What is most important to you when choosing a campsite?

[Ex-Calif]

Ban campfires. Know the prevailing wind pattern and have a "no smoking" section for folks that are tired of enjoying other's weekend camping burns.

Yes, we know campfires and cookouts on flame are great, but the folks downwind have no choice and too many folks have zero concern for others.

My G! I sound like a prissy fool...

I so much want to go on a rant here but I won't. I'll just say I agree with you on only the bolded quote - LOL...

I will add that it's pretty easy to find the prevailing winds in any part of the country - not perfect, but finding the furthest upwind site you can is on you, not me. Especially if your alternate plan is to ask me to stop cooking, or smoking for that matter...

Complaining about campfire smoke when camping is like moving next to an airport and complaining about jet engine noise.

No - It's exactly like going camping and expecting no campfires or BBQ odors - LOL...

 

[Onyrlef]

Yeah, I know what you're saying - in my defense I did say I sounded like a "prissy fool."

But, complaining about your neighbor's smoke that is literally choking you out of your own campsite is certainly something that might need better examination when you consider common courtesy.

Even cub scouts say to build the fire so the smoke goes away from your tents when setting up a group camp out. (At least they did back in late 50's and early 60's).

Only problem with that is you can't just park your RV downwind, you're ordinarily going to have other campers N.E.S. and W. of you and fires are restricted to fire pits.

 

[Ex-Calif]

But, complaining about your neighbor's smoke that is literally choking you out of your own campsite is certainly something that might need better examination when you consider common courtesy.

OK - On reflection there are certain responsibilities of the fire tender. The main one is to ensure you are using dry seasoned wood. It is definitely a faux pas to burn green and damp wood.

In fact I moved into a house that had an old wood pile and I hauled a bunch of it camping. In about a minute I realized it was not gonna burn clean and I doused it, made a quick trip out of the park and bought some decent wood.

The idea to be a boy scout and build your fire downwind of the tent won't work when there are designated pits for each site.

 

[ziplock]

No - It's exactly like going camping and expecting no campfires or BBQ odors - LOL...

Please don't use a ton of wet wood to build a campfire. Lordy.

Thanks for adding to your fire post!

 

[Domo]

OK - On reflection there are certain responsibilities of the fire tender. The main one is to ensure you are using dry seasoned wood. It is definitely a faux pas to burn green and damp wood.

In fact I moved into a house that had an old wood pile and I hauled a bunch of it camping. In about a minute I realized it was not gonna burn clean and I doused it, made a quick trip out of the park and bought some decent wood.

The idea to be a boy scout and build your fire downwind of the tent won't work when there are designated pits for each site.

Thanks for reflecting further. As you 100% pointed out - dry seasoned wood is just fine - little to no smoke.

We just returned (Yesterday) from a trip and several times had "local" folks with old pressure treated, painted and stained wood that they happily threw into their fire.

When I was a boy scout we were also taught courtesy to others and you made your own fire pit where it made sense.

Glad you recognized that the old wood you had was not going to burn correctly - getting decent wood was the best path - hopefully others learned from your action that day.

 

[Domo]

I think OP was collecting information to help improve/create/design their own campground.

Surprising that a simple suggestion about attempting to limit smoke exposure for some campers, when layout design permits, drew such negativity from this fine group of fellow travelers.

For the record, I like a campfire just fine - I sit upwind from the fire - don't you? And, if you do sit upwind, why is that? Let me answer - because the smoke burns your eyes and throat and makes it hard to breath, which is the whole point of my original comment having just returned from a trip where folks in several campgrounds were apparently burning their old decks and kitchen remodel remnants rather than use decent firewood.

 

[RedForeman]

I think OP was collecting information to help improve/create/design their own campground.

Surprising that a simple suggestion about attempting to limit smoke exposure for some campers when design permits drew such negativity from this fine group of fellow travelers.

Obviously now he will need to consider installing smoke shifters on all the fire pits.

 

[Onyrlef]

But it would be a nice promotional ad. "Come to Happy Acres campground where you're always upwind of other campers and the dump stations, the out and back trails are all downhill, your black and gray tanks never get full, only your dog can bark, other people gladly pick up his poop, no one can have out door lights but you and curfew starts when you go to bed".

