# State Parks In Your State



## Tangooutback (Apr 16, 2010)

Well, I am from Texas and have been camping at Texas State Parks all these years. I found our state parks to be much better than National Parks in term of facility. In almost all Texas State Parks I have been to, there are always ample full hookup sites and cost is very reasonable. National Parks on the other hand have nice scenery but poor facility. Compare to commercial parks I'd rather go to state parks. It is usually more roomy.

So, how are State Parks in your state?


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## hautevue (Mar 8, 2009)

Maryland: mostly quite nice. Hidden gem: Pokomoke River Park, located ~20 miles southeast of Salisbury, MD on the "Eastern Shore" of the state. Milburn Landing is quiet, lots of sites have electric (no water or sewer hookups but they have water pipes scattered around, and a full dump site available at no charge). It's very peaceful. The Pokomoke River runs through it. Just 30 minutes from Assateague and Chinquapeake Islands (they tend to be crowded), plus 45 minutes from Ocean City, MD. It's a fun place to relax and let the kids run around if they want.

If you're traveling north/south and using the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel, Pokomoke Park is 6 miles north of the border between VA and MD.


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## Ish (Jun 15, 2010)

Minnesota has nice State parks. Most are quiter and have have more space between sites. However, because the ground freezes in the Winter hard, they don't have water hookups at the site - only electric. Too expensive to blow out in the Fall apparently. As a result, the sites are cheaper than commercial.


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## Nathan (Jan 2, 2007)

Michigan parks tend to be nice in general, but there is some variance. Haven't camped at one with full hookups. Most have electric. They aren't the cheapest, but are less than private...

I acutally prefer National Parks to the state however. No electric means no radios blaring. Generators can be a problem, but if they have generator free loops we head there so we can truely be at peace with nature. To each his/her own right?


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## fourwalls (Sep 21, 2007)

We live in Ohio and love the Ohio State parks. Some have full hookup and some only have electric. Very few of them are primitive camping only. We have only stayed in a few but all we have been in have been a pleasure.


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## Collinsfam_WY (Nov 9, 2006)

X2 to the great Texas State Parks







We usually get the Texas State Park pass which pays for itself in as little as 4 camping trips then saves us a bundle from there on out. We are in a remote area - state park wise but that does not stop us from going! Check out Caprock Canyons SP, Palo Duro Canyon SP, Copper Breaks SP and Abilene SP!

We don't typically use full hookup sites so it does not bother us if a site does not have them. Caprock Canyons doesn't have full hookups yet it is our favorite SP.

-CC


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## Livin4weekenz (Aug 26, 2007)

We live in DE and often visit nearby state parks in PA,MD, and in VA and of course DE I prefer them to the big resort campgrounds some of our favorites are.

Shad Landing Pocomoke MD
Tuckahoe MD
Codarus in Hanover PA
Kiptopeke VA

the only 1 I dont recomend is DE seashore state park ......unless all u want to do is go to the beach


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## luverofpeanuts (Mar 9, 2010)

Ish said:


> Minnesota has nice State parks. Most are quiter and have have more space between sites. However, because the ground freezes in the Winter hard, they don't have water hookups at the site - only electric. Too expensive to blow out in the Fall apparently. As a result, the sites are cheaper than commercial.


Ditto. We routinely make the rounds each year to our favorite Minnesota State Parks. We even go to our favorite twice a year for 5-7 days each time. The RV friendly state parks will have a dump station and a place to fill your trailer with water. Most have decent shower houses.

With few exceptions, I have found state parks in Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Michigan to have better camp sites in terms of size and separation than any private campground resort we've stayed at. Generally better shower houses too...though smaller number of showers. One of the exceptions is Rafter J Bar in the Black Hills of South Dakota.

The National Forest campgrounds in Minnesota generally have no electricity. Fall Lake Campground, near Ely, MN is one that does have electricity and it is *really* nice for RVers. Excellent shower houses too. Most other National Forest Campgrounds that I've seen in MN have decent rustic sites. Some are large enough to accommodate trailers... some will only accommodate tents. Most have only pit toilets. Water is shut off in October...back on after April.

