Camping out on Sandy Beach
Photo by: Brad Harrison (Stock Exchange)

Welcome to AllCampgrounds!

December is upon us, so it’s time to look ahead to some of the great features we plan to roll out over the new year.

If you’re a new reader, it might surprise you to know the AllCampgrounds blog has over 100 posts covering all kinds of tent camping and RV camping topics, dating back to 2008.

In fact, the AllCampgrounds camping directory, has been around for more than ten years!

You might think we’ve done everything in that time, but there’s always more to see and do when it comes to camping!

More Features on the Way

AllCampgrounds is already one of the most respected and well-established camping sites on the web, but we want to push it even further on the blog in 2012. Last post, we talked all about our classic features, including Nature-Watching, Camping for Everyone, and seasonal camping news. Expect more of these great special series posts to find their way to the blog in the coming months, along with the return of the Camping 50 States series.

Even More RV Parks and Camp Grounds

Camping is growing all over the United States, and everyone is getting in on the act. But that doesn’t mean we’re going to forget about some of American camping’s most iconic pioneers, the leaders in the RV lifestyle. 2012 will see even more posts focusing on the best RV parks and camp grounds, as well as more information on how to get the most from your RV. You might even get to see some live posts from the road.

AllCampgrounds Wants to Hear From You

The most important thing about the AllCampgrounds blog is you! We want to hear more from our readers than ever in 2012. If you have an idea for a story, series, or just a great park to recommend, let us know. Your idea might be featured in an upcoming post. We pride ourselves in knowing about all campgrounds (heck, that’s our name!) but YOU’RE the local expert, so weigh in! In fact, that leads us to another important point

Our Mailbag is Always Open at AllCampgrounds

If you have a camping question, you can always contact us. Send a comment to our team by replying to any post; don’t worry about which one, we’re sure to see it. Give us a day or two to research and your question will receive a response. If there’s something we don’t know, we’ll point you toward a resource where you can find out more. Once we do find out, your questions make for great posts in our AllCampgrounds mailbag.

As you can see, it’s going to be another exciting year here at AllCampgrounds. This year, we want to serve you better than ever. You can help us do it by letting us know just how we can make this the camping blog for you. Until next time — stay warm, outdoors-folks, and we’ll see you here again next Friday! And a very happy (early) 2012!

Laguna Ridge Trail, California
Photo by: dlockeretz (Stock Exchange)

It’s good to see you back again at AllCampgrounds.

As you know, this is the place to be for tent camping, RV parks and campgrounds, and just about anything to do with the camping life: whether you want to go camping quick, make a camping pie, or even find the “camping bathroom.”

No surprise, then, that whether RVing or tent camping is more your style, you’ll find something to smile about in this latest round of news from around the camping community.

Climb aboard the AllCampgrounds hay wagon and let’s go!

Families Warm Up to Mother Nature: From the Kansas City Star, the newspaper of record in that fine town, comes this little report that suggests more and more people are bringing the young ones around to enjoy the wonders of the great outdoors. It’s a growing phenomenon, and not confined to the central plains. The East Hampton-Portland Patch sounds a similar note here: Family Camping Has Many Benefits. Some of those benefits have been compiled by the National Wildlife Federation as part of their Great American Backyard Campout campaign. It’s not too late to sign up and be an official part of the Campout, so check out the NWF site for details.

When you think of camping, the city of Boston might not be high on your list. Known more for its great libraries and Revolutionary War history than its camp grounds, Boston gets a cheer from this piece out of the Boston.com Article Collection. Boston-area camp grounds have a lot to offer: just take a gander at the Boston Harbor Islands National Recreation Area and you’ll get a good idea how you, too, can have the best of both worlds on your next camping trip out in the northeast.

Travel Daily News International recently posted Camping: The Trendier Way to Holiday? As reported before in this blog, upscale camping areas are proliferating, not only in North America, but throughout the world – aiming for the young, affluent adult demographic and encouraging exploration and enjoyment of nature in a “safe” space. At the same time (on the same day, even!) AOL Travel’s “Gadling” blog joins the glamping craze with this primer: Glamping 101: What is “Glamorous Camping,” Exactly? If glamping interests you, don’t forget to browse AllCampgrounds’ coverage of the topic as part of our signature series, Camping for Everyone.

