Hi Heather!

We live in Martinsburg, WV. I can say we always go a little ways away to go camping. Our favorite place is Cowans Gap State Park in PA. Some people has camped at KOA campground in Harpers Ferry, but with the new gang in that area we stay away. We used to go camping along the Shenandoah & Potomac rivers, but since that is mostly where the gang members hang out we do not go there.
What type of campsite are you looking for, and I would be glad to help. We have never been to Big Bend though..so I cant help you with that.

I also started a yahoo group for our area.. please feel free to join. We are really looking to find more people in our area who enjoyes camping as much as my husband and I do.

~Mary Ann

Here is a link that might be useful: Campfire Friends Yahoo Group

Hello there!
We're from the Hanover/Gettysburg area. The we consists of myself, my husband and our 11 yo son. We love PA state parks. Have you checked out Gifford Pinchot or Caledonia State Parks? They're 2 of our favorites and we do Codorous a lot too just because it's a close getaway. Is Cowan's Gap the one that they recently renovated?

This may be a stupid question but when you say gangs what exactly are we talking about? I am imagining bad news situations.

We tend to steer clear of the "amusement park" campgrounds. We prefer the state parks as long as there is running water and real toilets. And swimming is always a good thing for the son, a lake is fine.

Have you ever been to any MD state parks? I'd like to check them out but the price compared to PA has held us back. We had a great time in June at Pochahontas State Park in Richmond.

Any recommendations for the Front Royal VA area? Would love to plan a trip there in the fall to see the foliage. Or how about the Elkins area?

Oh btw we are tent campers :-) What kind of camping do you do?

Well I have made this post long enough. I look forward to seeing your reply.

Thanks in advance for the help. I also joined your Yahoo group. Hope it grows into a great place!

muffinbaker,

Peak fall foliage color along Skyline Drive and the Blue Ridge Parkway is typically during the second half of October. There can be a lot of traffic on these roads, particularly on Skyline Drive and on weekends, so a weekday visit and/or the Parkway are to be preferred. Consider Mathews Arm Campground, Big Meadows Campground and Loft Mountain Campground, all in the Shenandoah National Park. Each has flush toilets, the latter two have showers.

I live on 11 acres just off scenic 211 about 50 miles from Skyline Drive, but I usually drive 80 miles through Charlottesville (Jefferson's Monticello rates a visit if you haven't been there) and west on 250 or 64 to pick up the start of the Blue Ridge Parkway. It's less crowded. North Creek, Otter Creek, Peaks of Otter, Linville Falls, Price Park, Doughton, North Mills River Campgrounds are operated by the U.S. Forest Service or the National Park Service, Stone Mountain State Park by the NC State Parks.

Any suggestions on not to miss eats and sights?

How much time would you be spending in the area, and would you go on down to some southern parts? Charlottesville? (Monticello and the University of Virginia campus). Harper's Ferry is interesting--think very small Williamsburg. I haven't been there for a decade and a half, but they have probably been expanding it. Culpeper is a small town, but has a very nice museum showing the development of the area from pre-historic through Indian to modern times. It is well worth and hour and a half to two hours, and right across the street is Lucio's, a northern Italian/European restaurant which is very good, as is It's About Thyme on E. Davis St. Pretty good is a Thai restaurant close to the museum. That's about it for better restaurants in Culpeper, and right now there's nothing very special in Warrenton that I know of, although Tadpole Cafe is at least quite good and French accented. Red Hot & Blue in Warrenton is a good local barbecue chain. There are decent Mexican restaurants in both Culpeper and Warrenton

I've found the food in any of the restaurants (I've eaten in four to six of them) on Skyline Drive and the Blue Ridge Parkway simple but very good and fairly priced.

I'm not sure how much this helps. Let me know how long you plan to be in the area,which parts you are most interested in, and I'll try to post more, after a bit of research if necessary. I'm here for a little less than two weeks, then away for about two weeks and back for a week before leaving again, so the sooner the better.