Filed under: Campgrounds & RV Parks, Good Sam, Uncategorized

Woodall’s Guide to Good Sam Ratings

February 13, 2013 by Canadianladybug · Leave a Comment

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With spring time just around the corner and numerous campsites re-opening for a new seasons in 2013, RVers in the northern part of the US and Canada are probably feeling that it’s about time after the cold months leave our area. I know that my own kids keep talking a leonie bout when we go back to the trailer. My five year old daughter wants to bring her new Maplelea doll and the clothes she has in order to have her experience camping. I can’t help but smile at her enthusiasm. Still we have a couple of more months to wait and the snow needs to disappear from the ground before we can venture to our RV which is parked in Cobden, ON.

When you are looking at campsites to visit during your trips, how do you search for them? How do you compare them? In the past, we usually went through the Woodall’s Campground Directory to find a campground that would fit our needs. But back in December, we received a new directory titled Good Sam RV Travel Guide & Campground Directory. Woodall’s and Trailer Life have merged together in order to provide one big directory for RVers everywhere.

That’s not all. The old Woodall’s ratings have been discarded in favor of the Trailer Life ratings which are now known as the Good Sam Directory Ratings . So in order to familiarize you with the new ratings I am going to explain the difference between the two.

If you open up an older Woodall’s Campground Directory, you will see that in the past the rating used some images like a diamond with a w in it ( )to indicate the development and the recreation offered at a park. Consequently, the more ‘s a park has generally reflects the presence of more development at the park, and usually more facilities. Both facilities and recreation ratings range from 1 to 5 .

But all this is in the past since January. We now have a three-number rating accompanying each campground listed in the directory. Readers can get a quick view of the assessment of the amenities, cleanliness and environment by looking at these numbers.

The new Good Sam Rating looks something more like this now: 10 /10 / 10

How can you read it? Well it’s quite simple actually, the three ratings are based on a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being the best. Okay so far, so good. But what are the three ratings represent you might wonder?

The first rating will evaluate the completeness and the quality of the facilities. In this category, the interior roads, sites, registration area, hookups, recreation, swimming, security, laundry, store and building maintenance are rated with an eagle eye.

The second rating concerns the cleanliness and physical characteristics of toilets, walls, showers, sinks, counters, mirrors, and floor. If the park you are checking out has achieve a full point in each you will see a star () next to the rating. This star indicates that the restrooms are exceptionally clean. Also considered in the rating are the physical characteristics of the restrooms like interior construction, adequate supplies, odor free, adequate number of facilities, exterior appearance and location when considering the park space, as well as the interior appearance.

Finally, the last but not the least of the rating will highlight the visual appeal and environmental quality of the park. This category specifically evaluates the park’s setting and site layout, functional and identification of signage, overall exterior building maintenance, noise, trash disposal, litter and debris around the grounds and sites, as well as the appearance of grounds, sites and entrance area.

Personally, I think I prefer the new ratings than the older ones. I find them to be more accurate and easier to understand than the previous ones. I applause the change and look forward to search for a campground while planning a future trip. The Good Sam Rating will definitively mean more to me now that I know what each of the ratings evaluates.

Oh and by the way don’t expect to see a lot of 10/10 /10 as this special rating indicates superior facilities that are well maintained, clean, well-appointed restrooms and have a highly appealing appearance. Though it is an highly coveted rating only less that 1 percent of parks or campgrounds receive it. And if you are wondering how the ratings are given let me precise that the campgrounds are inspected annually by dedicated RVers like you and I.

Voilà! Now you know everything about the new Good Sam Ratings. I sure hope you will enjoy comparing the campgrounds you will be considering this upcoming season when you plan your trip with your family. I sure know that we will have an easier time to do so ourselves!

If you desire to purchase a Good Sam RV Travel Guide & Campground Directory, you can do so at amazon.com.