national forest camping
Alternative to the Crowds and Congested Camping in a National Park
There is little doubt that national parks located west of the Mississippi River attract lots of visitors. According to the Department of Interior, national parks in this area received 331 million visits in 2017 and the number are only increasing year after year. Anyone who has visited a national park has experienced the cheek-to-jowl crowds Read More >>
Disperse Camping Guidelines
There are basically two types of camping opportunities available in your national forests: camping in a developed campground and dispersed (a.k.a. primitive or backcountry) camping. Dispersed camping opportunities are found outside developed campgrounds, in the forest or in an area designated Wilderness. A primary distinction between the two types of camping are there are no Read More >>
Affordable Family Vacations – Alternatives to National Parks
Every January, I start planning for the upcoming camping season. In the beginning, camping was a break from my life of a 9-to-5 job, bills, and the same-old, same-old. Then came a husband and children. Camping became an affordable family vacation. Today, people are still looking for an affordable family vacation and many are discovering Read More >>
Guidelines for Disperse camping
There are basically two types of camping in your national forests. You can camp in a developed campground or disperse camp outside developed campgrounds. One difference between the two is there is often a fee to camp in a campground and none if you disperse camp. Also when you disperse camp there are no facilities, Read More >>
Rules for camping
A T-shirt with this printed on the back — Camping Rules: Nap Often Watch the sunset Wake up smiling Sit by the fire Relax and unwind Eat s’mores Make memories Drink a cold one Visit with friends Be grateful for this day This T-shirt is something I would like to produce and offer to the Read More >>
Don’t be a headline this winter
Headline from last winter: Family in their recreational vehicle rescued from Oregon’s snow-covered wilderness There are lessons to be learned. Lesson 1 – Check the weather forecast. Storms can surprise even the most experienced. A weather radio is essential to any traveler. I remember enjoying a delightful stay at Gooseberry Lake Campground in Fishlake National Read More >>
Holly Springs National Forest
The Holly Springs National Forest, in Mississippi, is only 154,654 acre but has 33 lakes ranging in size from 260 to 2 surface acres. Fourteen of these lakes have “improved” fish habitat offering Smallmouth bass, bream, crappie and catfish to challenge a wide range of anglers. Chewalla and Puskus lakes are two of the larger lakes and are Read More >>
Best Places to Canoe and Kayak on National Forests
In the past years, Fred and I have been focused on visiting and surveying developed campgrounds to post on ForestCamping.com. But now that we have completed our initial visits we are going to take time to take advantage of more our national forests offer, such as canoeing waterways. I think the above mentioned Best Places Read More >>
Affordable Family Vacation – Alternative to National Parks
Original published by the New York Times and updated May 2013 Every January, I start planning for the upcoming camping season. In the beginning, camping was a break from my life of a 9-to-5 job, bills, and the same-old, same-old. Then came a husband and children. So, camping became an affordable family vacation. Today, it Read More >>
Noteworthy Big Therriault Lake campground, Kootenai NF (MT)
During our research, we often hear, “This is the best campground in the system” or “Here is the best campground in the system.” After visiting some 2,000 developed campgrounds from the Forest Service inventory, we have learned what is one person’s treasure could be another’s dump. So, we smile politely and think “we’ll see.” Frankly, Read More >>
