Big Ridge, The Smokeys
Photo by: Fran Priestley (Stock Exchange)

Hello and welcome to AllCampgrounds!

As we head into December, it’s the time of year most folks associate with a lull in camping.

Since our goal is to promote tent camping and RV camping all year around, we thought we’d take this chance to remind our newer readers about all our regular features.

In the last few weeks, we’ve talked a lot about winter camping, but AllCampgrounds has a range of news and articles to offer everyone!

Here’s a brief recap.

Nature-Watching Series: One of our earlier special features, the nature-watching series gives you the lowdown on spotting some of nature’s most intriguing critters. Every kind of “watching” is a little bit different, so we include tips on where to find the animals that most interest you, how to tell species apart, and what kind of equipment and knowledge you’ll need to make the most of every visit. So far, we’ve covered all the favorites, including the American bald eagle … but here’s the full list for the truly curious.

• Getting Started in Bird Watching
• Best Bird Watching Campgrounds
• Prairie Dogs
• Buffalo

Camping for Everyone: At AllCampgrounds, we truly believe camping is for everyone. Of course, there are a lot of folks who aren’t sure they agree — either they’ve never been camping before or they have some ideas about “roughing it” that don’t quite hold true in modern camp grounds. With Camping for Everyone, our longest running special series, you can help the people in your life get the camping bug by finding the right outdoor trip for them. Here are the posts we’ve dome so far, with even more soon to come!

• Glampers
• Primitive Campers
• Technology Enthusiasts
• Children
• Business Owners

Seasonal and Holiday Camping: Of course, if you’ve been visiting us lately you’ve seen the Winter Camping Series. We also put out special posts for other seasons and holidays throughout the year. Want to know more? Use the search box over on the right to look for any holiday or season that interests you. AllCampgrounds posts all year long with no interruption, so you’ll never be behind the curve when it comes to camping news. Want to welcome the New Year with camping? Just look for our upcoming post!

RV Camping: We love tents, but we don’t limit camping – RV campers are welcome, and we do plenty of posts on the RV camping lifestyle. Check out the RV camping tag, also on the right side of the screen, and you’ll be presented with all our great and growing collection of posts about getting the most from your big machine. In the last few months, we’ve looked at the great RV services available from Good Sam Club, discovered the best summer RV camping, and served up a slew of RV camping discounts. That only scratches the surface, so take a look for a whole lot more.

AllCampgrounds is looking forward to welcoming another great year of camping with our online readers! We hope you find the site informative and helpful; remember, you can always share your camping tips with us using the comment form below.

Fireworks
Photo by: Steve Graham (Stock Exchange)

Welcome back to AllCampgrounds! With the summer season upon us, it’ll soon be time for grilling and fireworks. It’s not surprising if you want to hit the road in your RV or go tent camping and enjoy cool evenings with friends in the great outdoors. But if you’re leaving home, where can you go to have all the great family fun and excitement of a community fireworks display? Lots of natural spaces have serious restrictions on fire, and that definitely includes fireworks, to protect the land. But there are also plenty where it’s only a short journey to spectacular summer displays.

Stone Mountain Park: Found on over 3,000 acres of prime land near Atlanta, Stone Mountain is known for its calendar chock full of annual family-friendly events, which often include great fireworks and laser light shows. As the largest of the Georgia camp grounds, it has sites to suit every taste; it hosts 56 primitive tent grounds and 431 other sites, almost 50% featuring full water, electric, and sewer hookups for RVs.

Kemp’s Kamp: Kemp’s is famed for its proximity to Mount Rushmore National Memorial, and its easy access to the annual fireworks display, often regarded as one of the best in the nation. Unfortunately, the fireworks display has been cancelled for 2010 pending further notice, but I’d still like to draw attention to Kemp’s, which includes a heated pool and sites appropriate for tent camping or RVs.

The loss of the Mount Rushmore event is a downer, but it’s not the only great, patriotic fireworks display on the Fourth. The National Mall, where many of Washington D.C.’s most iconic monuments are found, lights up with great displays for the 4th each year. Here’s a useful map … and here are your camping opportunities:

Cherry Hill Park: Cherry Hill has the distinction of being the closest RV camp park to Washington D.C., and it offers Metro and Gray Line access into the city many times a day. It’s also an exceptionally large park, offering space for 400 RVs with full electric, sewer and water. For your leisure needs, there’s free Internet, cable TV, a mini-golf course and an arcade, among others. The big attraction is D.C., though, and the staff makes every effort to ensure you have easy access to the nation’s capital during your stay. Check out their blog and Facebook site for the latest!

Duncan’s Family Campground: One of the great family-owned RV camping grounds in the United States, this site has been around for over 30 years and it shows in the fantastic quality and diversity of what it has to offer. D.C. tours leave directly from the park, and when you get “home” to Duncan’s you can expect a full calendar of seasonal events, a swimming pool, lots of activities for the kiddies, and even on-site RV repair. Both Duncan’s and Cherry Hill Park are located in the great state of Maryland.