Oct. 15-17...

[heyaim]

Well, my next weekend off is Oct. 15-17!!! Yeah! So we will be heading somewhere -- Hopefully! This weather has definately taken a cold turn, quick! I'm hoping the trees will be turning beautifully then, but still have lots of leaves!

Not sure where we are going to go yet. I'll figure it out! I definately want somewhere with lots of trees and trails.

[NLOVNIT]

Most of the popular OH state parks (Mohican, Hocking Hills, West Branch, Paint Creek...etc) will be booked already because they have Halloween weekends that are highly attended. But, here are a few state parks within a couple hour's drive for you I'd recommend that still show sites open:
Salt Fork - they have more than a dozen trails
Deer Creek - about half a dozen trails
Dillon - about half a dozen trails. Reserve in sites 44-62 to get view of the river valley
Lake Loramie - 5 trails. Reserve in the premium sites 104-120 to get a nice sunset view as well as being on the channel

I hope you find a spot. There's nothing better for camping than our state parks in the fall.

Lori-

[heyaim]

Tell me, is it a pain in the hiney without water hookup? I think we have a 40 gal. holding tank, but have never used it to see how much use we get. Out of the campgrounds you listed, which one has nice restrooms/showers?

I love reading all your input on campgrounds!!!

[NLOVNIT]

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Tell me, is it a pain in the hiney without water hookup?

Nope. We do it all the time for weekends. Fill up at one of the water stations along the park roads & then conserve your water. Keep a bucket in the bathroom to catch the cold shower water as you wait for it to get warm & use it to flush the toilet - this also helps to keep the grey tank from filling up so fast. Take short showers: wet down, turn water off, soap up, turn water on to rinse, get out of shower. Use the campground restroom/showerhouse as much as possible to limit water use in RV. Cook over the campfire (no pots/pans to wash), use paper plates/bowls & disposable cups/silverware...or eat out 1 meal during the weekend. Just those few things & you'll be amazed at how long you can last on 40 gallons of water. A 2 night weekend is the best time to try out this scenario.

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Out of the campgrounds you listed, which one has nice restrooms/showers

Salt Fork. Pics below are of the bathhouse between loops F & G. (outside, inside, sinks, std shower, handicap shower)


Lori-

[woodburner]

If you end up going to Saltfork;You might want to check to see if they're having their "special hunt" Blackpowder only...We have gone two different times in October and we had the misfortune of being in the middle of both...We enjoy seeing the wildlife live....
Not

[heyaim]

Woodburner - Thanks for the headsup! Unfortunately, that's right up my husbands alley! I'll definately find out for sure! I don't get very many days off work, so I want this time to be a relaxing time! Thanks again!

[Superslif]

Were looking also to get out that weekend...My son has that Friday from school, so we'll head out on Thursday. Like Lori said, some of the parks have their Halloween weekends. Right now I have Punderson, Mosquito, Geneva and Pymatuning on my list. I believe most are first come, first serve. You can't reserve a site. Delaware will only have one loop open. Lori how is Delaware? While at Mt. Gilead two weeks ago I ment to drive over to Delaware for a look-see, but never did. Now Mt. Gilead did have a bunch of trails, fact a lot of trail for a small park....

This coming week I be at Findley State Park from Wed to Sun. for their Halloween campout weekend.

[woodburner]

Hey Jim; Delaware has a lot of really nice trails for bike riding...Though they are not designated as bike trails....Many run adjacent to the lake.
One thing to watch out for at Delaware this time of year are the Buckeye trees are dropping their fruit. BIG FRUIT!
The southern most section is loaded with these trees so beware. They bang on the trailer and hurt when they hit ya.
Other then that; great place to camp! Spacious sites and lots of privacy because of the way the park is laid out.
Shower houses could use some TLC but they are usually clean and the pressure is good.
Try it; you'll like it!

[Joe-K]

Mike, Bill and I just booked the weekend of Oct 15-17 at Farma Family Campground Farma Park family campground in Greenville, PA which is not to far from the Pymatuning area.

None of us have ever been there before but we just thought we'd give it a try. When Mike called them, they offered a group full hookup area for $ 30.00 a night special. Everyone else is welcome to come along as well.

[Superslif]

I think at Delaware they will only have section #3 open, which is one loop north of the the most southern loop you talk about. John do you remember if there is a Buckeye problem in that loop too?

I'll be leaving Wed. for 4 nights at Findleys Halloween campout weekend. Wed's weather looks iffy, but the rest of the week is looking great...

[NLOVNIT]

Jim (sorry for the delay, we're on vacation in PA & just got to a KOA w/Wi-Fi) -

Delaware SP has a nice CG. Like John stated, the sites are laid out well with privacy between sites. He's also right about the showerhouses. Although fairly clean, they need new shower curtains, new paint & the bugs need cleaned out of the window corners. Unfortunately, they turned my favorite site (shown in my album pics & on my review) into a handicap site in 2006 & I haven't been back to scope out a new favorite. I LOVED that site - it was HUGE! Also, that park is just 15 mi or so from home, so we don't go often as I can just stay home for free. Anyway, I think you'd like Delaware & it's not that busy in fall.

Lori-

[heyaim]

Well, looks like we might not be able to go next weekend. DH is scheduled to work that weekend! Figures I finally get a weekend off and he works...aggrivating! At least we are getting away tomorrow night...Heading to Happy Hills in Nelsonvillle. 1 night is better than none!

[woodburner]

Just got back from West Branch all week in the rain...wouldn't ya know it got nice yesterday and we left this A.M. There must have been a lot of cancelations as the online map showed 12 booked in the full hook-up section and my favorite sites were taken...they sat empty all week.
We had site 110 which was like a ski slope as far as level goes....But It was a really nice view of the lake and had a great space for table and fire-ring....
Kind of strange to be one of 3-4 in the entire park....too quiet for me.
I've never stayed in the second loop at Delaware and I don't recall the tree situation there; as well as I do the northern most and the southern most loops where we have camped. I'm sure you'll survive any Buckeye issues around there...Hope your weather is better than ours was!
I'm surprised they're closing loops so soon though...

On a different note; Jim , if you're still looking for a new RV; All Seasons has a couple nice; and I do mean nice Tiffen Coaches for sale....Ones a Bus and the other a Phaeton.... Had to drag Jan out of the Bus.....

[Superslif]

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On a different note; Jim , if you're still looking for a new RV; All Seasons has a couple nice; and I do mean nice Tiffen Coaches for sale....Ones a Bus and the other a Phaeton....

Actually went down to All-Season's about a month ago to look at the Tiffen coaches. My parents are kind of doing the tire kicking mode. Looked at one of the shorter (36') Phaeton's with the slides closed, I could barely fit down the aisle. My father really likes the bus...who wouldn't????

Thanx John for getting all the rain out of the way for our long weekend at Findley. It was by far the best Oct weather we ever had. Daytime highs in the 70's to 80's and 5 days of sun. I arrived last Wed. and stayed and extra night to this past Monday morning. Were actually leaving this afternoon (thur.)for Findley again. I would be a little worried that Delaware only had one loop open and not getting a site that didn't have falling nuts. The trees were very colorfully at Findley...