Our highest priorities in selecting a campground are scenic beauty and spacious sites. Therefore, whenever possible we choose to stay at National and State Parks because they locate their campgrounds in some of the prettiest parts of their parks. Besides their incomparable scenic beauty, they are also usually half the price of commercial campgrounds, which starts to add up when you are spending a few weeks on the road.

However, every 5 or 6 days or so, we usually need to stop at a commercial campground to do laundry and let the kids have some entertainment, such as a pool or mini golf. When we do go to a commercial campground, we usually select a KOA because we have found them to be extremely consistent in their high quality--clean, good facilities, and entertainment for the kids.

and are excellent campground directories that include all types of campgrounds and rate them. The only problem I have with them is that their ratings really don't give any indication to our highest priority--scenic beauty. They emphasize facilities, cleanliness, and campground recreational opportunities.

Although I no longer like to make campground reservations in advance, it is usually essential to do so in the more popular National Parks.

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