Joshua LambertThe ultimate romantic guide on the best spots, hidden getaways and ideas on how to make the most of your trip in style
The most romantic camping destinations in the US are all about sharing the love of the outdoors with someone special!
As long as your love’s idea of “roughing it” doesn’t involve a room at the nearest chain hotel instead of a suite and buffet breakfast instead of cold canned beans, camping is one of the best ways available to get away from the stresses of everyday life in exchange for the sounds, sights, and scents of the great outdoors. It can also be the perfect way to center on what you love about each other.
Even if your idea of camping is being only a few steps from the car or renting a fully-furnished cabin at a luxury resort, being together is the point. After all, focusing on each other can be done whether you are in a quiet cabin or carrying a pack.
Your Destination
An important part of selecting the destination is to keep your love’s camping experience in mind. If your love’s past experience with camping consisted of summer camp, complete with nonstop rain and mosquitoes the size of most people, it probably wouldn’t be a good idea to plan a week under canvas.
If their experience was bad, you would do well to assure them that not all camping trips are regrettable, any more than each is pleasant, but each is different. The trick in these cases is to boey apprehensions and work for the best. After all, not all rainy weekends are unpleasant. If it’s raining outside, staying inside of your tent can be fun.
The most romantic camping destinations
Romance is easy to come by, especially if you have a willing partner. Mix a romantic location into things, and chances are good that things will get hot quickly, and we’ re not talking about the campfire either. Here are just a few:
First Landing State Park, Virginia
Really close to Virginia Beach, First Landing State Park is beautiful, and just minutes from the hustle and bustle of nearby tourist attractions. The park also features 19 miles of hiking trails. Campsites are tucked into tiny alcoves, which will make you think you’re all by your lonesome, even if you aren’t.
Photo: Virginia State Parks via Flickr
Sugarloaf Key/Key West, Florida
Located between the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean, Sugarloaf Key is the ultimate in tropical. You can spend your days lounging in your campsite or spend the day, hand in hand at Conch Republic, an old town full of interesting architecture and narrow streets. Don’t worry about getting back and forth since there are plenty of shuttles to take you.
Hunting Island, South Carolina
Another tropical paradise is Hunting Island, where you can enjoy an astoundingly diverse array of wildlife and splendor. Whether you just want to take a walk on the boardwalk or go crabbing, there’s plenty to do every day of the year.
Hunting Island. Photo: Charleston’s TheDigitel via Flickr
Stephen C. Foster State Park, Georgia
It’s been called one of Georgia’s natural wonders, but the Okefenoke Swamp is teaming with things to do. If you choose to venture beyond the campgrounds, you can take a canoe to the backwaters where you can watch deer, turtles, herons, and even alligators.
Wellesley Island State Park, New York
This beautiful campground is only accessible by foot or by boat, but is well worth the trip. During the winter you can ice fish, snowshoe, cross-country ski, and much more.
Photo: Doug Kerr via Flickr
Shenandoah National Park, Virginia
Shenandoah has rich trails spread over 500 miles that will lead to you waterfalls, stunning views and pristine wilderness. This is camping at its most romantic.
Photo by Rob Shenk via Flickr
Shepard State Park, Mississippi
This is a small 29-site campground, but if you are looking for someplace that is cozy and romantic, this is the place, where intoxicating night skies and crackling campfires make for plenty of alone time.
Silver Falls State Park, Oregon
This campsite is located at the base of the Cascade Mountains, and with plenty of privacy, you are sure to have many romantic evenings around the campfire. If you are really feeling adventurous, take the Trail of 10 Falls, which starts immediately above a 100-foot waterfall.
Photo: David Berry via Flickr
Romantic Camping ideas
Another way to find a pleasant place to camp for a romantic weekend is to find a place where “camping” might not be the primary attraction. This nearly always assures those who do want to camp a minimum of overnight guests. As an insurance policy, you might want to call ahead to make sure that camping is permitted or that it is close by.
You could also take a pseudo-camping trip, which would call for getting to your location, setting up something that resembles a campsite, but when it’s time to vacate the premises, go to where there is camping available. A good way to carry this out would be to set up “not quite a camp” fly, tarp, or other source of protection, and enjoy lunch or other meal. You could also invite others to share your site for nice conversation.
If your love is apprehensive about camping, you could also minimize the camping aspect by setting up a camp for activities such as sleeping and eating but spend a majority of your time with other off-site activities such as community festivals of various sorts.
One couple who is well known in the west coast music community take their romantic weekends wherever the next music festival will be held. The camping that they do is simply a byproduct of their efforts to keep these trips as economical as possible, especially since some of the events can be quite pricey to get into.
For example, you can bet that when September 2017 rolls around, this couple will be in Monterey for the annual jazz festival, while they make their temporary home in one of the local campsites along the coast.
Quiet and Cozy
Regardless of where you want to camp, there are ways to make things a little cozier and comfortable than usual. This includes asking the host to situate you in an area that is not quite in the thick of things as sites go. The further you get away from the center of the action, the quieter it will be so that you can enjoy each other’s company instead of the communal bonfire.
Comfort Above All Else
Another important consideration in your camping, beyond where you will be is what you will bring with you. Granted, in many camping situations, it’s always best to be careful of what you bring since the chances are good that you will need to pack a lot of it in on your back.
In the case of your romantic camping getaway, however, you would probably do well to pay more attention to comfort instead of weight. In fact, it would probably be best to count on taking your car to bear most of the weight of what you bring, and not your backs.
Being away from home and having some of the comforts of home with you is always nice for a romantic weekend of camping. On the first camping trip I took with my wife, I took a large dome tent that I filled with a queen-sized inflatable mattress that I covered with all of my wife’s favorite sheets, blankets, pillows, and pillow cases from home. Just to be sure that these were adequate for the outdoors, I also brought along extra blankets, but not only was she surprised that I had thought about it, but she was also tickled to death when I brought her coffee in bed the next morning, right along with her newspaper, just like I do at home. Whatever you do, just remember that being chivalrous doesn’t always have to be expensive, just thoughtful.
Daytime fun, Evening Pleasures
Just because you happen to be camping doesn’t mean that you have to eliminate so many of the pleasures that you take for granted at home. For example, you can have a candlelight dinner, complete with linen napkins on the picnic table. This shouldn’t even dissuade you from bringing the china and crystal ware for the table as well. Who cares that the fanciest food you will serve will be hamburgers, it’s all fun, and the point is to be together?
And don’t forget that camping also doesn’t mean that you have to do anything just because you camping. This might include, especially the need to get up early in the morning like you do at home. Sleep in just like you would at home. It’s time to be together and enjoy each other’s company. Who knows? With treatment like this, your love might just learn to enjoy camping as much as you do.
About the Author:
Joshua Lambert is the founder of MadOutdoorist.Com and his goal is to provide you with all the information you need for a successful out-of-city adventure.
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