Hey all !

My wife and I are planning on Camping at MOTD this year. See as it's our first MOTD , I was just curious about a few things....

1.) Has anyone camped within the Park before @ the "Deep Creek" campground? It seems to be about 20-30 min out from the dragon. Cost is great, plus the added plus of the scenery, just wondering if anyone has stayed here before and what your thoughts are. It appears that camping in the park is a first-come-first-served basis...so i'm guessing that by showing up on wed, it shouldn't be an issue...

2.) I saw several posts mentioning groups of people putting mutliple tents on their "assigned areas" at Fontana's Campground and splitting the cost with people...are there plans to do this and if so is it possible for us to join in on this?

As you can tell we're hoping to cut costs a little by camping, so that we can fully enjoy the Dragon for our first time! That being said, many of the 'veterans' on here keep mentioning "Don't worry about lodging!"...I'm doing my best to, but I'm REALLY excited about MOTD !

Any advice with regards to past experiences and the likes would be appreciated!

 

Great, more campers!

I haven't camped anywhere else, but I'd recommend staying as close to Fontana as possible if you plan to participate in the 'official' activities that go on. They end pretty late, and it is REALLY dark up there at night, and there is a lot of wildlife.

Fontana has just a handful of "RV" spots which have water, electric, and a picnic table under a shelter. I think there are three. Those three are large enough to put about 3 tents in each, at least. Last year we shared an no one really had any problems, and we split the cost, paying whoever had the 'official' reservation.

I don't have a reservation this year, but I'm going to go ahead and call to try to get one.

We had a ball camping last year, just be prepared for rain.

 

Great advice! I'd love to do the Fontana thing...(spliting the cost with the "offical")

Anyone out there have reservations and willing to let us 'share' ?

 

Be prepared to not have the exact site they tell you on the phone. I was told I had an RV site last year but wasn't given one when I got there. I had a tent so it didn't matter. Only difference in sites was our picnic table wasn't covered and our site wasn't 20 feet from the bathroom. It did look like the RV end of the campground flooded a bit more than out end did. I guess it worked out for the best.

The campground was pretty empty last year. I had expected there to be a lot more people based on the conversations on here. What little time was spent there (basically sleeping) was pretty peaceful.

If you camp down there, make sure you bring plenty of light. It was pretty dark. Also, be prepared for rain...we had a good tent that stayed dry for most of the weekend. The people across from us weren't so lucky. They ended up packing up in the middle of the night and leaving. I think the big tarp we put under the tent really helped.

 

did the other site have electricity/water as well? I thought only the RV sites did.

If that is the case, then yeah, it isn't a big deal. I'll just bring along another canopy to set up over the picnic table.

 

Does it flood pretty bad there...should we plan to camp on the picnic table
Or is it just very wet due to the amount of rain this time of year?

Maybe I'll bring an extra awning (spelling?) to put over the picnic table in case of rain...

 

I guess the word flood was a bit much...moore like pooling. Probably best to wait for a reply from someone who had one of those spots as to how much of an annoyance it was. Probably more of a wet feet problem than full on soaked tent!

Do watch out for the potholes on the road to the campgrounds! There were two really big ones. For some reason, I kept forgetting about one of them everytime I drove back to the tent. They will sneak up on you in the dark!

 

I called today and booked a campsite with full hook up. The people at the reservation desk were very helpful. $35.00 a night. We are booked from Wed-Sun.. leaving Monday morning.
If you still want to share the site.. let me know.. the more the merrier!!
If we get enough people to camp, maybe we can do a morning coffee or breakfast, before everyone heads out for their drives. I would be glad to organize it or whatever.. This should be alot of fun!

 

Last year I had a coffee maker and an electric skillet, and made bacon and eggs one morning, and pancakes another morning. Plan to do the same this time.

 

Sounds great to me.. There are 3 so far.. that I know of from M2C2 that will be camping. I think camping by the dam will be wonderful.. We are bringing a tear drop camper, so we will be a bit limited but should still have our faithful coffee pot.. and stove and even our lil fridge! Looking forward to seeing you there. I had panicked, hearing there were no campsites available.. I had already booked the motel.. but gave the room to someone in our group.. I am so glad there are sites available!

 

Looking forward to the breakfast meals! At this rate, we'll have all of the people up at the lodge coming down to the meal as well!

My wife and I will plan on helping on at least one morning.
(assuming we are able to buy food once down there...tent w/ good breakfast food = critters or bears! )

 

don't plan on buying much of anything when you are down there. There is a general store and a gas station, but not much else.

I just took a cooler packed with food and ice, and put it far enough away from the tent that if a bear came it would only get the food, not me!

In fact, I highly recommend taking everything you think you might need with you, as the closest Walmart type place is at least an hour away.

 

I camped out at MOTD 2005 and 2006 and had a wonderful time. If I can make it this year, I am bringing my tent and camping again. For those of you that haven't camped at the Fontana campsite before, it is a beautiful, laid back, relaxing area (besides a couple of fun late night parties).

 

I really want to camp this year. This is what I want to camp in.





I saw this when I was in Berlin and I really wanted one. I could not justify the price.

 

What is that picture of?? That looks interesting!

 

A strong wind and a good hill with a river at the bottom would make for a rough nights sleep and an interesting morning with that "tent".

 

It is called The Chill Out Room. I saw it for the first time in Berlin when I was there. I REALLY wanted to get one but the $$$ was just too much.

I think that it would be fun rolling it down a hill, of course I am sure it would get destroyed. Here is the link.

http://www.designobject.com/cgi-bin/...product_id=314

 

Climb in, sprawl out, and get your bubble on!! Ha ha! Thats cool , but no longer available to be shipped in the unitedstates. Someone had to do something crazy and get hurt!
oh.. und ich bin ein new yorker!!

 

Hmm...I see Well, maybe we'll have to bring more than I had planned on and do the 'distant cooler' thing! OR, we'll just go "veg" for the duration of the trip

That 'bubble tent' looks like fun! Though I agree ANY wind could be a little rough!

 

I will be camping somewhere! Not sure where at this point.

 

Is there fishing available? Camping is sounding more and more appealing.

 

I thought I would post this as well... again..
I just spoke to Theresa at reservations for Fontana Camping..
they DO have campsites still available..
when i called last week, i was told there were no more available.. Theresa doesn't know who is saying that at Fontant, but it simply is not true!
So, there is still time to get a site.. I promised her I would not lol be calling to book any more campsites, but somehow I think she thinks I'll call again and add yet another piece of fontanas campground to my motd retinue.. im a real estate guru up there for 2008!

 

The last time I camped in that area was on the Appalachian Trail just south of Fontana Dam. I guess I should consider my MINI a rolling backpack. My hiking gear would fit nicely in the boot. I will have to see if I can make the next MOTD.

 

BSUCardinalfan - if you get a site, my buddy and I will join you again if you have room. And I'll bring the Forman grill again.

Yes, after days of rain, the ground was wet and muddy, but nothing that should be a problem in a decent tent:

 

We plan on bringing a decent sized tarp for the ground and will be sparying the tent down with some 'camp-dry' stuff. I might bring an additional 'picnic awning' just to expand the "dry ground"...

Rain or shine, it should be a good time!