On a recent camping trip to Camden Hills State Park, we took advantage of two trails that offer some fantastic views—the Mount Battie Auto Road and the Shoreline Trail. With the option to drive or walk the auto road or take one of the many other trails up Mount Battie, everyone can access the gorgeous views—the same is true for the Shoreline Trail. Round-trip on the auto road was about 3.2 miles; from our campsite to the Shoreline Trail and back to the campsite was just under 2 miles. Together, about 5 miles of walking/hiking. Not a bad way to spend a beautiful June morning!

Camden Hills State Park is located in Camden, Maine, which is mid-coast Maine, about 85 miles north of Portland and about 75 miles from Bar Harbor. The Camden/Rockland area is gorgeous, with so much in the area to do, see, and explore. We’ve visited a few different times over the years, but we hadn’t ever visited Camden Hills State Park. The wait was worth it.

June 19-21, we found ourselves booked back at Lafayette Place Campground in Franconia Notch State Park. This time, we had a coveted river site, #59, and the highlight of this weekend’s trip was walking the Pemi Trail to the Basin, a fabulous place to spend some time on a hot, sunny day. From the parking lot and across a wooden bridge into the campground, hikers can access two main trails: the trail to Lonesome Lake and the Pemi Trail, which runs parallel to the Pemigewasset River, and stretches 3.6 miles, from Profile Lake to the Basin.

There are plenty of cheaper privacy shelters out there, but we decided to go with the NEMO Heliopolis Privacy Shelter and Shower Tent ($249) for a few reasons: we’re big fans of the other NEMO products we own, and they’re a local, New Hampshire-based company. And, honestly, I truly believe that you get what you pay for. So far, with four camping weekends to our credit this season so far, the Heliopolis has been an absolute game-changer.

For starters, Gilson Pond Campground in Jaffrey, NH, is gorgeous. Absolutely, positively gorgeous. For a small-ish state, New Hampshire has a ton to offer, and it’s somewhat surprising (and embarrassing) that after more than 25 years living in New Hampshire, there are still huge parts of the state that I don’t know well. This little corner is one of those parts. Seriously, if you haven’t ever made your way to this little corner of our state, do so. It’s just beautiful.

One of New Hampshire’s great draws is the beautiful part of our state known as the White Mountains, the mountain range that encompasses about a quarter of the state (and part of Maine, too!), and Lafayette Place Campground, nestled within Franconia Notch State Park, is a great base camp for hiking and biking, but on this particular weekend, we did neither. We simply escaped to the woods and, away from cell service and wifi, tuned out to the world and into nature for our first camping trip of the 2020 season.

Our summer plans initially included a few days in New Orleans (a conference for G, and a few days for me to play tourist) and then a two-week trip to the West Coast—a week in Washington State with family then a weeklong road trip down the Oregon Coast and into Northern California. We were looking forward to a few camping weekends as well, but most of those hadn’t been planned out at that point. And then, well, the global pandemic. Needless to say, our plans went out the window once COVID-19 hit. We canceled all of our bookings and flights and even the two camping reservations we had already booked. We cleared our calendars. As for summer? We would simply wait and see. Now, as I write this, we’re currently scheduled to be camping 30 days this summer, in 11 different parks (I’m hoping those numbers increase with the addition of more reservations—we’ll see!) throughout Maine and New Hampshire.

So far, I’ve found loom knitting to be just what I need at this point: it’s fast, thus fulfilling my need for instant gratification; it’s easy, thus making me feel successful right from the start; it’s calming, thus allowing me a way to relax and de-stress after long days at work. However, I’ve learned two hard lessons right away: I totally understand how folks can spend a lot of money on yarn and knitting notions (ah, one more hobby with “gear” to buy!), and knitting each night for a few hours at a time definitely cuts into my reading/sleep time. Compromise? Knit while listening to audiobooks and podcasts—a win-win!

Since coming back from our road trip, we’ve been itching (I more so than G) to get back out in the van and to camp; however, with all the plans for the road trip, we (I) didn’t think to make any plans for after our return. Ooops! But as luck would have it, I stumbled across a fantastic park in Freeport, Maine, not far away from us: Winslow Park and Campground. We could not have been more thrilled with our weekend spent at this fantastic little park.