Mont Sano SP - Huntsville, AL

MONT SANO STATE PARK

RUN BY: State of Alabama

LOCATION: Huntsville, AL

UTILITIES: Water and Electricity (30-50A)

COST:

OUR RATING (1-5): I-4

NOTES: Not many cities have a rugged, scenic state park in the middle of the city. Not many cities have a mountain in the middle of town. But Huntsville has both, and Mont Sano State Park is on the top of that mountain. It is an awesome park with many miles of trails and breath-taking vistas. Until I went west I ran a 25K (15.5 mile) trail race at Mont Sano called the Mckay Hollow Madness. It was more of a survival race.  It wasn't who got back first ... it was who got back. Only about 70% of us made the entire course. Right at the top of this mountain, in this lovely park, and in the middle of the wild terrain that made Mckay Hollow a great race is a campground.  The Space Center is a few miles away and it isn't far from Interstates. If you're in northern Alabama, you really need to stop here. 

Environment:  Heavily wooded. 

Amenities: Bath-house.  Play grounds, trails and other activities abound.  There is a dump station. 

Proximity to Shopping:  You are in the middle of a city. A few miles in either direction from the campground brings you to shopping. 

Phone Service:  Verizon was disappointing considering you're right in the middle of a city. 

Location:   If you're coming from I-565 or downtown Huntsville (west side of the mountain) take US431 east. Watch for the turn at the top of the mountain and follow the signs. Instructions if you are coming from the east are just about the same. Head west on 431 and watch for the signs when you get to the top. It is a large intersection. 

Camping Population:  There is a stay limit and I would guess that the costs are a bit too high for transients. 

Sites: Nice size and well maintained. We had no problem with leveling.  All the sites have lovely tree cover. 

(I apologize. I evidently didn't take pictures while we were here. These are public domain stock pictures and don't do Mont Sano justice.)

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RATING KEY: category - score

Categories: I - established campgrounds where one might spend a vacation or several days

II - boondocking, dry camping where there are no designated sites and no amenities but

one might choose to stay for more than a night.

III - over-night areas

You must remember that we are scoring 1 thru 5 according to things which are important to us: the environment, cost, amenities, location, safety, camping population, site, phone service   

St Andrew SP - Panama City Beach, FL

ST ANDREW SP, FL

A typical campsite on the water.
More than half are not on the water.

RUN BY: State of Florida

LOCATION: Panama City Beach, FL

UTILITIES: water & electric (30-50A)

COST: $24

OUR RATING (1-5): I-4

NOTES:  Let me start by explaining that we are not hot-humid weather people. We were in Florida in December and found it unbearable. Years of summer highs in the 60s with 13% humidity make you intolerant of 70-80s with 90+% humidity. Nevertheless, St Andrew is one of our favorite Florida destinations. The campground is on the bay and even those who don't have sites on the water can still often have a good view. There is good diving or snorkeling around the jetty.  It is 50+ feet deep on the channel side.  A neat experience is to have one of the large cargo ships leave the bay while you are diving at  50 feet. A great place for a family vacation, especially if you like the beach. There lots of great beaches inside the park. 

Environment:  The entire park is wooded with what I can coastal scrub. I'm not being derogatory. It has it's only beauty but it isn't what people from mid-America or the far north think of as forest. The soil is sandy. It took us weeks to get all the sand out of Sinni and Moe. Deer and alligators abound. 

Amenities: Very nice bath-houses, dump stations, play grounds, boat ramp and marina, camp store plus all of the amenities and services of the park. Just look at the map and you know you're within a couple of miles of almost any chain store you can name plus a plethora of bars, restaurants and night spots.  

Phone Service: Verizon is good. 

Location:  The park is at the tip of the peninsula which creates St Andrew Bay. The bay divides Panama City from Panama City Beach.  Approaching from east or west you should be on US98 and turn south on Thomas Dr.  Once you cross a large bridge stay left and follow the signs.  

Camping Population:  The campground is reservations with a limited stay, so you don't have to worry about long-term residents.  People visit St Andrew from all over the country. 

Sites:  The sites are very nice. Except for a few, they are all fairly well shaded. Obviously they are flat. Is there anything in Florida that isn't? (Sorry, couldn't help that.) 

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RATING KEY: category - score

Categories: 

I - established campgrounds where one might spend a vacation or several days

II - boondocking, dry camping where there are no designated sites and no amenities but

one might choose to stay for more than a night.

