scrubjaysnest 2012 trip suggestions?

[scrubjaysnest]

We will be heading out west this year with a stop in Tx as always. From there on to Carlsbad Caverns.

What we are looking for is back country campsites in NM, AZ, and NV.
We may even drift into Death Valley a bit.

I have a rough list started, poi's made in mapsource but not completed.

Originally Posted by scrubjaysnest

We will be heading out west this year with a stop in Tx as always. From there on to Carlsbad Caverns.

What we are looking for is back country campsites in NM, AZ, and NV.
We may even drift into Death Valley a bit.

I have a rough list started, poi's made in mapsource but not completed.

This may help, not sure if this is what you are looking for, but interesting...

Dave

http://www.greatoutdoors.com/publish...tes-in-arizona
http://azstateparks.com/find/f_fac_backcountry.html

[wbmiller3]

Rustler Park near Portal, Az is beautiful. Last time I went it was a decent dirt road up to the park. Canadian type ecosystem high above the desert. Check it out if you are into back country camping!

Ichthyosaur Stat Park NV. When I was there last, 1978, it was mostly dirt road to get to it.

[scrubjaysnest]

Thanks for the suggestions. We tend to go for places like Baca or Three Rivers USFS CG on the Lincoln National Forest in NM. BLM campgrounds like Windwhistle near Moab, Utah are another favorite of ours. I did find some spots along the ET highway from the Rachel, NV web site. Think I'll stay on the north side though, that way no visits from the area 51 "cammo dudes" in the middle of the night.

We spent some time tent camping (before the Elkmont) in the Southern Rockies of New Mexico a few years back, between Santa Fe and Taos roughly. Most of that is the Santa Fe National Forest which is just gorgeous.

I recall a NF campground up in the headwaters of the Pecos river that is just South of the Pecos wilderness area. There was also another nice NF cp that came near the Pecos Wilderness from the North West; you drove up a valley from Santa Fe IIRC. There are many great mountain trails in this area, but also a fair amount of cattle and gauchos.

Further North, north of Taos but still in the Santa Fe NF IIRC, was the Red River valley. One NF campground we really liked was just into the valley on a branch of the Red River. There's a great trail that follows the branch up to the Taos Ski area.

Finally, in between Taos and Santa Fe is the Rio Grande Gorge and State Park. We didn't camp there (no shade) but the scenery and trails are impressive.

This area of the Southern Rockies in New Mexico is one of our favorite areas, and we hope to return there sometime soon.

[scrubjaysnest]

Thanks Bruce, we will check some of those out.

Here are our plans up through March 15th

Coes Landing, Leon county CG on Lake Talquin. Close to Tallahassee, Fl Take SR 20.
Fishing, hiking and Mt biking in the Lake Talquin State Rec Area. We haven’t stayed at this one.

Open pond USFS, Water and Elec. Flush toilets and showers. Or dry sites. This is an old favorite. South of Andalusia on Al 137 about 20 minutes then follow signs. There is a small fishing lake, hiking trails, and Mt biking.

Service ACOE, near Coffeeville, Al on US 84. This is on the TomBigbee water way. Most sites on the water way are pull through. There is Elec., water, flush toilets, and showers.
Boating and fishing. Make reservations for this during March and April as Speckled Perch, crappie, fishing is big then. Site 11 is the one we like.



Natchez SP has full hookups and showers, sites are back-in. Hiking and lake fishing. Natchez Trace Parkway. We took US 84 to US 61 to access the park.

Gum Springs is USFS. This is dry camping, and there is water. There are port-a-lets on south side of highway, vault in horse CG on north side of US 84. Hiking trails, fishing, and back roads of the Kistchie NF to explore. Check at the ranger station for the latest in off road maps, MVUM. Winnfield La, to the east is the nearest town.



Tyler SP has water, elec., and hot showers. The park is north of I-20 on SR 14, take exit 562. A note about Tx SP, there is a per person/per day entrance fee plus your camping fee. Fishing as a rule doesn’t require a license but check when you register. Hiking, fishing, and Mt biking. We haven’t stayed at this one. Plenty of history in the area and close to First Monday, Google for details. The city is Tyler is about 15 miles south on SR 14.

Ray Roberts SP is near I-35, north of Denton Tx. Nearest town is Sanger about 10 miles west of the park. There is hiking, fishing, Mt biking and equestrian trails. This is ACOE run by Texas state parks. Water and electric or dry camping. Showers are available. We haven’t stayed at this one. We will be here from March 8 until March 11, 2012. The place will be a zoo that weekend as the TXGA, Texas Geocaching Association is having their annual challenge event here. About 700 people at last count. This will be getting together with old friends and meeting a lot of new ones.

Rocky Creek, ACOE on Lake Benbrook. This is dry camping with vault toilets, one door on the women's side, none on the men's. Water is available. Fishing, along with hiking and equestrian trails. Some fossil hunting is allowed but check with the campground host’s.
Site 23 is the one we like. A note here: if there is a lot of rain the campground floods, we had to move the camper in April 2010 to the check in station.

[rtcassel]

Originally Posted by scrubjaysnest

. A note about Tx SP, there is a per person/per day entrance fee plus your camping fee.

If you are going to camp in TX SPs for many days, you may be interested in the Texas States Parks Pass. http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/spdest/parkinfo/passes/

Two great but seldom visited places in Nevada:

1. Great Basin National Park, off U.S. 50 near the Utah border. It is the least visited national park largely due to its remoteness. But it's a beautiful place with spectacular mountains and the Lehman Caves. Definitely worth a trip. There are two campgrounds in the park. I know a TM will fit in the lower campground. Not sure about upper. http://www.nps.gov/grba/index.htm

2. Lamoille Canyon, just south of Elko. Called the "Yosemite of Nevada", it's a glacier formed canyon with a very nice forest service campground. Lots of hiking to various alpine lakes. I posted some pictures here a while back. We're going to spend several days here in late June.

Keith

[scrubjaysnest]

Originally Posted by rtcassel

If you are going to camp in TX SPs for many days, you may be interested in the Texas States Parks Pass. http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/spdest/parkinfo/passes/

I'm waiting for my TXGA membership badge, they are working on discount.
The pass also gets you half off your second night in the park.