Camping Canada

• Mactaquac Provincial Park - Mactaquac, NB. Camped here one night at end of August, 2008. Large park, but we enjoyed it.
• Prince Edward Island National Park, Stanhope section - PEI. Camped here one night at end of August, 2008. Wonderful.

California

• Owl Canyon Campground - Mojave Desert. Camped here again March 25 to March 26. My older daughter had not been here so my two daughters and I came back. Fairly full campground this time. The Rainbow Basin Natural Area was not drivable this time as the rains took their toll on the windy up and down dirt road. We hike up the canyon, this time making to the end. We only encountered one other hiker and this was as we approached the starting point on our way back. When we had reached the end we looked for a way to go up out of the canyon and to hike bike on flat ground. To the right did not look promising so we looked to the left, scaling a hill and looking our over the top. It appeared we would have to go up and down various steep hills to get back to the campground. So we headed back into the canyon and made our way back. Birds seen included: various house finches, juncos, rock wrens and peregrine falcons. The falcons have a nest area and there appeared to be some young amongst them. They made quite a ruckus as we passed up the canyon. On the way down, one falcon perched up high and watched us struggling down the canyon. Temps were cold at night, just at freezing, and were in the 50s during the day. There were some puddles of water in the canyon which had a layer of ice on top of them.
• Owl Canyon Campground - Mojave Desert. Camped here January 2023, arriving January 28 and departing January 29. Loved it. Large clean campground, except for a number of the toilets which deserve some attention. There were only 3 campsites, including our own, which were occupied. Saturday was calm and we took an afternoon drive on the car tour road of the Rainbow Basin Natural Area. Very nice. Drove to Peggy Sue's restaurant for dinner and headed back for a very peaceful sleep, spending some time at a campfire before doing so. Some wind did keep up later at night and continued on and off on Sunday. Sunday morning took a wonderful hike up Owl Canyon. We didn't quite make it to the end but got quite far. The cave near the front part is very neat and the variety of rocks and surfaces encountered as you traverse the narrow canyon is very impressive. Packed up and left this subtly beautiful land dotted with creosote bushes and headed over to Calico Ghost Town, seeing some beautiful mountain bluebirds on the drive over. Strolled the streets of Calico, relaxed, grabbed a bit to eat and hit the road back home.
• McGill Campground - Los Padres National Forest near the top of Mount Pinos. Camped here in October of 2022. Arrived on Saturday the 20th and left the 30th. Not many people camping this time of year so we did not reserve. We planned to camp at the Mount Pinos Campground but it was closed due to a relatively early snow and we stayed at the McGill Campground very nearby. The McGill Campground was going to close early due to the snow and this was the last night they were open. So we lucked out. Pitched our tent in a very nice spot, drove to the Pine Mountain Pizza Company for some great pizza, spent some time at a campfire making smores and hit the sack. Was great to be surrounded by a good deal of snow, over 50% of the ground was snow covered, with the ground directly under the wonderfully smelling Jeffrey Pines free of snow. Next morning drove to the parking lot near the top of Mount Pinos. Hiked to the peak of Mount Pinos, a nice shortish hike. While at the top the area was initially fog covered but we had the treat of watching the heavy clouds float by and the sun come out. Packed out and took a roundabout way home. Drove through Pine Mountain Club, the Bitter Creek National Wildlife Refuge, down to Maricopa, up the Grapevine and then south on the 5. Had the real treat of watching a soaring California Condor from the side of the road in the Bitter Creek National Wildlife Refuge.
• Red Rock Canyon State Park - Mojave Desert. Camped here April 8, 2022. Better known as the Ricardo campground. Got a nice site at this first come first serve campground, but had some terrible neighbors. The moon was strong and other sites were open so we changed sites after the sun had gone down. Wonderful area to camp with some great geology around.
• Malibu Creek State Park - Calabasas, CA. Camped here January 21, 2022. Very windy and tent was getting blown around quite a bit. Camped at site 58, but site 61 looks better. Saw first Lewis's woodpecker and hiked to the MASH site.

