Crazy for camping season

Michelle King-Green of Providence, Rhode Island, visits the White Mountains as often as she can in summer with her husband, Al, and their two young sons.

The boys have learned how to make a campfire and cook s’mores. They frolic in the woods and discover animals and fauna and are becoming avid fishermen and hikers. “I believe that my sons get to truly play in the best playground Earth has to offer — nature,” said King-Green. “Camping lifts their self-esteem, strengthens their brotherhood, opens their imaginations and gives them a sense that less can be more.”

King-Green is one of thousands of visitors who flock to the region and points north in summer to experience life in the woods at one of the area’s many campgrounds. She and her family typically stay at the Twin Mountain/Mount Washington KOA, reserving their favorite one-room cabin, when it’s available.

This time of year, she and many other campers are getting their schedules in order, reserving space at their favorite locations and making packing lists.

RV campers like Derrick Abbott and his wife, Patti, of Walpole, are also thinking about getting their vehicles road-ready. In early May, Abbott will take the antifreeze out of the water lines of his 2014 Crossroad Zinger, flushing and sanitizing them. He’ll hook up the RV’s gas supply and get the pilots going, and check the water heater.

Because camping season has almost begun.

“I find the White Mountains to be the most relaxing place, where I really can unwind,” said Abbott, another regular at Twin Mountain. “My son and I go trout fishing. You can’t get better scenery.”

Readying the campgrounds

Brad Hare, the owner of both Twin Mountain KOA and Littleton/Franconia Notch KOA with his wife, Becky, has quite a bit of work to do in spring as well.

After Brad retired from a career as a financial advisor in Ohio, the Hares took over the operations at Twin Mountain in 2016, moving to live on the property, near Bretton Woods. They acquired the Littleton site in May 2020. The work is a good fit for the Hares, life-long campers who spent the majority of their summers in an RV in Dayton, Ohio, with their two sons, who are now grown.

Hare’s work this spring has been finalizing a renovation project at the Littleton/Franconia Notch site, where several new cabins and a new bathhouse were constructed and new electrical wiring was installed. “The days are spent getting everything organized,” he said, noting the campground will open on Mother’s Day weekend, May 8-9.

At Twin Mountain, where there was still a foot and a half of snow at the end of March, Hare was in a waiting game. He’d hired some new managers and was focused on reservations and improving the guest experience.

At this point, he is likely doing clean-up at both sites — scouring cabins, raking tent and RV sites, removing debris and “getting the sites sparkling clean.”

At Littleton, there are 73 sites and 12 lodges — two brand new — on 14 acres of land. Many campsites are nestled on the Ammonoosuc River. At Twin Mountain, there are 25 cabins and about 110 sites on 27 acres; campers are “right around the corner from Mount Washington,” Hare said.

“Reservations are extraordinarily strong,” Hare noted. “They were in 2020, too. It’s an interesting dichotomy because the Canadian border is closed. The Canadians, in any given year, are 20 to 30 percent of the business. Last year, that was gone, however, it was made up really by new folks, predominantly in New England states.”

Hare said he saw many new folks learning how to RV or tent, and he attributes this to the pandemic, as there was little else to do. “A lot of people are getting out into nature in the pandemic,” he said. “We’re seeing more full-time RV-ers, traveling the country full time. There is much more demand for RV sites.”

Also due to COVID-19, Hare said there are enhanced cleaning protocols at his two campgrounds. Bathrooms are cleaned thoroughly, in adherence with federal guidelines.

Camping is also a cost-effective way to vacation. At Hare’s locations, the cost of a tent site ranges from $40-45; RV sites are $50-90, depending on the amperage of power hook-ups, sewer connections and whether the site must be accessed by backing in, or if campers can pull forward.

First-timer

Kaili Johnson and her husband, Peter, of Glen Falls, New York, camped last year for the first time, choosing one of Twin Mountain’s “glamping tents,” or glamorous tents, which sit on a raised platform, are furnished and have electricity and a queen-sized bed.

“We loved it,” Johnson said. “We’re trying to figure out when we can go back and bring some friends up there.”

In their mid-20s, the Johnsons are avid hikers, given that they live in the Adirondacks. Last year, they hiked Mount Washington and used a tripod and a timer to capture themselves doing a great leap in the air, while descending.

“Camping is a lot of fun,” she said. “It’s a lot of work, but it’s definitely worth it — being in the outdoors. There’s something about being under the stars at night, sitting around the campfire with no electronics. You have to actually talk to one another.”

Eager campers

King-Green and her husband also enjoy the experience of sitting around the fire. “Nothing beats a hot cup of coffee and the sizzling of breakfast on a cast iron skillet over the firepit on a beautiful morning in the middle of the mountains,” she said.

Unplugging from routine and experiencing new scenery are also top reasons why the family camps. With sons Al, 11, and Trevor, 8, “we love to have true family time, cooking meals together, discovering nature and enjoying some of the local amusements,” King-Green said.

In the one-room, furnished cabin the couple prefers at Twin Mountain, they have everything from a desk to a front porch complete with a swing, and a picnic table and firepit. To get ready for one of the three- to four-day camping jaunts, King-Green makes a list of everything she will need, including kitchen utensils, tools for cooking over the firepit, toiletries, first aid items and medicinals, food, clothes, linens, fishing gear, coolers and jugs.

“This list can grow or lessen depending on how you want to camp,” she added. “Some people prefer to eat out more often or may cook on a grill or electric stovetop as opposed to the firepit. It all really depends on what you would like your camping atmosphere to be.”

King-Green and her family have camped at Twin Mountain since 2016 because they are so fond of the region. The Abbotts have been heading there for 30 years, since their son Zachary was an infant and Emily, 28, had yet to be born.

Over the years, Abbott and his family have stayed in the caboose at Twin Mountain. They have tented, and now, with their RV, they sleep in their own home-away-from-home.

Abbot grew up camping with his parents at Vermont state parks, mainly in lean-tos, and he wanted to pass the experience on to his children. “I think the kids learned to appreciate being in the outdoors, especially being in the White Mountains,” he said. “I find the White Mountains to be the most relaxing place for me, where I really can unwind.”

He added, “For people who are just getting started, I think they’ll find it’s a great thing to do. It gets you back to nature. When you’re camping, you’re sitting out by the fire, talking to all your friends and your family. That’s where you do a lot of your bonding. Plus, you get to meet a whole bunch of new people too. We’ve met a whole lot of friends, camping over the years. It’s a great thing.”

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Janice Beetle is an author, editor and owner of Beetle Press, a public relations and marketing company. She can be reached at janice@beetlepress.com.