These 5 sites will help you prep and plan for your next outdoor adventure. Whether digitally scouting the perfect site, forecasting weather conditions, or finding ways to keep the kiddos entertained, these resources are sure to up your game.
The Dyrt – https://thedyrt.com/
Whether you prefer to camp in a tent, RV, or cabin, The Dyrt is a great online resource to find the perfect campsite in advance. You can review over 1 million listings and you can also read reviews, and tips from their community of campers. We especially like how many user submitted photos and videos they have of each campground. The photos paired with detailed information on accessibility, features and weather forecast let you really visualize and plan for where you’re going.
National Forecast Service – https://www.weather.gov/
We find this is often the best tool for weather forecasting outside metropolitan areas. Their search tool will allow you to pull forecasts by landmarks such as lakes and mountains.
USDA Forest Service – https://www.fs.usda.gov/
If camping in a national forest, the Forest Service site is a great resource for getting site information, and the latest details on conditions and alerts & warnings. Restrictions will also be listed on the forest service site per location such as burn bans, pet restrictions, drone restrictions, etc.
Recreation.gov – https://www.recreation.gov/
If you’re looking for a stay on public lands (National Parks, Forest Service, Army Cop of Engineers, or BLM) this is the site to use. This site promises to help you dream up your next trip, figure out the details, and reserve experiences at over 3,600 facilities and 103,000 individual sites across the country. They also show activities, parks, and trailheads near your destination. They partner with 12 Federal partners including the National Park Service and US Forrest Service. Through these partnerships they are able to provide comprehensive venue details and descriptions and ability to secure your reservations (if required).
Visit this link to search their camping results: https://www.recreation.gov/search?inventory_type=camping&inventory_type=dayuse
Ranger Rick – https://rangerrick.org/
If you’re planning to camp with kids, Ranger Rick is a great resource to use. You can visit their site before the trip with your children to get them excited about the outdoors. There’s plenty of animal fact and video pages to get the kids excited. Here’s a great one to check out on chipmunks https://rangerrick.org/ranger_rick/chipmunks/
You can also use their site to plan trip activities ahead of time. For example, here’s a printable Bug Bingo they offer: https://rangerrick.org/crafts_activities/bug-bingo/. They even have camping recipies. Check this one out for campfire banana boats: https://rangerrick.org/crafts_activities/campfire-banana-boats/
