Campgrounds and Cabins Sites

The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) built some of the cabins at the Holiday Lake 4-H Center in Appomattox-Buckingham State Forest. The CCC also constructed the Woolridge Wayside picnic area nearby.

"A. H. Stephens Historic Park contains tent and trailer sites, picnic sites, and fishing ponds, as well as a nature trail and rustic cabins, and was mostly built by the Civilian Conservation Corps, beginning in 1933." (wikipedia) The park "is located in a beautiful loblolly pine forest planted in the early 1930’s by the CCC."   (https://www.reserveamerica.com) The WPA also worked in the park.  

One of many campgrounds the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) developed in Maine, this one is located in Baxter State Park. "Set in a northern hardwood forest near the base of Abol Slide, Abol is the closest campground to Togue Pond Gate and a trailhead for Katahdin hiking."

Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) workers built a shelter at Admiralty Cove as part of the Admiralty Island Canoe Route, created from 1933 to 1937. This route included shelters, portages, dams, cabins, boathouses, and skiffs and was part of a program to enhance recreational opportunities in Alaska. The CCC structure serves as a boat shelter today and is located on the site of the Admiralty Cove Cabin.    

From 1933 to 1937, the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) created a canoe route from east to west across Admiralty Island with multiple shelters, trails and a bear-watching tower at Pack Creek. The CCC Canoe Route is on the National Trust Registry of Historic Places.  The documentation form for the canoe route provides these details: "Work on Admiralty Island began in 1933, with three CCC crews totaling 23 men. By 1934 four shelter cabins had been constructed. In 1935 crews built the trails, more shelters, and installed a dam at the outlet of Beaver Lake to make it navigable to LakeAlexander. By 1936...

During 1935, Civilian Conservation Corps workers made improvements to Ainsworth State Park, thirty-six miles east of Portland on the Columbia River Highway. John C. Ainsworth, former chairman of the State Highway Commission (1931-1932) donated the original forty acres for the park in 1933. CCC enrollees worked on picnic facilities and trails in the park. Perhaps the most distinctive improvement made by CCC workers involved the stone work steps and fountain that provided public drinking access to the park's spring.

The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) conducted major development work at New York's Allegany State Park between 1933 and 1942.

At Alley Spring, the CCC constructed many trails, rock walls, 11 buildings, campgrounds, roads, restored the mill including replacing the floor, and diverted the slough adjacent to the mill to insure that it did not silt in. The CCC unit that worked this site consisted of WWI veterans.

The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) developed Vermont's Allis State Park during the 1930s. "They built up the access roads, constructed a massive timber picnic shelter, picnic grounds and a campground."

The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) had a camp at Steamboat Creek from 1933 to 1941. It was a US Forest Service camp serving Umpqua National Forest.  The enrollees made many improvements along the North Umpqua River, including campgrounds, trails and bridges. One of the campgrounds developed by the CCC was Apple Creek along the North Umpqua River and Highway 138.  It is a small, plain campground without special features. Apple Creek Campground was closed when we visited in 2022, probably a carryover from the pandemic. The entrance sign is covered in black plastic, which may be protection against winter deterioration, but the...

"Babcock, one of the earliest state parks, covers 4,127 acres. It was opened on July 1, 1937, and built as a public works program during the Great Depression. The main facilities and trails were constructed between 1934 and 1937 by young workers employed through the Civilian Conservation Corps. The main park headquarters, 13 cabins, a horse stable, superintendent’s house, a natural swimming pool, and picnic facilities were constructed from locally quarried stone and American chestnut trees killed by the chestnut blight. The door latches and other metal work were hand-forged on site by CCC workers. The landscape had been completely...

Located next to a small scenic stream in a remote mountain setting of the Ouachita National Forest, the Bard Springs Recreation Area offers five Adirondack-type shelters for picnicking. A very small dam on the stream creates a pool of water that is popular with swimmers in the summertime. Once a small campground in the past, this area is now open for day-use only. In 1936, the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) was involved in the construction of a picnic shelter, bathhouse, & Caddo District Dams 1 and 2. The bathhouse is a single story rustic stone structure, with entrances at either...

