I haven’t been camping in 15 years or so, and I want to try it again this summer. I was in Walmart the other day looking at tents and accessories, and I got super excited. I asked you for advice on what I need, and where to go.
Here’s what you said:
Joseph – “You asked about places to go camping. Fontana Park has a campground for tents, walking trails, a nature center and animal display. If you go there, you can see the bobcat, this is it when it was a baby.”
Kevin (owner of The Heart of Darkness) – “Killing me here smalls. I’m a camping pro. OK. I’ll give you this one thing that so many people forget… toilet paper!! Never ever trust a campground’s… and leaves.. yeah. lol.”
Steve – “Next weekend, May 7 and 8 in Henry, Illinois is river city rampage demolition derby and they have camp sites. Also, biggest tip I can think of is get the biggest storage tote you can fit in your car or storage closet and then start getting your camp stuff. That way it’s all in one spot ready to go when you are.”
Brent – “Well CC, if your heart is set on tent camping any of the camp grounds will work! But if you’d like to rent a cabin then jelly stone in Monticello or Lake Darling in Brighton would serve you well. Went to Lake Darling last weekend was very pleased!! Ohhh and my favorite is red barn resort in Lansing!!”
Breana – “CC- Spillville, close to Decorah and other niceties but lesser-known and the campground at the ballroom is rarely booked. We were the only ones there one weekend. It was awesome and it’s right next to the river.”
Mike – “Hey C.C. My wife and I go camping at Rodgers Park in Benton County. They have a real nice kayak lake. They have secluded tent camping.”
Kyle – “Backbone State Park and Strawberry Point and there are a ton of hiking trails. There is even a little cave! Spook Cave outside of McGregor is pretty nice also!”
Sam – “CC, if you’re gonna get into camping, be sure to get a good percolator coffee pot. Also when buying a tent, half the people capacity. So a 4 person tent is really only good for 2 people.”
Justin – “You gotta make Backbone State Park your first camping spot! Up by Strawberry Point which you’ve been to. Quiet, isolated (very little cell service), slow streams to walk through/skip rocks/fish in…also plenty of hiking! There’s the Backbone Beach and the Backbone Park. The park also has way cool caves.”
Thank your for all the info!! It really helped. I’ll let you know when and where I decide to go! I most look forward to gazing at the stars and making a fire. So peaceful.
