Hello fellow adventurers,
As you may know if you follow my work on social media, my partner Alex and I recently went on a beautiful car camping trip into the mountains of New England! The foliage was striking, and the mountain landscape was breathtaking. Honestly, it was hard to leave - next time I think we'll plan a whole week rather than a long weekend!
When we returned from our adventure, I got a lot of questions from followers about car camping advice, so I thought a travel blog post might be a fun addition to the Inner Circle! I hope you find some useful advice or ideas for your next adventure...
The route
As with most things in life, I was prepared for this trip with lists, maps, and plans (because isn't that part of the fun?). One of my favorite ways to plan a roadtrip is with Google Maps, by 'saving' a bunch of places to my own dedicated map. It's a great way to set up a general route, without tying yourself down to a concrete plan. Feel free to check out our Mountain Adventure Map for inspiration next time you find yourself in the New England area! Our route had all the bases covered: The Berkshires, the Adirondacks, the Green Mountains, and the White Mountains. Of course, we didn't have time to visit all of them... But there's no harm in saving some for next time!
The car
As you can imagine, there's some amount of gear and preparation involved with turning a car into a temporary home. But if we can do it with my compact SUV and have a comfortable and fun weekend, I have no doubt that you can put together your own drivable adventure home with ease.
My car is a Toyota RAV-4, so it's not the biggest SUV out there - as long as your back seats fold down, your car should be big enough to make this work.
After folding the seats down, we laid down a big piece of particle board to smooth out the bumps caused by the seat joint (think clipboard material - you can get it at Home Depot or Lowes by the foot). This gives your makeshift bed a flat surface to build on. Next we covered that with my go-to length of camping memory foam (I know, so rustic...), and a super warm quilted sleeping bag. We actually ended up using sheets and a couple blankets for covers instead, but the sleeping bag added extra cushion.
Want an extra tip? When it's time to sleep, just move the front seats all the way forward and stuff the "gap" with your bags, sweaters, and extra bedding. This gives your pillows some extra room, so you can really spread out.
The cooking
You might be surprised, but we ate well that weekend! Armed with a couple of stuffed coolers and a Coleman camping stove, we made some meals fit for a 5 star restaurant! To save on space, we even got a roof rack bag to store the "kitchen" supplies in during travel. You can find one online, but be warned that the cheaper you go, the less likely it will be waterproof... Ours wasn't...
Want an extra tip? If you like milk in your coffee but can't afford the cooler space, bring Oat Milk instead - It's shelf stable!
Oh, and if you're in the market for a Coleman stove, make sure that the stove top matches the propane tank! There are a couple different valve sizes, and some stores unknowingly carry mismatching stoves and tanks.
The parking
One of the questions I get asked the most is, "Where did you park at night?"
There's always a little bit of risk in car camping. But if you go with a couple tricks up your sleeve, you should be able to find a spot to park undisturbed for the night. If you're in a pinch, highway rest stops and state welcome centers always allow for overnight parking, and you can usually ask for permission at park visitor's centers. As well, every Walmart in the country allows for overnight parking in their parking lots. Of course, if you can grab a nice scenic designated spot at a campground, that's the most secure. But if you're looking for a free, off-grid mountain campground that you don't have to reserve, be sure to take a drive down Old Cherry Mountain Road in the White Mountains.
I hope you enjoyed this little post! I know it was in a different vein than most of my Inner Circle posts, but I had a lot of fun retelling such a wonderful adventure, and giving you the tips we learned along the way.
As always, feel free to suggest a topic for next week's post in the comments below!
Many Blessings,
Marin