The Meadville KOA Campground, 25164 Route 27 in Meadville, is offering a free night of camping May 11 to all campers who stay at the campground as paying guests May 10 as part of KOA’s 10th anniversary KOA Care Camps Big Weekend.

Campers can to go www.KOA.com to see a list of other participating campgrounds and make reservations. 

Campers also may enter the Great KOA Giveaway for a chance to win a new $40,000 Keystone Cougar recreational vehicle, and a decade of free KOA camping. Weekly prizes from KOA, Cabela’s and Weber Grills are also available.

Get your mind off the snow and get into a summery mood at the Erie RV, Camping & Powersports Spectacular Feb. 7-10 at the Bayfront Convention Center.

Check out campers, campgrounds, motor homes, RVs, trailers and a new motorcycle pavilion.

Hours are 2-8 p.m. Thursday, noon to 8 p.m. Friday, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday.

Tickets are $5 at the door, but you can get $1 off by printing this coupon and presenting it when you arrive.

The preview video for the 2012 show:

Plenty of happy campers have made the Meadville KOA Campground one of the nation’s top KOA campgrounds.

The campground, at 25164 Route 27 in Meadville, was presented with the 2013 KOA President’s Award during the Kampgrounds of America’s annual International Convention in Orlando, Fla., on Nov. 17.

The award is based on high camper feedback and top scores in the KOA’s annual quality review. Hundreds of surveys about the Meadville KOA Campground and the 484 other KOA campgrounds in the United States and Canada are reviewed each year.

If you’re of a certain age, live a peripatetic lifestyle or just get jazzed by camping, then serving as a volunteer host at a U.S. Forest Service campground might be for you.

Search for opportunities here.

Forestcamping.com notes that “national forests and grasslands are dealing with reductions in recreation budgets and staffing. As the national economy slowly recovers, people continue to take camping vacations in the 175 national forests and grasslands across the country. These two factors have increased the need for volunteer campground host/hostess… .

“Duties vary, but as a rule of thumb, a volunteer Forest Service campground host/hostess provides information and assistance to campers, monitors campgrounds for Forest Service, and performs light maintenance duties. In turn, the volunteer receives a campsite and, sometimes, minimal monetary assistance.

“The need for volunteer campground hosts is year round and it not limited to one area or just the summer months. Although the greatest need is during the summer, many national forests and grasslands in the southern and southwestern states are available to campers and during the winter months.”

A campground that has been closed for two years still ranks among the top 100 in the country in one website’s list.

TripleBlaze users rank the Beaver Meadows Recreation Area, near Marienville in the Allegheny National Forest, as the 78th best place to camp in the country. It’s the only Pennsylvania campground on the list.

Hocking Hills State Park in Ohio is No. 1, followed by Yosemite National Park.

Beaver Meadows features 38 campsites in two loops.The day use area, featuring a boat ramp, restrooms and trails, remains open.

Concessionaire Allegheny Site Management had managed the campground since 2006. When the concession permit expired in 2010, the Forest Service and AMS elected not to renew because of low use. Marienville District Ranger Rob Fallon closed the campground for the 2011 season to evaluate the future of the site.

According to recreation.gov, “Any proposal for the future of Beaver Meadows Campground would involve an opportunity for public input and include an environmental, social and economic analysis of the effects of the proposal and other alternatives suggested by the public. Any questions or comments regarding this closure should be directed to the Marienville Ranger District at (814) 927-5700.”

TripleBlaze says its rankings are based on an algorithm that accounts “for the average rating and number of reviews for a campground, the number of people who have camped or wish they could camp at that campground.”

Pymatuning State Park in Crawford County, Chapman State Park in Warren County and Cook Forest and Clear Creek state parks in Clarion and Jefferson counties are among 19 parks in the Pennsylvania system offering cut-rate camping to first-time campers.

