Camping for a frugal vacation
July 4th, 2006 | by mbhunter |Over the past weekend my family and I went to West Virginia to camp with my wife’s parents. We went to Blackwater Falls State Park. The rest of the folks stayed a couple of days longer than I did because it was crunch time at work.
Okay, that wasn’t the entire reason. I had to put up this week’s Carnival of Investing, and there was no Internet in the West Virginia mountains.
Okay, that wasn’t the entire reason either. I’m easing into camping because this weekend was only my third time camping, and the whole experience is out of my comfort zone. My first experience was a few years ago with a “three-person” tent that we borrowed from some friends. I’m not really sure what size these three people were, but they were smaller than myself. I found out just how claustrophobic I was on that trip — not fun at all. On the way home from that trip, we stopped in an Ames that was going out of business and bought a much nicer tent, like this one, at a discount. I could stand up in it and my head didn’t hit the top. Much better!
Then we forgot to seal that tent before for the next camping trip. (I didn’t know any better, and my wife had never owned a new tent.) It poured.
When my wife suggested that we go up to camp this weekend, I said I’d do one or two nights at the most. I still have a ways to go before I’m used to it. Having said that, this weekend had great weather and almost perfect temperatures, so I was a little disappointed that I had to go back. Plus, since our daughter really enjoyed it, we’ll probably be doing more of it, so even if I don’t long to camp I should at least get used to it! 
It is a relatively cheap way to vacation. Our site (with electricity) was $20/night. That’s cheaper than you can usually get a hotel, even from an aggregator like Priceline. It’s even cheaper if you just hike and pitch your tent in places where it’s allowed — and it’s quieter and more private — but the advantages of going to a camp site are worth the small price:
- Some amenities (showers, toilets, phone, some “civilization,” pre-made fire pits)
- Fewer dangers (more people mean less wildlife)
- Other people to talk to
- The opportunity to play Hillbilly Golf!
Any avid campers? How do you save money when you camp?
2 Responses to “Camping for a frugal vacation”
By Mark Ingle on Jul 5, 2006 | Reply
Me and my wife were laughing, we like to go camping but we also need a campground with showers and bathroom. And yes it’s much cheaper than hoteling it.