Other places
The following are brief summaries of
camping locales outside the Camp Chicago area.
Arizona
Anderson Butte (Clarkdale, Ariz.)
Pulled off of a forest service road and set up amid pinyons and junipers.
Pleasant views of Jerome and surrounding red rock country.
Chiricahua Mountains (Cochise County,
Ariz.)
Many secluded primitive areas to choose from in coniferous forests above
6,000 feet.
Dragoon Mountains (Cochise County,
Ariz.)
Car camped amid the rocky
outcrops of the western edge of this range in the
Coronado National
Forest.
Humphreys Peak Trailhead (Flagstaff,
Ariz.)
Base camp at 9,000' for alpine summit near
Snow Bowl ski station.
Picacho Peak State Park (Picacho,
Ariz.)
Tenting amid RVs and saguaros.
Nice vistas of volcanic mountains along I-10.
Molino Basin (Tucson, Ariz.)
Well-designed national forest
campground surrounded by Santa Catalina Mountains. Complete with
high-quality storage lockers, fire rings/grill and lantern posts.
Wet Beaver Creek (McGuireville, Ariz.)
Camped on a gravel bar near
The
Crack, an idyllic swimming hole, in Coconino National Forest. Watch for
the ringtails!
West Clear Creek (Camp Verde, Ariz.)
Year-round swimming holes in a canyon on the slopes of the Mogollon
RIm.
Wilson Mountain (Sedona, Ariz.)
Camped at overlook of Sedona,
part of Coconino National Forest. Beautiful hike up mountain through pinyon-juniper zone to ponderosa pine forest.
California
Big Lagoon County Park (Trinidad,
Calif.)
Sites alongside namesake lagoon
that spills into Pacific. Good place to look for varied thrushes.
Navarro Redwoods State Park (Navarro,
Calif.)
Camping in Northern California in
a second-growth redwood forest along the Navarro River.
Florida
Highlands Hammock State Park (Sebring,
Fla.)
Crowded car campground on a
sweltering March day. Surrounded by woodlands.
Kansas
Perry State Park (Ozawkie, Kan.)
Plenty of spacious primitive sites available, on a July 4 weekend no less,
amid rolling prairie and woodlands of eastern Kansas.
Michigan
Bay Furnace Campground (Christmas,
Mich.)
Car camping with stellar views of Lake Superior in Hiawatha National
Forest.
Lake Michigan Campground (St. Ignace,
Mich.)
Car camping on sand along scenic northern Lake Michigan. Within
Hiawatha National Forest.
Pine River Paddlesports Center
(Wellston, Mich.)
Immaculate
private campground
within Manistee National Forest. Wilderness activities abound.
Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State
Park (Silver City, Mich.)
Premier Midwestern backpacking locale with a variety of campground
experiences.
Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore
(Empire, Mich.)
Offers quality car camping along
Lake Michigan close to popular dunes.
Tahquamenon Falls State Park
(Paradise, Mich.)
Car camping in the Upper
Peninsula along scenic Tahquamenon River. Near
Whitefish Point Bird
Observatory.
Van Riper State Park (Champion, Mich.)
Dismal car campground amid the splendor of the U.P. You can do better.
North Carolina
Cape Hatteras National Seashore
(Frisco, N.C.)
Camped amid the dunes (no fires allowed) in car campground. Easy access to
beach.
Ohio
Archer's Fork (Hohman, Ohio)
Strenuous 9.5-mile trail in Wayne National Forest skirts rock
formations, a natural bridge and a cave. Probably best suited as a day
hike as viable camping locations were limited.
Burr Oak Cove (Corning, Ohio)
Solid car camping, with walk-ins and decent privacy, in the rolling
terrain above Burr Oak Lake.
Hocking Hills State Park (Logan, Ohio)
Rugged system of gorges and caves
in southern Ohio. Walk-ins are nice and secluded, but this is one of the
most popular spots in the Buckeye State.
