The latest news about camping and developments in North American campgrounds and RV parks from Janet Groene.
DISCLAIMER: These news items are believed current at press time but conditions are still changing quickly. Check ahead by phone directly with the campground. Don’t rely on websites or Facebook. Full facilities and activities may not be open. Get specifics about rates, campground facilities, reservation and cancellation policies, campsite specifications and the condition of access roads. No endorsement of any campground or product is implied by this reporter nor this website. Read current COVID information. Masks and social distancing may be required.
FULL ALERT: Schedules of openings, partial openings, re-closings and cancellations are still in flux not just because of COVID but because of wildfires, floods and other factors. Almost all parks require COVID measures, which vary. Check ahead.
DATELINE: November 7, 2020
ARKANSAS CAMPGROUND GETS NEW LIFE
Closed for almost five years after flood damage wiped out a renovation in progress, DeRoche Ridge campground, at DeGray Lake Resort State Park, Bismark, is open again. The campsites are on a peninsula, so every site has a water view. The campground has 25 RV campsites with sewer, water and electric plus a fire ring and picnic table. The bathhouse and roads have been upgraded. The park has disc golf and trails for hiking, mountain biking and horseback riding. (501) 865-5810
CALIFORNIA CAMPGROUND COMES WITH A CATCH
The fall release of rainbow trout at Cachuma Lake promises great fishing, with more releases to come next year. Cachuma Lake Recreation Area (between Santa Barbara and Solvang) is a full-service campground offering year-round cabins, yurts, RV and tent camping, planned activities and nature programs for all ages. For camping reservations and more information, go to www.sbparks.org
DELAWARE CLOSE TO GETTING MAJOR CAMPING RESORT
Near Georgetown, a 304-site RV park with 46 cabins is in the works for a family owned, 74-acre property near two youth sports complexes. They are Sports at the Beach and Sandhill Fields. The campground will be known as the County Seat RV Resort. It’s on the grounds of the former Georgetown Raceway. The campground will be open seasonally to serve families utilizing the 100-acre sports complex.
FLORIDA SPOT OFFERS BEST SHOT FOR SHOOTERS
Located in rural Graham, Florida (SSW of Jacksonville, near Starke), Bradford Sportsmen’s Farm shooting range offers a full range, pardon the pun, of facilities for clay shooters. There are 15 hookup sites for RVs but no septic facilities. One area can accommodate RV dry camping when campsites are full. Facilities include three fully automated, 14-station sporting clay courses with two machines at each station. All shooter levels are accommodated from novices to tournament level.
The park also has two fully automated 5-stands controlled by portable long-range controllers as well as a 20-yard pistol range, a 50-yard rifle range, a 300-yard rifle range, and an 850-yard rifle range. They also offer classes taught by an NSCA certified shotgun instructor. Classes including safety classes are taught every month by NRA and USCCA certified rifle and pistol instructors. The next 850 Qualifier course, an introduction to the facilities, is November 21. Contact James Thomas (904) 303-7490 about that. For other information contact
bsfshootingsports.com
GEORGIA STATE PARK LIGHTS UP
Every Friday, Saturday and Sunday from Thanksgiving through Christmas, RV travelers can tour the glittering, 10-acre event field and office area at A.H. Stephens State Park, Crawfordsville. They’re aglow with Christmas finery. Free treats will be available and holiday-themed movies will be shown nightly. The parking fee at the field is $5. The park has 25 RV campsites with water and electric, an authentically furnished antebellum mansion and 20 equestrian campsites plus 30 stables. The museum there has one of the finest collections of Civil War artifacts in the state. The event phone is (706) -456-2602. Camping reservations, 800-864-7275.
NEVADA RV RESORT WARMS UP TO CHILI
January 21 is the date for the Winter Chili Cook-off at the new Wine Ridge RV Resort and Cottages, Pahrump. Popular for its monthly rates as well as overnight guests, the resort has a full menu of planned activities plus bocce, pickleball, a spa, swimming pools including a heated pool and a spacious picnic area near the clubhouse. All sites have full hookups, with 50/30/20 amp service. (775) 253-5738
NORTH CAROLINA STATE PARK HAS WINTER HIKES
Join a park ranger at the Venus Flytrap Trail for a Biological Wonderland Hike in Carolina Beach State Park on selected Saturdays. Although the plant’s famous Carnivorous Plant Trail is dormant in cold weather, other flora and fauna are still there for rangers to point out. Hikes are limited to 25 people, so reserve ahead at (910) 458-8206. The trail is handicap accessible. During some periods a two-night minimum stay is required in the park’s two campgrounds. The park has a visitor center with nature displays. Make camping reservations at 1-877-722-6762.
TEXAS HOPES TO TWINKLE FOR THE HOLIDAYS
It’s still tentative but hopeful that the annual Twinkle Tour at Lake Tawakoni State Park, Wills Point, will be held as usual. Come for the lights. Stay to explore 376 acres of oak forest, see the sun rise over the lake, go mountain biking, hike five miles of trails, go birding or geocaching. No license is required to fish from shore in a state park. RV sites have full or partial hookups. Two are wheelchair accessible. The lake has a four-lane boat ramp and a fish cleaning station. Borrow tackle at park headquarters. (903) 560-7123
VIRGINIA BOY SCOUT CAMP TO GO PUBLIC
The 306-acre Bayport Scout Camp in Jamaica has been sold and rezoned as a commercial campground with 900 RV sites. No new details are available yet about this upcoming waterfront destination for RV travelers. Camp along the Rappahannock River and be near the Virginia Motor Speedway. Nearby see the historic Hampstead Farm, James Ross River Plantation and the Morattico Waterfront Museum and one-time steamboat wharf.
WASHINGTON SAILBOAT RACE WEEK
Calling all yachties and sailboat racing fans. An RV campground is said to be within walking distance of the marina, offering a front row seat for Race Week Pacific Northwest 2021. Action will be in Anacortes on the north end of Fidalgo Island. The five-day event will be June 21-25 out of Cap Sante Marina. Yachts can register starting in January. Do a search for Whidbey Island Race Week to get details as plans develop.
Stay Tuned
• Changes have been approved for the Page Place RV Park in Cedar Point, North Carolina. Seven lots will be added, leading to an eventual total of 72 sites.
• In Crescent City, California, the city-owned Shoreline Park RV campground is renamed Lighthouse Cove.
Read more of Janet Groene’s Campground Chatter news and updates here.
Janet Groene is the author of more than 25 books including Living Aboard Your RV, 4th Edition, available at Amazon.com. Her new Farley Halladay book, “May Misfire, a Yacht Yenta Mystery,” is available at Amazon.com. See Janet Groene’s weekly Solo Woman posts at SoloWomanRV.
Please send us your campground news. Just fill out the form.
enjoy your article each week
Thanks for your effort every week with this news!