Good Morning all.

I received an email last night from somebody who was interested in knowing how I go about determining the camping destination each time I go for a trip. As I was replying to his e-mail I realized that if this person had that question, maybe some of you had the same question. So here is the process I go thru when choosing a destination:

There are several factors involved in choosing the destination:

1. Time of year – This comes into play because I don’t like to camp in a landlocked area in the dead heat of summer and I don’t like to camp in the mountains or near the shore in spring/fall/winter. I am not very heat tolerant so if it’s July/August I want to do whatever I can to ensure some sort of breeze or cooler temperatures in the evening. I can handle the heat/humidity during the day but when it’s time to sleep I don’t want to be uncomfortable. Same thing in the cooler season but for my kids, I want to choose a location that will not be extreme temperature wise overnight, so the mountains and the immediate shore area are out.

2. Type of camping desired – The Cub Scouts like to call it “Soft Camping vs. Hard Camping.” Do I want to camp in our trailer so I can show up at the site and within 30 to 45 minutes be sitting back and enjoying a cold beverage with the campsite up and ready. Or, do I want to bring in our tent and go thru the work involved in Setting it up, staking it down, securing the extra rain prevention tarp above it…etc… I don’t have a preference one way or the other, they just require different types/quantities of work and sometimes I am not interested in one of the other.

3. People travelling with – As most of you that have been camping before know, choose you site-mates carefully. I personally don’t like camping with anybody that has never been camping before or only been once or twice. I am not saying that we don’t go camping with those people, just that I don’t like it. Inevitably when we do go camping with “newbies” I end up setting up their tent, cooking their food and in general being a tour guide/babysitter for the trip. That is completey OKAY as long as I know it in advance and I am prepared for it. I say prepared because it means I have to bring more gear since the “newbies” always forget something pretty critical. In the past I have had to supply site-mates with pillows, blankets, clothes, food, grills, tents, first aid and just about anything else you can imagine. So when I choose a destination the choice is based on who I am going with and if they are experienced enough to bring their own gear. If not, then I pick a private campgrond that has more facilities/amenities and at least a minimal camp store.

4. Attractions desired – Do you feel like just hanging around the campground and doing whatever they have available there or do you want to venture out to the beach, amusement park, local watering hole, museums, art, history, etc… In New Jersey especially, you can setup a campsite and literally be less then 30 minutes from a variety of things to do and places to see. We have a particular family we go camping with regularly and when we camp with them we know in advance that we are going to be up pretty early and out of the site by 8am not to return until 8 or 9pm. We will hit every museum, history artifact, beach attraction, swimming hole or ski slope within about 60 miles of the site. This is an absolutel blast once in a while, there are other times/site-mates when we don’t leave the campground until an hour after checkout.

5. Length of Stay – Over the years my wife and I have developed a list of New Jersey Camping facilities that we will not stay at for more then a long weekend. It’s not becuase the campgrounds are dirty or unsafe or anything like that. It has more to do with the fact that some places only have activities/amenities on the weekends and we like to get our kids involved in things pretty much daily. That is also why we hardly ever stay at a New Jersey State Park longer then a weekend. There is not always something to do and if we are going as a family we want some help occupying our children’s time occasionaly, Mom & Dad need a break sometimes.

Well that’s pretty much how we choose where we are going to camp each and every time.

I hope it helps!

‘Till Next Time…Remember “There Ain’t No Better Camping Then New Jersey Camping!”

Eric