Cabin Camping

4740 Views 12 Replies 6 Participants Last post by phillygirl, Aug 20, 2009

phillygirl

Discussion Starter · Aug 2, 2008

Hi, I'm a newbie here. I must confess to being a "sissy camper," we rent State Park Rustic Cabins. But I just love it. We tried tent camping, and even found a campsite that rented RVs, but finally decided that, at our age, cabins were the way to go. Not like you don't have to take all the same stuff to stay in a rustic cabin that you need if you are using a tent!

I did take my Campfire Girls to camp two years in a row in platformed tents, but I was much younger then and somebody else was doing the cooking! But I had more of a blast than the kids, never having been camping before. We also did weekend camping in group cabins.

We also, now that we are empty nesters, we vacation in September when the prices go down and all your kids are back in school (nothing personal, but at this stage, I can only tolerate kids if they're blood-related

.)

I just love the solitude of being in the woods, sitting around a campfire at night, listening to the forest sounds. Last year, at Parker Dam, we heard elk bugling every night. It was spine tingling!

Anyway, hope to meet some more cabin campers. I wrote a piece on Cabin Camping in Pennsylvania State Parks and what led us to it. I'd like to share it here.

http://www.associatedcontent.com/art...ate.html?cat=7

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kiteri

· #2 · Aug 3, 2008

Welcome Philly Girl!!!!:welcome:

We just LOVE to cabin camp in PA state parks!!!!

I have stayed at the Lakeside Lodge at Racoon Creek (which is more like a mansion than a cabin) and the normal modern cabins at Racoon Creek. We have stayed at the modern cabins at Prince Gallitzin (and have another one reserved for 8-22-08 and Memorial Day 09). I stayed in a camping cottage at Bald Eagle state park also.

I had a cabin at Lake Harrison in Ohio for last May, but had to cancel due to getting a new job the week before we were supposed to camp and having NO vacation.

We also tent camp and I am working on a cap for my pickup to just camp in the back of the truck! I would love to get the kids to every state park in PA before they turn into punks and don't want to camp with me anymore!!!!!

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phillygirl

Discussion Starter · #3 · Aug 3, 2008

Thanks, Kiteri! We've been to Cook's Forest, Parker Dam and World's End. We are returning to Parker Dam and World's End this September. We are also going up to Erie in between Parks for the weekend to Camp Sherwin (it's a YMCA camp) and my daughter and her family are joining us. You can't get a cabin for the weekend in the Fall unless you reserve it 11 months ahead of time!

As you saw in my story, we had to haul a long road before we discovered these cabins. Willow Bay was a beautiful campground and the cabin was new and clean, but it was only the width of one double and one set of bunkbeds, with an aisle in between! I guess it would have been considered a camping cottage. And that's ALL that was in them besides electricity. But, we were in the very last cabin on the creek, in September, and we literally had the place to ourselves, but for the manager, a few RVers and some weekend traffic.

Yes, the kids do tend to grow out of it. I just don't understand why.

The first year we had our first truck (1992) we slept in the back of it because we brought so much gear, the only place to put it was the tent! Then, because of the bears and racoons, we had to put the food in the truck, which meant every day we had to put the food up front so we could sleep back there, and then put it back when we got up!

Cabins are better.

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fyrecat

· #4 · Jun 5, 2009

Hi everyone...it's strange finding this thread. My husband and I just booked a cabin in a park here in NY for the first time. We're 'newbies' and I've never camped anywhere before. Does anyone have any advice? We hope to someday have an RV....we love the idea of cross country travel.
But for now, it's a week upstate. Any advice?

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bighabsfan11

· #5 · Jun 5, 2009

Advice - Have fun!

I have a lakefront cabin in Saskatchewan, too...love it! Just pack whatever, especially if the cabin has a good-sized fridge to put it all in. Lots of quick foods, so you can spend the bulk of your time enjoying nature, not cooking and cleaning. There's some great ideas in the forum here for recipes and quick campfire cooking with little to no clean-up.

And, :welcome: to the forum!

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phillygirl

Discussion Starter · #6 · Jun 6, 2009 (Edited)

fyrecat said:
Hi everyone...it's strange finding this thread. My husband and I just booked a cabin in a park here in NY for the first time. We're 'newbies' and I've never camped anywhere before. Does anyone have any advice? We hope to someday have an RV....we love the idea of cross country travel.
But for now, it's a week upstate. Any advice?

What part of NY are you going to and what park? I just did a whole series of articles on NY State Parks with Cabins in Central PA, Allegany, Thousand Islands, Finger Lakes and the Taconic-Hudson Valley region.

What I've learned from these rustic cabin experiences (most have no plumbing) is to take sleeping bags and pillows and throw them on the beds, for one. No need to futz with sheets and blankets. Don't leave anything on a shelf a critter can climb up to (like mice or chipmunks), that they can chew through. This means cardboard boxes or bagged things. Put them in the frig or leave them in the sealed container you transported them in. Make sure you have plenty of batteries for your flashlights. Last year we were at Parker Dam in PA during a blackout. We stood the the large flashlights on the table pointed at the ceiling and it was actually quite nice. Or, take a propane lamp with you. (We'll have one of those this year, along with a "cowboy" coffee pot.)

