For our son’s graduation weekend, we wanted to find a campground nearby Ithaca, NY. We made a reservation at Buttermilk Falls State Park and discovered one of the most beautiful places in the Finger Lakes area.
Gorge TrailSite 11 Camping Area Buttermilk Falls State Park
We reserved a campsite without knowing the reputation of the hikes and it was such a big surprise when we saw the trails built with beautiful stone paths and stairs along the water. The camping area is close to the trail system, you can easily walk from your site to the Owl Creek Trail, take the Rim Trail and decide to go north or south. If you come back to the Lower Park entrance, you will have the most fantastic experience on the Gorge Trail! We took many pictures of the waterfalls, the pools, and the Pinnacle. It is not really challenging; just wear hiking boots and you won’t slip on the wet stones.
Map Trails Buttermilk Falls State Park
Map Camping Area Buttermilk Falls State Park
Gorge Trail
The camping area has many small cabins for rent, they are spread out in the woods and are definitively more private than the campsite for campers or tents. The sites for campers don’t have trees to separate them, so if you want a private setting, that might not be the right camping for you. When it was raining, we played board games and read.
Inside BolerCabins at Buttermilk Falls State ParkCabins at Buttermilk Falls
On the last day, we drove to Watkins Glen State Park, another extraordinary Finger Lakes state park.
Watkins Glen State ParkWatkins Glen State ParkWatkins Glen State ParkWatkins Glen State ParkWatkins Glen State ParkWatkins Glen State Park
Hiking the Falls Trail and Camping at Ricketts Glen
Ricketts Glen State Park is famous for the Falls Trail, consisting of a 3.2-mile loop of 21 cascading waterfalls. This state park is one of the most scenic locations in Pennsylvania for good reasons. The Glens Natural Area is classified as a National Natural Landmark, and hiking along the Kitchen Creek and the majestic waterfalls is an unforgettable experience. The state park website and the useful maps helped planning our weekend. We took our Boler camper with us and reserved a camping site in the Big Loop Campground. We had such a great time!
One of 21 Waterfalls seen on the Falls Trail in Ricketts Glen State Park
Hiking the Falls Trail System
Map Falls Trail System
The Falls Trail is well-recognized and very popular, so try to come early in the morning. We arrived at 8:30 am on a Saturday and parked at the Lake Rose Trailhead Parking. This parking leads to the shortest route to the waterfalls loop, but the parking fills quickly on weekends. By the time we came back, around 11 am, it was packed. We could have walked from our campsite in the Big Loop but decided to take the car to the trailhead. We truly enjoyed the peaceful beginning of the hike, starting with the Highland Trail. The 15’ Onondaga Falls is the first one you see, and from there, it will be one waterfall after another. Many of the waterfalls are named after American Indian tribes.
Names and Heights of the 21 Waterfalls of the Glens Natural Area
A detailed map of the falls helps with names and heights. Along with the Glen Leigh, we saw F.L. Ricketts, Shawnee, Huron, Ozone, R. B. Ricketts, B. Reynolds, and Wyandot. At the intersection of the Waters Meet, we went south along the Kitchen Creek to see Harrison Wrights, Sheldon Reynolds, and Murray Reynolds. We turned around and went back north to see the ten falls of the Ganoga Glen. More information on each of the waterfalls is included in the recreational guide available at the visitor center.
Wear hiking boots and be prepared to go up and down many high steps.
We noticed many people coming unprepared for this hike: hiking boots are recommended. I would not recommend hiking this trail with young children. Many steps are high, and there is no guardrail. We had to wait often after people who were struggling going up or down the steps.
No internet connection on the Falls Trail
Falls Trail at Ricketts Glen
Big Loop Campground
Map Ricketts Glen State Park
Big Loop Camp Ground
The online reservation system is great for making your reservation. We reserved site 42 of the Big Loop because it was the only one available that weekend. The site is private, large enough for a 17’ travel trailer and bug-free screen tent. We had lots of privacy; it was shaded and peaceful. We highly recommend this site if you want to have a quiet time and be away from the road. The restrooms are small for this busy campground, but they are clean and close to all the sites. The dumping station is conveniently located near the dumpster. The campground is beautiful, but there is no internet connection. We bought our firewood at the general store in Red Rock at the intersection of 118 and 487.
