Camping at Dutch Springs?

[stever2002]

I'm going out next weekend for my AOW - so I'll be diving both Saturday & Sunday. I believe I'll be doing a night dive on Saturday night. I live in central NJ (about an hour away).

Do most of you who have been in this situation camp out at Dutch to save the drive back-and-forth?

Are there any gotcha's I should be aware of if I do camp overnight at Dutch?

Any opinions welcome,
...steve...

 

[Fruhmann]

north jersey here. i just got my aow 2 years ago and camp everytime when i go to dutch springs. i think its $10 a night on top of your dive fees. when you get there, they'll school you on what to do if you have a tent or trailer. very friendly and helpful staff there.

on a side note, i don't have many dive buddies and my season pass at dutch springs is sort of going to waste. so let me know if you'd be interested in going diving sometime.

 

[jonnythan]

Camping at Dutch is.. well, camping. It's OK. They do have a shower room, but there's no privacy, so if you want to take a shower do it late at night or early in the morning

Plenty of room and the grass is soft.

 

[ScottNY]

Are there any gotcha's I should be aware of if I do camp overnight at Dutch?

Note that they close the gate at 8:30 PM so you can't come and go after that. So make sure you've got all your gear/food, etc. And there's some other rules all posted on the camping section of their web site.

Depending on the weather and time of year, it can be very buggy there. (Worse later in summer.) So bring the bug candles or something if you're going to cook at your camping spot. I'm not sure, but I think it's worse closer to the water.

The nice thing for weekend camping is that you can park and set up close to where you want to be in the AM. So when the hoardes show up, you've got a good spot for setting up gear, etc.

Perhaps obvious: remember to get your air fill tickets when you check in so you don't have to wait on line in the morning.

Scott

 

[Web Monkey]

They'r extremely controlling. Think "Summer Camp run by the Federal Bureau of Prisons"

You can't get in before 8am, and need to wait on line. If you're not camping, you have to leave before 5pm. If you're diving, you have to be in the water by then for the last dive of the day, and out of the water by 5:45.

If you are camping, you can do a night dive on Saturday night, although you have to be in the water within 1/2 hour of sunset. In that case, however you need another wrist band, and I beleive need to pay more.

If you're hot and want to go swimming, you have to go to the "Aqua Park" area, although they'll make you wear a life jacket or wetsuit. You can't just put on a swim suit and go into the water.

For a place that's just a small lake and a campground, it's way too stressful. I won't be going back.

It's probably easier if you camp out there, although it's been really hot lately, so I'd probably stay in a hotel again.

Terry

I'm going out next weekend for my AOW - so I'll be diving both Saturday & Sunday. I believe I'll be doing a night dive on Saturday night. I live in central NJ (about an hour away).

Do most of you who have been in this situation camp out at Dutch to save the drive back-and-forth?

Are there any gotcha's I should be aware of if I do camp overnight at Dutch?

Any opinions welcome,
...steve...

 

[hambleto]

Camping at Dutch is not all that bad. They will go over the rules for camping and night diving when you check in. You can bring your whole family with you (Divers or not) and make a weekend out of it. They do have the new bath house open so you can have a private shower. You can snorkel and skin dive all over the quarry. You will need to have a wetsuit or life vest though. This time of year I like to wear my 3mil shorty to swim and snorkel around.

In general as long as you don't get out of control, be respectful of your fellow diver, and use common sense no one gives you any trouble.
Take care,
Ben

 

[scubadobadoo]

Controlling, yes! It's not a bad experience but they are a bit controlling. Too many darn times that you can and can't do things and they make you check in and check out too many times during the day as stated above. That new bath house is a major improvement though. Gotta love that and the water is really warm now above 25 feet. Getting close to 80 pretty soon. I think I had 76f at 20 feet today! Nice!

 

[divnamite]

Man, I hope it's not gonna be 100 out there. I wouldn't camp there this weekend unless the weather cools down a bit.

 

[split0101]

Tons of people camp there. I was there this past weekend, and there must have been easily over 20 tents in the area. It is defiantly hot, so if you dont have a decent tent with lots of ventilation, then it's going to be a sauna in there.

There are a little strict when it comes to times and places you have to be at. It can be a pain in the neck sometimes. There are a bunch of hotels in the area. My buddies and I just split a room at a local hotel, and it cost us $80 for a double occupancy, which we just split 4 ways. For a few bucks it's worth having some AC, and some free breakfast in the morning.