We were so grateful for the spacious tent, mattresses, and bedding! We slept great at the site. The hike in was strenuous, but our family is fit, including our seven-year-old and ten-year-old, so we made it work!
Star gazing was awesome! Definitely the highlight of our stay.
Chelsie is a great host and was very responsive. The bathhouse at the bottom by the parking lot was very nice and clean, and we were grateful to be able to shower after a day of hiking and swimming at nearby Whitewater State Park.
There is a nice big skillet and a cooking grate at the fire, and that was great! I wasn’t sure if there would be both at the site (I was worried they were only available at the community area), so we packed in a cast iron skillet. It wasn’t needed! :)
The biggest challenge was packing in our water, as there is no potable water at the top. We also wish the fire pit area at Carya was a little flatter, but it wasn’t a big deal.
We recommend bringing your own lantern and flashlights to supplement the light on site. There is a lantern in the tent that provides adequate light for the tent, but you may want a brighter lantern for cooking outside in the dark. We brought ours along and were grateful we did. If you can pack battery or solar string lights, they would work great as there are plenty of trees on which to string them!
We recommend the site overall but know that the trail in is wide and just goes up! I had imagined a winding trail with switchbacks. It’s not. ;)