Take That Exit

Leaving the fast lane, to enjoy the view

Branches of Niagara Campground and Resort Review – Amazing camping, close to Niagara Falls {New York}

Oct 232015



Branches-of-Niagara-Campground-Resort-Review

I’m a bit behind in blogging about our adventures – this post highlights our travels around September 8-9, 2015. Follow us on Instagram to find out where we are currently!

After leaving Evangola State Park we headed to the Niagara Falls area! When trying to decide where to stay while visiting Niagara Falls, I kept coming across Branches of Niagara Campground and Resort. It was recommended by many reviewers and it had some of the best reviews I’ve ever seen for a campground! Located just 8.2 miles from Niagara Falls it’s one of the closest campgrounds you’ll find to the falls. After considering the great reviews and the proximity to the falls we decided to give it a try!

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I knew the minute we drove onto the property that we were going to enjoy it here. The entire campground felt like a resort. . . .or like a very nice park. . .

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Mature landscaping, native plants, a pond, lots of grass, manicured paths. . .it was gorgeous.

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Evangola State Park – Swimming in Lake Erie {New York}

Oct 222015



Evangola-State-Park-Visit

I’m a bit behind in blogging about our adventures – this post highlights our travels around September 6-7, 2015. Follow us on Instagram to find out where we are currently!

After spending a couple nights at Harvest Host locations in Ohio and Pennsylvania we landed at Evangola State Park in Western New York. We lucked out and grabbed the last available spot on the Monday of Labor Day and I’m so glad we got it!

Evangola-State-Park-spot

The campground was packed but we had a nice back-in spot with electric for around $35/night. The campground is not close enough to walk to the beach, you had to drive – but there is plenty of parking at the public beach. (Photo above was taken AFTER the holiday weekend, when most everyone had left!)

Imagine boondocking for two nights – without hook-ups (read: no air conditioning or showers) in HOT, humid weather. We were feeling super grimy by the time we parked at Evangola. It wasn’t 30 minutes after we unhitched the trailer that we headed straight for the BEACH.

Evangola-Public-Beach-access

I can safely attest that it has NEVER felt more refreshing to jump in a lake. The sun was shining, the sand was soft and the waves made Lake Erie feel like a tropical ocean.

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Harvest Hosts – FREE camping and it supports local businesses

Oct 212015



Harvest-Hosts-free-camping

I’m a bit behind in blogging about our adventures– this is from our travels around September 5-6, 2015. Follow us on Instagram to find out where we are currently!

After spending a lot of time in Michigan our next “destination” would be Western New York to see Niagara Falls and to spend some time with my cousin near Rochester. Instead of taking our time, like we did in Michigan, we wanted to move a little quicker through the next couple states. There was a slight sense of urgency because we wanted to spend some time in New York – and then jump over to the east coast before the colder fall weather.

We try not to drive more than a few hours a day (we are all happier when we follow this rule), so we figured we’d need to stop one night in Ohio and one in Pennsylvania on our way to Niagara Falls. As we looked at our campground options, along our route, we weren’t seeing much – and the ones that looked convenient were completely booked due to Labor Day weekend!

We decided this would be a great time to use our Harvest Host membership! For $44/year, a Harvest Host membership allows you to stay for FREE at local wineries, farms and other small businesses. And in exchange for a spot to park for the night, you support the local business – perhaps by purchasing wine, vegetables/fruit, souvenirs. Or you can volunteer, perhaps helping with a harvest or another need at the business!

We LOVE this concept – because we love supporting local businesses and we think it’s great fun to spend our money on food or drink instead of “rent” at a campground.

Winery-Harvest-Hosts-Ohio

Our first night we stopped at a winery in Ohio. I won’t mention the name because it’s part of having the membership – but it was delightful. We had a nice big pull-through spot at the winery with a grassy area and picnic table. Jeremy and I took turns going into the winery and doing a $3 tasting – what a treat! And we purchased a bottle of wine. The winery closed around 5 p.m. and we had the whole place to our selves (except one other RV with Harvest Hosts). . .we had a crazy rain storm and then the most magnificent sunset!

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Sterling State Park, 35th birthday, River Raisin National Battlefield and a crazy thunderstorm {Michigan}

Oct 202015



Sterling-State-Park-Michigan-Visit

I’m a bit behind in blogging about our adventures– this is from our travels around September 2-4, 2015. Follow us on Instagram to find out where we are currently!

Okay, so I know I have been blogging a lot about Michigan – there was just so much for us to see and we enjoyed the state parks so much. This should be my last post about our time in Michigan . . .

After leaving Bay City Recreation Area we headed south to Sterling State Park for our last few days in Michigan. We scored a primo spot at Sterling State Park (site 24) – when I checked in at the ranger station I was told it’s one of the most popular spots in the park. Once we got settled I could see why. . . right by Lake Erie it has great access to the sandy beach and just a short walk to the playground.

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Bay City Recreation Area – FREE kid’s fishing program {Michigan}

Oct 192015



Bay-City-Recreation-Area-visit

I’m not blogging in real time – this is from our travels on/around September 1, 2015. Follow us on Instagram to find out where we are currently!

After leaving Tawas Point State Park we continued to head south along the eastern coast of Michigan. I picked our next stop, Bay City Recreation Area – for a couple reasons – it was on our way south AND they had a FREE kid’s fishing program the evening we would be there. Perfect!

Bay-City-Recreation-Camping

We stayed only one night at Bay City Recreation Area, but we had a nice big camping spot, for just around $23/night. When we are just staying a place one night we LOVE it when we don’t have to unhitch our trailer from the truck. It saves us time and hassle. Thankfully this spot was long enough that we could stay hitched up!

We got settled in our campsite early so we could participate in a FREE kid’s fishing event. My son LOVES fishing and I knew when I saw it on the park calendar that we couldn’t miss it! They provide the poles, the bait and the instruction – how convenient and fun!

[Read more…]

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Family-map-photo-350 We're a family of four, ditching mainstream and hitching up our Airstream for a year of travel around the United States. Learn more about us