Harvest Hosts: RVers do overnighters at region’s orchards, breweries or ranches

When Dan and Carol Taylor parked their Leisure Travel van in an empty Green Bluff overflow parking area, it was late afternoon on Aug. 28.

The Olympia-area retired couple made their first stop into the store at Walters’ Fruit Ranch, where they bought cider, wine, jam, fudge and pickled garlic ahead of a one-night stay there, facing a view of Mount Spokane.

The orchard is among thousands of sites on the U.S. roadmap for Harvest Hosts, an RV membership company that coordinates brief stops at a network of farms, wineries, breweries or small businesses with activities.

RVers pay $99 a year for use of the company’s mobile app, maps and site information. Electric, water and sewer hookups typically aren’t available at host sites, but it’s a free night’s stay. It’s also implied that the RVers will buy products from those hosts or donate for a cause.

“We like to be able to see different places and products,” said Carol Taylor, 72. “This place, for example. Who knew there were that many different ciders, vinegars, jams, pickles, mustards? Unfortunately, we’re headed to Canada, so we couldn’t do the fresh fruit.”

Businesses aren’t charged by Harvest Hosts to be in the network. Each site typically takes one or two RVs, but it might be up to four if there’s space. Tents aren’t allowed.

Dan Taylor, 69, said he appreciates that host sites tend to be quiet and away from freeway noise. Often, it’s just their RV or one other. The couple usually switches off to stay some nights at an RV park for the amenities, but their van has all the essentials to be “off the grid.”

He selected the pickled garlic at Walters’.

“We’ve never been told how much you have to buy, but it’s kind of implied that they appreciate your business,” he said.

There have been times perhaps at all-fresh produce sites when owners understood they couldn’t buy items, he added, but they usually pay for something.

His wife said they have used Harvest Hosts to do a wine tour that took in western Washington and western Oregon.

“So it was wineries, breweries and such over on that side,” Carol said. “Another trip we did was we stopped at a vineyard and winery over by Yakima and then we went to the Goldendale Observatory that evening.”

Morghan Morrell, Walters’ co-owner with her husband Jason, said the business started with Harvest Hosts about 10 years ago. People typically book ahead but some do same-day, if space is available. They’re open to host June 1 through Sept. 15, paired with Walters’ season.

Harvest Hosts visitors tend to buy from the store, because they don’t always have time to pick produce, she said.

“For the most part, we get to chat with them,” Morrell said. “It tends to be older folks or people with young kids doing summer vacation.”

She said the RVers don’t bring in a huge amount of additional income, but it’s good for business.

“It’s more about getting our name out than anything.”

Some Harvest Hosts local sites include the microbrewery Precious Things Fermentation Project, Up North Distillery in Post Falls and B-T-B Horse Boarding & Hotel. Others are a blueberry farm, alpaca ranch and lavender operation.

Of course, near Kennewick, Yakima and Walla Walla, dozens of wineries are listed within Harvest Hosts.

In Green Bluff, Hidden Acres Orchards co-owner Nick Simchuk said that being a host for about four years has stretched his season a bit.

“It’s been a really good tool for us to draw customers in before I have things ripe and ready for the season, to get that revenue stream in a month or two before the season begins,” Simchuk said.

“We have our little gift shop and we sell jams, cider, take-and-bake pies, a little clothing.”

He gets Harvest Hosts RVers by early spring, but also those bookings through the summer and into the fall.

“Most of the time, people are headed someplace fun,” he said. “I don’t make it off the farm much in the summertime, but I feel like I’m traveling around with them. Most of them are retirees jumping in the RV and seeing the country for the first time.”

Joel Holland purchased Harvest Hosts with wife, Mary Ashley, in 2018 from Don and Kim Greene. It has about 250,000 members today.

Holland said they’ve grown the company from 600 host sites to 5,500, now in every state.

“Washington is one of our biggest states; it has over 200 locations and has popular destinations — wineries, breweries, farms, golf courses,” Holland said.

“I feel like you have some of the best diversity. There are even a few churches that host. A lot of times, they are in nice locations and have an empty parking lot during the week.”

People in RVs who stay at churches often leave a donation. There are even a few museums as host sites.

The company’s members range from young owners with families to the more typical retiree, Holland said.

People who stay at the Otis Orchards B-T-B Horse Boarding & Hotel get to interact with animals and can sometimes book riding lessons, said Emily Sandoval, a co-owner.

The initials stand for Beyond the Badge, because the facility is owned and operated by first responders.

They care for five horses that are always on site, five long-term boarded horses and three goats.

“We are strictly donation only (for Harvest Hosts), and most people just donate to benefit the animals,” Sandoval said. “There are no expectations. If people want to donate, it goes back into the horses.”

At another site here, Lauri Williams is co-owner with her husband Steve of blueberry U-pick Pleasant Prairie Farms near Argonne and Bigelow Gulch Road. One perk of being a host is they get to visit Harvest Hosts locations with their RV for free, she said.

With the growing season, they can’t always go, Williams added, but they’re looking forward to some trips for the variety and experiences.

Because of their farm’s short season, she said it’s fine if people don’t buy fruit. She enjoys meeting Harvest Hosts visitors, including Germany residents who had flown their camper van into Canada to travel cross-country.

“They came during harvest and picked a whole bunch of blueberries before they left,” Williams said.

“We had people here from Maui. They kept their van at a son’s house in the Midwest and were touring the Pacific Northwest.

“We’ve also had people here a couple of times who have a blog. They’re from Wisconsin and basically live in their van full time and travel the U.S.”

Harvest Hosts sites near Pleasant Prairie Farms include the Precious Things microbrewery and an alpaca farm.

“They’ll stay one night there, and then at ours,” she said. “They might say, ‘We’re going to visit a local microbrewery on Saturday, and on the way home, pick some blueberries.’ ”