Since we created Homeschool Road Trips in 2015, we’ve been traveling with our own families and taking other homeschooling families on some exciting educational road trips! We’ve been blessed to experience some fantastic locations, learn a lot about geography and history and science, get some exercise while participating in fun activities in beautiful outdoor locations, and spend time relaxing and enjoying getting to know other homeschooling families.
One of our primary goals with our Homeschool Road Trips has been to provide affordable homeschool enrichment and adventure opportunities to homeschool families and to build a community for those homeschool families who love to travel together. But unfortunately, hotels with catered food don’t usually make a trip affordable!! So we had resigned ourselves to the fact that this was all we could provide. That is… until we met GoRVing a couple of years ago.
They not only introduced us to the RV lifestyle, but in the process, we learned about these cute little cabins at RV resorts and campgrounds! We literally had no idea about RVs, RV campgrounds, or the cabins (because neither of us owns an RV), so we really had not even visited an RV campground before. We didn’t realize that RV / cabin camping was even an option for us. Boy were we wrong (and this was one of those times we were perfectly happy to be wrong!)
In fact, we so fell in love with this concept that we promptly created a road trip around testing out this travel model! We took our Homeschool Road Trip to Mammoth Cave Jellystone. This trip was our first road trip where RV travelers were invited to participate. We did have quite a few RVers join us, but three-quarters of our families stayed in these Park Model RVs (cabins). We (Wendy and Trish and our families) stayed in cabins like these in the pictures, and both of our families just loved them!
So let us introduce you to the most fun, affordable, and comfortable way that we have found for families to travel!
Cabins
Meet the cutest little cabins you will ever see. But they are not really cabins! They are Park Model RVs. But we bet you won’t think they are RVs because really, they look just like little cabins. They are actually built on an RV chassis and towed to their final destination and are primarily designed for long-term or permanent placement at campgrounds. They come in a variety of floor plans, may have different amenities (front porch, sleeping lofts, bunk beds) but all will be 400 square feet or less.
This particular cabin is about 400 square feet and could sleep up to 4 adults plus 2 children. They each had a bedroom with a queen size bed and a bedroom with a queen size bed plus a bunk bed. There was a full-size bathroom and a full kitchen furnished with pots/pans and dishes and utensils. And of course there was central heat and air conditioning. Outside there was a large front porch with a picnic table, charcoal grill, and fire ring. There was even a flat screen TV with satellite TV access too, but we were too busy to watch TV!
You can see from these pictures that the park model RVs we stayed in were beautiful!!
Below you can see one of these park model RVs. This one (at this particular location) is called the Cindy Bear cabin.
What is even better is that these little cabins come fully equipped with bathrooms and kitchens, so they become the perfect base for your family to go about wandering and exploring the area you are visiting. And once you head back in for the evening, you have the luxury of choosing if you will grill out or cook your meals inside. Either way, you are spending less money than you would if your entire family were to eat out every single meal!
Below you can see the Lincoln’s Logs cabin which is 290 square feet and can house up to 8 people–2 to 4 adults and 1 to 4 children.
Campground Community and Activities
View this post on Instagram
As much as we love the Park Model RVs, we also loved the campground community and activities they offer. We have now stayed at two different Jellystone RV Campgrounds and are thoroughly impressed! The Jellystone at Mammoth Cave is FANTASTIC! If you decide to visit them, ask for Candace and tell her we sent you. (She’ll take great care of you!) The park was finishing up a huge remodel (Seriously, they just invested over $4 million dollars updating and expanding their park.), and it showed. The park was clean and well maintained with beautiful pools, lakes, walking trails, and playgrounds. It felt VERY safe with a gate card system that provided access to the campsites. They offered bingo, tie-dyed t-shirts, Hey! Hey! Hey Rides, and tons of other family-friendly activities! Each Jellystone has a unique personality that matches their community and demographic perfectly… but let us assure you, if you have children (of any age), you will not regret seeking out a Jellystone to try! You can see if any are in the area you plan to travel by visiting their site here.
