State Park Camping

Over the next couple of days we made our way down south. We stopped predominantly in state parks, which have facilities such as showers and toilets, which are always a major advantage. This was a lot more relaxing than boondocking in Walmart car parks, as we would be able to have a fire and enjoy the nature (although often still hearing highway).

We would be 'dry camping' which meant that we didn't require hookups such as power or water, at the campsite itself. In our normally disorganised nature, we were not able to book on the state websites as they required a booking 24 hours in advance. Instead we would arrive and check the numbered campsites for any indication of reservation or current campers. Upon finding a free spot we would fill out the self pay envelop and pay the appropriate amount. For dry camping it was generally $14 US for the night, with an additional charge of $5 per person.

This is where we found that American camping was not like our previous experience in Australia. It was very uncommon for others to camp without hookups or erect a tent. The most common method was with a fully set up RV, housing the same comforts as a small home. Often packed so close to other "campers" that it created a small town.

In true capitalist nature this would end up being quite expensive for the families, probably falling just short of $50 a night. However, these are generally not the only costs. As you are not allowed collect firewood in the park, they would always have it for sale for a premium price. In one place we stopped you even had to pay extra to swim in the lake beside the park.

Lucky we were on the free side of the fence.

Although I am happy to point out the negatives, we always managed to "find" enough wood to build a fire and enjoy the environment.