Feedback on State Parks in general (Ohio)

[RoyandNancy]

I guess we are more spoiled than I thought. We have some of the best state parks in the country here in Oregon, and the fees are great. Most of them are open year round along the coast with others open depending upon location and weather. We just spent closing weekend at Joseph State Park on Highway 62 near Prospect, OR. The rate was $12 (off season but in season is $16) with only electric and water hookups, no sewer. The sites are very open and spacious. Along the coast the rates do get into the low 20's for full hookup or electric/water, but I do not think there are any over $24 a night and some even have cable TV. These rates have held for many years. Some of our lottery money is used for the state parks. On the other hand, the National Parks in our area have had rate increases and closures. The other great parks in our area are county parks with most having full or partial hookups. The rates have been pretty stable over the last few years. We are spoiled by the abundance of places to go year round. I guess we will need to save up when we head East.

[troth]

I'm finding several states around and including Ohio now require a Minimum Two Night stay... That's kind of irksome if you're "just passing through" and have the wanderlust for more travel. It also irks me that these states have contracted out their reservation system (Spherix, etc.), so now instead of just paying the camping fees up front, you pay their service/handling fee of $6.00 per transaction...
Whine, whine, whine. -I know....

[George Miklas]

Troth,

Thanks for bringing this to our attention. This is an issue which needs national attention in order to get it recinded.

So now if you can't reserve a State Park camp site for one night, then where do you go for one night at the same rate?

George

[troth]

Quote:

So now if you can't reserve a State Park camp site for one night, then where do you go for one night at the same rate?

Personally, I favor state parks over private campgrounds for a number of reasons, but mostly because of the larger, more secluded & treed sites, and because I don't need the anemities (pool, game room, laundromat) and all the commotion that is associated with them.
But when I'm traveling and need a one-night-stay, if I can't stay at a State Park, I generally look for a private campground that's not "too urban" (i.e.- go for the road less traveled).
Very few private campgrounds have rates as low as State Parks. I've found $19 to $22 per night at State Parks, versus $26 to $32 per night at private campgrounds around NE Ohio this past year.

[Paulin]

Quote:

The ones in California are fairly nice. Some are overcrowded, but the prices are good.

Webster - I cannot agree with you 100%. The CA State Parks maintenance has deteriorated greatly in recent years and the fees are over $30 a night, even for seniors, in those parks with water & electricity. Additionally, they are on the Reserve America reservation program which IMO is terribly mis-managed. A friend of ours recently made reservations for next May (seven months in advance)and must move his rig three times in order to stay 6 nights.

Roy & Nancy - I sure agree with you regarding Oregon State Parks. We went up and down your beautiful coast a couple of years ago using the state parks and they were wonderful. CA should drop Reserve America and adopt a reservation system like Oregon's.

Paul

[Sue Y]

Hi, From Texas

It is the same way here in Texas. The state and Corp of Engineers parks are getting real run down, even could say dirty. I don't much money has been put into parks in a long time. A couple are getting some updates, But it seems the states don't realize what they could bring in with some updates. They sure keep building new RV parks, so the must be money in them. I wish the State parks would get on board. I know it is suppose to be nature, but it boring. You can only look at trees so long.
Sue

[RoyandNancy]

I love our state parks in Oregon but they do use Reserve America, as does the USFS in our area. I have not had a problem with them and do all of my reserving online.

[Paulin]

Here is another example of Reserve America's wonderful service!

Their website and call center are closed for CA state park reservations from Nov. 3 until Nov. 16th.

[Superslif]

I started this thread over 2 years ago. Since that time I have come to spend a larger amount of camping time in our neighboring state PA. Average overnight rates here in the Ohio State parks average $22-28 a night plus a $8 reservation fee. There are also no discounts for a weeks stay. We do buy an Ohio Campers Cardinal Card ($25) that gets us 15% off of the fees. We used to spend a week at a Southwestern PA State Park who has charged $96 for a whole week with electric (non-resident price). In 13 years going to the same park they only raised it to $102 about 8 years ago. So in 06' we spent 3 whole weeks in PA. parks for a total cost of $292 including electric and modern showers. This year were doing the same thing. We still do weekend trips to a few close by Ohio parks, but it's been 2 years since we have done a whole week. Ohio has just elected a new Democrated Governor. Who knows, maybe things will change. I have no problem affording what ever they charge, but I look at the value for the dollar I'm getting. I feel sorry for the people that camping used to be a cheap form of relaxation for tight budgets. Now a weekend with reservations and no Cardinal Card discount can cost $60. ouch...

[paz]

Quote:

Originally posted by Superslif: I started this thread over 2 years ago. Since that time I have come to spend a larger amount of camping time in our neighboring state PA. Average overnight rates here in the Ohio State parks average $22-28 a night plus a $8 reservation fee. There are also no discounts for a weeks stay. We do buy an Ohio Campers Cardinal Card ($25) that gets us 15% off of the fees. We used to spend a week at a Southwestern PA State Park who has charged $96 for a whole week with electric (non-resident price). In 13 years going to the same park they only raised it to $102 about 8 years ago. So in 06' we spent 3 whole weeks in PA. parks for a total cost of $292 including electric and modern showers. This year were doing the same thing. We still do weekend trips to a few close by Ohio parks, but it's been 2 years since we have done a whole week. Ohio has just elected a new Democrated Governor. Who knows, maybe things will change. I have no problem affording what ever they charge, but I look at the value for the dollar I'm getting. I feel sorry for the people that camping used to be a cheap form of relaxation for tight budgets. Now a weekend with reservations and no Cardinal Card discount can cost $60. ouch...

We used to live in Pittsburgh and had a hard time finding decent campgrounds in western PA. Most of the private campgrounds were old and had very small sites. Most of the State Parks in PA didn't allow pets (we have a dog). We loved the huge sites in Ohio State Parks and camped there quite a bit. We used the Cardinal Card, but recently found out many Ohio parks accept Passport America for half price sites Monday through Thursday. By staying at a "walk-in" (non-reservable) site, we can save the reservation fee and mix the Cardinal Card on the weekend with Passport America during the week.

BTW Superslif, what is the name of the campground you stayed at in Southwestern PA? We go back to PA periodically to visit family and are looking for someplace reasonable to stay.

[ncason]

In earlier years we preferred State campgrounds because they were cheaper AND more natural. The rigs were not on top of each other and you felt more in tune with nature. It is so sad but now because of the cost increases we can do better with private campgrounds and have full hook ups. This is more important in cold months. Plus some states won't take reservations and I don't want to pull up to a full campground and not know where I will spend the night. However, once many years ago when we arrived to closed gates we found a gravel area on the side of the road and dry camped.

Nancy