We sincerely hope we have introduced you and your family to a whole new way to travel and save money! If you do decide to try them out, please let us know! We would love to hear about your adventure!
I absolutely loved staying in one of the Blue Grass cabins with my four young kids and husband. The kitchen was stocked with the pans and utensils needed for cooking.
I’m actually on a little weekend road trip this very moment. We are in a hotel room, and it is so stressful trying to keep these little kids quiet with all of the rooms around, above, and below us.
I didn’t have to worry so much about them being rowdy while in the cabin, and I loved that I could send them out on the porch or around the cabin while I made dinner or just got ready for the day!!
If this hadn’t been a last minute trip, I would’ve booked a cabin instead of staying in this nice hotel.
Tursa, it is so true! We heard this very thing from several other moms on the trip too… especially the ones who were near the playground. They absolutely LOVED that aspect!
I could see a playground from the cabin deck, but it was a little too far for me to feel comfortable sending them alone. Being closer enough to send them over to play would’ve been even better….but my kids had fun right outside the cabin hunting for slugs and watching the mama bird feed her babies in the nest on the next door cabin window.
My husband, Jon and boys loved the cabins. They would love to do this again and next time I am coming too!
Oh Tracy!! We would love to meet you and have you guys on our road trips!! Our next one is to New Mexico in October!
We have stayed in these type of cabins before and they were great. I can’t wait to meet up with y’all at one of these road trips in the near future. Love to you both.
Kelley, we really do hope you and your family will be able to join us on one of our road trips!! They are so much fun!
We stayed in one of the efficiency cabins at Jellystone. I had no idea they were RV’s. Our cabin was cute and cozy and had everything we needed. I love this kind of travel! Anything that encourages my son to be outdoors is a win and he absolutely loved our time there! And being surrounded by a bunch of homeschooling families is such a blessing. We are looking forward to our next trip!
We are so glad it fit your needs!! That trip to Cave City was so much fun and filled with firsts for our family. Staying in these little cabins was one of them! Our trip to New Mexico should open up next week, so be on the look out for it!
I know it!! They don’t look like RVs, do they? 🙂
We loved our cabin! i was kind of surprised that it was so “move in ready” so early in the season! very nice. We were really close to the playground, and it was great to feel safe about letting the kids run up the hill to go play.
The size of the cabin was perfect and I appreciated having a full kitchen for the 1/2-week we were there. It helped us save a little money and eat better food than we would have eating in restaurants for our entire visit.
I would definitely visit another Jellystone campground if they were available on future vacations!
We’re so glad you enjoyed it!! I’m sure we’ll be staying at more Jellystone campgrounds on future trips!
Would love to go there!
This sounds like such a great idea! We had a conference around the time of the Cave trip and could not go, but I love the idea. I had not consider RV camping either as we do not own one. The cabins are perfect for our family. We live in the country and being quiet in a hotel is very hard for them.
We heard that over and over again!! Absolutely one of the best aspects, especially for families with young children!
This is some great information, and I can’t believe some of those cabins are actually RVs. I adore the Cave City area, we used to live not far from there. I miss Kentucky so much, we are going to have to plan a trip to Jellystone.
We truly did love it there!! It is a beautiful area with so much to do.
What a genius idea! When my husband and I married, we planned to camp a lot because it’s fun and also one of the habits of successful couples. We used to own an old camper, but where does the average family store a camper? Plus, we couldn’t take it far, because gas isn’t cheap. These little cabins are a great solution!
They really are perfect!! We will be staying in these regularly in the future!
We are so not Camping/Outdoor people. These cute Cabins would help me try it.
The older I get the more “not camping” I become!! I consider these little cabins (or RVs) Glamping on steroids 🙂
We bought a camper that we can tow. We are still getting used to taking it places. We love our home away from home and being able to go when we want without the cost of a motel room. Those cabins are beautiful.
Maybe one of these trips we can join y’all.
