Winter camping is steadily growing and becoming popular amongst urban Americans. Thanks to some incredible locations across the country, more and more people embark on their own winter camping adventures every year. With this increased hype and popularity the need to go deeper into the wilderness is the only way to truly enjoy camping.
If you love solitude, beauty, and camping in the wilderness camping in the chilling weather is definitely for you. Before you start looking for lightweight campers and outdoor gear, here are the top five best winter camping destinations for everyone.
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Yellowstone National Park
This area is all about fewer crowds, steaming geysers, and frigid temperatures. Roads close during the winter as the snow turns this park into a magnificent winter wonderland, leaving the only means to get about being the snow coaches, skis snowshoes, and snowmobiles. The Park has a designated campsite area, for which a permit is needed if you are planning for an overnight stay. Most of the Park’s campgrounds are no longer available after mid-September. However, one is left open all year round for both RVs and tents.
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Crater Lake in Oregon
Located in the Crater Lake National Park this area is popular for its deep blue color and the clarity of its water. It came to be around 7700 years ago when a volcano collapsed. The lake itself is between 5 to 6 miles throughout and has a caldera rim that ranges in elevation of between 7000 ft. to 8000 ft. It is also the deepest lake in the western hemisphere, and third in depth around the globe. One of the interesting things about this lake is that it is free of pollutants and is the purest one around the world because it does not have any tributaries or inlets.
Another interesting feature of the lake area is the tree, now a stump that bobs vertically in the lake for more than a century, visitors have named it Old Man of the Lake. The water’s low temperature has lagged the wood decomposition and increased the lifespan of the tree.
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The Tettegouche State Park
This state park is situated on the northern side of the Lake Superior. It is a 9346-acre park and comes with six inland lakes out of which four support the northern pike and there is one which supports the walleye fishing. There is a 7-foot tall waterfall called High Falls which comes with 22 miles of hiking trails, 12 miles of ski trails, and great access to the Superior Hiking Trail. The park is right next to the Finland Forest, and the Red Dot trail is shared by both the areas.
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The Yosemite National Park in California
This national park is one that will have you planning exciting new trails around the ones that are closed for the winter. The great thing about this area is that both the Valley and Wawona are accessible to people through cars year round. You should expect the Tioga Road to be closed. Five miles into the Glacier Point, however, you cannot take cars further because the place gets closed and the skiing trail and with the snowshoeing trail begins.
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Cumberland Island in Georgia
These are 50-mile barrier islands which have wild horses running around. Camping on Cumberland is inexpensive and is only a brief boat ride away from the mainland. It is important that you decide to book this in advance because you don’t want to get there to find out that there are no camping spots left. You can also have a campfire if you like, but they are permitted only in Stafford Beach and Sea Camp.