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2025

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  • Harmonie Campground
  • Indiana State Parks, New Harmony IN
  • Way overpriced and has stupid rules. The park borders the Wabash River, but the campground itself is miles from the river. There is a public swimming pool that is an additional charge on top of the camping fee.

  • Lower Wind River Campground
  • Boysen State Park, Shoshoni WY
  • Boysen State Park takes up much of the land around Boysen Reservoir and the river creating it. There are many campgrounds spaced far apart. This is the second or third on the river instead of the lake, and the last one heading towards Thermopolis, right on the edge of the Indian Reservation, where the fishing rules change. Nice shady cottonwoods to hang out under. US 20 is too close and tonight there are way too many bugs.

  • Fort Frederick State Park
  • Maryland State Parks, Circle Spring MD
  • Overpriced campground, but a very interesting place. The actual Fort is cool, the CCC buildings around it are cool. We are right on the C&O Canal/bike path.

  • Balmorhea State Park
  • Texas State Parks, Balmorhea TX
  • beautiful spring-fed swimming pool, with fish and delightful diving ducks (Lesser Scaups) in it! Bring your snorkel!

  • Richardson Grove
  • California State Parks, Benbow CA
  • In the redwoods where 101 narrows and winds through the big trees. Next to where Reggae On The River used to happen. The campgrounds are west of the road, the Eel River is to the east. Once you're past the kiosk and in the park, there is an underpass to connect the two. The coolest part of the campground used to be over a little bridge on the Eel River on the east side. It seems to be closed permanently, which is too bad.

  • Valley of the Rogue
  • Oregon State Parks, Gold Hill OR
  • between I-5 and the Rogue River, a very pleasant, user-friendly place. The only loops open happen to all have full hookups, but the nice folks agree that if you don't use 'em you don't pay for 'em, so it's a $15 tent site! Great hike along the river, followed by my first shower since the hot springs, so I am feeling pretty good!

  • Point Abalone Campground
  • California State Parks, Westport CA
  • A big shadeless rectangle of land on the top of a bluff overlooking the Pacific. The southernmost of three campgrounds at Westport Union Landing State Beach.

  • Fort Churchill Campground
  • Nevada State Parks, Silver Spring NV
  • The real name of this place is Samuel Buckland Campground, but it's easier to just call it the campground at Fort Churchill. The terrain is barren high desert hills for miles, except for this lovely belt of ancient cottonwoods along the Walker River.

  • Nickerson State Park
  • Massachusetts State Parks, Brewster, MA
  • large, spacious, in the strategic near end of Cape Cod

  • Salton Sea State Recreation Area
  • California State Parks, Bombay Beach CA
  • On the east side of the lake, making for spectacular sunsets over the water every night. Very quiet and beautiful and delightful. The big north-south highway and train tracks are pretty close and carry big noisy trucks and trains respectively.

  • Hayspur Hatchery Campground
  • State Park, Carey ID
  • A great little find on US 20 east of Craters of the Moon. Just a nice field with picnic tables and a a few trees on the edges. No services of any kind that I can see - "pack it in pack it out". They're just giving the fishermen a nice place to park their campers. Pretty sweet! Update! There IS a pit toilet, and there is a water spigot! But no place to dump trash, which is fine with me. And there is a donation box.

  • Myre - Big Island Campground
  • Minnesota State Parks, Albert Lea MN
  • Not real happy here. I am tired and there's no other good options around here, but this is a lot to pay for a place to park. Once I get past check-in, it turns out that the mosquitoes are almost too vicious to deal with. Despite the heat and humidity I live with all doors closed. On the other hand, it's nearly full moon, and along with mosquitoes they have fireflies! So I bundle up i my long pants and hoodie and go on a delightful moonlight walk around the gravel roads of the park. Staying in the open fields of course - the bugs are truly unbearable when you venture into the wooded areas.

  • Carolina Beach State Park
  • North Carolina State Parks, Carolina Beach NC
  • odd check in: 1. pick a site, 2. drive 2 miles to the office, 3. drive back. Very nice campground and park, though.

  • Suwanee River State Park
  • Florida State Parks, Live Oak FL
  • A sleepy little campground in a sleepy little park. Pleasant and quiet. The Suwanee River is pretty, it would be fun to kayak it. The bathroom/laundry had a little book exchange!

  • Brierfield Ironworks State Park
  • Alabama State Parks, Brierfield AL
  • A remote, slightly shabby historical park with campground in the hills of Alabama. Nice folks running it. Along with the Ironworks, there's also an historical church and a baseball field.

  • Standish-Hickey State Park
  • California State Park, Leggett CA
  • Stayed here twice. Once for a quaint little folk-rock/garage-rock festival across the road (Hickeyfest!), and once on a sultry August night returning from Eureka to Reno. The South Eel River is 200' below, US 101 is about 100 away, and quite loud if a loud truck or motorcycle goes past.

  • West Shore Flathead Lake Campground
  • Montana State Parks, Lakeside MT
  • Preposterously expensive for non-state resident visitors. Pit toilets, no showers, no services of any kind really, for $28. Flathead Lake is just a rumor, a faint glimmer between the trees. What is very real is the traffic noise, where US 93 loops around Loop A of the campground. The only other choice for 50 miles are upscale RV Parks and the Kalispell Walmart.

  • Bennett Spring Campground
  • Missouri State Parks, Lebanon MO
  • Fourth spring in a row! This one has a fishery. It's very spread out. Long drive up the hill to pick a site, drive back and check in, then later drive back to fish or walk or just see the sites. Swimming not allowed in the park, but just outside and across the bridge is river access where you can swim. Despite the reliance on driving, a very nice place. People were catching lots of fish!

  • Salt Plains Campgrounds
  • Oklahoma State Parks, Cherokee OK
  • Did not stay here, but I want to note it for the record. It's a beautiful, peaceful place. It has a few cabins, which I wish I'd thought of yesterday. It has a no-hookups camping area at the dam parking lot that was a mere $14/night. That looked great also. Then below the dam and across the river is a big, spacious full hookups campground. Any of them would be a great place to spend the a day or two.

  • Red Oak Campground
  • Okmulgee State Park, Okmulgee OK
  • Most of their tent sites are truly for tents, but there's a little group of three new no-hookup sites that are really nice. Up on the hill, fairly level, private. I chose the one away from the folks playing loud country music. It's a short walk down the hill to the swimming beach, which was incredibly refreshing on this muggy day. Bathroom and shower are close but not too close.

  • Jackson Demonstration Forest Campground
  • California State Parks, Fort Bragg CA
  • A convenient, quiet place in the forest on the road from Willets to Fort Bragg. It was free when I stayed three years ago, costs something now.