When you think of the perfect camping trip, what comes to mind? For many people, the ideal camping experience involves spending time in a beautiful location, surrounded by nature. If you’re planning a camping trip in the United States, there are plenty of amazing destinations. In this blog post, we will provide you with some tips on how to plan the perfect US camping adventure!

1) Choose your destination:

The first step in planning the perfect camping trip is to choose your destination. When selecting a location, it is important to consider the type of terrain you will be camping on, as well as the climate. For example, are you looking for a place with beautiful hiking trails? Or do you prefer a more relaxed setting where you can enjoy some fishing and swimming? Once you have an idea of what kind of environment you would like to camp in, research different locations that fit your criteria. When choosing your campsite, book one with all the amenities you need, such as running water and electricity. You should also check to see if any restrictions or permits are required if you plan to camp off grid in the area. Follow these three tips for finding the best campgrounds.

2) Pack your gear:

Once you have chosen your destination, it’s time to start packing! When packing for a camping trip, it is essential to bring all the necessary items. If you’re tent camping, you’ll obviously need a tent, sleeping bags, and food. No matter whether you’re in a tent or RV, there are also some other things you might want to consider bringing, such as bug spray, sunscreen, and a first-aid kit, you can find all your camping gear requirements online at ECOGEAR FX. Also, make sure to pack enough clothing for the number of days you will be gone, as well as extra socks and shoes in case of wet weather. And don’t forget to bring along some fun games and activities to keep everyone entertained!

3) Prep your Vehicle

Key to any good road trip, is a vehicle that is in good working order so be sure to perform all the necessary preventive maintenance. You’ll also want to make sure that you have good insurance coverage. Finally, in this day and age, it is also a good idea to bring the contact details of a reputable car accident lawyer with you. You might not like to think about having an accident, but if you’re driving a long way, the chance is always there that it could happen. It’s far better to have the details and not need them than need them and not have them! 

4) Plan your meals:

One of the most critical aspects of planning a camping trip is to make sure you have enough food. When packing your food, it is crucial to consider both perishable and non-perishable items. Make sure to bring along plenty of snacks and easy-to-prepare meals, such as sandwiches and trail mix. If you are bringing any perishable items, pack them in a cooler with ice packs. And don’t forget to pack some drinks, too! Water is always a necessity, but you might also want to bring some juice or sports drinks.

5) Don’t forget to explore

One of the best parts about camping is getting to explore your surroundings! Once you have set up camp, take some time to wander around and discover all the hidden gems of your location. If you’re camping in a national park, check out any nearby hiking trails. And if you’re near a lake or river, don’t forget to go for a swim! Make sure to bring along a map to find your way back to camp, and always let someone know where you are going before heading off into the wilderness.

Following these tips will help ensure that you have a fun and safe camping trip! Remember to choose your destination carefully, pack all the essential items, and plan your meals ahead of time. And don’t forget to explore your surroundings and have fun!

One of the best activities to do when you’re traveling is hiking. It’s free and great exercise. It also allows you to see and experience more of the area you are visiting. In this article, I’ll share how I use All Trails, my favorite tool for hiking that allows me to find great hiking trails, read reviews about them, and assess the difficulty to see if the trails are right for me. 

In the video tutorial below, I share my screen and show you how I use All Trails to accomplish these tasks and more. Then keep reading below to learn more details about what this app can do. 

Finding Hiking Trails 

One of the most common things hikers use All Trails for is to find great trails along their travels. If you’re somewhere new and don’t know what the best hiking trails are, All Trails gives you options with user reviews, but it does a lot more than that. You can do these searches on the app or on your computer. 

All Trails can help you find the best hiking trail for your preference, ability, and location. You can sort and filter on so many options. When you first bring the app up you have the option to search nearby or if you are planning a trip in advance, you can enter the location. For example, when I was traveling to Maine, I used the app to find trails on Monhegan Island and in Acadia National Park.

If you click the filter button, you can sort by Best Match, Most Popular, or Closest. You can also choose the difficulty (easy, moderate, or hard). The problem with choosing a difficulty level here is that you don’t really know how that compares to your rating. Instead, I prefer to filter by length (in miles) and elevation gain (in feet). 

