Finding a place to
spend the night is no problem in North America. There are an estimated
8,000 public and another 8,000 privately-owned campgrounds in the U.S.
alone, catering to the needs of 61 million campers 8 million of them use
travel trailers, motor homes or other types of RVs. Your campground directory
will describe each, as to location, season, rates and amenities. Make sure
the public campground you select has spaces to accommodate a unit your
size; many do not.
Here are the major types
of U.S. campgrounds:
National Parks: More than 300 of
them, including famous Yellowstone and Yosemite, plus less-crowded ones.
The U.S. Government Printing Office, Superintendent of Documents, Washington,
D.C. 20402 offers: "Camping in the National Park System" (send
$3.50); "Lesser Known Areas of the National Park System" (send
$1.50); and "National Wildlife Refuges - a Visitor's Guide" (Send
$1.00, indicate #024-010-00660-9).
National Forests -The U.S. Forest
Service maintains 156 forests covering more than 190 million acres of land,
100,000 million miles of trails, 70,000 miles of streams and rivers, and
about 4,500 developed campgrounds.
National Wildlife Refuges Contain
limited campgrounds, where they do not interfere with wildlife preservation.
Usually, there are private campgrounds nearby.
Bureau of Land Management Recreation Sites
-This federal agency oversees 280 million acres of scenic outdoor recreation
sites in the western U.S., including Canada, with many camping sites.
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers - Maintains
53,000 campsites on projects near lakes, rivers and oceans. For information,
send stamped, self-addressed envelope to U.S. Army Corps of Engineers,
20 Massachusetts Ave., N.W, Washington, D.C. 20314, Attn: Public Affairs
Office.
State and Local Parks - There are
thousands of them. Lists are available from state tourist agencies or in
the commercial campground directories.
Commercial Campgrounds The nearly
8,000 campgrounds nationwide vary from the very rustic to luxury resorts,
with golf courses, swimming pools and other amenities. Commercial directories
list and describe each one, and help you locate them by state and town.
If you plan to concentrate in one or two states, the state campground association
can also provide lists.
Canadian Campgrounds Canada has
the same range and diversity of campgrounds as the U.S., each listed and
described in commercial campground directories.