Sara, we sure hope you will! We would love to have an RV or camper… but that is not likely in the plans for the foreseeable future. So, I’ll settle for these cute little cabins in the meantime! We do plan to have more trips where RVs can join us!! New Mexico is in October!
We stayed in the Amish Cabins. They are pet friendly and very roomy! My youngest child loved the loft. The cabin had an apartment sized stove, microwave, and full sized refrigerator, which was perfect for us. We had everything we needed and were conveniently located close to the entrance and all the attractions! My children had such a great time, they asked if we could stay there again. It almost felt like a second home to us. We will definitely look forward to more trips at similar parks.
That is great to hear Jessie!! We look forward to seeing y’all again soon (maybe New Mexico)!!
They look so cozy but most of all love the full kitchens. Would love to one day try this out. Thanks for the information on different types of cabins. Here’s to putting this on my list of things to do. Thanks for sharing!
There’s a Jellystone about an hour from us. The kids have been asking to go, but I’m not the camping type. I could do it in a cabin like this!
Leslie, do check on it! They are like little resorts for kids. My teenagers loved it, but little ones will especially love it!!
These look fun! We just came back from a four day vacation and man oh man eating out sure adds up! It’s fun to go out now and then, but I always worry about the cost… especially now that we are nearing the age of not being able to utilize the children’s menus at restaurants.
Thank you for sharing!
For me, with three teenage boys, food is one of the biggest expenses!!
RV camping was super fun and the Cave City road trip was mammoth! We stayed in a Ranger’s Retreat cabin and it was perfect! (And who knew they could be moved?!?) I loved having everyone in their own bed and having access to a full kitchen was great. The boys were able to be loud and rambunctious and when it got to be too much, I just sent them outside! We will definitely do this again!
I am thrilled to hear that Dawn!! I love this concept so much too! We hope you will join us again on a future Homeschool Road Trip! Thanks so much for joining us!
Can’t want to meet y’all and hear all about this at the FPEA this weekend.
I love this idea!!
Sounds perfect for our family, I can’t wait to try it!!
I can’t wait to hear about your travels!! Please do come back and let us know what you think!
These getaway cabins are terrific. We’ve stayed in these and enjoyed the camp grounds with our family.
This sounds like this would be fun to do this summer!
Let us know if you try them!
These cabins are nice! In Maine we have several places by the Belgrade Lakes and also upcountry that have similar cabins. I stayed in one once and it was a lot of fun.
Oh, good to know! Thanks so much for sharing that!
Sounds like a good thing for all to do
I am a city girl and have never stayed in a cabin or gone camping!
Judi!! It’s time to try them! LOL… I’m pretty sure you will love them too!
I stayed in a cabin and I loved it definitely one of my top vacations
It really does make it so much easier with a kitchen and bathroom right there!!
This looks like a fun place to visit. Thanks for sharing.
This would be a great family vacation place!
I think it would be amazing to stay in a little cabin like these! I have always loved camping and the outdoors, and this would be extremely fun for the kids as well. 🙂 Thank you so much for sharing!
Never thought to stay at one. Are they cheaper than hotels and do you need reservations?
They are cheaper if you take into consideration the price of food and being able to eat “at home” instead of at restaurants. Yes, you need reservations, especially during the busy season!!
I love RV parks. I like the privacy of cabins but with activities with others, too.
When you travel with an eye of a child there’s lots of fun & inexpensive places to go. 🙂
I wish I could travel but having a adult son with autism is hard going very far.
I too have an adult (daughter) who has autism. You’re right. Traveling is difficult with autistic folks! But it can be done. 🙂
These look really nice and comfy. I have never stayed in this area but have stayed in small cabins in the Tennessee Mountains and was well pleased.
This looks awesome!
Lots of great articles on this site! Looking forward to traveling more this next year and doing it on a budget 🙂
We’ve been looking into one of the Jellystone parks in our area, but I didn’t know they had cabins. Thanks for the info!