The diversity of year-round camping and recreational opportunities found in the National Forests of this region are probably the least well-known in the whole country. Whether your ideal campground has flush toilets, hot showers, full RV hook-ups or just good drinking water, a clean vault and a lake full of fish, you will find it in the Southern Region's wide assortment of developed campgrounds. Some developed campgrounds are convenient to such National Parks as Great Smokey Mountains and Shenandoah, while others feature their own spectacular sights with far less crowds. From the breathtaking challenges of whitewater sports to the quiet solitude of an ancient grove of poplars, or bringing in a fighting Largemouth bass to capturing the image of a Venus flytrap having lunch, or retracing trails as old as the land, these National Forests have something for everyone.
Whether you camp in a tent or a recreational vehicle (RV), there are campgrounds in U.S. National Forests to satisfy the needs of most campers. The U.S. National Forest Campground Guide, Southern Region, describes 195 developed campgrounds in 32 National Forests located in 14 southern states. All of the campgrounds were personally visited and researched by the authors of this Guide.
There are more than 50 items of information for each campground, narrative descriptions (including authors' anecdotes), maps displaying the relative location of the campgrounds, and quick look-up tables to help in the selection of a campground. In addition, there are sidebars throughout the Guide containing useful information about camping, the forests, things to do, and the authors' experiences.
The authors, Fred and Suzanne (Suzi) Dow, are a husband-wife team researching developed campgrounds located in National Forests throughout the United States. Starting in May 1996, the authors set off from Burke, VA in their 23-foot travel trailer and became full-time RVrs for almost three years. The authors now live in Bisbee, AZ for six months and are on the road the other six months a year visiting National Forests and researching campgrounds. As of September 1999, the authors have visited 94 of the 155 national forests and personally surveyed 1,126 campgrounds. They expect to complete their research during the year 2004.
Suzi Dow, a former Army brat, spent a good bit of her youth traveling across the United States. Those early years of endless miles in the back of the family station-wagon were not enough. During the summer of 1976, she and her two children spent three months tent camping on a meander from coast to coast. This time produced some of her favorite memories. Just before starting work on this Guide, Suzi earned her Master’s degree from George Mason University in Fairfax, VA. Now a resident of Bisbee, AZ, she enjoys her position as an Instructor at Cochise Community College, working on the latest edition of the Guides and getting acquainted with a stationary home, at least for six months of the year.
Fred Dow was raised in Newton Center, MA and graduated from Western Kentucky University in Bowling Green, KY in January 1959. Following college, Fred spent over three years in the Army as a Military Police Officer stationed in Garmisch, Germany. After his discharge, Fred was employed by Aetna Life and Casualty as a claims representative in Richmond, VA and Washington, DC. Later, Fred was employed by two R&D firms as the Director of Administration and Personnel in McLean, VA and Rockville, MD. During the summer of 1972, Fred started work for the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) in Washington, DC, first as a program analyst, then finally as the Director of Office Automation in the Office of Housing. He retired from HUD in January 1996. Over the years, Fred has camped in tents and RVs both in the United States and Europe.