Need Help For My First Camping Trip.

[eeyore]

Hi, my friends and I have decided to go camping for a weekend, but none of us are sure exactly what sort of preparations are necassary.  Any help would be greatly appreciated.  We are looking to go in either southern Ohio or West Virginia. 

Our main question is whether we have to register with a campsite, or whether we are allowed to go find a forest somewhere and just set up a tent for the weekend?  I have done a few searches on the internet, but have not found anything conclusive either way.  Also, any other tips or information would be very helpful.  Thanks in advance.

[Scrib]

Hello! You can check with Recreation.Gov for federal campgrounds and Reserveamerica.com for state campgrounds. These sites will only list campgrounds that accept reservations, though, so you might also want to check with the West Virgina State Parks (http://www.wvstateparks.com/lodging/camping.htm) for first-come, first-served campgrounds. I cannot speak for the conditions on the east coast, but I know out here the first-come, first-served campgrounds are wide open if you arrive before Friday afternoon.

Can you just pitch a tent anywhere you want? I'll leave that question to someone more local to the area, but you can generally camp anywhere on federal land (USFS or BLM), provided you are several hundred feet from any water source (a general rule, sometimes it is 100 feet).

Good luck!

[campgirl25]

Newbie is pretty right on. It really depends on your level of safety as to where you want to set up tent. If you like the idea of not having anyone around and being in the real wild then you can probably hit up the national parks in the area and pitch tent. Just make sure you find a good tent site (raised up above the ground, a little away from water, an place a few yards off for setting up camp kitchen and garbage site)... if you need more information on turning a site into a camp site here is a great article:
http://www.thecampingequipmentstore.com/article_info.php?articles_id=3&osCsid=a8a08b9f7239658bdfdaf1cc5cc7b80f

Good luck! let us know how your camping trip goes!

[CamperGirl]

I found some great camping ideas at www.romanticcampingforlovers.info. I really enjoy getting outside with my boyfriend.... and with our yucky economy, it fits nicely into my budget!

[NailDirt]

Hey eeyore.
Campergirl has a great recommendation. Camping in the national parks can prove to be a great first trip.  Definitely try to contact the park directly.  You want to find out if they have any primitive sites versus semi-primitive sites.  The differences can be access to water, bathroom facilities, and even how close your camping neighbors are.  Scrib also mentioned checking with Recreation.gov
They are a great source to find locations and you can place your reservations directly with them and they'll contact the particular park administrators to inform them of your reservation.

Good luck and have fun.