Thanks Faber, good stuff there. Not taking or cooking food so that should eliminate most of the bear threat.

 

do'nt forget city owned campgrounds. we've stayed at some real nice and inexpensive ones. new lisbon wis. a couple of weeks ago. beautiful place. great showers,right on the lake, fire rings,tables quiet,$7.00 what a deal. I concur no KOA unless thats the only option. have fun bike camping is great.

 

I am all about the Forest Service campgrounds. I found a few in Colorado last month that were subsidized by mining companies (and by subsidized, I mean free). The best one of those was the McClure CG on CO-133 just past the summit of McClure Pass (the south/west side), about 25 miles out of Carbondale.

 

I live in North Central NC, Hillsborough, about 30 miles south of Danville, Va. out in the country. Drop me a PM if you are interested, you are welcome to pitch a tent in my backyard.

 

As others have said, you have to pay a small fee for the federal and state campgrounds. The more facilities, (showers, bathrooms, etc) the more you pay. Some sites only have rustic campgrounds with no pads or other facilities and do not charge a fee. However, camping the national and state forests are free if you don't mind camping alone in the back-country. Only problem with state parks are firearm and alcohol regulations which will vary. Federal parks normally abide by the state they reside in.

 

30 bucks a night is high, hit yahoo or google and search for camping by locations your planning to hit and you should have several options. I go yearly on a camping/bike trip and generally stay at state ran campgrounds. only problem i ever have are the dim whits that feel we all need to hear whatever radio station they are listening to at all hours.

I recently stated at Rocky Mountain national park, it was 20 bucks a night plus 20 bucks entry fee to the park. 30 bucks for a KOA is not horrible but good camping can usually be had for 10-20 bucks a tent spot. Some places will let you put 2 or 3 tents on a spot, which will be a good question to ask if your not going solo, the rates really get cheap when you divide by 2 or 3..

I am in Missouri, tons of good camping, at a reasonable price..

 

just a couple comments :
at many visitors centers that you will hit when entering a state can be a good source for borchures, etc. with campgrounds.

plan on getting to the campground early. kinda lousy to pull in to one and find out its full or closed and then have to ride another 100 miles to the nearest anything. i guess i am saying have a plan 'b' in your back pocket.

you can pick up one of them camping towels that fold up really small. they are awesome and just great for camping. dry quick. don't take up any room. there are also options where you can get a cloth bowel for soap and water.

the bear issue. keep in mind that if you have the food smell on your clothes then you might not want to put those in the tent with you. also brushing your teeth with some toothpaste can be attractive to bears. pick your campsite. don't get one where bears are going to going thru on their way to garbage cans or in and out of the campground. in other words let other people cover you from them. i have a friend that always keeps a knife in the tent. if the bear is coming the front, you can cut the back open and get out.

 

Guess it all depends on what is offered for the $30.

 

Thanks a bunch. We'll keep that in mind.

 

Beautiful country, just don't forget your rainsuit....lol