Off Topic Camping Thread: Best State Park In All 50 States

[bama_ed]

Folks,

I thought this might be an interesting off-topic item. I came across an article from the website ThrillList (never heard of it) that picked (based on the recommendation of locals) a "best" state park in every state.

https://www.thrillist.com/travel/na...every-state-california-new-york-texas-florida

For Alabama (my home state) it lists Gulf State Park which is no surprise. For Florida (home of Fort Wilderness), it lists Fort Desoto which is a county-run park (?) and not a state park that I visited and included in my trip report this past January.

Take a look at the list and I'm curious to hear from folks their opinions about their home state's choice or comments about others. I'm always looking to stay at a state park if it's convenient while I am traveling and towing and having this list at least gives me a little initial guidance. Other states around me might be worthy of a destination trip.

Bama Ed

PS - but we all know Fort Wilderness is the best campground of all, amirite?

 

[FortWildernessCamper]

Cape Henlopen State Park in Delaware. Beautiful Park by the Atlantic Ocean. No electric or sewer, only water.

 

[tltay2005]

Bama Ed, you are correct, Fort Desoto is run by Pinellas County, not the State, but it is a great campground. We just got our TT last November, and have just visited a few State Parks so far, but have ressies for more in Jan & Feb. We really liked Lake Kissimmee State Park. Had some nice bike and hiking trails, docks to fish off of and of course Cowboy Camp.

 

[rajak73]

They list Fort Robinson as the best in Nebraska, it's a nice park, lots of history, not sure it's the best though, Ponca state park on the Missouri river, Indian Cave state park in SE part of Nebraska also a beautiful park. There's also a park that Wild Bill Hickok was said to have shot his first man.

 

[PaHunter]

Come on that's not fair, I have to narrow it down to one. But we have so many good ones in PA. There are 120 State Parks, so there is a lot to do.

 

[bama_ed]

Come on that's not fair, I have to narrow it down to one. But we have so many good ones in PA. There are 120 State Parks, so there is a lot to do.

All I hear from my family in Ohio (who are very confused - they cheer for the Steelers) is, "Black Moshannon, Black Moshannon, Black Moshannon..."

You're officially excused, Chris, from having to pick a favorite for Pennsy. Don't want to get you in any professional trouble.

Bama Ed

 

[G719]

For WV they've listed Blackwater Falls. I've never been but I want to go sometime. WV is full of beautiful areas. I can recommend the Stonewall to my fellow rv campers. They have full hook ups, lots of outdoor recreation, and it's not far from the interstate. Here's a terrible picture of the campground taken in March from across the lake at the lodge.


ETA: www.stonewallresort.Com

 

[Letsbgoofy]

Niagra Falls State Park - I'm going to have to disagree. First of all no camping, second is all the tourists. Don't get me wrong, the falls are amazing and I love walking around Goat Island, but it's more of a tourist attraction than a State Park in my mind. I know Letchworth State Park wins a lot of awards for popularity, but we like Watkins Glen. Getting reservations there is almost as bad as Ft Wilderness though as they only have one electric loop!

And yes, Fort Wilderness is by far the best campground we have visited so far.

 

[disneydadben]

Folks,

I thought this might be an interesting off-topic item. I came across an article from the website ThrillList (never heard of it) that picked (based on the recommendation of locals) a "best" state park in every state.

https://www.thrillist.com/travel/na...every-state-california-new-york-texas-florida

For Alabama (my home state) it lists Gulf State Park which is no surprise. For Florida (home of Fort Wilderness), it lists Fort Desoto which is a county-run park (?) and not a state park that I visited and included in my trip report this past January.

Take a look at the list and I'm curious to hear from folks their opinions about their home state's choice or comments about others. I'm always looking to stay at a state park if it's convenient while I am traveling and towing and having this list at least gives me a little initial guidance. Other states around me might be worthy of a destination trip.

Bama Ed

PS - but we all know Fort Wilderness is the best campground of all, amirite?

