Summer goes by quickly, and suddenly it’s September, and you haven’t even gone car camping this season.
Not to worry.
Even in the high country we still have three solid weeks of nice weather, and with most of the school-age kids back in institutions, it’s easier to book a site.
Here are 5 camping opportunities that are better in September than they are any other time of year.
Mountain Biking in Sun Valley, Idaho
Boundary Campground in Sun Valley, Idaho (Image via The Dyrt camper Catherine)
As great as July mountain biking is in Sun Valley, those summertime temps make it tough to ride in the afternoon.
“In September, it finally cools off enough to ride in the middle of the day,” says Cassie Able, a Sun Valley local and founder and CEO of Wild Rye, a women’s mountain biking apparel company.
Mid-day temps drop about 12 degrees from August, making long rides, like the 19-mile loop from the South Fork of Warm Springs Creek to Red Warrior, a much more enjoyable journey.
The ride features intermediate terrain mixed with sections of loose trail and rooty, rocky obstacles. “From the high point are gorgeous views of the Smoky and Boulder mountains,” says Abel.
You can finish the ride with a dip in Frenchman Hot Springs, then post up for the night. If you feel like roughing it, BLM-owned dispersed campgrounds are right down the road.
For more developed sites, head about 30 minutes toward Ketchum and pitch a tent at Boundary Campground ($10), which has toilets, fire pits, grill stands, and it’s next to a stream.
Van or Car Camping in Jackson Hole
Curtis Canyon Campground, Wyoming – (Image via The Dyrt camper Brittany)
Imagine this: You step out of your rig on a crisp September morning to stretch, and the first thing you see is the Grand Tetons.
If you’ve parked atop Shadow Mountain, a small peak in Jackson Hole, just outside Grand Teton National Park, that’s how you’ll start your day.
Come September, the van parking spots—as well as the hiking and biking trails, floating and fly-fishing rivers and streams, and crags like Black Tail Butte, a multi-wall area that has some of the hardest sport climbing in the valley—start to free up a bit, making Jackson Hole the perfect place to make camp for a while.
Camping on Shadow Mountain is free, and spectacular, and one of the best downhill mountain biking trails in the region starts at the top.
There are other camping options too: Curtis Canyon Campground, near the National Elk Refuge, costs $20 per night and has more dependable cell service than what you’ll find on Shadow Mountain.
There’s also Atherton Creek Campground, perched right alongside Slide Lake. Camping at Atherton Creek is also $20 per night.
Fly Fishing on the Fryingpan River
Little Maud Campground, Colorado – (Image via The Dyrt camper Fain H.)
The Fryingpan River in Basalt, Colorado, about 20 miles north of Aspen, is renowned for its fishing year-round.
The river is designated as Gold Medal Waters by the Colorado Wildlife Commission. And September is the best time to fish it.
“That’s when there’s a green drake hatch and the more serious fishermen come out to capitalize on it,” says Brandon Soucie, a local fly-fishing guide. “Between 11 and 3, you’ll see a consistent hatch.”
The best part of the river to fish during green drake season is the four-mile stretch that starts at the Ruedi Dam and flows west. Fortunately, the dam is also where the only campsites are located anywhere along the Fryingpan.
Ruedi Marina Campground, near the shores of Ruedi Reservoir, has 8 standard sites suitable for trailers, RVs, and vans. The sites are equipped with picnic tables and campfire rings.
Tent campers can head a little farther up the road to Little Maud Campground, which features 21 sites, picnic tables, and campfire rings.
Camping in Acadia National Park
Blackwoods Campground, Maine – (Image via The Dyrt camper Kenneth)
The best thing about visiting Maine’s Acadia National Park in September is that you can still partake in all the summer activities that make the place so special, but you no longer have to deal with the humidity and black flies.
So, take a long weekend with the kids, release some of that back-to-school stress, and let the whole family experience Acadia during its prime month.
Set up camp at Blackwoods Campground ($30 per night). Inside the wooded area on the east side of Mount Desert Island—the largest island off the coast of Maine—you’re blissfully isolated.
Cell phones and computers won’t work here.
That gives you plenty of time to play. That can include everything from running, walking, or biking along the old carriage roads, which include 45 miles of dirt byways that were a gift from John D. Rockefeller Jr. and feature beautiful stone bridges.
Or you can visit Sand Beach, explore miles of powdery coastline, or climb up Cadillac Mountain, the highest peak on the east side of the island, for sunrise or sunset.
The post Can’t Miss Last Minute Camping Ideas appeared first on The Dyrt Magazine.
Original source: https://thedyrt.com/magazine/lifestyle/cant-miss-last-minute-camping-ideas/