Boler Camper at Ricketts Glen
Other sites are closer together and seemed best suited for groups. We were looking for privacy and easy access for our trailer, and we got it all! We walked the campground and noted a few other sites that we would like to try. Some are closer to Lake Jean, and we can get a glimpse of the lake. In the above campground map, I circled the sites that seemed interesting to try next time.
For our next weekend camping trip, we were looking for a campground in the Pocono Mountains Region with hiking trails, biking trails, and a lake with a boat rental facility. Promised Land State Park seemed the perfect option, with its surrounding forests and miles of hiking trails, two lakes, and a 6.5-mile paved bike trail. On our way to the park, we stopped for coffee at Skytop Lodge and enjoyed the view, sitting outside on the terrace.
Coffee Break at Skytop Lodge
One of the most popular campgrounds is Pickerel Point, which is located on a peninsula and offers beautiful views of the lake. The lakeshore sites are walk-in sites, but you can see on the map that the majority can be reserved online. This campground is open all year long and we would like to go back during the week or in the off-season period.
Promised Land State Park, PA
These campground maps were very helpful for choosing a camping site. There are also rustic cabins rental options, which we discovered later.
Lower Lake Campground
Campsite 519 at Promised Land State Park
Since we were looking for a wooded and quiet campground, we made our reservation at the Lower Lake Campground, in the Rhododendron Area. This campground turned out to be the best for us, it was shaded and private with easy access to clean bathrooms and showers.
Boler Camper and our New Bug Shelter
Our campsite (519) was a little short and narrow to back up our 17-foot-long camper, but other sites were easier to access, like campsite 517, which seems to have a longer and larger backup area. We had just purchased a Eureka! Nobugzone shelter and set it up next to our little camper. Even though we didn’t have bugs during the weekend, this screened tent provided privacy and is a great option for setting over the picnic table.
Lower Lake Campground
Camping neighbors
Morning Coffee and Campsite Neighbors
Our camping neighbors became quite entertaining when they tried to leave the campsite in the morning. It took them two hours to back up the camper, which seemed to stop running every two minutes. We were secretly cheering for them when finally, they were able to leave the campground. We saw them a few hours later, they were still on the park road and this time, their camper van was being pulled by a towing truck. It is certainly not a fun ending, but it didn’t seem to lower their spirit; they were smiling and having fun anyway!
On the bike ride along Lower Lake, we discovered Bear Wallow Cabin Colony, a group of 12 historic rustic cabins. The small cabins were built in 1930 by the Civilian Conservation Corps and they are listed on the National Register for Historic Places. Each construction has a unique design and setting.
Bear Wallow Cabins
This map shows the location and capacities for each cabin, but if you want to see pictures of them, you have to go to the online reservation site. Once you enter the dates and what you are looking for, in this case, cabins and lodging, the list will show you the location and a few pictures for each available cabin.
The beach area was very popular with families, so we just continued our bike ride. It seemed a nice place to spend an afternoon with the children and the boat rental facility was busy renting all sorts of boats. We usually avoid crowds, especially during the pandemic, so we were perfectly happy continuing our ride back to our campsite. The weather could not have been better and the weekend was just perfect.
We were ready to take our vintage camper for its maiden voyage and find out if we had everything we needed for a camping trip. Even with the best checklist, it’s hard to see what could be missing in our camper when we never used it! We decided to go to a state park not too far away, meaning less than a two-hour-long drive trip. The camping we would choose would allow us to bring our dog, Alfie. Other things we were looking for included a wooded campsite, hiking trails, and the possibility to be near a lake. After some research, we decided to make a weekend reservation at Locust Lake State Park in Pennsylvania.
Camping at Locust Lake State Park
Locust Lake State Park is located in Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania. The campground offers 282 camping sites divided into loops and sections that encircle the 52-acres Locust Lake. It is popular with families looking for a beach, bike path, and boating activities. Since we wanted to get away from the crowd and noise, we chose a camping site located as far away from the beach as possible. We chose site 184 in the Dogwood Loop.
