I love to go camping. I camped with my grandmother as a child, although nowadays I do not look at a 32 foot travel trailer as camping. I prefer a tent.

After a very busy summer and a trail race scheduled for Saturday of Labor Day weekend, I decide to camp the entire weekend at the park holding the race. As an out of state resident, tent camping was only $21 a night on weekends and a little less on nights other than Friday and Saturday. I could spend a weekend out of doors. I could hike. I could bike. I could run my race.

I admit it looks like a lot of gear but ultimately, it was not much. I could have taken a smaller tent but was unsure of the night prior to the trail race. I had let other runners know I was camping and a couple had indicated they may join me. Consequently, I took the six person tent.

The weather Labor Day weekend was perfect. The nights got a bit cool. I even closed all the tent “windows” on Sunday night. It was warm during the day. I did not need jeans but did take a denim shirt for those cooler nights.

I camped at Salt Springs State Park in Franklin Forks, PA. The park hosts 13 or 14 tent sites (the current map shows 10 as new ones were added this year) and three cabins. I spent my weekend at tent site 6.

Across the meadow from my secluded tent site were cabins 2 and 3 and other tent sites. Despite the beautiful weekend, not all the tent sites were full but the cabins were.

I would definitely recommend tent camping at Salt Springs. Cabin camping might be okay also. There is little or no cell service in parts of the park. There is a pay phone near the house that is prior to the trails. My only complaint is with my own issues in not getting my water hot enough for Saturday morning’s coffee. I took a little extra time on Sunday and Monday mornings and had very hot coffee both mornings.

I took a few photos of the trails as I was hiking on Sunday but will probably put those in a separate post. The park offers events of varying kinds throughout the year so keep an eye on their website.