"The CCC camp at Bass River State Forest, Camp S-55, lasted from 1933 to 1942, throughout the entire life of CCC. ... There were usually 200 men at the camp, which was a full complement. The CCC members performed wide range of conservation work. The young men of the CCC built park roads, trails, bridle paths, bridges for vehicles, ponds for fish and waterfowl, lookout towers, nature observatory shelters, picnic areas, cabins, fireplaces, campgrounds, recreational lakes, and landscaping. The most noteworthy feat was the creation of the 67-acre Lake Absegami, by damming two streams flowing through the forest."

This beautiful park is nestled in the "Lost Pines" area of Texas. The park was built as a CCC project and opened to the public in 1937. In September 2011 96% of the park was burned by a devastating wildfire; some of the burn damage is still visible, but the park is regenerating. The fire spared the refectory and the cabins built by the CCC. A CCC pavilion at the overlook suffered damage to the wood roof, but today has been rebuilt. "The architect of Bastrop State Park, Arthur Fehr, followed National Park Service design principles that suggested harmony with the...

The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) built "roads, trails,bridle paths, vehicle bridges, ponds for fish and waterfowl, lookouttowers, a nature observatory, shelters, picnic areas, fireplaces,campgrounds, recreational lakes, and worked on landscaping and firefighting. Today you can also find a museum devoted to the CCC in New Hampshire here."

The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) built Bear Canyon Campground at the end of Salt Creek canyon road, FR 048.  CCC camp F-9 was located a few miles up the road and enrollees working from there are known to have built several campgrounds in the area.  Bear Canyon campground has the telltale signs of CCC stonework. The CCC probably built nearby Cottonwood Campground, as well, but it is more non-descript and may be a later Forest Service addition. There are stone retaining walls along Salt Creek behind Bear Canyon campground, which might have been constructed by CCC teams -- but a local resident thinks...

Big Timber Pioneer reported in early 1937 on a CCC camp at Beaver Creek park south of Havre, Montana. The workers were "developing trails, cabins and other conveniences for the public enjoyment."

In 1935, the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) constructed the Clear River Camp (also known as the Norris Camp), which served as the headquarters for the Beltrami Island Project.   The Project was part of a “pioneering experiment in relocation and land-use planning” undertaken nationally, through the Land Utilization Project (est. 1937). Under the Project, “farmers on cutover lands were relocated and the land was reclaimed by the CCC, whose enrollees went to work ‘developing and managing forestry, wildlife and recreational resources.’”   The Clear River Camp is listed in the National Register of Historic Places.

"On the northwestern shore" of Wood Lake, in Wood Lake Township, North Dakota, is the BENSON COUNTY PARK (_picnicking and camping_), a 40-acre tract improved under the Works Progress Administration in 1937." The park, whose current status is unknown to Living New Deal, is about two miles southwest of Tokio, North Dakota as the crow flies.

The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) reforested "20,000 acres of drifting sand hills and expanded Bessey Forest Nursery producing 30 million saplings for reforestation." The CCC also "constructed a public campground and picnic area, shelter house, bath houses, and a swimming pool in the park."

During the Great Depression of the 1930s, the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) installed a camp at Big Basin, California's first state park (1901), and built a variety of facilities for public recreation.   Big Basin was saved through the efforts of Sempervirens Club (now Fund), as one of the last and largest groves of giant coast redwoods left in the Santa Cruz Mountains. CCC men built the park headquarters (1936), an amphitheater of redwood logs, campgrounds, other park buildings and miles of trails, and probably roads and water lines, as well. For 75 years, those facilities remained virtually unchanged (one footbridge across...

"Big Ridge State Park was one of five demonstration parks developed by the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) in cooperation with the National Park Service and the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) as an example of public recreation development along TVA lakeshores. The structures on the park reflect the craftsmanship and stonework of the CCC. Along the trails you may see remnants of the  homes and farms that existed here prior to the birth of the TVA."   (https://tnstateparks.com) This park was actually part of the greater Norris Project. "Civilian Conservation Corps Company 4495, which was originally based in Loyston, began work on Big...

"The Big Shaheen Cabin is the only log cabin built by Civilian Conservation Corps workers as part of the Admiralty Island Canoe Route. Situated on the east shore of Hasselborg Lake, the cabin was intended to serve as a lodge. Originally, it was the only enclosed building along the canoe route. Built for recreation, it is still used for that purpose and has not been substantially altered since its construction in 1935." "The Big Shaheen Cabin is the only cabin that was part of the Admiralty Island Civilian Conservation Corps Canoe Route. It was constructed with horizontal logs about ten inches...

