The hottest destination for RV travelers right now is a 200-acre park with natural springs in northern Florida, and it's becoming Instagram-famous for its unbelievably clear water

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The hottest destination for RV travelers right now is a 200-acre park with natural springs in northern Florida, and it's becoming Instagram-famous for its unbelievably clear water
Tropical RV Park

Courtesy of RVshare

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Ginnie Springs, anyone?

  • RVshare, the first peer-to-peer RV sharing platform with over 100,000 RVs, released its 2020 trend report on November 12.
  • The report found that while families are still renting RVs for a classic, all-American national park vacation, they're also booking RVs to explore more unknown locales.
  • Business Insider spoke to RVshare CEO Jon Gray about why RV rentals are trending and where clients are traveling to.
  • Turns out, Ginnie Springs in northern Florida - which is gaining Instagram fame for its clear waters and jungle-like flora - is the RV hotspot of 2019.
  • Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

Plenty of people will fondly remember visiting Yellowstone National Park in an RV with mom and dad as the classic American vacation of yesteryear.

But now, travelers are looking for more transformative, unexpected vacation destinations, even if they're driving there in a recreational vehicle.

Business Insider spoke to Jon Gray, the CEO of RVshare, the world's first peer-to-peer RV sharing platform, about current RV trends following the release of the company's 2020 travel report.

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"We've been asking our customers 'where are you headed?' and obviously Yellowstone and the Grand Canyon are standout destinations, but Ginnie Springs kept coming up," said Gray, "and I had never heard of it."

Below, take a look inside the destination RV-ers are loving this year.

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Ginnie Springs is a camping site just northwest of Gainesville, Florida with seven natural springs.

Ginnie Springs is a camping site just northwest of Gainesville, Florida with seven natural springs.

The springs' crystal clear water makes for ideal diving, kayaking, paddleboarding, and tubing — but it's also becoming a big destination for RV tourists, according to Jon Gray, CEO of RVshare.

The springs' crystal clear water makes for ideal diving, kayaking, paddleboarding, and tubing — but it's also becoming a big destination for RV tourists, according to Jon Gray, CEO of RVshare.
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Gray told Business Insider that today's travelers "want something that's off the beaten track." He attributes that to the desire to stand out on social media.

Gray told Business Insider that today's travelers "want something that's off the beaten track." He attributes that to the desire to stand out on social media.

Gray thinks people are specifically picking travel destinations based on photo opportunities but doesn't see that as a negative: "One of the upsides of the Instagramming of travel is that people try new things – they don't want to do things that are seen as touristy."

Ginnie Springs does seem to be attracting quite a bit of attention on social media; unsurprisingly, most of the most-liked shots with the #ginniesprings hashtag capitalize on the area's gorgeous colors.

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Ginnie Springs even has its own Instagram account, which has some 55,700 followers.

Gray said Ginnie Springs is such a popular destination for his clients because, beyond its Instagrammable blues, it taps into a desire to reconnect with nature.

Gray said Ginnie Springs is such a popular destination for his clients because, beyond its Instagrammable blues, it taps into a desire to reconnect with nature.

"The US has become more urban," Gray told Business Insider. "People are working in an office all day long and wanting to do something different. The desire to get into nature is there – this idea of disconnecting to reconnect."

As an added plus, it's also an accessible destination regardless of the season: the springs stay at 72 degrees year-round.

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The private campsite is open all year long.

The private campsite is open all year long.

Camping prices start at $22 per person. Access to the springs starts at $14 per day. Diving access starts at $22 per day.

And the campsites are also RV-friendly: Ginnie Springs' tent and RV sites are spread out over 200 acres, and the RV sites have power and water hookups.