I guess I agree with the original poster that the state parks I'm familiar with generally have better facilities than the National Forest campgrounds...(exception in MN is Fall Lake Campground).


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## Up State NY Camper (Apr 7, 2010)

NY has many beautiful state parks. Most of NY's geography contains many large lakes, foot hills, and mountain ranges.

-Allegany SP is our biggest. I forgot how many thousands of acres it is, but you can get lost. It's in the foothills of the Allegany Mountains.

-The Finger Lakes have many "Glen" parks. A glen is a gorge carved out by a stream or creek. They are awsome to hike.

-Letchworth SP is the "Grand Canyon of the East". Though not nearly as big, it is still huge. There is a train bridge crossing it you can walk across for a view of 2 out of 3 waterfalls below in the Genesee River at one end of the gorge, and a dam that you can tour 10 miles down river at the other end of the gorge protecting Rochester from flooding. All along the way there are spectacular views of the gorge.

-The Thousand Islands has many parks right on the St. Lawrence River. I can't even begin to explain how beautiful and sureen the River is.

Most of our parks have pretty big sites with electric, and run about $26 per night. Prime sites are a little more.


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## ember (Jan 17, 2008)

We haven't camped in any of Vermont's state parks,DH has some issues about the generator, because we OFTEN have to listen to one all day/week on the job site, he doesn't want to deal with on off job site! Anyway... Vermont State Parks website is AWESOME!! at almost every state park website you can see a photo of every site just click on the number and tada, plus it tells you what will fit on that site re; trailer length, big rig, tents allowed or not and how many. Pretty cool for a little bitty state, but NONE of them have any hookups.


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## thefulminator (Aug 8, 2007)

Washington State Parks are pretty decent with large sites. The bathroom/shower buildings are usually quite old and not in good shape although some are being replaced. Most showers require quarters or token to operate. For tent campers, most of the time there is no place to dispose of waster water except the restrooms or dump stations. Washington State Park sites have pictures, sometimes multiple pictures on-line to look at when you reserve.

My favorites are Cape Dissappointment, Lincoln Rock, Maryhill and Lake Wenatchee.

Oregon on the other hand is building new shower/bathroom buildings all over the place. The showers are individual rooms with no quarters or tokens required. That is really nice especially when you have to scrub down a kid. In most parks, there are waste water drains every few sites. Overall I like Oregon State Parks a little more than Washington State Parks. They use Reserveamerica for reservations. Enough said.

Favorites are Jessie M. Honeyman, Fort Stevens, Beverly Beach and Detroit Lake.


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## ftwildernessguy (Oct 12, 2009)

PA seems to run the spectrum from real dumps to pretty nice. My favorite is Hickory Run State Park.


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## Tyvekcat (Aug 28, 2007)

Always have had good luck in Virginia state parks.  (video) 
Just got back from four days at Grayson Highlands state park. Its next to Mount Rogers National rec area/Wilderness. Its like a zillion miles of trails. The campground in Grayson Highlands is the highest in Virginia, 4670ft above sea level. No AC needed. Makes the turbo whine








Have stayed at SMT lake, Grayson Highland, Douthat, Fairystone, Claytor Lake, Hungry Mother, Holiday Lake & Natural Tunnel(its campground is new). Natural Tunnel is kinda different as it has a active Norfolk Southern rail line right through the middle of the park.

Actually West Virginia State parks are very good too. Grew up with the parents dragging us to them camping in a Shasta camper. It was fun.

Have tried one North Carolina state park, Pilot Mountain, and it was very nice too. North Carolina's reservation system is kinda funky.
Its all good


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## rdvholtwood (Sep 18, 2008)

ftwildernessguy said:


> PA seems to run the spectrum from real dumps to pretty nice. My favorite is Hickory Run State Park.


 Just curious what parks have been dumpy? - we camp the PA state parks frequently - Hickory Run, Coduras, Gifford Pinchot, and French Creek to name a few.