New England

• Sodom Mountain Campground - Southwick, MA. Camper here June 30 to July 1, 2018; one night. Went to the US National Motocross race at Southwick on Saturday, the 30th and camped here over night. We had camped here when we went to this race in 1997, which I recalled upon our arrival. Weekend was very hot and humid and mosquitos were out in force, so the pool was welcome, as was the Saturday evening sundaes. Cooked breakfast was appreciated also. We were tent camping and this campground is geared more towards RVs and trailers. The tent sites are quite small and we could hear multiple people snoring, in addition to a welcome whip poor will.
• Partridge Hollow Camping Area - Monson, MA. Camped here August 27-28, 2016; in the tent area, site M-8. About 2-3 hours from home, not far from CT border. Nice area with good deal of camping activity going on. Have a nice shop, swimming pool, and a number of different games to play. Nearby small communities of Monson and others are nice to visit.
• Coolidge State Park - Plymouth, VT. Camped here September 6-7, 2015 (Sun-Mon, Labor Day). About a 140 mile drive from home; about 47 miles to hit the hwy 89 turnoff of the 93 from home which takes about 1 hour. Nice park in the Green Mountains of Vermont. Went swimming at the nearby Camp Plymouth State Park; nice grassy area and beach with refreshing water as it was in the 90s these two days. On Monday we visited the home of President Calvin Coolidge which is a treat. Also took a hike on part of the CCC trail. We camped in the Willow Lean-To.
• Lake Francis State Park - Pittsburg, NH. Camped here June 6 - 7, 2015 (Sat to Sun). Just shy of the Canadian border. First time camping here and definitely a place to return to. Tent camped on the shore of the lake, near the camp office. Very quiet and peaceful in the park and in the area in general. Fishing is popular in the area. Hummingbird feeders at the camp office were popular with the hummers. Looking out at the lake you almost always saw one or more loons and they 'sang' at night. You could borrow sporting equipment (basketball, etc.) from the camp office and rent canoes. Do not believe we saw a 'smart phone' for the entire two-day trip.
• Quechee State Park - Hartford, VT. Camped here Sept 7 - Sept 8, 2013 (Sat to Sun). About 1/2 way up Vermont, on the Vermont-New Hampshire border. Next to the Quechee Gorge. Went to Cabot Cheese and had a tour on Saturday and on Sunday went to the Vermont Institute of Natural Sciences just near the park where they have a number of beautiful raptors and various shows throughout the day. The park personnel were very friendly and helpful and the park itself was nicely located and very clean.
• Wompatuck State Park - Hingham, MA. Camped here May 25 - May 27, 2012 (Fri and Sat of Mem Day Weekend). About 1/2 hour south of Boston. Lots of hiking trails and some nice camping spots; we stayed in 79 which was very good. Loud the first night but I asked the campers who made the noise to be quiet the next night and they were. The restrooms leave a lot to be desired as far as frequency of cleaning and this park is apparently known for that.
• Lost River Valley Campground - North Woodstock, NH. Camped here September 24, 2011. Fairly empty and quiet. Couple of large streams go through the camp and you can camp right next to them. Fall colors were almost peaking here in the White Mountains. Playground, pond, tennis court were fun. Nearby are some nice attractions and little towns, with Bath being particularly nice with its long covered bridge.
• Lincoln/Woodstock KOA Campground - Woodstock, NH. Camped here September 25, 2010, when it was known as the Broken Branch KOA.. Fairly empty and quiet. Fall colors were almost peaking here in the White Mountains. Playground and miniature golf were fun. Went to the Flume, which is nearby. Good numbers of little birds heading south came through the campground.
• Jamaica State Park - near Jamaica, VT. Camped here September 19, 2009. Didn't make a reservation. Nice, with a playground and an old railbed converted into a trail along the river. We took a six-mile round-trip hike to Hamilton Falls, which was really nice! In the morning we hear a ruffed grouse and a winter wren singing. Neighbors chose to split wood early in the evening and I had a talk with them and later they were talking late at night and I yelled at them from inside our tent.
• Greenfield State Park - in Greenfield, NH. Camped here August 1, 2009. This state park has a large camping area with many sites, but a decent distance between sites. We didn't know but due to the heavy rains in June and July the two beaches on the lake were quite reduced in size when we were there. Also, the skys were overcast and it did not get very warm so we didn't do any swimming. We returned from dinner in nearby Peterborough to find a skunk in our camping area rooting around, allowing us a good deal of time to observe it. Alos, a good deal of barred owls appear to inhabit the park, being heard at night and even seen during the day. Although there is a 10pm to 7am quiet time, some campers, including our neighbors, were very loud well past 10pm.
• Bear Brook State Park - in Allenstown, NH. Camped here June 21, 2008. It's not far from Concord and is rather large and we were a little fearful it may be loud. But at about 10:30 it got very quite and we had a great time. Spent some time at the beach and also canoing. This is the largest state park in NH set up for camping. We would go back.
• Barrington Shores - near Barrington, NH. Camped here on May 10, 2008. Nice camping spot next to lake. Saw loons during day and heard them well at night. Would camp at again! Note we camped before official camping season started so don't know what it's like during the regular season.
• Mile-Away Campground - near Henniker, NH. Camped at on April 26, 2008. Could have been nice, but across the pond/lake was a big party that went very late in the night with hard rock karaoke. Hear barred owls hooting in between the blasting music.