How to camp in great places for $2.50 a night

Below is one such place where I recently camped for two weeks for $2.50 a night.

I was parked right next to Curtis Creek which is a bold mountain stream. The creek is about four feet deep where I was camped. It was great for trout fishing and swimming, except it was way too cold for me to go swimming.

The campground is Curtis Creek Campground in the Pisgah National Forest. It's about 35 miles east of Asheville, NC. It's about halfway up to Mt. Mitchell (which is the highest mountain east of the Mississippi River). There is water available and clean toilets, but no showers, no electricity, no sewer, and no WiFi.

Also, like all (or most) National Parks and BLM land, there is a 14-day limit on how long you can camp there. With a generator and my solar panel, I got along just fine. There were some great hiking trails and as you might expect, it was a relaxing place.

Of course, for $2.50 a night, it's not a KOA campground. And it's not easy to get to. Well, actually it is if you have nerves of steel. It's five miles up the mountain and the last three miles are not paved.

That's not the bad part. The scary part is that you have to cross two bridges like the one shown below. As you can see in the picture, it looks like a lot of people hit the side of the bridge. The bridge is only three inches wider than the tires on my motorhome.

I'm just kidding. That's what it looked like when I was driving across the bridge, but actually, there was an eight-inch clearance on each side. (I know because I measured the width of the motorhome tires and the bridge before I drove across).

There are other ways to get low-cost camping in great locations

The secret is that you can negotiate some great deals at private campgrounds.

Below is a picture of where I camped recently. The nose of my motorhome was right up against the river. If you look closely, you can see my motorhome through the trees. The river was a little over three feet deep at that point. Another great place to swim (or catch trout).

I stayed here for a couple of months for $10 a night ($300 a month) and that included full hookups with 50-amp electric and WiFi. I can't reveal the location because when I negotiated that rate, I was sworn to secrecy.

Techniques to help you negotiate great rates with private campground owners

• Start by staying at a campground that honors the 50% off Passport America card. (Membership is $44 a year, and you can sign up at PassportAmerica.com) The half-off discount is usually only good for three nights and not on the weekends, but after you've been there for two or three days (and if the campground is not close to full), talk to the owner and explain that you like his campground and would like to stay longer if he can continue to give you the 50% discount. Tell him that if he can't, you will have to move on to another Passport America campground.

• Tell the owner that you will pay cash in advance. (I've found that when you pay cash, most campgrounds don't charge you tax. I don't know how they handle cash transactions, and I don't care--but I can guess.)

• If you have a blog, offer to do a write-up with a great review of the campground.

• Also tell the owner that you will leave a great reviews on Google, Trip Advisor, and other RV review websites.

• If you don't have kids, dogs, or if you're by yourself, be sure to point this out.

• One of the most important things is that for the two or three days that you're there before you start negotiating to stay longer at the half-price rate (or maybe even better), be the kind of camper that doesn't cause any problems.

• And of course, be sure to tell the campground owner that you won't breathe a word to anyone about the discounted price he gave you. The last thing a campground owner wants is for everyone in the campground to start demanding a discount.

I very seldom pay full price to camp. Do your homework, negotiate and make the campground owner an offer he can't refuse and you can likely end up with some fantastic rates. But remember, you can't tell anybody because you promised the campground owner that you wouldn't breathe a word.