Customer Reviews

The Best in Tent Camping: Virginia: A Guide for Car Campers Who Hate RVs, Concrete Slabs, and Loud Portable Stereos

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1 star:		(1)

 

 

I do not know about the first edition, but this second edition has been thoroughly messed up in production. The map with the reviewed campgrounds marked and numbered is missing a section about an inch wide all the way down the middle (i.e. cut off by binding margins), and a number of sites are lost to the void. Secondly, unlike other Best in Tent Camping editions, the camp ground profile pages themselves are not keyed to the map's numbering system, so if you are looking at the map, you must then look the map number up in the index to find the page number for the campground profile. Then, to make matters worse, all the page numbers on the key page are off by a page or two (correct in table of contents but no map keys there).

To make it usable, first go through and number all the profiles to key them to the map by hand. Then go to the map and add the number "13" to the cutoff triangle under ROANOKE (ROA[...] on map). If I can sort out where numbers 35, 37 and 39 are, I will edit this post to add that information (unfortunately, unlike others in the series, there are no GPS coordinates in this one).

Otherwise, the Best in Tent Camping series is a unique and useful resource.

Tent campers who crave the peace and quiet of wilderness and traveling families who just want to save money by camping will appreciate this guidebook. Fifty campgrounds are reviewed and mapped with key information handily summarized in sidebars. In this second edition (2004), writer Marie Javins updated Randy Porter's book. Both writers are from Virginia and show a love of this state's natural beauty. Expect to find the usual basics, full narrative descriptions to help you plan your trip, and even internet contact information. Travelers will appreciate the tips on getting around, not only by car but in some cases by canoe or by public transit.

I was a tent camper for years, and this series of books "The Best in Tent Camping" has always been a wonderfully accurate resource in planning a camping trip. I especially enjoy the books Johnny Molloy has written. I use a small travel trailer now, but I still heavily rely on these books. Be warned that this book is not for those who can't live without cable tv, wireless internet, full hook-ups, hot showers, and all the other things that make us spoiled.

My first 5star rated product on amazon! I love this book so much that I bought all of these books for my nearing states, too. Auther is definitely biased toward quiet, spacious, and beautiful campgrounds which just happens to be my exact tyle of camping too. This book is important for me because I am committing my time and my family time which is rare and precious. You never want to end up somewhere where kids and wife had horrible time and they never want to go camping again. This series of book had major contribution to my family WANTING to go camping all the time.
So why rely on this book and not web reviews or other forums and chatrooms? because I TRUST the authers. Everybody has their opinion of what makes a great camping experience. I can go on countless websites that tells me pros and cons of every campsite I want to try out. The opinion that matters review by people I trust. I hit about 5 campsites based on these books and they have all been a homerun. I love their star rating system, its maps, and author's review of each campground. If you are a beginner camper or you are trying to convince sombody to like camping, you want to have this book handy.

Item received as described and in a very expeditious manner for Christmas. This was a Christmas gift for our son-in-law, and he is very much satisfied with this book, and is looking forward to using it as a resource for this coming summer's camping season.

Now in its second edition, The Best In Tent Camping Virginia is a no-nonsense outdoors companion and "user friendly" guide for tent campers who prefer serene campsites and eschew RV's. Written by campers who have set their tents and evaluated grounds for years, The Best In Tent Camping Virginia offers choice sites with campground layout maps, information on fees, restrictions, and dates of operation, ratings for beauty, privacy, spaciousness, quiet, security, and cleanliness, and a thorough evaluation with particular notes unique to each locale. Highly recommended for any would-be Virginia tent camper looking for an optimum experience.