If you like to use camping to disconnect and get off the grid, you might wonder what use your smartphone is on a wilderness excursion. Well, don’t count out the little Droid, Apple, or whatever else it may be just yet. Gizmodo’s App of the Day feature just alerted the AllCampgrounds crew to some useful software in this post: Trail Maps for iPhone and iPad: Maps for When You Go off the Grid. Sound cool? Well, it is.

As many of our readers will attest, one of the most challenging parts of backwoods camping is navigating lesser known trails. Now, of course, some backcountry camping will take place in areas where your handy phone won’t have a signal. But with this app, you have a built-in “command center” that will download gargantuan, incredibly detailed maps – helping keep you on course even when you’re low on “bars.” There are lots of nifty navigational features when your connection is up, too.

River eddy in the Missouri River Photo by:
Robert Linder (Stock Exchange)

Hello and welcome to AllCampgrounds!

This week, we’ll be sharing some great camping news for all you tent camping and RV camping enthusiasts.

The summer camping season still has a lot of life left in it, so this won’t be all!

We’ll return to our usual (and unusual) coverage of the best RV parks and campgrounds, tent camping parks, and other top quality camping destinations next go around.

But for now, it’s time for news: AllCampgrounds has you covered with the very latest on the camping scene.

First off: Yellowstone National Park needs our help! After the recent rupture of an ExxonMobil pipe, forty two thousand gallons of crude oil have been spilled into the Yellowstone River. An oil cleanup effort is ongoing. Though the national park extends for over two million miles, damage to this nearly 700-mile tributary of the Missouri River could have a profound effect on the local wildlife. More than 100 calls have been received to date from concerned locals – many of them campers, I’ll bet! – who want to help out with the clean up effort. Good luck, everyone!

What’s Next for Privatized Camping in State Parks? asks the Florida Independent. Not much, to judge from the public’s overwhelming reaction to Governor Rick Scott’s plans to partially privatize Honeymoon Island State Park and create a selection of “high impact” tent camping and other camp grounds. “Nearly every Florida lawmaker was opposed to the plan,” says the article, and no follow-up plan is anticipated for right now. Of course, we want to hear from AllCampgrounds viewers: how do you feel about state park privatization? Have you had better camping experiences in private or public lands? Let us know with a comment.

Here’s a question many campers have asked already this season (and in seasons past): Camping With Kids: Are We Crazy? Read the adventures of a couple who brought their toddler and preschooler out to enjoy the great outdoors out in Canton, Massachusetts. Not to spoil the ending, but good fun was had by early – proving that it’s just about never too early to start enjoying your tent camping. Congrats to mom and dad for taking the plunge and finding a new family hobby.

Finally, check out safety tips for hiking and camping in bear country. This is a subject we’ve devoted a lot of attention to here on AllCampgrounds, but it’s worth repeating, especially after the fatal bear attack earlier in the month. In addition to a great listing of what to do to prevent and respond to bear encounters, this article offers a video on bear safety that will help you keep the local critters from sampling your food.

“Happy campers” might be more than a cliché ...
Photo by: Julie Perron (Stock Exchange)

Here on AllCampgrounds, we’ve taken plenty of tent camping and RV adventures in camp grounds throughout the U.S., Canada, and Mexico. Though we don’t go overseas much, now is a great time to point out the camping craze that’s hit our good friends over in the United Kingdom. In fact, an international camping outfit called The Camping and Caravanning Club – which offers member benefits to locals and campers from afar, very much like our own camping associations here in the States – is a major player in the new craze and has some things to say about camping that just might surprise you!

