our home on wheels back. But how? And then we looked online and saw that many Harvest Hosts locations were still open. Could we use them to get all the way across America?
WHAT IS HARVEST HOSTS?
Harvest Hosts is a membership program for RVers that gives you access to over 1,000 wineries, vineyards, museums, farms, ranches, breweries, distilleries, and more. Your annual membership allows you to park your RV at one of these destinations, stay the night, and experience very unique ways to camp. As of June 2019, the basic package which gives you access to all of the above locations runs $79. They also offer a +Golf package for $119 that gives you access to over 300 golf courses. If you’re interested in a membership use this link and you’ll save 15% off of your membership.
The Harvest Hosts website and App give you quick access to an easy-to-follow map where you can find the nearest Host location or even plan an entire trip using their Route Planning page. After you find a location you want to stay at, just follow the instructions on that Host’s page and contact them (it will tell you either phone, email, etc.) and make a reservation. Some Hosts don’t require a reservation but always reach out to make sure. It’s that simple, find a location, make a reservation, get there, and enjoy what these unique Hosts have to offer. But would it be simple enough to get me and our home all the way across the U.S.?
THE PLAN
I used the Harvest Hosts Route Planning page and input Portland Oregon as the starting point and Monmouth Maine as the end. The program automatically defaults to a 120 radius of the route but you can shrink that down to 5 miles. I was willing to go a little out of the way to make our plan work so I used a 20-mile distance and luckily my route across America gave me a lot of options.
The next step was contacting each Harvest Hosts location and seeing if they could host me on the requested dates. I had to contact 12 locations and coordinate everything so that would take forever right? Nope, every site was contacted and reserved within 45 minutes! Who plans a cross-country road trip in 45 minutes??!! Seriously, Harvest Hosts makes it wicked easy!
THE TRIP
I flew into Portland Oregon on May 31st and rescued Max from his self-isolation at the Hilton parking log (he has an easy life). The next morning I picked up Casper from Camping World and headed off to a friend’s home to get everything ready for a 3,187-mile 14-day trek across this amazing country using only Harvest Hosts. On the morning of June 2nd, I drove off to my first location, Almosta Farm.
ALMOSTA FARM: COVE, OR
The first leg of my trip was a 230-mile drive to Almosta Farm in Cove Oregon. If I was going to really experience what Harvest Hosts had to offer I wanted to stay at a variety of unique places, not just wineries and vineyards. Almosta Farm fit the bill perfectly and it was a very unique stay. The owners, Janet and Lori, were very welcoming, and although Max and Casper are over their normal 25′ length limit, they found a spot for me, right in front of the barn!
Almosta Farm is a small family farm with Nigerian dwarf goats, chickens, bees, and Jack Daniels, the world’s coolest pot-bellied pig. They believe in sustainability and grow and preserve as much of their own food as possible and sell surplus products to the public. They also offer tours for local schools and classes on making some of the products they sell.
I was fortunate enough to be there when they were milking the goats and was offered the chance to try my hand at it. Needless to say, I’m terrible at it, but I was still rewarded with my first ever glass of goat’s milk. It was surprisingly good!
Janet and Lori offer a lot of great products for sale, from jams, bread, and eggs, to candles, soap, and more. I highly recommend you get a loaf of their bread and the apple butter jam. They were awesome! Oh, and maybe ask about some goat’s milk ice cream.
COLD SPRINGS WINERY: HAMMETT, ID
The next day brought another 230-mile drive and the end of the trek led me to Cold Springs Winery in Hammett Idaho. Southern Idaho is a mix of farmland and high plains desert and arriving at the winery is like finding an oasis. And the winery is producing a lot of fantastic wines to quench your thirst. Opened in 1998, the wines made at this small winery have won awards across Idaho and after tasting two or six it’s easy to see why.
You have your choice of a few locations to park your RV at, but longer vehicles may find it difficult to make the turns around the pond. You’ll love the winery regardless of where you park though. And if you’re lucky like I was you’ll be able to meet Neil the winemaker and get a small tour of the facility.
