Our travel life hasn’t been the same since we became Harvest Hosts members in early 2019. Until you’ve slept at an alpaca farm or a gator ranch in your RV, a certain sparkle is missing! Just admit it.
If you’re new to the program and not sure what’s involved, then take a quick break to read our previous article, Is Harvest Hosts Worth It? It will help you determine whether a Harvest Hosts membership suits your style of RV travel and is worth the investment.
Harvest Hosts is constantly adding locations, with the count at nearly 1,300 now. Here are 10 of our favorite options in the eastern United States.
When you’re ready to join, we’d appreciate it if you use our link. You’ll get 15% off your first year at no cost to you. Join now.
Note: This article includes our Harvest Hosts affiliate link. If you get excited about what we share here, we’d love it if you’d sign up via our link. This will encourage us to continue investing time in creating useful content!
1/ South Shore Wine
Location: North East, PA
Date visited: August 2019
We had no idea Lake Erie Wine Country existed until we stopped for the night at South Shore Wine and learned all about the history of the area. Along a 50-mile stretch of Pennsylvania and New York, the southern shore of Lake Erie, there are 23 wineries to experience.
South Shore Wine is located in a stone cellar that has existed for 150 years. Once you get past the history-steeped architecture, a peaceful wine tasting awaits.
My favorite part of this visit was the way our host, Kristin, involved Caspian. She invited him to stick his hands in the stone wall crevices and roll wooden carts across the floor. Her animated winery tour was really for my two-year-old and she did an impressive job keeping him engaged.
And the South Shore rosé with Niagara and Concord grapes is probably my favorite rosé ever.
2/ Puddicombe Farms
Location: Stoney Creek, Ontario, Canada
Date visited: August 2019
This one isn’t quite the United States. But it’s well worth the half-hour drive from Niagara Falls, once border restrictions are lifted!
I remember sitting in those yellow Adirondack chairs with my two-year-old, soaking up the sun rays and thinking, “We just took our RV into Canada; it was so easy; and now we’re at a beautiful Harvest Hosts eating blueberries.”
After waiting through five years of full-time travel to venture into Canada, here we had a place to call home for the night. How novel! How fun!
3/ Fly Creek Cider Mill
Location: Cooperstown, New York
Date visited: September 2019
As an overall experience, I don’t think we’ve ever had a better Harvest Hosts stay than we did at Fly Creek Cider Mill. Upstate New York is a dream to begin with, and we rolled into the region just as fall started to whisper through the wind last year.
We sampled apples, ate ice cream, played on the lawn, enjoyed our conversations with the staff, and fed ducks right across the street from our home.
Meanwhile, Fly Creek is located in Cooperstown, and Eric had dreamed of visiting the National Baseball Hall of Fame since he was a little boy.
What a sweet, sweet time. I could spend a whole season in Cooperstown, and I’d love to participate in more of the fall events normally on the calendar at Fly Creek.
4/ True North Ale
Location: Ipswich, Massachusetts
Date visited: September 2019
Neither Eric nor I drink beer! You might think this rules out Harvest Hosts breweries for us, but that isn’t the case. First off, it’s no secret breweries have some of the best food. And second, you can always pick up a six-pack for friends down the road! When we visited True North near Salem, we were on our way to friends who were going to host us. So we got a gift from True North as a thank you for them.
True North is in an amazing location for exploring Salem and the surrounding area.
5/ Leyden Farm Vineyards
Location: West Greenwich, Rhode Island
Date visited: September 2019
So fun to find a Harvest Hosts to mark our night in the smallest state! And the weather couldn’t have been better.
There were several RVs staying on the property, so I shared a glass of wine with two new friends and we made several others during our visit. This is another thing we love about Harvest Hosts: getting to socialize with your hosts and the RVing friends you make while you’re there. It definitely makes the journey less lonely.
6/ Bishop’s Orchards
Location: Guilford, Connecticut
Date visited: September 2019
We loved our stay at Bishop’s Orchards! The market is full of fresh fruit and vegetables, bakery items, cider, and prepared foods. This was the time last year when our propane system inexplicably went out (we think someone forgot to let the excess propane out after filling the tank), but the weather was perfect for an outdoor dinner.
Also, this place is perfect for taking the ferry to Long Island, which we highly recommend over driving the long way around.
7/ Wildwood Alpacas
Location: Woodford, Virginia
Date visited: October 2019
Our night at Wildwood Alpacas was spent in a quiet field. When we were ready, we walked down the short dirt road to the place we could meet our wooly hosts. So many alpacas, all with their own personalities and colors.
After Caspian helped feed the animals some treats, I browsed the small shop. I bought a scarf made from wool of alpacas I had just met by name. It was such a sweetly intimate experience.
8/ The Yalaha Bootlegging Company
Location: Yalaha, Florida
Date visited: November 2019
Our 2019 loop of the country almost complete, we pulled into Yalaha Bootlegging Co. just north of Orlando. What a memorable overnight! A local barbecue master served us possibly the best pulled pork we’ve ever had (and we’ve had a lot).
Inside, the award-winning Apple Smack Moonshine was my favorite. Cinnamon and apples! The Southern Pecan and Peach moonshines were also dangerously delicious.
And right across the lawn, Yalaha Bakery sent us on our way the next day with delicious German treats.
9/ Tallahassee Automobile Museum
Location: Tallahassee, Florida
Date visited: November 2019
Our whole family was stunned by the awesomeness of Tallahassee Automobile Museum. This is a mind-blowing private collection, and it’s much more than just cars. We saw pianos, dolls, baseball cards, boat motors, typewriters, and so much more!
10/ Gulf Coast Gator Ranch
Location: Moss Point, Mississippi
Date visited: November 2019
Though Caspian wasn’t old enough for a boat tour, we still had fun on the short self-guided tour at Gulf Coast Gator Ranch. We got to know the gators there by asking lots of questions. It was interesting to learn about their community and hierarchy.
I defy you to find a toddler who doesn’t think feeding alligators is awesome.
We hope you enjoyed this virtual tour through our 10 favorite Harvest Hosts locations in the eastern United States (and Canada!). You can see our western U.S. highlights in our previous article. We’d love to know about your personal favorites, so let us know in a comment!
Don’t leave without signing up for your Harvest Hosts membership! RVers who use our link receive 15% off.
-B
