We have been hearing and reading about Harvest Hosts for a long time. Harvest Hosts is a network of small companies, such as wineries, farms, and other attractions, that allow RVers to stay on their property overnight at no charge. The membership is $49 annually and when you stay overnight at these places, you are expected to make a purchase to show your appreciation.

We thought it sounded cool and really wanted to try it, but being mostly weekend campers it wasn’t practical. We expect that when we go full-time we will be able to make use of this type of membership for overnight stops on some of our longer drives. Driving from Baltimore to New England for a two-week trip seemed like a good opportunity to test it out. So, we joined Harvest Hosts a few weeks ago and stayed overnight at two different farms on our way to Cape Cod.

The first stop was Wright’s Farm, in Gardiner, NY. Wow, what an initiation into Harvest Hosts! The property was beautiful and the owners were very gracious. Following their instructions, we parked in a large grass field just off the side of a gravel road that runs through their orchards.

We unhooked our camper to take the truck out to get gas and stopped at their market on the way back. The market is very large, with a lot of their home-grown produce and home-made preserves. They also sell a few local products and home-made pies. We bought some cheese and crackers for a snack, an apple pie for dessert, and some preserves to take home. We had the pie that night and it was wonderful!

After dinner we took a walk around the farm. They had some cute, eclectic displays and we took a lot of pictures.

At one point we noticed a loud plane flying very high overhead. A few minutes later we saw about 12 skydivers floating down to earth! It appeared as if they were dancing as they drifted around in the sky and then gradually make their way to the ground.

Next one of the owners of the farm drove past and suggested we take a walk up a trail he pointed out. At the top of a hill was a beautiful view of the entire area.

This was such a great experience. We are definitely looking forward to taking advantage of this membership in the future.