I am taking a group of boy scouts up to Strawberry Reservoir for an overnight winter camp out in three weeks and I am wondering where a good place to camp would be. We will be going fishing the next morning.
Does anyone have recommendations of where to camp with access to a restroom? I know you can only camp on the west side of the west side road. That's what the ranger station told me. They just couldn't tell me a good place to camp, just that you can camp anywhere on the west side of the west side road that goes past the visitors center.
Any suggestions and help would be appreciated!
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Most scouts I've seen take big wall tents and stay rite on the ice good heaters and cots ur all set.
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When I was up there this past weekend there was a group of scouts with tents camping in the parking lot.
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Which parking lot?
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The parking lot by the lodge/marina.
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I have seen them camp in the parking lot of the Ladders, several in Chicken Creek East and the main parking lot at the Marina. Many times they will dig into the snow banks at the Marina and sleep in snow caves. Sleeping on the ice can be exciting... and cold. But, it is a good learning experience on how to stay warm. Seen them out on the ice at Chicken Creek a few times.
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There are new signs up this year at Strawberry Bay parking lot that say, "no camping in the parking lot". With that said, there was a troop camped right behind the signs and there was also a motor home camped out in the parking lot last weekend. Apparently, they did not get kicked out. We camped out on the ice at chicken creek a few years back. Miserable night. When we got back to the truck in the morning, the temp. was -26 degrees. We had some miserable scouts that night.
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[quote kj]... Many times they will dig into the snow banks at the Marina and sleep in snow caves. Sleeping on the ice can be exciting... and cold. But, it is a good learning experience on how to stay warm. ...[/quote]
Well, that's talked me into it (not sarcasm). But, first I want to sleep in my new ice fishing tent. I'm thinking I might bring a cot or maybe a foam pad. I have plenty of warm sleeping bags and tested the military sleep system with a GoreTex bivy by sleeping directly on three inches of snow on the coldest night this winter (minus 1°F in Sandy). I should combine my next cold weather gear tests with ice fishing overnight and morning.
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Don't do snow caves if it isn't going to get below freezing the night you are there's. We tried that once and it was the most miserable night ever. The snow was melting, our added body heat quickened the process and we all woke up around two in the morning with wet sleeping bags and we were too...and cold. That being said, I have passed scouts coming out of tents and my thermometer in the car said -26. Good luck.
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