New York Campgrounds raising funds for Camp Good Days and Special Times

Campground Owners of New York (CONY) is kicking off a its first-ever statewide fundraising effort in 2012, to benefit Camp Good Days and Special Times, a New York State-based organization providing camping experiences to children with cancer.     

All throughout the summer camping season, CONY campgrounds and RV parks will display change-collection jars, sell t-shirts and paper balloons, and host special fundraising events. Proceeds will be pooled and donated to Camp Good Days and Special Times at a special ceremony during CONY's annual Exposition and Trade Show in Lake George, NY, in November. 

Camp Good Days and Special Times is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to improving the quality of life for children, adults and families whose lives have been touched by cancer and other life challenges through summer camping experiences and year-round events and activities.  

This past summer, more than 1,500 children, including children with cancer from several foreign countries, participated in Camp Good Days, located on the shores of Keuka Lake. All the programs and services at Camp Good Days and Special Times are offered free of charge for the participants.

Camp Good Days and Special Times
CONY campgrounds and RV parks 

Two new Virginia State Parks campgrounds

If Virginia is the, "Mother of Presidents," then her sons must love horses. The state's Parks Department has just opened two new campgrounds, both with a focus on horse-loving campers.

Douthat State Park, which opened June 15, 1936, as one of Virginia’s original six state parks rolled open the gates April 1 on two construction and renovation projects. One of them converted the Beaver Dam Campground into an equestrian camping area and built the new 23-site Whispering Pines Campground.

Whispering Pines Campground offers 23 sites, including a universally accessible handicap site, dump stations, water and electric hookups, RV sites up to 50 feet and a bathhouse with showers. On a slightly smaller scale, the Beaver Dam Equestrian Campground boasts 14 campsites and 14 horse stalls, as well as a bathhouse. Renovations to the campground allow for larger trailers.

"Equestrian camping is extremely important to a growing number of our visitors," said State Parks Director Joe Elton. "With the development of bridle trails through the national forest, the proximity to the Virginia Horse Center in Lexington and private riding trails at the Homestead in Bath County, equestrian camping facilities are in great demand. We're delighted to provide this new campground to this important group of visitors."

Stashed away in the Allegheny Mountains, Douthat State Park is on the National Register of Historic Places and was named one of the nation’s 10 best by the Outside Family Vacation Guide. The park features outstanding scenery as well as a 50-acre lake offering swimming, boating and seasonal trout fishing.

For more information about state park activities and amenities, or to make reservations in one of the 25 parks with camping or 20 parks with cabins or family lodges, call the Virginia State Parks Reservation Center at 800.933.PARK or visit www.virginiastateparks.gov.

New York plans park expansions--but what about RVers?

Cash-strapped New York State says it may have found the ticket to supporting its parks: Expand camping opportunities. In what one politician labels the idea, it's "actually a money-generating, self-sustaining project." But how will park camping expansion plans really play out for the RV community?

In a story carried by New York State's Saratogian, the expansion plans look to benefit tent campers and folks who'd rather rent a cabin than bring in a recreational vehicle. "Across the state, cabins are becoming a huge draw,' said Heather Mabee, chair of the Saratoga/Capital District Region Parks Commission, which met Thursday at Saratoga Spa State Park. "People love not having to set up a tent." Mabee's quote is drawn from the Saratogian.

In the Saratoga Springs area, that's significant as in the entire park region, only three cabins make up the state's available arsenal of rental units. Plans would bring 15 more cabins and 80 tent sites. Why such emphasis? It's dollars and cents. A "cottage" in the park will fetch $1,000 on a high demand week, while a tent site on the same week, a meager $130.

Still, any move to expanding cabins or tent sites comes with drop of the other shoe: Where do you get the money for the capital investment? It's possible a private contractor would build, get a portion of the rental proceeds until its investment is recouped. Or like stadiums around this great land, a company could contribute cash for cabin construction and see its name affixed to the construct.

With high fuel prices, the state is banking on the "staycation" concept, where folks don't come from huge distances, rather locals would set up camp in state parks and enjoy the great outdoors--not far from home. Perhaps this is why there seems to be so little discussion (or should we say no discussion) of creating more RV sites in New York Parks. From personal experience, this reporter can tell you that the Empire State is one of the least RV-friendly states in the Union. Perhaps a little attention to RVers could result in a bit of a financial up-tick in terms of tourist dollars.