State Parks

The beloved children's book, "My Side of the Mountain," inspired this Catskill Mountain destination as part of our camping and hiking road trip through the northeastern United States. Around 700,000 acres have been set aside as "forever wild" by the State of New York. Woodland Valley Campground, one of their oldest public parks, made an excellent choice for us to explore the Catskills region.

East of the Blue Ridge Parkway, a massive monadnock dome towers 600 feet over the surrounding land in its namesake park, Stone Mountain State Park. Another gem in the North Carolina state park system, Stone Mountain makes for a glorious camping and hiking adventure – even in the dead of winter.

With access to Lake Tillery and situated in the midst of the ancient Uwharrie Mountain Range, Morrow Mountain State Park, with over 4700 acres in western North Carolina, makes a perfect destination for camping, hiking, and paddling.

One of the most visited state parks in South Carolina, the semi-tropical Hunting Island State Park offers a relaxing camping experience with white sandy beaches, spectacular marsh views, and a historic lighthouse. If that's not enough, only a short 17-mile drive from Hunting Island State Park, you can explore the charming southern city of Beaufort and the variety of nearby attractions.

When you think of great places in Florida, we'd encourage you to throw camping into the mix at Anastasia State Park. Proximity to St. Augustine's waterfront, history, and charm might be the first draw, but it’s not the only attraction that makes this Northeast Florida destination a keeper.

Running along the lower Pamlico River in eastern North Carolina, Goose Creek State Park has added 6 cabins to their camping lineup.  Glamping awaits in all of its heated and air conditioned glory.

If the forest moon of Endor has a twin on this side of the galaxy, it may well be the outback of North Carolina's Stone Mountain State Park. Tall, lush, and moist, you'll find enchantment camping and hiking among the silver firs, banks of waving ferns, and mountainsides bursting with rhododendron and blue bells.

While a few millennia of erosion has leveled the once mighty Sauratown Mountains, time has done little to diminish their awe-inspiring beauty at Hanging Rock State Park in North Carolina. Hanging Rock State Park offers a whole host of outdoor activities including camping, hiking, swimming, and rock climbing.

Perhaps lesser known than its Outer Banks cousins to the northeast, camping at Carolina Beach State Park, North Carolina, is a welcome end to the summer. Nearby Kure Beach is virtually empty, the crowds have dissipated, the no-see-ums are gone, and the Atlantic coastal waters are still bathtub warm.

Camping at Skidaway Island State Park is just the beginning of a great coastal Georgia vacation. If you can manage to pull yourselves away from camp, Skidaway Island State Park offers convenient access to romantic downtown Savannah, the quaint beach town of Tybee Island, two lovely lighthouses, a historic military fort, easy nature hikes, boating, and fishing.

As you approach Fort Clinch State Park, Florida, put aside the tense memories of traffic lights, strip malls, and fast food joints that lead up to the park gates, and start to relax as you travel down the three winding miles under a majestic canopy of live oaks draped in Spanish moss. Not camping at Fort Clinch State Park? A six-dollar entry fee buys you a fantastic day of coastal swimming, birding, hiking, fishing, off-road biking, shark tooth hunting, and shelling.

Nestled at the confluence of the Pamlico River and its namesake tributary, the fourteen campsites at Goose Creek State Park, North Carolina, are spread out under a 90-foot canopy of longleaf and loblolly pines. Boasting five riverfront properties and nine generous and secluded inner sites, you'd be hard pressed to find another frontcountry camp that comes this close to a backcountry experience.

Nestled in the southernmost reaches of the Jefferson National Forest and not far from the Blue Ridge Parkway, Grayson Highlands State Park stands watch over Mount Rogers– Virginia's highest peak– and has access to some of the best camping, hiking, and true wild Virginia treasures.

Looking for the best campground in Custer State Park, South Dakota? Reserve early and pitch your tent in six of the most charming creekside campsites. Not all of the nine campgrounds in the 71,000 acres of Custer State Park are created equal, and the same can be said of the sites in Grace Coolidge Campground.

Searching for manatees? You've come to the right place – Blue Spring State Park, one of the jewels of Florida’s state parks. Surrounded by arching live oaks draped in Spanish moss, the constant 72F spring-fed waters are a winter home for up to 500 manatees. Camping under a deep sapphire sky in a Florida winter - even the manatees seem to understand the magic.

A savvy camper could easily make the case to ease into South Carolina's Edisto Beach State Park, make camp, string up some lights, and a hammock or two and call it a day. The beachfront location is hard to beat and a few days camping on the Atlantic Coast would do a lot to refresh your spirit.

The crowning jewel on the western rim of Lookout Mountain, Cloudland Canyon State Park, Georgia --- a 3,538-acre natural wonder featuring a spectacular 1,000 foot deep sandstone gorge and two awe inspiring cascading waterfalls – a camping and hiking playground! 

Encompassing 600 acres of barrier beach and salt marsh –and a short two hour hop from Boston– Horseneck Beach State Reservation in Massachusetts offers a breezy two-mile shoreline for a relaxing coastal camping trip. The southwest exposure to Buzzard Bay makes for a rocky waterfront typical of the northeast, while the less common natural sand beach will make southerners feel right at home.