They definitely picked the right one for Tennessee. Fall Creek Falls is a great park! Great campgrounds, wonderful hiking and natural wonders, and enough activities to keep you busy for a week. If you're looking for somewhere to camp while passing through, Cumberland mountain state park is also beautiful and only 15 or 20 minutes off interstate 40 between Nashville and Knoxville. KY is hard to pick because they have so many wonderful parks. Cumberland lake state park and Cumberland falls state park are also top notch.

 

[tiggerdad]

Good ole Tishomingo State Park in Mississippi. I will have to agree with this one. It's located in the extreme northeast portion of Mississippi in the foothills. It's in one of the areas of Mississippi that has nice rocky/forest that has shallow bottom creeks. I haven't been in a long time, but we are looking into staying there on our trip up to Mammoth Cave National Park, though it will mean taking a detour.

http://mississippistateparks.reserv...roundDetails.do?contractCode=MS&parkId=151816

 

[MsHershey]

I second Tiggerdad's recommendation. We've only used the day facilities so far but we have inherited my parent's motorhome and are looking forward to exploring our local campgrounds.

One of our favorites is Jamie L Whitten Campground in Fulton,Ms located on the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway. We love the lighted nature trails they have. Also the Jamie L Whitten Museum is a nice little treasure. And it's only 5 minutes to Wal-Mart as we seem to always forget something.

 

[amcc]

We love camping in Florida state parks. Our favorite is Blue Spring State Park near Orlando. The spring is spectacular and it has a nice run. The sites are large, flat, and very private. They just built brand new bathrooms. In the winter, manatees are there. You can rent canoes, there's a good bike trail, and a cool historic home.

We also love Curry Hammock State Park in the Keys. It is a small, impeccable park, with big, private sites and beautiful landscaping. You rent kayaks and kayak around the island to a sandbar or you can hang out on the beach. Some sites are oceanfront. This summer, it still had composting toilets which were...ummmm, smelly, but the camp host told us they were starting construction in the spring for new, regular bathrooms. We will be trying Long Key State Park in May and all the sites there are oceanfront.

We do plan on visiting Fort De Soto at some point next summer.

 

[Squrl]

NJ is Island Beach State Park. It is nice for just the beach, but not one I'd pick for camping. You can camp overnight on the beach if you have 4x4 and you have to have a fishing pole in the water for each person, I think. To be fair, we have never tried it, but maybe this summer, we have friends that have stayed overnight and their kids have loved it. We usually go to Jenny Jump state forest or Stokes State Forest, both really nice in the woods for camping.

 

[Napria]

Fort Yargo in Georgia is a nice State Park, but there are much better State Parks. I would say that Skidaway State Park in Savannah is definitely a nicer, more scenic State Park. We also like Unicoi State Park in Helen, GA and F.D. Roosevelt State Park inPine Mountain.

And yes, no park or campground is better than Fort Wilderness.

 

[rideswithchrist]

Tiggerdad- that is AMAZING! I'll keep that one in mind for the future, MS is not too far away from TX!

 

[rideswithchrist]

Being from Texas, I would take Garner or Lost Maples as a better park- the greenery and rivers can't be beat(I'm not a huge fan of the desert look that everyone thinks is Texas) plus from our house, it is a 10-11 hour trip there and for 7 more hours, we could head the other way to Disney .

 

[sippican]

Being a long-time New Englander I'd like to add my two cents.
In Massachusetts - camping on the Boston Harbor Islands is limited to rustic tent camping only. The best bet for a State park with camping facilities is Scussett Beach, loacted right at the northern entrance to Cape Cod Canal; beautiful beach, books up many months in advance:
http://www.mass.gov/eea/agencies/dcr/massparks/region-south/scusset-beach-state-reservation.html
Reid Park in Maine - no camping. If looking for strictly a list of State run facilities, this is a nice choice, close to Acadia national Park:
http://www.acadiamagic.com/LamoineStatePark.html
If willing to include those run be the National Park Service, you can't beach thoe on beautiful Mount Desert Island - Acadia
New Hampshire - agree completely with Franconia State Park, specifically Lafayette Camping Area. (The reasons why we live in that area for six months a year are too many to count!)

 

[4daubers]

From Texas. Garner is always a must, South Llano is a sweet little park with a lazy river to tube and Davis Mountains State Park for star gazing. Mission Tejas is a wonderful park in the fall.