III - over-night areas

You must remember that we are scoring 1 thru 5 according to things which are important to us: the environment, cost, amenities, location, safety, camping population, site, phone service   

MEYRE-BIG ISLAND SP - Hayward, MN

MEYRE-BIG ISLAND STATE PARK

RUN BY: Minnesota State Parks

LOCATION: near Hayward, MN by intersection of I35 & I90

UTILITIES: none 

COST: $20

OUR RATING (1-5): I-4

NOTES:  Pamela and I have a great division of labor.  I'm happy driving and can go for hours, if needed. Pamela is the consummate navigator. When we're thinking about stopping for the night she'll start looking for unique, out-of-the-way places and comes up with places like this.  Our rule of thumb is "avoid interstates". In this case we were forced onto I-35 for about 30 miles. Pamela noticed this small state park. It turned out to be a treasure. Kudos to the Minnesota State Park system!  We stayed on the island.  It is not hard to find, but I did include a map.  If we had not needed to keep pushing westward this would have been a great place to spend a few days, if not longer. 

Environment:  The campground was heavily forested.  It was young growth but, as you can see in the picture, the provides shade, privacy and beauty.  In the picture above you can't tell that the picture below is what we saw out our door.  

Amenities:  There are bath-houses but I didn't check to see if they are pit or flush toilets.  There was communal water nearby.  Our neighbor, who had the water in front of his place, offered to run a hose to us. The park has trails and nature areas. We did not see a camp store in the park.

Phone Service:  I don't think we had a signal here. 

Location:  This park is just a few miles from the intersection of I-90 ad I-35.  

Camping Population:  The campers we met were planning to max out the stay limit, mostly for fishing.  

Sites: The sites were quite private and relatively level.  

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RATING KEY: category - score

Categories: I - established campgrounds where one might spend a vacation or several days

II - boondocking, dry camping where there are no designated sites and no amenities but

one might choose to stay for more than a night.

III - over-night areas

You must remember that we are scoring 1 thru 5 according to things which are important to us: the environment, cost, amenities, location, safety, camping population, site, phone service   

Frank Jackson SP - Opp, AL

FRANK JACKSON SP

RUN BY: State of Alabama

LOCATION: near Opp, AL

The view that greeted us in the morning

UTILITIES:  water, electric (30-50A), sewage 

COST: $35

OUR RATING (1-5): I-4.5

NOTES:  We were heading south with family and picked this Alabama State Park to stop for the night. Even in the dark we could tell that it was a class campground.  When we awakened we were greeted by a beautiful campground, with some trees. We were right on the lake. We wished that we had time to stay longer. We met some other campers who were all from Alabama and camped here routinely.  It was so clean and tidy that it looked more like a fancy campground from a movie set - rolling hills, wooded sites, immaculate bath-houses, playgrounds, etc. It is definitely on our list to visit again.   

Environment:  beautiful treed campground on a lovely lake.  

Amenities:  playground,  laundry and bath-houses 

Phone Service:  good Verizon 

Location:  Just a short distance north of Opp, AL 

Camping Population:  There were a number of locals who had left their units at the campground and use them on weekends. However, overall presentation was clean and safe. 

Sites:  Nice roomy sites not too near neighbors.  Some on the lake.   Paved

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RATING KEY: category - score

Categories:
I - established campgrounds where one might spend a vacation or several days

II - boondocking, dry camping where there are no designated sites and no amenities but

one might choose to stay for more than a night.

III - over-night areas

You must remember that we are scoring 1 thru 5 according to things which are important to us: the environment, cost, amenities, location, safety, camping population, site, phone service   

Audubon SP - Henderson, KY

AUDUBON STATE PARK

RUN BY: State of Kentucky

LOCATION: Henderson, KY

UTILITIES: Water and Electricity (30-50A)

COST: $15 (off season)

OUR RATING (1-5): I-4

NOTES: This is a great little campground for weekend get-aways or passing through.  It is just off the highway, which does produce some noise, but is very convenient if you are traveling through or visiting the northwestern Kentucky or southwestern Indiana area.  It is about 7-10 miles from downtown Evansville, IN. a city of about 150,000.  Lots of shopping within a few miles of the campground. 

Environment: Well wooded at the edge of a small Kentucky State Park. There is road noise but it didn't bother us.

Amenities: There is a dump station. There is no store and no laundry facilities but you are very near shopping, etc.

Phone Service: Excellent reception with Verizon.

Location: The campground is wedged in between highway US 41 and Audubon State Park.

Safety: Good

Camping Population: No long-term residents.

Sites: Sites are roomy. Ours was quite level.

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RATING KEY: category - score

Categories: I - established campgrounds where one might spend a vacation or several days

II - boondocking, dry camping where there are no designated sites and no amenities but

one might choose to stay for more than a night.

III - over-night areas

You must remember that we are scoring 1 thru 5 according to things which are important to us: the environment, cost, amenities, location, safety, camping population, site, phone service