Pick the park you’re sitting in (or the one you’re eyeing) and Park Hopper lines up every other Thousand Trails, Encore / Trails Collection, and RPI park by distance — miles, a rough drive time, and a one-tap link to the in-park help on the Corkboard. No map to pinch and zoom, no spreadsheet, no squinting at the atlas at 6 a.m. on move-out day (ask me how I know). Planning a year and want to move as little as possible? This is how you find the clusters.
Miles are straight-line from park to park; drive times are rough estimates (about 50 mph average, no traffic, no ferries). Always check the actual route before you commit to a travel day.
Every dot is a park. The bigger the dot, the more parks sit within 75 miles of it, and the shaded rings are the clusters — the places where you can burn a whole season without ever driving more than a couple of hours. Tap a dot to make it your starting park.
Same idea, as a list. Each card is a group of parks within 75 miles of each other (tap “Loose” for 150). The bold park is the one with the most neighbors, and the mileage on each chip is measured from it. Tap any park to make it your starting point up top.
This started life as the little “nearby parks” nudge on the Corkboard signup form, and I liked it enough to give it its own page. It answers the question Odie and I ask every three weeks: what’s within a couple of hours of here, so the next travel day is a hop and not a 400-mile white-knuckler?
Park Hopper tells you what’s close. These tell you whether it’s worth the drive — and who can help once you’re parked.
My Honest Park Reviews
Before you commit a stay: the parks I loved, the ones that work, and the one-and-dones — no fluff.
Read the reviews →
The Ultimate Resource Hub
Maps, guides, and every Thousand Trails answer I’ve written down — all in one place.
Open the hub →
The Corkboard
RV techs, dog sitters, and other in-park services at the parks you’re hopping to — or list your own.
Find help at your park →
All 273 parks from my master Thousand Trails / Encore / RPI map — the same list the Corkboard runs on. Thousand Trails core parks, Encore parks you reach through the Trails Collection, and RPI (RPI + RPI Preferred). If a park is missing or sitting in the wrong spot, tell me and I’ll fix the map; the tool updates automatically.
No — they’re straight-line, park to park. The drive time is a rough estimate (think ~50 mph average with a fudge factor for roads that don’t go in straight lines). Ferries, mountain passes, and Los Angeles at 5 p.m. are not accounted for. Always check the actual route before you commit to a travel day.
Because that’s a comfortable one-day hop for most of us — three-ish hours of driving with a fuel stop and a dog walk. If you’re braver than me, tap “Show all” and the whole network lines up by distance.
Thousand Trails members know the drill: after a stay you’re out of the system for a stretch (your contract sets the exact numbers), and the closer the next park, the less that week costs you in fuel and packing. Tap the TT / Encore · TC / RPI chips above the list to narrow it to whatever your membership covers. At Lake Whitney, for example, an RPI park sits right next door — a four-mile hop. Every filtered view has its own link too (for example livefreerv.com/park-hopper/?park=lake-whitney&net=rpi), so you can bookmark “RPI parks near my home park” and be done with it.
The badge tells you which network a park belongs to: TT is a Thousand Trails core park, Encore · TC is an Encore park you reach with the Trails Collection add-on, and RPI is Resort Parks International. 55+ flags an age-restricted community. Whether your membership covers a given park depends on your package, zones, and add-ons — the badge is a pointer, not a promise. When in doubt, call the park.
Some of the most popular parks get flagged “high-use” during their busy season, and the rules tighten while the flag is on — shorter stay limits and stricter booking windows, depending on your membership. Before you plan a hop into a big-name park, check the calendar. I keep the whole thing in one place: the complete high-use parks list, dates & rules.
It jumps to that park’s page on The Corkboard, my free in-park services board — mobile RV techs, dog walkers, trailer moving, and the rest. Handy when you’re planning a stop and want to know who’s already working there.
Yes. Every park has its own address (for example livefreerv.com/park-hopper/?park=hershey). Bookmark it, text it to your travel buddy, argue about it in the group chat.
Both are on the list. For now, pick the park closest to where you are and work outward.
Go Well. Travel Well. Do Well. ~Ty & Odie.