 

[Domo]

Obviously now he will need to consider installing smoke shifters on all the fire pits.

Or specify, and enforce, that ONLY dry, seasoned wood can be burned.

 

[Domo]

But it would be a nice promotional ad. "Come to Happy Acres campground where you're always upwind of other campers and the dump stations, the out and back trails are all downhill, your black and gray tanks never get full, only your dog can bark, other people gladly pick up his poop, no one can have out door lights but you and curfew starts when you go to bed".

Sorry you're having such a bad day.

 

[Skookum]

While on our way to our destination, we look for:

-Big rig friendly for 41' in length + toad
-Clean
-Pull-through
-50 amp / sewer / water
-Parks that let you wash you rig

While vacationing at our destination, we look for:

-Luxury parks
-Big rig friendly (most of the above are)
-Privacy. Some parks are better than others in this regard
-50 amp / sewer / water

When it comes to State and National parks, we are generally looking for size, and availability.

I agree with the above re: wood fires. If I want to camp in a tent and burn wood, I'll go camping. When I take our nice rig out, I don't want other people's embers on my awnings or paint, or wood and garbage smoke stinking up the RV. Yeah, I am prissy, but only in the motorhome.

 

[Reinigm]

I do the desert a lot, so I appreciate shade and flat sites more than anything.

 

[Onyrlef]

Or specify, and enforce, that ONLY dry, seasoned wood can be burned.

Every campground needs wood police who can arrest campers for wood violations.

 

[Skookum]

Yes, actually, the last couple winters in the desert, we've picked sites with afternoon shade, or site orientation so that the right side of the RV has shade with the awning. That is huge.

The other big one is good cell connectivity. I don't care what the park has for wifi. I need cell signal for data.

 

[Oldgator73]

Or specify, and enforce, that ONLY dry, seasoned wood can be burned.

A campground can make it a rule that only wood purchased from them can be used at your campsite.

 

[Wasillaguy]

A campground can make it a rule that only wood purchased from them can be used at your campsite.

From my experience, many do. And then it's like $8 or $10 for a "bundle", which is usually 4 to 8 pieces. Trim those down some with a hatchet to get some kindling and mid size and you got about an hour or two fire. Enough for marshmallows, but it's gonna cost ya if you want to make something in a Dutch oven or bake potatoes in the coals.
Other people's fires haven't been a problem yet. My peeve is having to clean soda cans and other garbage out of the pit. Some people.

 

[Babe2201]

A campground can make it a rule that only wood purchased from them can be used at your campsite.

I tried to avoid those when I was booking sites.

 

[Laura & Charles]

We value a level site, a paved patio area or a place can put out an outdoor rug, full hookup, clear and enforced rules.
Spacious sites is nice and so is solid WiFi with adequate bandwidth… but those aren’t as expected.

(I know you didn’t ask, but…) Besides the physical attributes, the service is important too. Answer the phone if at all possible, call back asap if message is left. A confirmation email stating reserved dates, check in and checkout times, amount paid and balance due, and refund policy. We don’t mind a deposit but we don’t like paying the whole cost up front. Our reservations are made up to a year in advance. With that kind of lead time, plans can change and having cancellation/refund policy in the confirmation email is a plus.

 

[DonTom]

But I like them near hiking trails

So do I. Do you have a favorite spot for such?

-Don- Reno, NV

 

[Isaac-1]

No crazy stupid authoritarian rules.

For example one public municipal campground I stayed at a few years ago in a popular tourist town had gated access and a strict campers only entry policy, this meant food delivery drivers, uber drivers, etc were not allowed into the park, you had to meet them outside the gate. Which may be ok if you have one of the sites near the gate like I did (I think about 8-9 sites down from the gate for a couple of hundred feet, but could be a real problem for those people in the older back part of the campground, close to 1/4 mile from the entry gate.

Another private campground I stayed at somewhere in the Ozarks, had a limit of 2 showers per person per day, and you had to hand in "shower coupons" to go to the shower rooms. This did not effect us as we use our own shower, but still seemed a bit absurd to me. I was curious what the shower facilities looked like, and they man at the front desk would not even let me look at the showers without handing in a coupon.