The Escapees RV Club was founded on July 4, 1978, by Joe and Kay Peterson. There was no grand idea of what the club would become; it was started through Kay's column in Woodall's Trailer Travel magazine. She asked the question that, if a club was started to help people enjoy full-time RVing, would anyone be interested in joining? She received a couple of dozen responses and began to think big. One day there might be one or two hundred people in the club! Today there are over 32,000 member-families.

Those who joined the club were immediately asked to suggest a name for the club. Escapees was submitted by Harry and Peg Lewis, SKP #22. The name Escapees was chosen because it signifies escaping from the conventional lifestyle to a more adventurous one. The acronym "S-K-P" (say it fast and it sounds like Escapee) was adopted, and many members began calling themselves SKiPs. It has become a commonly used nickname.

The first official publication was a 5-page newsletter, hand-cranked from a portable printer and mailed to 164 members. Today it is an 96-page magazine mailed every two months to over 64,000 members.

The first Escapade was held in February 1979 near Bakersfield, California. Twenty-four families, including nine children, attended. Today there are two Escapades, one in the spring (usually in the Western part of the United States) and one in the fall (in the Eastern states), that are attended by as many as 2,500 members. Escapades are open to all regardless of whether or not they are members of Escapees.

Rainbow's End, in Livingston, Texas, became the Escapees headquarters in April 1984. Located in East Texas, it is six miles from Livingston and approximately 70 miles north of Houston. Rainbow's End was the first park created, followed by six more Rainbow Parks, 11 SKP Co-Op parks, and three Escapees Rainbow Parks Unlimited parks. Today there are over 150 employees. In addition to the permanent staff, there are thousands of volunteers who play a major part in the Escapees success story. These volunteers help build the home-base parks, and they perform many tasks that enable the parking fees to remain low. Volunteers serve on an advisory council and as volunteer club representatives (VCRs) who travel around the country, helping with activities of more than 50 individual chapters.

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