You've fallen far short of your daily cycling goal, and you're not going to make that hotel you booked another twenty miles down the trail There's a campground right around the corner, but you don't have a reservation and its a busy summer weekend.
What are you going to do?
If you're in Massachusetts, the answer is simple: Stop in at the campground and see if they will still give you spot to setup your tent.
Per a longstanding DCR policy, their campgrounds will allow "self-contained" or self-supported bikepackers and backpackers to crash at their place without a reservation- even when all their reserved sites are full. As a public safety measure, they will find a spot for you to setup camp. You'll still have to pay for a site, and follow the other conditions they may impose, but this under the radar policy could be a lifesaver for us bikepackers.
And Massachusetts isn't the only state with this policy. The Adventure Cycling Association has compiled a list of states with the same "no-turn-away" policy.
Who knew Massachusetts was so bikepacker friendly?
Comments