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## SLO250RS (Mar 11, 2010)

X 2 for the Ohio state parks some of our favorites are,East Harbor,West Branch,Alum Creek.The bigger state parks generally have full hook-ups and every one that i have been to have had provision for water and dump stations.The shower houses are very good and West Branch has the BEST shower houses of any state park I have seen


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## BillD3 (Feb 13, 2010)

In Kentucky all the state parks we've stayed in have been great. Some with paved pads other still just gravel. A few years back we had a governor that spent a ton of money upgrading the facilities at the parks. In my opinion it was money well spent. Here is a link to the Kentcuky State Parks website.


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## rdvholtwood (Sep 18, 2008)

Bull Run Regional State Park in Centerville, VA is really nice....the park itself has a nice water park/slide for the kids. There are a mixed group of sites - some with full hookups and some just electric. There are lots of pull throughs that are horseshoe shaped...

Here are some pics from a recent stay at Bull Run....click here


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## mswalt (Sep 14, 2004)

Well, we've only been to a couple of state parks here in Texas, both near here. Not too bad---shade, some water, and lots of critters!

Very few have all the amenities, so we don't camp there much any more. I like full hookups myself. Usually don't camp without them. But, hey, that's just me.

Mark


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## Calvin&Hobbes (May 24, 2006)

Love our local State Park- recently redone, new pavement on the park loops, new water and electric. Wish they would take a few trees down, so my 30 foot trailer would fit in more sites, but that is met with opposition buy the tenters and smaller trailer owners.


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## luverofpeanuts (Mar 9, 2010)

Just back from a vacation that started on 9/3. Spent from 9/6 to 9/17 at our favorite state park, instead of a big trip out West this year. Lows in the 30's over night (one night in the 20's), highs anywhere from upper 40's to mid 60's. As luck would have it, our favorite state park, was announced as "America's Favorite Park" while we were there.











> Bear Head Lake State Park, just south of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness in Ely, Minn., has been voted as "America's Favorite Park" - in a nationwide campaign sponsored by Coca-Cola.
> ...
> The America Is Your Park campaign, which ran July 29-Aug. 31, invited Americans to vote online for their favorite state or national park.
> ...
> Bear Head Lake State Park, which has about 100,000 visitors a year, received more than 1.6 million votes in the campaign, finishing ahead of larger and busier parks


Bear Head Lake State Park - Minnesota

Coca Cola Live Positively "Your Favorite Park" Campaign


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## Ish (Jun 15, 2010)

luverofpeanuts said:


> Just back from a vacation that started on 9/3. Spent from 9/6 to 9/17 at our favorite state park, instead of a big trip out West this year. Lows in the 30's over night (one night in the 20's), highs anywhere from upper 40's to mid 60's.


Were the leaves turning up there yet? I was hoping to get up towards Duluth yet this Fall to someplace like Jay Cooke State park, but might head down towards Whitewater instead.


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## luverofpeanuts (Mar 9, 2010)

Ish said:


> Were the leaves turning up there yet? I was hoping to get up towards Duluth yet this Fall to someplace like Jay Cooke State park, but might head down towards Whitewater instead.


Yup...they were starting to change when we got there, and had really started to speed up by the time we left.

You can see the color progession in MN at the DNR website.

http://www.dnr.state.mn.us./fall_colors/index.html


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## The Stephensons (Jul 10, 2007)

We live in WA and I love the reservation system for WA State Parks ... you can SEE PICS of each site prior to reserving. We're former tent campers and enjoy large sites with privacy, so pictures are very important to us (we hate the parking lot/sardine type of camping). Most of the state parks are quite clean and have either full or partial (elec/water) hookups, but you must have tokens to use the showers.

Our favorite WA State Parks (with our travel trailer) are Deception Pass, Grayland Beach, and Cape Disappointment.

We LOVE Oregon State Parks, but am leary to venture that far from home without specific site/park recommendations from others because their reservation system does NOT include pictures - if I'm going to travel that far, I want at least a general idea what our site will look like. We took the recommendations from a few fellow Outbackers and stayed at Fort Stevens State Park in Oregon this summer for the week of July 4th - and we LOVED IT! The showers were hot & FREE! Our site/loop was fantastic.

So two thumbs us for the State Parks in WA & OR.


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