Plan Family Camping Trips Now

I spent a lot of time over the holidays playing around on the web and checking out camping resources. Invariably finding a new resource meant letting the webmaster or blogger know about Virginia State Parks or necessary corrections to our listings. It is amazing how you can lose hours and days just going from one link to another. Then there were the hours playing around on Facebook, My Space, Twitter, LinkedIn. Maybe I should have gone to my local park and hiked a trail instead of staying cooped up and tied to my laptop.

I created this blog to give readers inside information about Virginia State Parks. But, I'd also like to share some of the great camping resources I found during my marathon research. First there were two blogs on camping. The first, from the folks at About.Com who apparently support many blogs on a variety of subjects: http://camping.about.com/. The most recent post on this blog talks about how economical camping is for a family vacation or activity. After a recent trip to see a movie (matinee) cost my husband and I $40 for two hours of fun, the bargain really hit home! The second blog is http://www.campingblogger.net/ . The blogger is west coast based but he has great camping tips. Check them out. For a blog on outdoor activities, you will want to check out http://www.the-outdoor-sports-advisor.com/ .

I also found another camping resource called Triple Blaze, which offers information and the opportunity to review campgrounds and hiking trails, http://www.tripleblaze.com/ . As I have time, I will be providing more information on our Virginia State Parks hiking trails on this site, but all of our camprounds are listed. Another good resource is a newsletter, (you will need to email them to subscribe) The_Family_Campsite@mail.vresp.com. The most recent newsletter included articles on winter camping, winter sleeping bags, and winter preparedness.

Help planning your next Virginia State Parks camping trip is only a phone call away. Just call 800-933-7275 and a reservation counselor can match up your location and desired amenities with the Virginia State Park that best meets your needs. Or, shop yourself on our website, www.VirginiaStateParks.gov.