Is there anyone that just will not go to private campgrounds

[jarata1]

This is our first year of camping and we find suck a difference in stae and federal campgrounds vs private ones.
Although alot of the state campgrounds dont have hookups to me having the extra room over being right on top of each other is well worth it.Anyone else feel this way

[Sillybugs2]

doxiemom11 wrote:
There are some very nice private parks that are in the woods with large sites and not at all like a parking lot. You just haven't looked in the right places. Look for the small mom & pop type operations. They are usually less expensive too.

Yes. The private one we stayed at was 40 sites. Run by a nice guy. Wooded semi- privates sites. Fishpond. Bought a firepit for $10 and came with all the free would we wanted to burn. Holiday Farm RV in Rainbow, OR off the McKenzie Hwy.

[doxiemom11]

There are some very nice private parks that are in the woods with large sites and not at all like a parking lot. You just haven't looked in the right places. Look for the small mom & pop type operations. They are usually less expensive too.

[garmp]

Sillybugs2:
X2

[Sillybugs2]

We prefer state or fedral campgrounds because we are cmping not rv'ing. Although last trip we had to book a privatr one for a Friday and

[ljr]

Yes, me.

[bpounds]

I avoid commercial parks when I can.

I don't use their pool.
I don't use their showers.
I don't use their restrooms.
I don't play shuffleboard. Or pool table. Or whatever "entertainment" they think they need to provide.
Don't care for the parking lot arrangement. A few have been large enough to park the truck alongside the trailer, but that's pretty rare.
Neighbors are rarely interesting enough to factor in.

I just don't see a lot of upside, but there are times when it is worth it.

When I want to see some attraction that is nearby, and don't have good alternatives. Walmart, truckstops, parking lots in general, are not good alternatives to us. Those are for overnighting enroute only.

When I need air conditioning. We generally don't care to camp anywhere hot enough to really need A/C, but sometimes. I doubt if we have 8 hours on our 6 year old A/C.

Cost is usually not a factor. Most of the FS sites are $20/night, or close to it, with no services at all. Spending more for a commercial location wouldn't bother me, if there was an upside.

[NYCgrrl]

Boon-docking rocks best in the West as opposed to the more crowded East. Same for cost differences for my sight.
I plan to try every type of RVing/camping out there if nothing else for the experience.

[garmp]

OP, I believe the question is are you a "Camper" or a "RVer"? As a general rule of thumb most campers prefer state, COE or national parks whereas RV'er prefer privte of RV Parks.

JMHO

[jnharley]

We love dry camping and are set up to dry camp but have a 37 ft 5th wheel and it is difficult to find boondocking spaces unless you are in the West where there are tons of places. We love COE campgrounds that are usually well maintained and some even have full hook ups and with our Access Pass, are half price. But they are not located everywhere or where we want to be so we usually have to settle for a private park. We have several VA state parks that we love to stay at and used to stay the 14 day limit but they are now so pricey that if we do stay, it is just for a day or two.

[qtla9111]

Boondocking rocks. Using solar and staying places that are cool in the summer and warm in the winter.

In the U.S. we enjoy BLM, forest service, and an occasional Home Depot. There are several good websites for finding boondocking spots.

In a formal rv park I feel like I'm in a FEMA camp. Lots of nice people wherever we go but we prefer boondocking.

[timjet]

bikendan wrote:
timjet,

since we camped 35 years in California State Parks(which have less than 1 percent of campsites with any hookups), we learned to camp without water/electric hookups.

it's called dry camping.

we usually camped in areas that didn't require a/c, mostly coastal.
we just had our Honda 2000 for recharging the batteries and running the microwave.

all public campgrounds i've been to, had certain generator hours and times.
NONE allowed running generators overnight.
National Park campgrounds are the same.

Thanks bikendan. I have similar experience using my boat. We spent 8 months on our boat going to and from the Chesapeake from Tampa. We would usually try to find a good protected anchorage which in RV terms is boondocking, but also used many marina's which all had electric and water. During the summer northbound we had to use our generator when at anchor with night time temps in the upper 70's. Southbound in the fall we only used the generator to charge the batts and watch an hour or two of TV in the evening. We could go a week on 80 gal of water and 70 gal black water tank.

[bikendan]

timjet,

since we camped 35 years in California State Parks(which have less than 1 percent of campsites with any hookups), we learned to camp without water/electric hookups.

it's called dry camping.

we usually camped in areas that didn't require a/c, mostly coastal.
we just had our Honda 2000 for recharging the batteries and running the microwave.

all public campgrounds i've been to, had certain generator hours and times.
NONE allowed running generators overnight.
National Park campgrounds are the same.

[Lantley]

GordonThree wrote:

jnharley wrote:
We are full timers and use a variety of campsites. However, state parks are pricing themselves out of business from us. We have been charged as much as $45 for a state park site with only water and electric. We can find nice (spacious) private campgrounds for much less than state parks.

Ouch, that is something!

Some Michigan's state parks are close to $40 now just electric, quite a bit more for water+sewer.

Hope it's not a trend... letting publicly owned parks manage themselves without input from the public that owns them, and fund themselves rather than general fund, forces them into profit driven thinking... just like the private parks 😞

I don't see them as profit driven. I see them as being self sufficient. Being able to survive long term without totally relying on taxpayer subsidies is a worthwhile approach.

[GordonThree]

jnharley wrote:
We are full timers and use a variety of campsites. However, state parks are pricing themselves out of business from us. We have been charged as much as $45 for a state park site with only water and electric. We can find nice (spacious) private campgrounds for much less than state parks.

Ouch, that is something!

Some Michigan's state parks are close to $40 now just electric, quite a bit more for water+sewer.

Hope it's not a trend... letting publicly owned parks manage themselves without input from the public that owns them, and fund themselves rather than general fund, forces them into profit driven thinking... just like the private parks 😞