Camping between Charlotte and Philly
September 22, 2010 11:08 AM   Subscribe

Camping filter: looking for fairly easy tent camping roughly halfway between Charlotte, NC and Philadelphia, PA.

I have all of the necessary supplies; I just want to park somewhere, pitch my tent, relax, get a fire going (if allowed, else I'll use my camp stove), eat, sleep, wake up and finish my drive.

Requirements:
-Ideally, I'd like to be within 4-5 hours drive from Philly.

-Cost. Cheap is good. I've been looking for campgrounds and $30 for pitching a tent on a 10'x10' piece of land for a single night is just ridiculous. No amenities are necessary.

-Pretty is a plus.

-No more than a 1 mile hike to campsite.

Thanks.
posted by Cat Pie Hurts to Sports, Hobbies, & Recreation (8 answers total) 1 user marked this as a favorite
 
Best answer: Shenandoah National Park. Take 76 W to 81 S; it'll be about 5 hours on the nose, and then you'll be skipping DC traffic. $15-17 per night, as it's a National Park, and it's gorgeous up there.
posted by The Michael The at 11:24 AM on September 22, 2010


Outside Baltimore, Patapsco Valley State Park has two campgrounds. Once you are south of DC you can camp in several places in Shenandoah National Park and on the Blue Ridge Parkway. Easy access and super pretty, especially this time of year.
posted by headnsouth at 11:28 AM on September 22, 2010


Best answer: 2nding Shenendoah National Park. There are multiple campgrounds along the park, which parallels 81S just 10-20 minutes east of the Interstate.
posted by COD at 11:56 AM on September 22, 2010


We're going to Watermelon Park Friday. It sounds like it's perfect as far as location and price; I'll let you know about the scenery.
posted by MrMoonPie at 12:28 PM on September 22, 2010


White's Ferry on the C&O Canal.
posted by Rash at 12:45 PM on September 22, 2010


I think the campgrounds in George Washington National Forest are nicer than Shenandoah, if you're not concerned about amenities.

Check out the options: http://tinyurl.com/23hpkrw. The campgrounds in the North Section should put you pretty close to halfway to Philly.

We especially like Todd Lake and Wolf Gap.
posted by MorningPerson at 1:09 PM on September 22, 2010


Seconding Washington and Jefferson National Forest--the campgrounds are generally small but well wooded and scenic. We've camped at Hawk and Elizabeth Furnace in the Lee District (furthest north) and Hidden Valley near Roanoke. Hidden Valley was my favorite of those three--we hiked up the ridge about 1/2 mile from the creek/day use area and had a nice view.

The official campgrounds range from $0 to something like $20 depending on level of amenities, and there is always an option to pitch your tent by the side of certain forest service roads for free as well.

The Forest Service web site, unfortunately, is kind of shitty. The listings at ForestCamping.com are easier to read.
posted by drlith at 6:57 PM on September 22, 2010


Response by poster: Thanks everybody. I wound up staying at Loft Mountain in Shenandoah National Forest. The trip down Skyline Drive was brilliant. I saw mountains! Yay! And extreme prettiness! Yay! And half of a deer! Yay!

One thing to note: while the camping itself IS only $15, the park entrance fee is also $15, so I still spent $30 ($37 to be exact: $2 for a shower and $5 for firewood). It was worth it, but none of the camping reservation site actually make the park fee clear.

Oh, I also learned that my sleeping pad is WAY too thin. Feeling like your ribs are pushing through your back = no fun!
posted by Cat Pie Hurts at 3:05 PM on September 27, 2010


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