I spent about an hour tasting, touring, and learning about the winery before completing Suzannah’s shopping list. When it was all done I was free to walk around the vineyard and just relax. And by relax I mean drink more wine and work on the next video. These are the benefits of having a Harvest Hosts membership!
WASATCH VIEW RANCH: MARRIOTT-SLATERVILLE, UT
After milking goats and sampling wines I was looking forward to a quiet night for my third stay and I found it at the Wasatch View Ranch outside of Ogden Utah. This is another very unique Harvest Hosts location and gives you the chance to relax with the beautiful Wasatch Mountains in the background. I was able to wander around and meet some of the horses that are boarded there, but otherwise, I stayed by Casper and just relaxed.
PINE BLUFFS DISTILLING: PINE BLUFFS, WY
Would you drive nearly 500 miles for some Whiskey? I chose to. There aren’t a lot of Harvest Hosts destinations along I-80 in Wyoming and after seeing the page for Pine Bluffs Distilling I knew it would be worth the drive. This ended up being the longest drive of my trip but the reward was awesome.
Pine Bluffs Distilling opened a few years ago with a mission to “distill and distribute premium local spirits so everyone, in Wyoming and beyond, can taste the farm-to-distillery difference”. They stay true to that mission by only using Wyoming-grown grains. And while their spirits are young you can taste the quality in all of their products…which I was able to sample.
I was also able to take a tour and learn about how they started out, what their plans are, and how they are involved in their community. During the height of the pandemic when it was nearly impossible to find hand sanitizer this awesome team stepped up and started making it and giving it to first responders and the local community…for free. They also partnered with a brewery in Northern Colorado to produce hand sanitizer for that region as well. And they did all of it without accepting a dime. Pine Bluffs Distilling is the kind of business that you root for, and I hope to find their amazing products on shelves across America one day.
MAC’S CREEK WINERY & BREWERY: LEXINGTON, NE
The next two stops on my journey across our great Country would take me to Nebraska, a state I’d never been to, and I was excited to visit two very cool Harvest Hosts locations. The first stop was at Mac’s Creek Winery & Brewery in Lexington Nebraska. It was only a 240-mile sprint that day so I had plenty of time to arrive, set up, and walk around.
Mac’s Creek started growing grapes in 2000 and the winery started the business a year later. Their wines have won awards across the country and in 2019 they decided to expand their business a little and open a brewery. With that said, visitors to their tasting room are able to get a little more than just wine!
It was 96 degrees the day I visited, and it was only the second day they’d been open since the Covid-19 pandemic. With that said they were busy and since I didn’t have reservations I took my tastings and headed outside. The heat didn’t dampen the great drinks, but it sure made me drink them a bit faster so I could get back to the trailer. And of course, I bought a few bottles to take with me.
SLATTERY VINTAGE ESTATES: NEWHAWKA, NE
The next morning I set off on a 200-mile drive East to my next stop which is hidden away in the rolling cornfields of Eastern Nebraska. Slattery Vintage Estates is a few miles outside of Newhawka, and if you’re looking for a beautiful location to get some wine, grab some food, park your RV, or do some serious glamping, then this is the place.
Like Mac’s Creek the night before, Slattery Vintage Estates was just starting to open back up after months of being shut down. Due to state laws, they were very restricted on what they could offer (no tastings, etc.) but people were still making the drive to buy a bottle and sit outside around the picturesque pond at this Harvest Hosts site. And who wouldn’t, it’s awesome. I bought a few bottles, checked out some of the glamping tents, wandered the perfectly manicured grounds, and then spend the evening relaxing under a giant cottonwood tree. This is one place that I definitely want to bring Suzannah back to one day!
HALFWAY HOME
This stop also marked the halfway point on my trip. I’d driven 1,600 miles through beautiful country and met amazing people who open their homes and businesses to RVers to share what they do. I missed my family very much but finding these cool Harvest Hosts locations to stay the night made the journey a little better. I only had another 1,587 miles to go to reach home, and still had six unique Harvest Hosts locations to visit along the way. Check out “Harvest Hosts Across America, Part 2” to see the rest of my journey.
And don’t forget, if you want to have these great experiences with Harvest Hosts use our discount link and save 15% off of your annual membership!
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