I haven't been up to Crosby in a couple of years and was wondering what the take is these days for camping right beside the various pits (Louise, Mangan, etc)?
Also, for camping at the state campground (Portsmouth) do they have hookups, showers, etc? I seemed to recall that they did/might but I was only there once and it was so late in the fall that everything but the biff was closed.
Last time I was up there camping was banned (or at least highly discouraged) at the pits. The Portsmouth campground did not have running water. It was basically just a cleared field. Ah the good ole days...
After the state took over the closed the bathrooms/showers and unplugged all the electric spots. We were lucky enough to setup tent next to a RV with a generator so they could watch there satellite tv. Nothing like the great outdoors.
Last year they had water but it's from the back of the bathhouse(closed).
Camping in the pits has left a huge mess and I'd encourage everyone to use the 'campground' but it's really a field with a fancy name.
We still camp regularly at the pits. When we get to our campsite we usually spend the first half hour cleaning up the mess left by the part crowd >
. We always leave it clean and dig a biffy. Wish everybody did! We have had a DNR officer at our campsite, to write me a ticket for expired registration on my boat. :-[ He said that they were trying to close the area for camping but there was private land ownership that prevented them from doing it. It is very clear by our campsite that we are divers and usually have 3-6 kids with us. It would probably be a differant story if we were there to party. We normally camp on Hunnington or Alstead.
Camping is discouraged and things right now are getting a little out of hand, yet again.
People leaving messes, people setting up "camp" for LONG periods of time (there was a camper out there with vehicles but nobody home for days), people cutting down trees (live trees) for firewood, camps blocking access to some of the access points, drunks, harassment, etc.
If you camp "in" the pits you still don't have running water or electricity so why not just use the portsmouth campground? I thought they had the electricity going there again but I could be wrong. When I camp there I am just tenting it and only use battery power.
Don't be such a wet blanket ;D ;D ;D ;D ( a good pun about tenting it) There is no power there. Why you ask?
TOP TEN ELEVEN REASONS TO CAMP AT THE PITS
1. being feet away from diving, dive anytime, day or night(prince sound effects in bkgnd)
2. having more privacy
3. being able to have pets
4. no neighbors
5. no standing in a line to p*** or pee
6. having shade
7. not hauling gear
8. swimming to multiple dive locations
9. because the man is trying to keep us down by discouraging it.
10. its not next to the sewer holding tanks
11. its free! 2 more tank fills a day
;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D
Thanks for all the updates, doesn't sound as if much has changed.
A few seemed curious about the electrical hookup question. The last time we went (2yrs ago) it was late September and one of our group had a nice + big camper so we stayed at the Portsmouth Campground so he wouldn't have to haul it back in and get it all mucked up. That was my only stay at this campground and I thought I recalled electrical hookups and maybe running water and / or showers. However it was so late in September I wasn't sure of they had just been shut off for the upcoming freeze. If I understand correctly, it sounds like the state took it over and no longer provides anything but the biff's?
FWIW, I have camped at the pits countless times but we always stayed right next to Louise or Mangan, cleaned up everything afterwards and never had any trouble with locals. I usually just sleep in my 'burb so I'm not in need of electricity. When we stayed at the campground I didn't like driving back in / out a couple of times a day. Louise can be a bit boring after a while but when there's a group it really seems like a great place.
I also liking diving the Hopkins pit, last time I was there the squatter tent was finally gone (which was nice).
I know people want to protect the place but it seems to me that 95% (or better) of the dive groups leave the place at least as good as they found it. And why not just stay beside the pit you enjoy most rather than hauling stuff back and forth from the campground every day?
I'm pretty much in agreement with shooter on this one until the state finally decides to acquire it and do something different.
This does make me wonder one thing - what do the staff and customers of MSD think on this topic (since they do a lot more there on a regular basis). Do they prefer it left as-is or would they prefer that the state come in, make camping off limits, cleaning up roads, etc (the later costing us taxpayers significantly more and maybe restricting some sites)
Getting off topic a bit but when the bike path was put in some of the dive access points were blocked off. If more of that type of thing happened with the state stepping in and taking control of the area more then that's a negative. The positive would be no more bums parking their campers out there all summer and trashing the place with parties etc.
I agree with Shooter, he's right on on this one. I've camped at various pits at Crosby and stayed at the campground at Portsmouth, and stayed on my boat, on the pits, why pay for what you get for free, (it would feel like paying money for sex, I prefer to launder mine, thru a relationship :
) most of the sites at the Portsmouth campground are in the sun. We spoke with a state official, conducting a survey at the campground he asked if we'd like Cayuna to be turned into a state park? We thought "so they could close them along with other state parks due to lack of funding in the fall, after charging $20/ night for a non-electric tent site, and a $20 year annual permit, to be told, no fires, no fireworks, no dogs off leash, no compressors" We all said, "no there are enough state parks, leave it a state recreation area" limit the services to next to nothing (as they have done in the campground), and limit the bill and limit the restrictions. T