CCC Boys Built Many of America’s Parks

Posted by RV Pro on Sep 23, 2009

Take a close look next time you park your RV at a state or national park. From campsites to lookout points, ranger stations to visitor centers, hiking paths to rest stops (known in camping vernacular as pit toilets), the incredibly beautiful park system RVers,  campers and day trippers enjoy today was largely built by the “CCC boys” of the 1930s. 

During our country’s last major economic disaster, the Civilian Conservation Corps was one of the ways President Franklin D. Roosevelt put America back to work. Established in 1933 at the height of the depression, the CCC lured men off the soup lines with the promise of food, lodging and $30 a month, $25 of which was sent home to their families. Signing up for 6-month hitches with many staying on for the full two years, the CCC’s ranks swelled with World War I vets, out of work fathers anxious to support their families and 18-year-olds forced to fend for themselves, though some boys as young as 14 slipped by recruiters.

The CCC sent huge teams of workers into the wilderness where they carved out the campsites and hiking trails we enjoy today. Those comfortable trails that meander through the forest, the timber-framed stair steps that make it easy to climb up hills, the rough-hewn log bridges over creeks along the path are all courtesy of FDR’s back-to-work program.

Virginia’s Shenandoah National Park in the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains was one of the CCC’s first projects. An RVers paradise, we’ll tell you more on Friday.


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