Denton Disaster!

[longbowman]

My wife began coming to Denton with me two years ago after we had our fisrt grandchild who comes with my son.  The only thing is that she will only stay in a motel and this year there isn't a room available until you reach the PA Grand Canyon!  I've not missed a single year since the 2nd ETAR but this one doesn't look good.

[Keith Zimmerman]

Meadville isn't too far away.  That's a lot closer than most people.  Can you drive?  How far is it..2 1/2 hrs?  Maybe you can find a room in Smethport or Port Allegheny.

[pdk25]

Yeah, I think disaster might be overstating it a little.  Good luck with finding the closest place possible.

[AdamH]

Never been there yet !! And Im thinkin on sleepin in my 6' bed pick up & Im 6.5' tall !! Now that's a problem ....

[Stone Knife]

Does she love you enough to camp  

[Craig]

That is why we book our place before we leave each year for the next year. We stay up at Potter County Campground in one of there cabins. Did you check on the other side of Coudersport. There is a motel over there. About a 20 min drive. Wellsboro is a 40 min drive. We have stayed there before.

[PSUBowhunter]

The little grand canyon isnt that far away. I would guess 30-45 mins. Did you check for and bed and breakfast joints in the area?

[mahantango]

My son and I sleep in the back of a Jeep Cherokee! The camping is the best part of ETAR.

[d. ward]

you can do it in 2000 I slept in the back seat of our rental car it was like the smallest Chevy ever made.It sure beat sleeping outside in the rain bd

[BOWMARKS]

There has to be someplace with in 30-40 minutes , if it where me I would be calling them all , I wait all year for this and woudnt miss!!

[Kevin Dill]

I really enjoy Denton Hill. Having done it both ways, I can tell you that I do NOT want to be part of the camping experience (in DH's camp areas) ever again. I do know that a lot of guys love that crowded, shoulder-to-shoulder camping experience...but not I. I've been there a number of times and seen the mud, slop, straw (maybe), and smelled the heavy smoke which lays low in the camp area for hours. I'm over that.

We pull a trailer now, and we stay about 25 minutes away at our "secret" campground. It's never full, spacious, good hot showers 24/7, a camp store, and anything we need in 10 minutes. It's nice to get away from the nonstop buzz of the event and just go be in a very quiet and comfy area. We grill, chill and enjoy a friendly evening.

[Izzy]

Try the Oxyoke??

[Jim Keller]

I stay at my in-laws house in Wellsboro. It's only a half hour drive. No problem. I'm really looking forward to this year.

[carbonflyr]

3 yrs. ago i had to go all the way to bradford!! didn't get there until 2 in the morning.

[xtrema312]

How about a small motor home rental in the area then hit the camp ground or maybe a camp ground a short distance away?  Get one with AC and what ever she needs.

[Jack Whitmire Jr]

I used to go to ETAR ( Bowstock as we called it ) almost every year.

The last year I went, there was a comotion in the middle of the night near our tent. When we awoke there was a tent set up 2 feet from the front door of our tent.

The bathrooms are NEVER cleaned the whole weekend.

You guys go and I hope you have a good time. I'll stay home.

Jack

[longbowman]

Thanks for all the input.  It's exactly because of the way they allow their bathroom/shower facility to get that my wife refuses to camp there.  If there was a place she could get a decent shower we'd be fine.  I really liked it better when there were less than 1000 people there but that only lasted a couple of years.  Maybe it's time to give it up.

[Doc Nock]

a good friend got me into going many years ago...

Then, we had to go earlier and earlier to find a camping spot. I was taking more vacation time for ETAR than hunting! Then as stated above, someone ended up pitching their rig in our site! That was tense for a few, but they man'd up and did the right thing.

I've come to think of it as something of a rag n tin ghetto in the last years... I just couldn't justify it anymore. The hotel thing lost the charm of camping with good trad people, but the camping became more and more disagreable, w/less chemical toilets each year and ...the infamous showers! Given the escalating costs and excessive vacation time to get there to reserve a spot, only to have to fight to defend it, it is now on my "not to do" list.

[BobW]

'tis the reason we are "off-site" and book well in advance.  The shoot is worth it, the other stuff isn't.

[Kevin Dill]

x1 on BobW's comment.

The actual event and vendors are very good. If my only choice was to camp in the "ghetto", I'd never go back even once. Toilets and showers are disgusting there. I would never take a lady into that situation and expect her to be satisfied.

As Doc Nock indicated, the competition for a decent campsite gets more severe every year. People come in days ahead of time to establish a camp, and then leave it. I won't pontificate on what the manager(s) should do, but some tighter limits and controls need to be implemented.

The region has a ton of fun things to do, besides ETAR. We spend less than 30% of our available time actually attending the event.