I take a crockpot with me. It's a life saver, especially if it rains and you can't cook outside. It also guarantees a nourishing meal after a long day of hiking or biking or fishing ..... We've made chili, chicken, pot roasts, ham and cabbage in it. (We go in September, when it's a bit cooler than the summer.) You can make a lot of stuff in a crockpot, and it cooks while you're out enjoying yourself.

Any other questions, I'll be glad to answer.

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fyrecat

· #7 · Jun 8, 2009

thank you!

Thank you! Great advice!
My husband is a chef, and really loves cooking. He's looking forward to cooking, he enjoys that-but I'm going to look up some recipes, because I'm sure there will be times we're too tired.
We're going to Gilbert Lake State Park. Someone who my sister knows had suggested it. The cabin is supposed to have everything except a shower. We have to bring all our bedding and food and clean up stuff, but the boon is it's pet friendly and we are going to bring our younger cat. He can stay inside when we go out, but he'll enjoy being with us, and we actually have him 'trained' to walk a little on a leash. I'm presuming the cabin has screens?
We're so excited! This is actually our 'first anniversay', and we had planned on going to New Orleans, but the funds just aren't there this year.
We both love nature, and the girl that I know that went to this park said it's very
lovely.
We went out today and got a flashlight, and we plan on getting another...just in case.

Thank you, and any further suggestions are much welcome!

Thanks,
Fyre

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wannatravel

· #8 · Jun 9, 2009

Check with the park and see if the cabin already has outdoor chairs. I stay annually with some girlfriends from college in PA at Pinchot, and they have folding adirondack chairs for outside already in the cabin. A game or some light reading is nice, too, in case of rain or prolonged veg time.

Heath & Charmaine
4 sons, 2 dogs, 6 bikes & a lot of food
07 Fleetwood Sequoia/99 GMC Sierra 1500

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phillygirl

Discussion Starter · #9 · Jun 9, 2009

fyrecat said:
Thank you! Great advice!
My husband is a chef, and really loves cooking. He's looking forward to cooking, he enjoys that-but I'm going to look up some recipes, because I'm sure there will be times we're too tired.
We're going to Gilbert Lake State Park. Someone who my sister knows had suggested it. The cabin is supposed to have everything except a shower. We have to bring all our bedding and food and clean up stuff, but the boon is it's pet friendly and we are going to bring our younger cat. He can stay inside when we go out, but he'll enjoy being with us, and we actually have him 'trained' to walk a little on a leash. I'm presuming the cabin has screens?
We're so excited! This is actually our 'first anniversay', and we had planned on going to New Orleans, but the funds just aren't there this year.
We both love nature, and the girl that I know that went to this park said it's very
lovely.
We went out today and got a flashlight, and we plan on getting another...just in case.

Thank you, and any further suggestions are much welcome!

Thanks,
Fyre

Here is the article I wrote about the parks and areas surrounding them in the Central NY area, which inlcudes Gilbert Lake. Have fun!

Affordable Family Vacations in Central New York State Park Cabins - Associated Content

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fyrecat

· #10 · Jun 10, 2009

Wow, it sounds like a great spot! Someone had recommended it to us and said it's a very nice park, and it sure sounds that way. What did you think?

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phillygirl

Discussion Starter · #11 · Jun 10, 2009

fyrecat said:
Wow, it sounds like a great spot! Someone had recommended it to us and said it's a very nice park, and it sure sounds that way. What did you think?

Haven't been there, but it does sound nice. I hope you clicked on all the text links in that piece.

I did these articles on research alone, except for the Allegany article, I've actually driven through there many times vacationing in the area. But doing them made me want to go to these places. My husband was most fascinated by the Thousand Island article, so we may try to go there next year.

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dale787

· #12 · Aug 17, 2009

I have stayed at the Lakeside Lodge at Racoon Creek (which is more like a mansion than a cabin) and the normal modern cabins at Racoon Creek. We have stayed at the modern cabins at Prince Gallitzin (and have another one reserved for 8-22-08 and Memorial Day 09). I stayed in a camping cottage at Bald Eagle state park also.

I had a cabin at Lake Harrison in Ohio for last May, but had to cancel due to getting a new job the week before we were supposed to camp and having NO vacation.

We also tent camp and I am working on a cap for my pickup to just camp in the back of the truck! I would love to get the kids to every state park in PA before they turn into punks and don't want to camp with me anymore!!!

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phillygirl

Discussion Starter · #13 · Aug 20, 2009

A cap is a necessity! Our Silverado is our only vehicle and we couldn't shop or do anything, let alone camp without a cap. Our first couple years camping, we did indeed sleep in the truth. With a rug and some foam rubber it was very comfortable. We only rent cabins now, though. Our old bones just can't take the "roughing it" anymore.

Yeah, get those kids out there while you can still sit on them!

We've been to Parker Dam twice, Cook's Forest once, World's End twice, and we are going back to World's End this September for 2 weeks. We also stayed at the YMCA camp outside Erie in a little campers cottage for a weekend last year. Don't really recommend their beds unless you're young and healthy, or have your own foam mattresses. But they were cute and clean and cheap.

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