The Department of Conservation and Natural Resources and Gander Mountain are teaming up to offer gear and a reservation for two nights at a participating state park for just $20. The program runs from Memorial Day weekend through the summer.

“You can’t beat this offer as far as the cost; the opportunity to enjoy many other activities at our state parks such as hiking and fishing; and a park staffer will even help you set up camp,” DCNR secretary Richard Allan said.

Other participating parks are Black Moshannon, Centre County; Caledonia, Franklin County; Colonel Denning, Cumberland County; Gifford Pinchot, York County; Hills Creek, Tioga County; Keystone, Westmoreland County; Lackawanna, Lackawanna County; Laurel Hill, Somerset County; Little Pine, Lycoming County; Locust Lake, Schuylkill County; Ole Bull, Potter County; Parker Dam, Clearfield County; Promised Land, Pike County; R.B. Winter, Union County; Ryerson Station, Greene County; and Sinnemahoning, Cameron and Potter counties.

Make reservations by calling a park office directly.

The gear provided for use by Gander Mountain and DCNR is a four-person tent; rain tarp; four sleeping pads; four camp chairs; flashlight; lantern; camp stove; and four hot dog/marshmallow sticks. The gear must be returned upon departure.

Participants will need to bring their own food, cooking utensils and bedding. Suggested packing lists will be provided.

In 2011, the program’s first year, the DCNR said there were 180 reservations made, and more than half of those who took a survey saying they had never before visited a Pennsylvania state park.

I’m not a backcountry camper, but I do enjoy spending time in the deeper wild, whether that’s in near-to-home locales such as the Allegheny National Forest or during vacations to national parks such as Yellowstone and Glacier.

Even if I’m not overnighting in the open, I like to know that I’m at least minimally outfitted to do so if necessary. I always carry a first-aid kit, knife, water and most if not all of the 10 essentials for hiking and camping.

So I was particularly interested to test Coghlan’s Windproof/Waterproof Storm Matches.

The fact that the matches are NATO approved and were developed for use by the United Kingdom Ministry of Defense is kind of cool. So is the film-sized (remember film?) waterproof container, which has a striker on either end. And the impregnated match heads have the look of small candles, extending halfway down the stick.

All of which means nothing if the matches didn’t perform as promised.

I tried them in one of the stiff winds this past weekend, and they lighted without fail, even in the teeth of a gust. They burn for a full 10 seconds — long enough, one would hope, to be able to light prepared tinder under kindling.

Coghlan’s also promises that the matches will withstand immersion in water. I doused a match under the tap and struck it — and it lit. The striker surface has to be dry, however.

The 25-match containers, which go for $3.49 through Amazon, are a nice lightweight firestarting option, whether you plan a long backcountry trip or simply resolve to plan for the worst.

Erie KOA, 6645 West Road, McKean, and Meadville KOA Campground, 25164 Route 27, are offering a free night of camping May 12 to all campers who stay at the campgrounds as paying guests May 11 as part of KOA’s ninth annual Come Kamp & Care With Us Weekend.

Congratulations to Meadville KOA at Brookdale Family Campground, a first-time “A” grade winner in guestrated.com‘s fourth annual consumer satisfaction survey.

Brookdale is one of 44 campgrounds and RV resorts affiliated with the National Association of RV Parks and Campgrounds to get an A grade based on online reviews by more than 30,000 people.

The top parks were announced during the National Association of RV Parks and Campgrounds’ annual Outdoor Hospitality Conference & Expo at the Westin Savannah Harbor Resort & Spa and Savannah International Trade and Convention Center.

If all you’ve been waiting for is an invitation to throw up a tent in the backyard and sleep under the stars, here it is: The National Wildlife Federation’s Great American Backyard Campout is Saturday.

You surely don’t need to register to take part, but those who do register, and who elect to raise funds through the program, help open the outdoors to new generations. The National Wildlife Federation uses 80 cents of every dollar raised during the Great American Backyard Campout to support children’s outdoor programs.