Locust Lake State Park, Dogwood Loop, Site 184
Locust Lake, Camping Dogwood Loop, Site 184
Like most of the sites there, it is shaded and turned out to be peaceful and quiet. It’s also relatively close to the restrooms. On our first night, we saw a black bear walking along the creek! Once there, we were able to compare the camping sites, and we noted that site 176 was a little bigger than the other sites from the loop. It’s probably the one we would like to try next time. The hiking trails are easy, and the woodland setting is beautiful, especially along the creek. The Oak Ridge Trail and the Hemlock Trail are short and well-marked, but the longer Oak Loop Trail is not as popular, and as a result, the indications are not easy to follow. We were confused when reading the blue and white markings on what seemed to be random trees, so we decided to come back.
Locust Lake State Park, Dogwood Loop
Locust Lake State Park Campground Map
What should we bring for our next camping trip?
We celebrated our first camping trip around the bonfire, with an excellent IPA. Over the weekend, we noticed many campers had a sun awning and thought it would be nice to have some kind of protection for our next trip. Since the bugs didn’t bother us that weekend, we knew we might not be as lucky next time. What we needed was an easy to mount shelter offering protection from the sun, the rain, and the bugs! Once we returned back home, we started looking and found the perfect bug-free shelter to match our vintage trailer.
We decided to take our Boler Camper to Vermont and went to the New Discovery State Park in the groton Forest. It was very quiet due to the pandemic and we really enjoyed peaceful hikes in the mountains. Here are some of the things we did during the week:
We decided to go to New Discovery State Park because of its relatively small size and easy access to the panoramic Owls Head hiking trail. The campground has 46 tents/RV sites and 15 lean-to sites. Eight of the sites are designed to accommodate horse campers. All restrooms include flush toilets, hot and cold running water, and coin-operated hot showers. A sanitary dump station is available, but there are no hookups.
The restrooms are rustic and dark and the showers were not as good as the ones we had in previous campsites, but they were clean. At first, I didn’t see I was using Canadian coins instead of American quarters inside the machine, and of course, it didn’t work. After I realized my mistake, I wish I had more quarters with me because a quarter for 2 minutes of hot water goes by fast!
Discovery State Park Loop A Site T4
Our campsite was 4, in loop A. It was closer to Route 232 than we expected, but fortunately, not much traffic was going through during the week. When we were there, people seemed to prefer setting up camp on the grassed open field. Some were part of a group, but others were single travelers parking their van for the night. We had a hard time setting up the camper on our site because the entrance was narrow and curvy with lots of branches around.
Discovery State Park Loop A Site T4
Once we finally parked the camper, we loved the setup and didn’t change it for the entire week. If we were to come back, we would like to try the T6. We didn’t have a good internet connection and realized that being able to look for information and news was something really important for us.
Discovery State Park Loop A Site T4
It was the first time we camped on a sanded site and we didn’t particularly like it. Fortunately, we had a rug, which helped for keeping the camper floor clean.
Discovery State Park Loop A Site T4
The site was surrounded by trees and was private even though the site faces an open field.
Discovery State Park Hiking Trails
We didn’t meet anybody at the campground and kept to ourselves for the entire stay. Our neighbors even enclosed their campsite with screens and burlap tarps. Their campground looked like a child’s fort; we think they didn’t want people getting too close to them. From our campsite, we were able to walk to different hiking trails, and my favorite was the Owls Head Trail.
Hiking at Franconia Notch State Park and Flume Gorge
Leaving our campground, we drove for an hour to Franconia Notch State Park in NH and hiked the magnificent Flume Gorge. We bought tickets in advance and were able to beat the crowds.
Flume Gorge, Franconia Notch State Park
Flume Gorge, Franconia Notch State Park
Flume Gorge, Franconia Notch State Park
Flume Gorge, Franconia Notch State Park
Visiting Dog Mountain in St-Johnsbury, Vt
On our way back, we visited the Dog Chapel at Dog Mountain in St-Johnsbury. The chapel and art gallery are worth the visit, the site is splendid and you can also bring your furry friend along!
Dog Chapel
Dog Chapel
Dog Chapel
Hiking Mount Pisgah and vistas of Willoughby Lake
A moderate day hike with a number of route options, the South trail at Mount Pisgah, just 40 minutes drive from the Groton State Forest, has stunning clifftop views of Lake Willoughby and the Northeast Kingdom. This was one of our favorite hikes of the week, the view is just breathtaking.
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