During the big budget debacle here in America, camp grounds have been one of the precious resources that some politicians have been asking us to do without. But over on the other side of the pond, there’s been explosive growth in both tent camping and RV (“caravaning”) over the last two years. In fact, The Caravan and Camping Club, which has over half a million members, has just published research arguing that camping makes you happier and “richer.” You can browse their conclusions at Real Richness, part of their official website, or truck down to Cambridge News for a summary. (Female First online magazine offers even more details and anecdotes from the study.)

The numbers are telling. About 90% of campers surveyed believe that camping can make you happier and healthier, and half feel that it’s so good for your mental health, it ought to be prescribed. While there’s no evidence (yet!) that camping makes you “richer” in the material sense, there’s a lot of good support for the idea that campers can lead a fuller and more satisfying life – whether you prefer RV camp grounds or tent camping. And all of this comes hot on the heels of some separate research by a local leisure retailer, suggesting that camping will continue to grow in the UK.

Now, all of this raises a question: is there something special about the UK that makes folks over there enjoy and appreciate camping more? No! Camping season actually tends to be a little bit shorter in Britain, and needless to say, there’s much less space for them to spread out. So, next time you want to encourage friends and family to head to the great outdoors, just let them know that they might be better off in the long run if they do! Let’s just call this “Camping for Everyone: Happy People.” Speaking of our signature series, Camping for Everyone will be back soon! We’ll also be tent camping in our top five “beginner” parks, in our continuing work to get the word out on camping. See you then!

Yosemite National Park ... closed for business?
Photo by: dereklink (Stock Exchange)

Howdy, all, and welcome back to AllCampgrounds!

Last week, I promised to talk about how you can help your favorite public parks and camp grounds weather the storm as states and the federal government wrangle over spending.

As we learned last week, the National Park Service, which operates 58 national parks around the country, is considered “non-essential” – and if the government shuts down, both tent camping and RV camping opportunities at these sites will shut down, too.

But fear not! Campers can get involved to help keep all campsites humming.

Donate Time or Money to Your National Park: It may not seem like it at the height of camping season, but not all campsites see a lot of visitors throughout the year. Public lands can range thousands of miles, and some welcome the majority of campers in the spring and early summer months. The more people visit throughout the year, the better is the chance that public lands will find a bigger place in the budget – especially if visitors show their commitment by volunteering or pooling donations.

You can learn more about giving to national parks at the National Park Foundation.

Visit Your National Park Camp Grounds Frequently: Many avid campers plan trips to their favorite tent camping grounds every year. Even if you don’t have much time to volunteer, visiting your local park helps build revenue and interest that keeps lands open. Remember to leave your campsite “without a trace” to make sure animals aren’t disturbed and park workers don’t have to spend excess time in clean-up. For more about this, see Keeping Your Camp Grounds Clean and Pristine. Being tidy is one of the easiest ways to reduce maintenance; Mother Nature can tend the forest, but not pick up trash!

Join an Organization: There are all sorts of groups for camping enthusiasts whose trips make a big impact on the camp grounds they choose, both public and private. These clubs are great fun, and many of them can help you save on camp grounds and supplies thanks to long-standing relationships with parks and suppliers. No matter what kind of camping you favor, there are plenty of options for you to choose from. For an introduction to some of these, browse the AllCampgrounds archives for a look at National Organizations Every Tent Camper Should Know and National Organizations for RV Campers.

Spread the Word: Likewise, there are plenty of great campers out there who just don’t know they’re campers yet. If you know someone you’d like to get out into the great outdoors, consider joining them in a trip to a KOA camp ground to get started. Check out the KOA Campground Directory to find the site nearest you and enjoy this famous franchise, famous for being beginner and family-friendly. Trying to ease into things for the reluctant campers in your family? The National Parks: America’s Best Idea makes a great gift, and many camp grounds are found near “conventional” tourist destinations.

Also don’t forget the “Camping for Everyone” series, also on the AllCampgrounds blog, with special tips to make camping a more appealing prospect to folks from all different backgrounds and skill levels. The more we use our parks, the more likely they’ll be there for us in the future, so plan your next camping trip today!

Gather ‘round the campfire for more AllCampgrounds ...
Photo by: Peter Ehrlich (Stock Exchange)

Howdy, campers, and welcome back to the AllCampgrounds blog!

