Page 82 - NJCOA-2022-VacationGuidebook

First Time Camping You will also find a broad range in how much camping will cost.
There’s tent camping which is relatively inexpensive to a bit more
By: Owen Gallagher
pricier option for convenience and luxury you may want. And you
may need to book a cabin months in advance. Some campgrounds
Always wanted to go camping but didn’t know where to start?
offer incentives for first-time visitors, such as a $20 discount for a stay
of two nights or more at Timberland Lake Campground. Check with
Relax, and don’t be intimidated by all the options open to you in the facility you’re thinking about visiting. It doesn’t hurt to ask.
New Jersey.
First-timers also may save some money by borrowing equipment
The experts say it’s as simple as deciding what level of camping you from a friend or renting equipment to get an idea of what they like.
want to experience – a tent, cabin, RV -- and making some basic Joann DelVescio, Executive Director of the New Jersey Campground
preparations.
Owners Association says a good first step in deciding a location is to
think about what activities and amenities are important to you. Are
Some handy advice for first-timers includes: Know your equipment, you looking for hiking, swimming, biking, kayaking, music events,
pick a spot relatively close to home, and don’t forget the ketchup. antiquing, sight-seeing? If you want to bring along your pet, make
You would be surprised by the number of campers who come sure the location you choose is pet friendly and find out the specific
looking for ketchup because it’s the one thing they forgot to requirements.
pack, says Michelle Jeffers, of the family owned Timberland Lake
Campground in Cream Ridge, Ocean County.
Robinson suggests making your first trip a short one, only one or two
nights to work out any kinks. She says consider a spot relatively close
Such problems can be avoided by having a checklist for the to home in case you need to retreat to your own bed for the night. If
essentials, ranging from a flashlight and extra batteries to a change the forecast looks rainy or excessively cold or hot, it might be better
of clothes and even your condiments of choice.
to postpone your plans, she says.
Jeffers, whose campground looks to appeal to the entire family with If roughing it sounds a bit too intimidating, a place such as Pine
planned themes each weekend, also advises novice campers not to Haven Camping Resort, in Ocean View, Cape May County, may be
get upset if the weather isn’t perfect. There just might be a silver more to your liking.
lining in those storm clouds.
“It’s more like glamping here than camping,” says Office Manager
“Keep a sense of humor about things,” she says. “Lots of times Danielle Klinger, referring to a style of camping that can offer resort-
something like rain will turn out to be the thing where memories are style services. “It’s not that you’re sleeping in a tent. Basically, it’s like
made. You think it’s awful and terrible, but then you find yourself a summer home.”
holding a tarp up in the rain, laughing with your entire family, and it
becomes a fond memory.”
Although they do have a few “rustic” options, most of Pine Haven’s
cabins provide everything a camper could need, including toilet
Both Jeffers and Cheryl Robinson, of Four Seasons Family paper and towels. And you don’t have to walk to the bathhouse.
Campground, in Pilesgrove, Salem County, say first-time campers “It’s like staying in a hotel here,” she says.
who have a lot of questions shouldn’t hesitate to ask staff or Other campers take a different approach.
their camping neighbors for help. Lisa Torella, The Great Divide
Campground in Newton, recommends letting the campground “You may want all the comforts of home, but you want to get the
know you are first time campers (tent or RV).
atmosphere of it. So, it’s a matter of how you want to achieve that,”
says Catherine Scott, a principal at Jugtown Mountain Campsites, in
“Everyone loves to help newbies because they once were one,” Asbury, Hunterdon County.
says Robinson.
Scott says some campers have pizza delivered to avoid having to
She also suggests campers bring along some white decorative cook. On the other extreme, she says she’s had people come with
string lights. While Torella suggests practice setting up your tent at literally the kitchen sink.
home.
“… The white utility sinks that they just plug the hose into and very
“They look pretty, and everyone can see without having to carry a conveniently wash their pots and pans out. Usually that’s more of the
flashlight every time they move around the site,” she says.
larger groups that may come, like family reunions. We may have ten
families come together and they have one big barbecue every night
One of the main decisions first-timers need to make is whether they and that’s their family vacation.”
want to “rough it” in a tent without running water or electricity or
stay in an RV or luxury cabin with heat, bathrooms and showers. Your family camping vacation may not need to include the
New Jersey private campgrounds give you and your family plenty of kitchen sink, but whatever your preferences, a little planning can
options for both extremes … and any level in between.
make it happen.

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