New and Beginner Backpacking Trips Using Campgrounds
Is this your first time backpacking? Perhaps you are trying out new equipment? Someone in your group is new to backpacking or nervous? Is this the first time out with your children?
There are a number of situations where planning your backpacking trip around staying in a campground makes the most sense. Fortunately, it is easy to plan a variety of great trips around any of the campgrounds at Shenandoah National Park.
Learning how to backpack and backcountry camp all at the same time can be overwhelming and often leads to unintentional resource damage. When you use a campground, you still want to practice Leave No Trace, but there aren’t so many new rules to learn at once. You will have the opportunity to test your equipment and your packing lists. If you are missing something, most of our campgrounds have a campstore nearby where you can buy supplies. If your first meal over a campstove leaves you hungry, most of the campgrounds have a restaurant nearby. Also, you can combine solitary hiking for many hours at a time, with the opportunity for a ranger-led campfire talk, or the opportunity for your children become to Junior Rangers.
(For those of you wanting real luxury, backpacking to
lodges or
cabins in Shenandoah National Park is also an option, but isn’t covered here.)
