Taughannock Falls

For this camping trip I attempted to find a spot that was somewhat equal distance between us and our camping friends in Maryland. After doing some research and reading positive reviews, I decided on Taughannock Falls which is part of the New York Finger Lakes region. Here we are at the Duty Free shop before crossing the border.

It was an extremely hot day and travelling with two young girls without air-conditioning is less than ideal so we decided to break up our journey by spending the night at Golden Hill State Park. This campground turned out to be a pleasant surprise, it was right by Lake Ontario, very clean and featured a historic lighthouse. One of my favourite shots of the van before getting ready for dinner.

The main attraction of this campground is the Thirty Mile Point Lighthouse, getting it's name because of it being 30 miles east of the Niagara River. We were lucky to have a tour of the lighthouse for some amazing views.

We went to sleep while enjoying a lightning show off in the distance which eventually hit us around midnight. We quickly had to lower the roof due to the strong rain that went right through our upper canvas. After waking early, it was off to our final destination, Taughannock Falls State Park. Here is our setup for the week with our friends and their teardrop trailer.

The next day it rained with no break at all but that didn't stop us from exploring the beautiful gorge and magnificent falls.

We were also happy the van was a comfortable place to enjoy some movies while waiting out the rain.

At 215 feet, Taughannock Falls is the highest single-drop waterfall East of the Rocky Mountains and a beautiful site to see both in the rain and sun, up close or far away.

The rest of our time had some perfect sunny weather so we were able to fully enjoy Cayuga Lake.

As well as the beach and swimming area.

The gorge also offered some nice flat areas to enjoy the water.

 Back at the campsite we all made sure to eat well and have fun.

 We even managed to stay up past dark for a few of the nights.

Taughannock Falls State Park turned out to be a great place to spend the week with plenty of activities to keep us entertained. After packing up very early we decided to make our way back home and had some nice views while crossing the Rainbow Bridge in Niagara Falls.

The van ran great the entire trip but I'm realizing I am going to have to upgrade my house battery(s) as I'm finding it harder to keep all our electronics charged along with keeping the fridge cold. It's not due to lack of sun but more the fact that there is more greenery and shady trees covering the van and solar panels when compared to camping in California. Overall a great trip and we hope to return to the Finger Lakes region again.

Sibbald Point Provincial Park

This marks our first Canadian camping trip as a whole family and it definitely didn't disappoint. Located on the southern shores of Lake Simcoe and featuring long sandy beaches, Sibbald Point Provincial Park turned out to be a great getaway. As with all our trips, a considerable amount of time was spent preparing the van. After several hours of packing, the rain began.....

It was a short drive from home but traffic and heat had us stopping for lunch after the rain ended.

I dislike paying extra reservation fees so we arrived and were still able to secure a pretty nice spot for the next 2 nights.

I spent my childhood summers growing up in Ontario cottage country and arriving at this park brought back fond memories. Fresh water, lush greens, forest, and familiar smells made us head to the warm lake right away.

It's also the first time we were able to use our kayak.

This campground offered many other activities including a museum, boat launch, clean washrooms, and a general store (with ice cream).

Camping is all about making memories and we definitely made some on this trip.

Can't forget the memories of good food and drink! That's what camping is all about.

On our final day we drove the van closer to the beach to enjoy our last day here before heading back home.

After a fun filled weekend, it was time for our journey to end.