After an invigorating rest stop, it’s time once again to plunge into the latest and greatest in the world of camping.

Once again, we’ll be taking a close look at RV parks and campgrounds, tent camping grounds, and all the information you need to get camping quick. All campsites are welcome here at AllCampgrounds!

Now, it’s been quite a while, so let’s hit the trail and see what’s new out there.

We’ll be back in the swing of things before you know it.

Now, as every camper knows, camping season is upon us and it’s just about time to go on the annual camping trip. If you didn’t know it by the weather, you’d be able to tell by the fare on TV lately. Camping was at the center of a recent episode of Celebrity Apprentice, where teams were challenged to “create an RV camping experience” in the middle of Manhattan! On the other side of the dial, even Kate Plus 8 got into the act with a high-profile Australian camping trip. The question is: How ‘bout all the rest of us campers?

Well, things are looking good out there for tent camping and RV campers of all kinds! In many areas across the U.S., campgrounds are expanding or getting upgraded facilities – or both. Oregon state parks just got 16 new deluxe cabins. Maricopa County, Arizona has leapt into the digital age with both feet, putting camping reservations online for the first time. You can even view campsites online to find out which ones are right for you.

And there are lots of fresh articles and new developments going on around the camping world, too. For example, Gizmag introduces us to the glory of yurt camping. If you’re not familiar with the Mongolian-inspired temporary shelter, take a look; it’s a great “in between” option for a family camping trip: a bit broader, sturdier, and more comfortable than the average tent, but less luxurious than a cabin. Perfect for the steppes or wherever you find yourself on a camping trip with different ages and experience levels.

And there’s even a little controversy to report. In British Columbia, the town of Lake Cowichan is opening historic Centennial Park to camping. This has local camp grounds owners up in arms, as Centennial Park is public land and entrepreneurs contend that not all campgrounds with private ownership can compete. What do you think? Is it harmless to offer more options, or do towns have an obligation to local camp grounds owners? Which brings us to another important point …

With talk of a looming “partial government shutdown” still in the air at the time of this writing, you may be wondering what will happen to federal lands, and whether there’s bad news on the horizon for our national parks based on what we know today. Next time on AllCampgrounds, we’ll talk about how the budget situation might impact camping, and discuss ways that YOU can help preserve and protect your local camp grounds while enjoying the great outdoors. Hope to see you then!

Turbulent (but beautiful) skies over northern Ohio
Photo by: George Bosela (Stock Exchange)

Good morning, campers!

You know, it’s a pretty rare thing when a brand new campsite opens up, but news that affects outdoor adventurers comes along all the time.

Today, we’ll be looking at some of the news for camping hobbyists and the latest bulletins from state and national parks around the country.

From camping pie to camping bathrooms, there’s a little something for everyone in today’s news collection!

Camping Cuisine, Part Two is an encore of Mercury News’ Camp Cuisine 101 series, which is calling on readers to explain and share their favorite recipes for camping. Check out the much longer original article and look at the sidebar for camping recipes that run the gamut from simple to sophisticated. Tortellini Italian medley and brie and egg strata are just some of the tantalizing choices for your next campfire meal.

When it comes to any skill or hobby, every once in a while you should revisit your fundamentals. Every tent camping enthusiast has his or her own favorite tent or brand of equipment, but J. P. Freek Adventure Magazine is offering a primer on picking a shelter at camp and also has an ever-growing compendium of outdoor adventure articles. A good many of these are focused on Jeep fans, but there’s also a terrific selection for general camping and outdoor expeditions. Check it out!

It just got easier to make a statement at national parks around the country. Following a court battle that challenged a long-standing rule by the National Park Service, which administers national parks such as Yellowstone, Yosemite, and hundreds of other sites, Judge Janice Rogers Brown of the U.S. Court of Appeals for Washington, D.C. issued a ruling striking down certain NPS regulations on 1st Amendment grounds. Those wishing to engage in public speech at the parks will no longer need to obtain permits.

