Free Republic

A Virginia mom has been found dead in a makeshift tent at a campground, and authorities have arrested a man in New Jersey who drove off from the scene in her car in her slaying. The body of Cara Abbruscato, 41, was found around 3 p.m. Saturday underneath a tarp that was tied to a tree to make a tent in Burke Lake Park in Fairfax Station, the Fairfax County Police Department announced (FCPD). Abbruscato had stab wounds and lacerations to her upper body, but an autopsy will confirm the official cause of death, police said at a press conference...

Old airfield could host 600 sites, says National Park Service Roasting marshmallows, telling ghost stories and sleeping under the stars - in New York City? The National Park Service is planning a 600-site campground in Brooklyn's Floyd Bennett Field, a onetime airport used by Amelia Earhart. The campground would be the largest urban tent-pitching site in the nation, according to Interior Secretary Ken Salazar. "We want to make New York the leading example of what we can do around the country with urban parks," Salazar said.

Utah Campground Closed Because of Plague Tue May 16, 8:52 AM ET A campground at Natural Bridges National Monument has been closed because of bubonic plague detected among field mice and chipmunks. Plague also has been found this spring in rodent populations at Mesa Verde National Park and Colorado National Monument. National Park Service officials said there never has been a reported human case of bubonic plague originating from the parks or national monuments. "We come down on the conservative side when it comes to closing campgrounds," said Joe Winkelmaier of the U.S. Public Health Service. "We just like to...

SANTA ROSA, Calif. - The largest private campground on the California coast could be forced to close one-third of its campsites after a report found its size is putting too much pressure on the nearby sand dunes and marsh environment. The environmental report ordered by Marin County also found that many facilities at the 180-acre Lawson's Landing are not up to health and safety codes. On peak days, the area draws 4,000 people to its 1,000 primitive campsites, 223 recreational vehicle sites and 200 day-use sites. Owners Nancy and Bill Vogler said they can't afford to upgrade the camp's aging...