Hi Ted, And for others who may be early early bird arrivals.....
We never know about the earlier day check-in. It all depends upon if someone has reserved it the day before, and we often do not know until a day or two before. Sometimes a class of kids will be there for a nature study, or the host is prepping the site for the first of the season. The DPW folks who used to be in that dept. have since moved on/or retired, and they would usually let us know in advance, as they could rent it out and make up campground fee for its use rather than letting it go unrented. We also have to say that if you are allowed in earlier by the rangers before the official opening, your camping spot, especially if you are new to the IRG, may have to be relocated or shifted depending on where you have set up. This is to allow the Rangers, on-site host, firewood delivery person, and our set-up vehicles adequate access to the grove, or to insure that one campsite is not taken over entirely by just one trailer. It is festival style camping, and we often have to keep certain areas open to allow others an easement in to some of the sites.
Also, an important note:
Memorial Day weekend is a very popular one in that area, and many local families from Hwy 36 and nearby towns come out to camp at Swimmers Delight, and Pamplin Grove is the overflow camping for S.D.
Thanks for inquiring about this.
Joanie
TDN