The current campground was once the site of the Swift River CCC camp #1177 built 6/19/1935. The nearby Conway Library notes an art exhibit by CCC members in 1936: "Blackberry Crossing is unique in that is was a CCC (Civilian Conservation Corps) Camp during the 1930's. There is a self-guided tour of the old camp within the campground. The campground has 26 sites that are available on a first come, first served basis. There are hand pumps for water and vault toilets. A short walk from the campground is the Albany Covered Bridge, The Nanamocomuck Ski Trail, and the Boulder Loop...

Blanco State Park is located in historic Blanco, Texas. The park offers camping, hiking, fishing and swimming and scenic views of the Blanco River. In 1933 local landowners donated just over 100 acres for the park. The CCC worked here until 1934; this was one of their first projects. CCC construction in the park includes: "Park Road 23, Culverts and Bridges, Retaining Wall and Steps, Stone Walks, Stone Dams, Picnic Tables, Rock Seats, Benches, Picnic Table and Bench Combinations, Camp Stoves, Rock Wall, Concession House-Café (currently a maintenance building), Concession Building (currently the group pavilion), and Pump House (no longer in use)....

"In 1935, the National Park Service created the Blue Knob National Recreation Demonstration Area to provide recreation to the people of Altoona and Johnstown. The Works Progress Administration employed local workers to build cabins, hiking trails and roads. Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) Company 2327 arrived in October of 1939. After building Camp NP-7, the young men aided in creating the park recreational facilities. World War II ended the CCC. On September 26, 1945, the National Park Service transferred Blue Knob to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and it became Blue Knob State Park." "Since the CCC years, facilities of the park have...

This stone structure in Goodnow Park was built with help from the NYA in 1938. "Situated in a wooded park setting distinguished by a series of native limestone retaining walls and steps that access the sloping site and cabin. Two-story cabin is of random-coursed limestone with a side-facing fable roof of wood shingles. There is a large stone chimney at the center of the east elevation."   (https://khri.kansasgis.org) The cabin was added to the National Register of Historic Places in January, 2014.

“The Civilian Conservation Corps and local experienced men, under the supervision of the U.S. Forest Service, constructed the Bly Ranger Station compound between 1936 and 1942. The compound, made up of both administrative and residential buildings, continues to service and house employees of the Fremont National Forest to this day. The Bly Ranger Station compound is on the National Register of Historic Places (March 11, 1981). Historically and architecturally, the Bly Ranger Station compound is important to the community of Bly and to the residents of the Sprague River Valley. As administrative headquarters of the Bly Ranger District, it represents the...

The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) was very active in the Coronado National Forest during the 1930s. Coronado National Forest is discontinuous across southeastern Arizona and southwestern New Mexico because the forested areas occur only on isolated mountain ranges called "Sky Islands" – a type of landscape similar to the Basin and Range in Nevada. CCC camp F-30 was located in Madera Canyon in the Santa Rita Mountains (we are not sure exactly where or for how long).  The CCC 'boys' (enrollees) did extensive work in the canyon, including a campground, picnic area, amphitheater, trails and erosion works. One of the CCC projects...

The Boise National Forest CCC Camp (F-78) was located near Atlanta, and left permanent structures there and in Garden Valley. From the National Forest Service: "In 1908, President Theodore Roosevelt established the Boise National Forest to protect timber and watershed resources in southwestern Idaho. The Forest Service added lookouts, campgrounds, and roads, assisted by hundreds of young men enrolled in the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) during the Great Depression, Deadwood Lookout and Atlanta Ranger Station were built by the CCC—now available for overnight rental." Also from the Forest Service: "Atlanta Cabin is located in the old mining town of Atlanta, Idaho, at an...

The state acquired the land for Bonham State Park in 1933 from the City of Bonham. The Civilian Conservation Corps developed the 261-acre park, landscaping the rocky, hilly terrain for erosion control and recreational purposes, and constructing an earthen dam to impound a sixty-five-acre lake. CCC Company 894 constructed buildings of local cream-colored limestone and Eastern red cedar, working under the supervision of Bonham architect Joe C. Lair and San Antonio architect William C. Caldwell. The overall design exhibits a WPA rustic style. The CCC built the entrance portal, concession building (currently the park headquarters and storage facility), waterfront storage building...