Mohican State Park (Loudonville, Ohio)
Standard car campground along the
Mohican River. Popular canoeing spot.
Rustic Knolls Campsites (Mount Vernon,
Ohio)
Classic private campground. We had an isolated spot on our own hillside.
Shawnee State Forest (Friendship,
Ohio)
Brutal backpacking trail shuns
switchbacks for pure uphill grinding. Solitude save for a few squirrel
hunters (in September).
Wildcat Hollow (Corning, Ohio)
Satisfying backpacking loop with
scenic campsites along the way within
Wayne National Forest. Update:
15-mile loop overgrown in 2009.
Zaleski State Forest (Zaleski, Ohio)
Another quality southern Ohio
backpacking spot in Appalachian foothills.
Ontario
Flamboro Valley Camping Resort (Flamborough,
Ontario)
Gem of a private campground about an hour southwest of Toronto.
Near Noelville, Ontario
Wilderness utopia.
Rock Point Provincial Park (Port
Maitland, Ontario)
Huge car campground with several
trails accessing Lake Erie and fossil bed.
Wheatley Provincial Park (Wheatley,
Ontario)
Car camping along Lake Erie near
Point Pelee.
Pennsylvania
Kooser State Park (Somerset, Pa.)
Standard car campground in
bucolic Laurel Highlands.
Ohiopyle State Park (Ohiopyle, Pa.)
Wooded car camping in area
featuring waterfall and rafting on Youghiogheny River.
Washington Township Park (Edinboro,
Pa.)
Dispersed camping along “inlet” of Lake Edinboro.
Quebec
Parc du National Mont-Tremblant (Lac
Superieur, Quebec)
Rugged beauty in the Laurentian Mountains north of Montreal.
Recreational activities abound.
Texas
Krause Springs (Spicewood, Texas)
Private campground next to
incredible natural swimming hole. Look for the
black-crested titmice.
Virginia
Bear Creek Lake State Park
(Cumberland, Va.)
Unique for its ground-rubber camp pads, Bear Creek offers bread-and-butter
car camping. Recreation in the surrounding
Cumberland State Forest.
Crabtree Meadows (Montebello, Va.)
Perched just below The Priest in
George Washington National Forest, this location offers serene car camping
with a number of hiking and off-roading options.
False Cape State Park (Virginia Beach,
Va.)
Primitive sites in dunes and
beach offer solitude. Walk from Sandbridge area to campground. Vehicles
use beach as road in this area.
James River State Park (Gladstone,
Va.)
In the Appalachian foothills
along the Upper James, this park offers a woodland camping loop that is
worth checking out.
John H. Kerr Dam and Reservoir, “Buggs
Island” (Boydton, Va.)
Stayed in Army Corps of Engineers campground. Nice off-season spot.
Lake Moomaw (Covington, Va.)
Car camping with idyllic backdrop of Lake Moomaw and mountains. Caught
a small northern pike in the lake.
Montebello Camping and Fishing Resort
(Montebello, Va.)
Private car campground nestled along
Blue Ridge Parkway.
Mount Rogers National Recreation Area
(Trout Dale, Va.)
Wilderness camping along trail flanking highest point in Virginia.
Seashore/First Landing State Park
(Virginia Beach, Va.)
Car campground situated on inland dunes under canopy of live oaks. Great
access to the beach.
Smith Mountain Lake State Park
(Huddleston, Va.)
Wooded car campground a short hike from one of the arms of the reservoir.
West Virginia
Dolly Sods Wilderness (Red Creek,
W.Va.)
Great backpacking along Red Creek Canyon and bizarre
mountaintop bogs.
Wisconsin
Brule River State Forest (Brule, Wis.)
Pleasant car camping in the North
Woods with access to paddling opportunities.
Nicolet National Forest (Florence,
Wis.)
Plenty of recreational opportunities amid the serenity of the North
Woods.
Camp Chicago
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