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.
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.
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.
