Reserve America Names Its Top 100 Family Campgrounds in America for 2008

Reserve America, the largest campsite reservation service in North America, has released its annual list of top family campgrounds. Criteria used to select the campgrounds included the availability of amenities family campers most often request such as hot showers, laundry facilities, hiking trails, family beaches, radio free zones, visitor centers, educational programs, events for children, and parks that are located within 100 miles of a metro location.

There are national parks, one of which is Channel Islands National Park in Ventura, California; state parks, one of which is Fishermen's Memorial State Park and Campground in Narragansett, Rhode Island; KOA campgrounds, one of which is St. Augustine Beach KOA in St. Augustine, Florida; and two resorts, one of which is ViewPoint RV & Golf Resort in Mesa, Arizona.

The list doesn't have many private campgrounds on it because Reserve America primarily handles reservations for Federal/National Parks and State Parks. The private campground it handles reservations for are Encore/ELS, KOA, and Thousand Trails.

Of the 100 campgrounds on the list I've only been to one, Devil's Lake State Park in Baraboo, Wisconsin. It's a nice state park but the downside is that the campsites are pretty far from the lake and if a family wants to enjoy a day at the beach it's a long way to walk - especially when loaded down with food, beverages, sunscreen, towels, and flotation toys for the water.

Here's the complete list of Reserve America's top 100 family campgrounds for 2008.

LASKA Brooks Camp Campground-Katmai National Park & Preserve-King Salmon, AK

ARIZONA Mather Campground-Grand Canyon National Park-Grand Canyon, AZ

ARKANSAS Hot Springs National Park KOA-Hot Springs, AR

CALIFORNIA Channel Islands National Park-Ventura, CA Columbia State Historic Park-Tuolumne, CA Forks Campground-Sierra National Forest-Bass Lake, CA Laguna-Cleveland National Forest-Mt. Laguna, CA McArthur-Burney Falls Memorial State Park-Shasta, CA Old Town San Diego State Historic Park-San Diego, CA Richardson Grove State Park-Humboldt, CA Van Damme State Park-Mendocino, CA COLORADO Steamboat Lake State Park-Clark, CO Glacier Basin Campground-Rocky Mountain National Park-Estes Park, CO

CONNECTICUT American Legion State Forest-Austin Hawes Campground-Pleasant Valley, CT Hammonasset Beach State Park-Madison, CT Housatonic Meadows State Park-Sharon, CT Rocky Neck State Park-Niantic, CT

FLORIDA Fort Clinch State Park-Fernandina Beach, FL Oscar Scherer State Park-Osprey, FL St. Augustine Beach KOA-St. Augustine, FL St. George Island State Park-St.George Island, FL

GEORGIA Watsadler Campground-Hartwell, GA

KENTUCKY Barren River State Resort Park-Lucas, KY Dale Hollow Lake State Resort Park-Burkesville, KY Green River Lake State Park-Campbellsville, KY John James Audubon State Park-Henderson, KY Nolin Lake State Park-Mammoth Cave, KY

LOUISIANA Cypremort Point State Park-Cypremort Point, LA Grand Isle State Park-Grand Isle, LA Bayou Segnette State Park-Westwego, LA Hodges Gardens State Park-Florien, LA

MARYLAND Greenbelt Campground-Greenbelt Park-Greenbelt, MD

MASSACHUSETTS Boston Harbor Island National Park Area-Hingham, MA D.A.R. State Forest-Goshen, MA Pearl Hill State Park-West Townsend, MA Tolland State Forest-East Otis, MA Wells State Park-Sturbridge, MA

MICHIGAN Petoskey KOA-Petoskey, MI Sand Lake Campground-Huron-Manistee National Forest-Manistee, MI

MISSISSIPPI John W Kyle State Park-Sardis, MS Lake Lincoln State Park-Wesson, MS Paul B Johnson State Park-Hattiesburg, MS Percy Quin State Park-McComb, MS Trace State Park-Belden, MS

NEBRASKA Eugene T. Mahoney State Park-Ashland, NE Fort Robinson State Park-Crawford, NE Ponca State Park-Ponca, NE

NEVADA Hilltop-Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest-Charleston, NV NEW HAMPSHIRE Bear Brook State Park-Allenstown, NH Crawford Notch State Park-Crawford Notch, NH Franconia Notch State Park-Franconia, NH Lake Francis State Park-Pittsburgh, NH Pawtuckaway State Park-Nottingham, NH Umbagog Lake State Park-Errol, NH White Lake State Park-Tamworth, NH

NEW YORK Brown Tract Campground-Raquette Lake, NY Buck Pond Campground-Onchiota, NY Cedar Island State Park-Clayton, NY Coles Creek State Park-Waddington, NY Delta Lake State Park-Rome, NY DeWolf Point State Park-Fineview, NY Hearthstone Point-Lake George, NY Keewyadin State Park-Alexandria Bay, NY Keuka Lake State Park-Bluff Point, NY Mongaup Pond-Livingston Manor, NY

OHIO Shelby/Mansfield KOA-Shelby, OH

OREGON Nehalem Bay State Park-Nehalem, OR Pine Meadows Campground-Cottage Grove, OR

PENNSYLVANIA Seven Points Campground-Raystown Lake-Hesston, PA

RHODE ISLAND George Washington Memorial Camping Area-Glocester, RI Burlingame State Park and Campground-Charlestown, RI Fishermen's Memorial State Park and Campground-Narragansett, RI

SOUTH CAROLINA Aiken State Natural Area-Windsor, SC Calhoun Falls State Recreation Area-Calhoun Falls, SC Hamilton Branch State Recreation Area-Plum Branch, SC Keowee-Toxaway State Natural Area-Sunset, SC Paris Mountain State Park-Greenville, SC Table Rock State Park-Pickens, SC

TENNESSEE Bristol/Kingsport KOA-Blountville, TN

UTAH Bear Lake State Park-Garden City, UT Fremont Indian State Park & Museum-Sevier, UT Goblin Valley State Park-Green River, UT Red Fleet State Park-Vernal, UT

VIRGINIA Chippokes Plantation State Park-Surry, VA Claytor Lake State Park-Dublin, VA Douthat State Park-Millboro, VA Fairy Stone State Park-Stuart, VA Lake Anna State Park-Spotsylvania, VA (click here to view the Lake Anna webcam) New River Trail State Park-Foster Falls, VA Occoneechee State Park-Clarksville, VA Smith Mountain Lake State Park-Huddleston, VA Westmoreland State Park-Montross, VA WASHINGTON Central Ferry Park-Pomeroy, WA Takhlakh Lake Campground-Gifford Pinchot National Forest-Trout Lake, WA

WISCONSIN Roche-A-Cri State Park-Friendship, WI Buckhorn State Park-Necedah, WI Devil's Lake State Park-Baraboo, WI Wisconsin Dells KOA-Wisconsin Dells, WI

ENCORE RESORTS Tropical Palms Resort - Orlando, Florida ViewPoint RV & Golf Resort - Mesa, AZ

Have you been to any of these campgrounds? Do you have a different suggestion for one of the top 100 campgrounds? If you have, please share your thoughts about its ranking as one of the top 100 family campgrounds in America in the comments section below.

Personally, I think the best campground in Wisconsin, which is where I'm from, is Peninsula State Park in Fish Creek, Wisconsin. It has campgrounds very close to the beach, bike rentals, boat rentals, level hiking and biking trails, an outdoor ampitheater, a nice nature center, a lighthouse, a 75 foot high lookout tower, and a fun night-time Halloween walk in October.