Camp Ground or Dry Camping

[chasd60]

I love drycamping. DD is OK with it but doesn't love it

My sig shows why.

[Funrover]

Dry camp - I hate crowds( I left to get away, not to make new neighbors) Privacy( they pack in the campers closer than houses where I live), Cost( I see no point to paying the ridiculous cost they want to stay there)

I get out and escape, go where no one else is and enjoy the otdoor a lot more dry campig.... I go to forest campgrounds once or twice a year but no more... and IMO the big KOA's and such are a complete waste of time and money!

[endless horizons]

We do either it just depends on the campground. That's one of the reasons we love our popup. It has been great to be able to not worry about dry camping or not.

Five years ago my husband son and nephew planned on hiking the grand canyon from the north rim.  There are no hookups in the national park at the rim.
The day before my mother in law had a bad fall and needed to go to the ER 1 hr away. My husband's question was "do we hike or not"  I reminded him this was the very reason we purchased the popup.

I tucked my then 3yo and 8yo in and left them with my older son and nephew and drove to the ER.  Retuened to anice warm trailer my mother in law had a nice twin bed to sleep in.

The next morning the guys went hiking without any worries. When they returned three days later my mother in law was doing great. She was able to relax with her leg raised, take her meds watch movies and play with the grand kids. If we would have been in tents we would have had to cancel the hike and return home.

Happy camping
maggie

['tiredTeacher]

The fewer the amenities, the more satisfying the experience. You won't catch me in one of those mobile ghettos.

[Funrover]

The fewer the amenities, the more satisfying the experience. You won't catch me in one of those mobile ghettos.

That quote is great!!  I am keeping that!

[GeneF]

Like most, I also prefer State, National or CORE cgs.  We enjoy the nature part.  Prefer swimming in a lake than a pool or taking a walk down a wooded path than riding a golf cart.

I do prefer to have elec and water but if I have to dry camp, that is no problem.  For the past few years we have done a week at Acadia, dry camping.

If we are on the road travelling, we will use a KOA even though they may be a bit more expensive.  Main reason is that you generally know what you will be getting.  Jellystone is at the bottom of our list.

We will use private cg's if they are near areas that we want to explore.  Much more convenient that way.  Example:  We stayed at a cg that was right behind Hearbreak Hotel in Memphis.  We could walk to Elvis's estate plus it was short drives to other items of interest to us.

Although I do like some peace and quiet, a large part of camping, for dw and I, is meeting other people.  We have met some great people and made some new friends over the years while camping.

98% of the people that we have met, we have enjoyed.

[vjm1639]

When it was just DH and I we went wherever......we have favorites that have full hookups to no hookups at all  most of our fav's are state, national or city campgrounds.....now that we have to take Mom with us, we try to at least have electricity....Mom always hated camping but if I can at least promise her she'll be warm and she'll have movies on a tv if she gets too bored, she tolerates it ......   it's taking some getting use to.....................

[dthurk]

98% of the people that we have met, we have enjoyed.

Uh oh.

[Darrell T]

I do only dry/boondock type camping. No campgrounds or hook ups. I try to find a place far off the beaten path...well as far as a PUP can go anyway.
Darrell

[Funrover]

I do only dry/boondock type camping. No campgrounds or hook ups. I try to find a place far off the beaten path...well as far as a PUP can go anyway.
Darrell

Yup  that is why I am putting a 7" lift on my PUP on top of the axle flip I already did!

[campdaddy]

For the most part we prefer to camp with at least electric hook ups for the AC. As long as there is potable water available in the campgrounds somewhere so we can fill our tank, we're good. Also, usually we like the State Parks but here in Ohio those too can vary greatly in amenities. Most OSPs all will have electric available and most will have full hook ups, but we don't care about full. The sites themselves will vary greatly from park to park; for instance, Buck Creek is very near our home but we don't camp there because the sites are just too close to each other for us. They also have very little shade, which we really like. A few weeks ago we camped at Tar Hollow State Park  and it was almost like boon docking -but with electric hookups- the sites were so spacious and very few people, totally surrounded by forests and plenty of trees on the sites. We do dry camp a couple of times a year at a privately owned CG about an hour drive from here, but only in the Spring and Fall when the need for AC isn't as great. We love this place because the sites are huge with large mature trees providing shade on each site. Also, the sites are right on the Little Miami River and there is the Little Miami Scenic Bike Trail that is accessible from the CG. So, bottom line? We don't care if it's dry camping or hookups as long as we get our (camping) needs met. Drinking water someplace accessible and the temperature not too warm to make sleeping uncomfortable. After those needs have been met, we look for privacy, shade, and nearby activities like rivers, biking and or hiking trails. And, although not a prerequisite it would be nice if we could do some nearby Geocaching.

[AZsix]

Well after reading all the replies I started to do some research and found out that a lot of the state parks here in AZ have full hookups available. Some of them are right next to lakes is nice. My whole way of thinking has changed. I think we will still stay in private cg's once in awhile. It's nice having a pool for the kids especially here in AZ. but I plan on visiting as many of the state parks as I can however.

Thanks to all who shared their opinions. It gave me the answers I was looking for. I'm so glad I stumpled onto this forum. I learn something everytime that I log on. I think my wife is beginning to think I have a girlfriend on here as much as I read it. I had a strong desire to get out and camp before I joined this forum but now I want to go all the time!

I thought that buying a PUP was a much cheaper way to go but you all keep introducing me to new things to spend my money on. Little by little we'll have equipped just the way that we want it. For now I'll get the essentials first and then work on the rest of it.

Thanks again to everyone for sharing their stories, thoughts and knowledge.