In other national news, parks are joining First Lady Michelle Obama to launch “Let’s Move Outside, Junior Rangers!” programs. The programs are intended to help kids get excited about getting exercise in the great outdoors, offering kids rewards for such great activities as canoeing, swimming, hiking, and camping at dozens of parks. By the end of summer, 50 parks will be engaged in full-scale Junior Ranger programs with a variety of fun, educational, and adventurous activities for kids to choose from. The main Junior Rangers website can be found here.

Good news and bad news for campers on the environment. The good news? Odwalla’s Plant a Tree Program has planted over 160,000 trees in 2,000 state parks all over the United States – and you can participate simply by going to the program website and selecting where you’d like trees to be planted. This great endeavor is going on until September 1st, so there’s plenty of time to visit every day until then! Let’s get some trees planted, AllCampgrounds readers! Get started here.

And the bad news? If you’re camping in Ohio, be aware of environmental warnings about toxic algae. Water quality investigations are ongoing at a variety of Ohio lakes, and there are a total of six sites throughout the state where water is believed to be toxic. Residents or visitors of Ohio should take care to visit the state park service website and remain aware of warnings as they progress, expand, or hopefully, are rescinded.

Finally, a little fun from the Chicago Tribune’s Travel section: RV Your Family Through Colorado. It’s a great little glimpse into the RV life from Eileen Ogintz. She’s a writer who made the journey through southwest Colorado in a Winnebago, meeting some interesting characters and giving insight into the growing trend to RV adventures even in these tough times. There are lots of valuable links here, and you can get much more on this terrific trip of hers at Taking the Kids.

A misty morning on the Louisiana bayou
Photo by: Pam Roth (Stock Exchange)

Good afternoon from AllCampgrounds!

Today, I think it’s important to brief our readers on the ongoing situation with the Gulf oil spill and its impact on camping in coastal states.

Information is scarce in some respects, but we’ll provide links and follow-up to help the tent camping and RV camping community understand how problems in the Gulf are affecting the camping scene in Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida, the habitats most likely to be see oil come ashore.

State by State Breakdown of the Oil Spill for Campers

At the time of this writing, the biggest environmental impact has been felt in Louisiana and Florida. Oil from the spill has reached the shores of Louisiana, and emergency measures are being taken to protect sensitive marshlands. Right now, Louisiana’s Office of State Parks reports no closures, but conditions may change depending on factors like the weather and tides. There are a number of inland parks, much less likely to be affected, which we’ll be showcasing in a future series.

In Florida, tar balls were discovered at Fort Zachary Taylor State Park in Key West. This park is known for one of the most beautiful beaches in Florida and offers hiking, fishing, biking, and other activities to visitors year round. The tar balls have not been determined to be an after-effect of the spill, but with the “no fishing” zone in the Gulf widening, its exactly these kinds of coastal regions that may see changes in the coming days and weeks. Parks in the Key West area are particularly vulnerable, so call ahead if you have plans in the area. If there’s a shift in conditions, even the Everglades may be endangered. Watch the Florida Department of State Parks for closure news.

Alabama offers a centralized resource page for oil spill response info. At the moment, ‘bama is on the lookout for oiled wildlife along the entire coastline. Oil has washed ashore in both Alabama and Mississippi, and has now reached the “loop current.” While this may be good news for Florida, other states along the current’s path remain on high alert. Further efforts to contain the oil spill are expected soon: see the recent New York Times article “The Latest on the Oil Spill” for more. There’s also oil spill news for Gulf Shore and Orange Beach, AL.

Even with all this, there are no reported park closures: your camping plans can go ahead without change in virtually all areas of the spill zone, though fishing may be restricted without warning. If you’ve been thinking about visiting the Gulf states, but now you’re not sure, I urge you to do it! No matter what happens, these states will need the support of campers: both the environment and the economy are very important in helping make sure that parks remain open, well-tended, and available for everyone. The situation on the coast may change rapidly, but all the states are “open for business.”

We’ll keep you updated on AllCampgrounds with the latest news and info as it develops.