Constructed with funds and labor from the Works Progress Administration and the Civilian Conservation Corps, the Booker T. Washington State Park was established in 1938 as a segregated recreational facility for African Americans, the second such facility in the state of Tennessee (the other being T. O. Fuller State Park near Memphis). The park is situated on Lake Chickamauga, which was created with the construction of the Chickamauga Dam by the Tennessee Valley Authority. The nearby Harrison Bay State Park was built at the same time for white Tennesseans. Tennessee parks were formally desegregated in 1964 with the passage of...

A multi purpose campground located in the Anza Borrego State Park on the outskirts of the small town of Borrego Springs. A timeline of the park and its development in an information kiosk at another campground says that Borrego Palm Canyon was built by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) in 1936.

Bryce Canyon was originally designated as a national monument by President Warren G. Harding in 1923 and became a national park through an act of Congress in 1928. The park covers 35,835 acres in south-central Utah. The New Deal greatly improved Bryce Canyon National Park.  Along with the National Park Service, the Public Works Administration (PWA) provided special funds, the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) worked continuously in the park, and the Works Progress Administration (WPA) was also active. The National Park Service recognizes the CCC's contribution on its website for Bryce Canyon NP, but not that of the PWA or WPA:  “During the 1930s...

The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) laid out the first campground in Bryce Canyon National Park in 1934.  Several campsites are leveled using tell-tale CCC stone-work.  Water and sewer lines were laid.  The original tables no longer exist but metal fireplaces appear original. Also at the South Campground is the amphitheater, build by the CCC in 1934.  Originally called the "lecture circle," it has a simple wooden stage (which can be opened like a giant closet door) and rows of benches.  The old wooden benches have been replaced by plastic ones.

Buescher State Park is connected to Bastrop State Park via a scenic 11-mile drive. This CCC project opened to the public in 1940. Mr. Emil and Mrs. Elizabeth Buescher donated the original land to the state between 1933 and 1936. Buescher was spared from the September 2011 fire that swept through Bastrop County. The park has a beautiful lake with fishing, camping, and hiking trails. A plaque in front of the Recreation Hall states: CCC Companies 1805 and 1811 worked on Buescher between 1933 and 1939. Recruits enrolled for a six month period and received base pay of $30 month. Between...

The Buffalo Point Campground is the largest NPS campground on the Buffalo National River. It was originally an Arkansas State Park before being assumed by the National Park Service. The historically significant park and cabins were built by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) before WWII. Cabins are perched on a tall bluff top with magnificent views of the lower Buffalo River. There is a Ranger Station, hiking trails including the famous Indian Rockhouse, and many interpretive programs. Buffalo Point is a very popular facility, reservations are recommended.

"During the 1930s, taking advantage of the public works programs offered by the Depression-era New Deal, Burlingame became home to the 141st Company of the Civilian Conservation Corps. It was the first, the state headquarters, and one of five such camps in Rhode Island. Beginning in 1933, out of work young men, in their late teens and early twenties were put to work making roads and trails. In addition they built fire places, camp sites, and picnic areas, while making recreational improvements to the beaches of Watchaug Pond. Forest management activities went on throughout Rhode Island, particularly in the aftermath of...

Forty miles southeast of Bend, Oregon, the Cabin Lake Guard Station served as a district ranger station and headquarters for the Fort Rock Ranger District of the Deschutes National Forest from 1921 through 1945. Members of a Civilian Conservation Corps camp, located adjacent to the ranger station from 1934 to 1938, contributed to the area’s development for recreational use as well as improved its function for the Forest Service. The CCC camp members built seven buildings for the ranger station, including the existing guard station building.  Six of these structures (ranger residences, a warehouse, maintenance shop, and a gas station) remain...

According to the West Virginia Department of Commerce: “Cacapon Resort State Park was the first CCC state park to be completed. Camp Morgan was established October 4, 1934 in what is now the main picnic area in the park. The land was devastated by clear-cutting of the timber and by poor agricultural practices of small subsistence farmers during the Great Depression. The men were responsible for the construction of 27 miles of roads and trails within the park, bath house, lake, dam and beach, picnic areas and shelters, stables, supply house, staff residences and rental cabins. The 12-room Old Inn was...