Forget about the cold with these snowbird RV retirement spots!
Snowbirding, a cherished and popular tradition among retired RVers, is all about traveling south during the wintertime to enjoy warmer climates and fun activities.
The ideal snowbird destination offers warmth and a blend of community, conveniences, and unique local attractions.
For RVers, these locations have to also provide a campground with culture, amenities, and price points that match up with their personal snowbird wish list. Just don’t spend too much time weighing the pros and cons of each destination.
After all, the popularity of snowbirding for retired RVers is huge right now. It’s essential to book campgrounds well in advance to secure your perfect spots.
So, on that note, Must See Places looked around to find the best places snowbirds love to call home.. even if it’s just until it gets warmer up north. Here are our 8 favorite snowbird RV retirement spots! Let us know which ones you like most!
What exactly is a Snowbird, though?
You’ve heard the word Snowbird before, but what exactly does it mean? A snowbird refers to a group of people or an individual. Usually, they’re retirees who travel seasonally to areas that offer milder climates during the winter months.
And, snowbirds tend to travel from northern locations, like the Northeastern United States, Ohio, Michigan, and Wisconsin.
When Is snowbird season?
The typical snowbirding season begins in October and ends in April. When deciding which snowbird RV retirement spot to choose, consider accommodations (both amenities and cost), hobbies, scenic preferences, travel interests, and family or friends’ locations.
While “snowbird” is a typical reference, the politically correct term is “winter visitor.” The word “snowbird” can sometimes have a negative connotation. So you may find places that refer to you as a “winter visitor” instead.
Snowbird RV retirement spot: Scottsdale, Arizona
A large part of the Phoenix metropolitan area, Scottsdale, has an extensive arts district, with its free Artwalk each Thursday, the Barrett-Jackson auction auto show, buses, trolleys, casinos, multiple golf courses, and a branch of the Mayo Clinic.
It’s part of an area that invites over 300,000 snowbirds annually to complete a population where 20% of the residents are over 65. Those folks fill almost a half-dozen RV parks in this snowbird RV retirement spot alone.
When spring arrives, even more visitors come to watch the San Francisco Giants, Arizona Diamondbacks, and Colorado Rockies hold spring training in town.
Snowbird RV retirement spot: Visalia-Porterville, California
This snowbird RV retirement spot is home to some of the state’s most significant national treasures. From Kings Canyon National Parks and Sequoia to Lake Kaweah and Mount Whitney, there’s a lot here for people who love the great outdoors.
And the Kaweah Delta Medical Center is right near all of it in case you need help. The area also has about 24 RV parks to help you enjoy those mild winters and national treasures. But there have been fires, so remember to check in with your campsite before leaving.
Snowbird RV retirement spot: Las Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas is secretly a nice place to retire. The city is flat, the rain is minimal, the sidewalks are broad, and every type of public transportation has senior discounts.
Shows, restaurants, hotel rooms, buffets: None are strangers to senior discounts, and most rely on them to get through the slow seasons, offering senior admission and senior days to museums and many other attractions.
Just be sure to ask for the discounts, which are more available than Sin City would like you to believe. Temperatures are mainly in the 60s and 70s during the winter.
And ensure you have a heater when staying at one of the over two dozen RV parks. Temps can still get below freezing in this snowbird RV retirement spot.
Snowbird RV retirement spot: San Antonio, Texas
The Alamo, The Riverwalk, the old Colonial touches, SeaWorld, and Six Flags for the grandkids… San Antonio has pretty much made itself a destination with just about everybody in mind.
Given it’s one of the largest cities in the nation and not exactly the most affordable to live in, having dozens of clinics, hospitals, and medical centers huddled within the nearby South Texas Medical Center is a comfort for health-conscious retirees.
Winters are mild to extraordinary here. So, all you have to do is pick one of the over two dozen RV parks in the region and get moving!
Snowbird RV retirement spot: Austin, Texas
We’re not finished with the state, though! There are many fantastic reasons to enjoy seasonal living in a college town.
And Austin hosts Austin City Limits, South by Southwest, concerts every night, excellent independent films, a large delegation of artists, and some of the best food in the land. So there’s much more to it than what the Longhorns do every Saturday.
Also, state capitals and college towns are wonderful places to find health care. St. David’s Medical Center, University Medical Center, Seton Medical, Heart Hospital, Arise Austin, the Hospital at Westlake Medical Center, Dell Children’s, Fresenius, and Northwest Hills Surgical are only what’s within a couple of miles of the city center.
Folks that are 65 and older make up a mere 8% of all the people here. So it’s the young at heart filling the region’s nearly three dozen RV resorts.
Snowbird RV retirement spot: Hot Springs, Arkansas
Approximately an hour outside Little Rock, Hot Springs is one of the nation’s most affordable cities for retirees and is built entirely on leisure.
There’s fishing on Lake Catherine and Lake Hamilton, the racetrack at Oaklawn Park walks through the Garvan Woodland Gardens, and the fierce creatures of the Alligator Farm and Petting Zoo.
Then there’s always Bathhouse Row, which offers a soak in the namesake Hot Springs or just a leisurely stroll through historic district hotels, art galleries, restaurants, and festivals.
Over 21% of people here are over 65, the winter temperatures are in the milder 50s, and the close proximity to Hot Springs National Park puts many RV parks into play.
Snowbird RV retirement spot: Aiken, South Carolina
Welcome to Horse Country, folks! Aiken has been known as a “winter colony” for northerners since the end of the 1800s, with temperatures remaining in the high 50s and low 60s in the colder months.
You’ll find numerous horse tour companies and trails around this area. Still, vintage markets, restaurants, festivals, street music, breweries, and much more make it a year-round attraction for many, especially for the quarter of the population that’s over 65.
A handful of RV parks welcome snowbirds, too, but we’d recommend booking a few months to a year in advance because this tends to be a pretty popular area!
Snowbird RV retirement spot: Naples, Florida
Naples is encircled by more than 80 golf courses, making it a golf retiree’s dream come true. So don’t forget to pack some golfing shoes when visiting this snowbird RV retirement spot!
It has a downtown area loaded with museums, theaters, and restaurants, notable open-air shopping centers, a stunning beach with a fishing pier, a half-marathon, wildlife preserves, tennis, and a botanical garden.
And the best part is that healthcare options include two Physicians Regional facilities, two NCH Hospitals, and over a dozen Healthcare Network of Southwest Florida facilities for those who need it.
It’s probably why over 30% of those living in surrounding Collier County are 65 or older and why the county is overflowing with RV parks.
Well? What are YOUR thoughts on all these incredible snowbird RV retirement spots? Let us know which ones you like best in the comments area below… But don’t leave yet!
If you liked this article and are looking for more ideas on what to do this winter, we highly recommend also checking out: 6 Cozy Winter Getaways with Sleigh Rides