As you scroll down, you’ll see you can sort on attractions like waterfalls, beach, rails trails, or historic site. You can also filter on suitability such as dog friendly, paved, accessible, or stroller friendly. Finally, you can choose the route type including out & back, loop, or point to point. 

Be aware that you don’t have to filter on anything. You can simply choose to see the full list of hikes. However, the filters help save time if you are looking for something in particular. 

If you want to view them by location (nearby is a subjective term after all), you can see the hikes on a map. 

Assessing Hiking Trails 

Once you have a list of potential hikes, you can use All Trails to assess if it is right for you. One of the most important consideration is your hiking experience and ability. It is so important to follow these hiker safety tips to ensure you don’t get yourself into danger. 

Here’s how you assess a hike in All Trails: 

• Click on a hike that looks interesting to you.
• Take note of the length and elevation gain to get a general idea of the difficulty. 
• View the full map to see if the elevation is concentrated in one area. You can also see the grade of the incline and any water crossings on the map. 

• Scroll down to reviews and see what other hikers have said about the trail. Just realize that some terms like “easy” or “hard” are subjective and vary among hikers. 

Creating Your Own Custom Hiking Trails 

If you don’t see a trail that fits all your requirements, don’t despair. My favorite part of All Trails Pro is the ability to create my own custom maps. When using All Trails Pro on your computer, simply click the down arrow next to “Plan” and you’ll see a drop down menu. Choose “Create Map” and you can draw your own. Using the map, navigate to the location you want to hike at and you’ll see all the public trails. In this example, I’m looking at Shenandoah National Park. 

Just choose Draw Route and when you click on a trail, you’ll start the hiking trail map. Continue doing that along the route you want to take and it will show you the total mileage and elevation. And you can continue to edit it until it meets your needs. 

Then you name it and add notes under Description. Then save it and you’re ready to sync it to your phone. 

Navigating Using All Trails  

The first thing you will need to do if you want to navigate using All Trails is the download the trail on your phone. This will ensure that you have navigation even if you don’t have a cell signal. Here’s how you do that: 

Don’t forget to share the map of your hiking trail with someone else so they know where you will be. It’s a good idea to share your itinerary details like when you plan to arrive at the trailhead, your hiking speed, and when you plan to be finished. 

Once you reach the trailhead and are ready to start your navigation on your phone, you … As you hike you will be the blue dot moving along the trail. The dark green dot is your starting point. When you stop for breaks, you have the option of pausing or continuing to let it run. If you continue to let it run, which is what I do, when you are completed you’ll see “total time” and “moving time.” 

Tracking for Hiking Progress with All Trails 

Another feature that I really enjoy with All Trails is the ability to track my progress. Under “History,” you’ll see a tab for “Stats.” This is great because it shows mileage, elevation gain, and moving time in a graph by month. It also shows your personal bests for each category. 

Additionally, you can look at your “Activities” list and review each hike to see the average pace, mileage, and elevation individually. If you click on “Splits” you’ll see your pace for each mile. 

All of these features are great it you want to improve your time or increase your distance and mileage. 

All Trails Limitations 

One thing I’ve noticed from my experience is that the mileage listed for hikes is often shorter than the true duration. If you are looking at a hike that is already loaded, scroll down to the reviews and see if anyone has a recording of their hike. If so, click on that and you’ll see how long it really was. 

If you are drawing a custom map, take a look at the elevation gain because that is what is often not accounted for in the All Trails mileage estimate. 

Another thing to note is that many trails are crowd sourced, meaning that individuals can record and recommend a new trail. For this reason, be sure to pay attention to any no trespassing or private property signs.

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It’s camping season and you’re ready to hit the road! Now you have two challenges: finding the best campground and then finding the best campsite in the campground. In this article I’ll share tips on how to do that, basic terminology for new RV campers, and tools that you can use to make the process easier.

Campsite Terms Explained

Step one is locating the best campground for you and your camping preferences. If you haven’t done that yet, read my 3 simple steps for finding the best campground. Once you’ve done that, take a look at the available sites. Here are some common terms you might see and considerations of each:

• Back-in Campsite – This means that you will have to back your camper or RV into the site. If you have a towable RV, like a fifth wheel, travel trailer, or pop up camper, you’re going to want to ensure there is enough maneuvering room in front of the site to make adjustments as you back in. We have a fifth wheel and really prefer it when back-in sites are at an angle rather than a 90 degree turn. If you have a motorhome and are towing a car, you’ll need to disconnect the towed car to back in. Regardless of your RV type, you’ll also need to ensure there is adequate room for the car as well. If it isn’t long enough for your tow/towed vehicle, you’ll want to see if there is available overflow parking. To me, the best back-in campsites, have a designated parking area adjacent to your site.

