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.