Campground verses Parking Lot

[GeneF]

On our last trip, dw and I used several different campgrounds in a lot of states.  Not sure how many but we were gone 51 days.

Our general observation was that the state and national parks offered campgrounds that were more in the camping style.  Nice size sites, plenty of trees, outdoor recreation like fishing, hiking, lake or ocean swimming.  Whether w/e electric were available varied and some even offered cable tv.  Didn't find any that offered full hookups.  Generally, bathroom facilities were very clean but a few fell a bit short.  Stores in the cg were not generally available for small supplies.

Traffic noise was generally at a minimum.

People were friendly and in most cases, easy to meet and talk too.


Private cg's that we stayed at tended to be closer to attractions that we wanted to visit.

We found that these were closer to major roads, train tracks and airports.  While some were very nice, they were noisy.

Site size was generally on the smaller side but full hookups were available if needed.  Some sites were not wide enough to park the truck next to the camper.   Rates varied a great deal. Especially the little extras like a charge for a/c or a charge to dump your tanks even though you were camping there.  Most had some sort of store that had many items you might need.  A pool was generally available or minigolf.  Interesting to note that we found the pool and other activities closed after Labor Day however the rate remained the same.  A laundry was generally available.

Most of these cg's were full up of RV's and again, you didn't see many people out enjoying the outdoors.  TV antennas were up but I must say, we did meet some people but mainly when they were walking to the store, pool or bathrrom.  Not a lot of comarderie between neighbors.

Although we preferred the state and national cgs, the private ones also filled a need for us.  For instance, we stayed at a very clean cg across from Graceland in Memphis.  Saved us a lot of time travelling to find it and it was near shopping.  We didn't like all the traffic but then we were not camping, we were sightseeing in Memphis.

As for a comparison of rates, it basically evens out in the long run.  We paid a low of $10 to a high of $30 a night.  Some state and national parks were just as expensive as a private cg.

[tlhdoc]

Over all I have to agree with what you found on your trip.  A few weeks ago COTOC had a trip to Elk Neck State Park, MD.  The campground offered full hookup sites E/W/S for $35 a night.

[ForestCreature]

WHEW! from the title I thought you were talking about Walmart camping.
 
  State or Federal CGs win hands down over private any day.
 

[GeneF]

I didn't include WalMart but they do have the best camping prices, not the best campground.

We did use one on this trip.  It was late and DW and I were beat so we parked in the Walmart lot overnight.  Found out the next morning we were only 6 miles from the state cg we planned to stay at.

Although when you figure in what you spend shopping in the store, it really isn't free.

[cyclone]

Some of the state parks in TN do offer full hook-ups.  All I have camped in have w/e.  Not bad for less than $20/night.

[SpeakEasy]

Gotta say, my favorites are the National Parks. Like you, Gene, we've stayed in all types of campgrounds. For camping, the National Parks have it hands-down. For one thing, you can always get a good campfire talk from a ranger. For another thing, they seem to really enforce the quiet hours. We watched a group get kicked out of Shenandoah after a midnight party heard throughout the campground.

We will stay at a private, if we are sightseeing in an area, so we agree with you on that point.