• Pull-thru Campsite – These sites are nice because you just pull right into the site. Again, you’ll want to make sure it is long enough for your tow or towed vehicle. It’s also important to try to determine how they are placed in the campground. While it may seem that a pull-thru campsite is the easier to park in, there are some that are more U shaped and can be tricky for a long fifth wheel or travel trailer.

• Buddy Site – This refers to two adjacent campsites with alternating orientation allowing you and your “buddy” to have a shared space in between. Your front doors face each other instead of your front door facing their sewer connection. This allows friends to have a larger place to hang out when camping together.

• Full Hookups – This refers to a campsite that has water, power, and sewer right at your site. One thing you’ll want to check here is the type of power. Most full hookup sites have 50amp and 30amp power, but not all. That is why it is always good to check. Having an adapter for your RV power cord will also allow you to use the available power connection.

• Partial Hookups – This refers to a campsite without full hookups. Sewer is usually not included at these sites, but most will have at least 30amp power and water. However, we have stayed in electric only sites, so be sure to read the description. One consideration if you stay in a partial hookup site is if the campground has a dump station and how long you’ll be staying. We can go 10 days without having to dump, so if our stay is shorter than that we don’t mind partial hookups. If we’re staying longer, then we’ll use our portable RV waste tank and drive it up to the dump station. Some RVers like to use the bath house instead of their RV shower when staying in a partial hookup site.

Other Campsite Considerations

The next thing to consider when selecting a campsite is where it is located within the campground.

• Bath House – There are two sides to this coin. The bath house typically gets a lot of use, so if you are not going to use it, you may want to choose a site away from it. On the other hand, if you are going to be using the bath house, you might want to choose a site near it. Choose based on your needs and preferences, but make sure you are making a mindful decision.

• Playground / Pool – Other areas that are busy at the campground and may have a little more noise are the campground’s playground and pool. Again, it will depend on you. If you are bringing along children, you might want to be closer to them. If you’re not going to be using them at all, you may want to avoid this area.

• Dog Park – This will obviously depend on whether you have a dog or not. Also, if you like your dog being off leash with others. I do know people whose dogs don’t play well with others, so they choose to stay away from sites closest to the dog park.

• Traffic – Consider the flow of traffic around the campsite. We like to pick quieter sites near the back of the campground for normal trips, but pull-thru sites up front for overnight stops. If you have children that are going to be riding bikes, a site near registration that gets a ton of traffic, may not be the best option.

• Views – Many campsites, especially those around the exterior boundaries of the campground, have fabulous views. There are some that back right up to scenic lakes and beaches. Others with unimpeded mountain views perfect for those fabulous sunsets. Meanwhile, the central campsites may only have a partial view over the RV parked in front of you.

Locating Your Ideal Campsite

Now that you know exactly what criteria makes an ideal campsite for you, how do you find it? We use a variety of tools including:

• Campground Map – The first place I look is the campground map. This will often show me things like the location of the bath house and playgrounds, as well as the orientation of the sites themselves. However, you can’t stop there. Because many of these maps are not really drawn to scale it is hard to tell how wide the roads are, how much maneuvering room you have to back in if needed, or what the view may look like.

• Campground Reviews – I love the website campgroundreviews.com and Campendium. I find the users of both sites to be very helpful. They share all kinds of tips like “this area of the campground is in full sun” or “these sites have plenty of trees for privacy, but can be tight for backing in.” YouTube can also be pretty handy for this. In fact, we also have a Campground Review Playlist on our YouTube channel. Here’s an example of what our reviews are like.

• Google Earth – I also like to take a peek on Google Earth, but if there are a lot of trees, you may not see anything.

• Campground Views – Campground Views is a website that provides 360 degree video views of all the different campsites in a campground. They have some free videos on YouTube that you can view, but they are working to to have 400 campgrounds (starting with state and national parks) in their online program by early summer 2021. You can already see the first version by clicking here.

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