CHESTERFIELD COUNTY, Va. (WRIC) — Planning a weekend camping trip could be difficult this season as more people head outdoors.
Amelia Hulth, the Assistant Park Manager of Administration, said there’s been a recent increase in the amount of people enjoying the outdoors.
“Camping is definitely become one of the most popular activities and with the weather that we are seeing this spring, we’re also seeing increased reservations, especially on weekends,” she said.
Nearly one million people visited Pocahontas State Park last year, and the staff don’t expect those numbers to slow down anytime soon.
On the Virginia State Parks website, Powhatan and Pocahontas State Parks’ campgrounds are mostly booked up on the weekends through the summertime.
The Memorial Day and Fourth of July holidays always bring in a strong number of campers, and at Pocahontas State Park those holiday weekends are already full, said Hulth.
The park has about 121 campsites.
There are 29 out of the 41 state parks in Virginia that have campgrounds, totaling over 1600 campsites across the state.
Hulth said families should plan a camping trip months ahead or camp during the week.
“You may see in some of our more popular parks that we have increased attendance for our campsites,” she said. “If you’re coming on the weekend you may have some trouble finding a reservation, but if you have the flexibility to camp during the week we typically have available campsites from Monday to Thursday.”