South Dakota prides itself on its State Park among the peaks of the Black Hills and issues an illustrated pamphlet setting forth its beauties. The park is eight by twelve miles in extent and has an area of 61,440 acres. The park is called the Custer State Park.
Vermont has a list of thirteen State Forests ranging in size from the Groton Forest, 15,000 acres, down to the Arlington Forest of 225 acres. The only forests of more than a thousand acres, however, aside from the Groton, are the Mansfield, 5,000 acres, and the Putnam, 1,400. No provision has been made by the Department for campers.
Washington has a State Parks Committee which reports that “camp sites, not including those maintained by various municipalities throughout the state, are now being established through four [[194]]agencies, namely, the State Forestry Department, the State Parks Department, the Washington Forest Fire Association (an association of large timber land owners), and those established by private land owners.
“Camp sites prepared by the State Forestry Department are generally upon lands leased by the department, such lands being situated upon public highways and usually adjoining running streams of pure water, fireplaces and free wood being provided. There are twenty-one of these sites, mostly in counties in the western portion of the state. There are sixteen state parks, upon some of which camping sites have been established, and others will be provided.”
Wisconsin has eight State Parks, with the establishment of four others under consideration. The largest of these parks is the Peninsula State Park of 3,400 acres fronting on Green Bay. The state issues an illustrated pamphlet describing these parks, but no mention is made of camp sites, though probably such exist.
The rising tide of motor tourists has led most municipalities from the Middle States westward to lay out camping parks. In many cases no fee is charged. Mostly, however, there is a small charge per day, averaging probably not more than fifty cents.
California leads in the number of these motor-camping sites provided by municipalities. But while the California camping parks exhibit every quality [[195]]of attractiveness, they cannot exceed the appeal of many of the camping parks of the Rocky Mountain States, or even of those farther to the eastward.
Boise’s Attractive Park
Take the camp at Boise, Idaho, as an example of an attractive motor park. In Boise the camp is situated at a natural hot water spring—a spring, by the way, which furnishes heat sufficient to warm practically all the business blocks and residences in the city. Thus this camp has hot water service. Practically all the equipment is electrically operated, including stoves, laundry machines, etc. The land of the Boise camp is city owned and loaned by the city council. The Chamber of Commerce took hold and got the coöperation of the rest of the city. Power and light were furnished free by the utility corporation. Materials were donated for construction and the labor unions gave their labor for the construction of the buildings and equipment.