You should think things through............

[campdaddy]

.......or, "How Not to Pick a Campsite."

This past Labor Day weekend we camped at Alum Creek Sp just north of Columbus Ohio. When I was contemplating camping there I used  Live Search Map like I alway do to pick a campsite. Now DW and I like the serenity of the more secluded sites. We enjoy the peace and quiet that comes from camping at sites that are somewhat isolated. Well for whatever reason when I was looking at the "Birdseye" view on the search map, I though it would be a good idea to pick a site right next to the camping beach. WHAT COULD I HAVE BEEN THINKING?

Now there is something like 280sites in Alum Creek SP and they had a sign up that the campground was full when we pulled in Friday afternoon. I'd estimate there was an average of 4 people per site. Thats somewhere in the neighborhood of 1000 people in this SP that weekend and I believe every last one of them went to that beach this past weekend. :yikes:  DW described it like camping in the midway of a carnival. Some walked, some drove, some rode bikes, some were respectful of our campsite, some - not so much. Some were loud, some were not. Some were sober, some not were not so sober. At one point while were out cooking on the campfire there were so many people walking by and looking that it I felt like an animal in the zoo cage being watched.

The two 15YO boys we took with us that weekend did enjoyed the girls in bikinis walking by though and we did allow them much more beach (girl watching) time than would have been had we camped further away.  Don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining about the park or the people. The park is great! I am just saying that had I thought about it a little further, I would have realized that that particular site would have been located in the most heavily traveled part of the park and we would have/should have chosen a different site.

Live and Learn! :eyecrazy:

[Gracy]

.......or, "How Not to Pick a Campsite."

This past Labor Day weekend we camped at Alum Creek Sp just north of Columbus Ohio. When I was contemplating camping there I used  Live Search Map like I alway do to pick a campsite. Now DW and I like the serenity of the more secluded sites. We enjoy the peace and quiet that comes from camping at sites that are somewhat isolated. Well for whatever reason when I was looking at the "Birdseye" view on the search map, I though it would be a good idea to pick a site right next to the camping beach. WHAT COULD I HAVE BEEN THINKING?

Not good huh?  hahaha!

[campdaddy]

Not good huh?  hahaha!

Hi Gracy......sorry but I pulled the trigger on posting this thread before before I meant to.....but now you know the rest of the story.

[austinado16]

Bummer....that's a tough way to spend the weekend!  But thanks for sharing the story.  Definately a funny situation to read about (but not to be in!).

[campdaddy]

Bummer....that's a tough way to spend the weekend!  But thanks for sharing the story.  Definately a funny situation to read about (but not to be in!).

DW was the one that was least happy with the site selection..........after all it wasn't just the 15 YO's that enjoyed the bikinis.  

Seriously though, if I had put just a little thought into the site selection, we would have picked a more secluded one. That being said, Alum Creek really is a quite nice SP, with a lot of things to do; especially if you are into water sports. With that many sites available, there is bound to be one that suits anyones preference. Some are really quite large, shaded, and secluded............I'm sure we would have been happier with one of those sites, but those probably didn't have the "scenery" that ours by the beach had.  :p

[austinado16]

DW was the one that was least happy with the site selection..........after all it wasn't just the 15 YO's that enjoyed the bikinis.  

Your DW should understand that there's just no cure for hotness!  Plus, it doesn't matter where you get your appetite, as long as you eat at home.

[campdaddy]

Your DW should understand that there's just no cure for hotness!  Plus, it doesn't matter where you get your appetite, as long as you eat at home.

Well put!
 

[CajunCamper]

One of our favorite campgrounds in Florida has just one big loop with campsites on the inside of the loop and campsites on the outside of the loop. The bath houses are in the center of the loop and each campsite on the inside of the loop has it's own trail leading to the bath houses. They also have four trails giving access to the bath houses for those camped on the outside of the loop.  Our first time there our campsite was right next to one of  the trails leading to the bath house and we had a constant flow of people walking past our campsite all day and through the evening.

They weren't doing anything wrong, they were just using a trail to the bath house that they had been provided, but it's only natural when you walk by a campsite to look into that campsite and we also felt like we were on display with the amount of foot traffic passing by.

So I'm with you campdaddy, we try to look careful at the layout of a campground before selecting a site. I've been camping for over 40 years and I still learn new things about how to make my camping experience more enjoyable and how to avoid unpleasant camping situations.

CajunCamper

[austinado16]

Hey Cajun, you back from the North Rim of the Grand Canyon yet?

[campdaddy]

........... we try to look careful at the layout of a campground before selecting a site. I've been camping for over 40 years and I still learn new things about how to make my camping experience more enjoyable and how to avoid unpleasant camping situations.

CajunCamper

Yep CajunCamper you have nailed exactly my point. The SP is great -I'll give it an unqualified recommendation- and the people were doing nothing wrong. When I checked the map I thought, "hey cool, look at this we can get a site right next to the beach." :banghead:  If I had been using my head for more than a place to hang my hat when I was reserving a site, I would have decided on a different one.

I'm pretty sure you and I aren't the first nor will we be the last to realize, after arriving at the park, that the site chosen wasn't the best one that could have been picked.

[CajunCamper]

Hey Cajun, you back from the North Rim of the Grand Canyon yet?

I had to cancel my Grand Canyon trip to get ready for hurricane Gustav and ride it out. Maybe next year.

CajunCamper

[Dray]

I hear ya.  I have twice reserved a "pull through" site only to find out upon arriving that the site was really just a wide spot in the road.  

One of the coolest cg's I stayed at had a picture of every site on their website.  So when making a reservation you could click on the map and it would show you a picture of the the site!

[CajunCamper]

I hear ya.  I have twice reserved a "pull through" site only to find out upon arriving that the site was really just a wide spot in the road.  

One of the coolest cg's I stayed at had a picture of every site on their website.  So when making a reservation you could click on the map and it would show you a picture of the the site!

The pictures of the sites are awesome. I never could understand why the campground websites show pictures of the guard shack at the entrance, the camp store, the bath house and very few if any pictures of the campsites. I can deal with a lousy store or a lousy bath house, but I can't deal with a lousy campsite.

CajunCamper

[taterandmoon]

Our last camping trip was like that.  I paid for a premium site because it was right next to the beach area, play area and bath house behind the play area, for the kids to GO and play and I could still keep an eye on them.  Give them a little freedom with mom still in eyesite.  It was not a very good site and I paid $5 extra for it.  Not only was there a path leading through our site to the beach area but the end of the camping pad was a small drop off to a drainage ditch.  The ditch was between us and the playground and beach.  The park was nice, but never that spot again.