The state park systems offer opportunities for everyone to get outdoors and enjoy the wonders of nature. No matter where you live, there's usually a state park within a short distance from your home. Although state parks make great camping destinations during the week, when they are less crowded, even in the summer months, nevertheless, they are quite busy on most any weekend.
The easiest way to plan a camping trip to a state park is to first narrow your selections down to a particular state. To make that task simpler, there are two resources to help you. Park Search, from L.L.Bean, lets you search by park name or by location and activity. Other parks are included in the search results besides the state parks, but all have excellent descriptions and photos.
The second resource is my state-by-state directory of camping destinations, which provides links to all the state park home pages. Park Search is a great tool, but to find out all the latest details, availabilities, and reservation information, you need to visit the individual state park Web sites.
State parks provide wonderful facilities for family camping. The parks are well maintained (tax dollars at work again) and offer many amenities to make your stay more comfortable: clean restrooms, hot showers, stores, marinas, boat launches, tackle shops, planned activities, weekend movies, playgrounds, hiking trails, and more. Prices will vary but are seldom more than $15 a night. Many state park campgrounds also offer RV sites with electric, water, and/or dump station.
Check out these resources to find a state park campground.
- Park Search - from L.L.Bean.
- State Parks - links to home pages.