Where are the best places to camp in the U.S.?

[toastedmarshmallow]

I love beach camping overall but one place I camped that stands out even above beach camping and is my all time favorite camping trip is the Grand Canyon camping trip I took some years back.

I have a dream of camping everywhere in the U.S. before I die. So, I'm looking for recommendations to add to my list. What was or is your all-time favorite place?

[climber4life]

My sisters and I camped in Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts and Pennsylvania onone long trip. We stayed all over. The best though, was a state park in MA where we got a great deal. There was a black bear that visited our tent several times though.

All time favorite though, would be anywhere in CO. It's just beautiful there and I love the mountains.

[2coastcamper]

I had a blast when I went to Eldorado National Forest a last month. At the NF, you can camp wherever you want. No pre-made fire rings or tent pads. Just hike in and find a place you like ... it was great!

[frank6160]

Check out any of the many National Forests. You will surely find one that interests you and most are reasonably priced.

[cincy]

If you live in the Norheast, you might want to try the Adirondacks, in up state New York. The Fall camping up here is spectacular. Warm days, and cold nights.

[Newanderthal]

Blue Ridge Mountains in North Carolina. Go in the fall. It's magic and the beauty of the place will do something to you on a spiritual level. Also, the Guadalupe (spelling?) Mountains in West Texas.

And, surprisingly, the swamps of south Louisiana. Have you ever watched the sun come up over palmettoes, cypress and a sea of lilly pads while lsitening to the booming croaks of bullfrogs and watching alligators slide through the water? Just go when it's cool, because our mosquitoes will carry you off.

[SQuirrel]

If you like camping near the beach and all the amenities of a state campground (Hot showers and RV hookups) I might recomend Harris Sate Beach in Oregon. I spent a night there on a motorcycle trip. They have such a wonderfuly large tidepool area, and the thunder rolling off the rocks in the morning was some of deepest rumbles Ive ever felt.

If you want a beach to get away on the Lost Coast of Nor Cal. offers 30 mile stretches without acces. Best time of year is the first week of summer. After the big storms, but before the summers heat draws all that moist air off the pacific every day.

[mommyof2boys]

I suppose it depends on where you live and what you're used to! I've lived in Oregon my whole life, and to me there's nothing better than camping in the Cascades of Washington and Oregon, or in the Redwoods in California.