Pull Thru site defined

[Dray]

At least twice over the years I have reserved a "pull thru" site and upon arrival at the site found that its just a wide spot in the road, with nothing separating the site and the road.  In my opinion a wide spot in the road should not qualify as a pull thru site.  

One of the things I do before I make a reservation is do as much research as possible.  The internet is a great tool and you can find out a lot about a given cg and sometimes a particular site within the cg.  I use Google Earth and Google Maps and read reviews of the cg.  Still, it is sometimes difficult to know what your getting into.

The campgrounds that have pull thru sites that I feel should not be called that are DL Bliss at Lake Tahoe CA, Sunset Beach near Monterey CA., and Samuel Taylor State Park CA.

[wavery]

At least twice over the years I have reserved a "pull thru" site and upon arrival at the site found that its just a wide spot in the road, with nothing separating the site and the road.  In my opinion a wide spot in the road should not qualify as a pull thru site.  

One of the things I do before I make a reservation is do as much research as possible.  The internet is a great tool and you can find out a lot about a given cg and sometimes a particular site within the cg.  I use Google Earth and Google Maps and read reviews of the cg.  Still, it is sometimes difficult to know what your getting into.

The campgrounds that have pull thru sites that I feel should not be called that are DL Bliss at Lake Tahoe CA, Sunset Beach near Monterey CA., and Samuel Taylor State Park CA.

I think that the designation "Pull through" is only intended to let the customer know that the site is not a "Back-in" site.

I suppose that there could be many different ways to describe a site. I'm not sure how the sites that you are describing would be otherwise described seeing as there only seems to be the 2 different distinctions in most CGs.

We camp at Pt Mugu a lot. It is a "Street Side" parking arrangement as you describe. I can understand your frustration. If you've never been there before and are expecting a "Pull through" site, it might be frustrating to find that you may have to "parallel park" your camper, which could be challenging. Although, in most cases, we have been able to just "Pull-in" and "Pull-out" without any backing.

[CajunCamper]

Dray,

I don't have the need for a pull through site, but I have had my share of disappointments checking into campgrounds that I nor my friends were familiar with only to find that the description on the campground website didn't really match up with reality. I find it frustrating to visit a campgrounds website, whether it be a private campground, a state park, a National Park or National Forest Campground and they only have pictures of the camp store, the entrance, the bath house and no pictures of the campsites. I want pictures of the campsites.

Anyway, a couple of years ago I started visiting sites such as webshots.com or flickr, you know the sites where people post their pictures and I started typing in the names of campgrounds I was thinking of staying in. In alot of cases fellow campers have taken pictures of the campgounds and the sites they stayed in along with site numbers and posted them on these sites. I have actually reserved specific campsites based on the pictures I've seen on these sites and have been pleased with the sites on every occasion.

Oh also you can check on youtube as well, sometimes you will get a real good feel for a campground on there.

Anyway, just thought I would share that with you, I hope it helps.

[coach]

In my opinion a wide spot in the road should not qualify as a pull thru site.

If it costs extra to redefine this type of spot (change the brochure, hire someone to define spots, etc), I'm not willing to pay those costs, that's my vote.
I also vote NO to taking pics if there is any cost at all.
I vote YES for camping fees be based on TV/trailer weight and no discount for age.
I vote yes for per person fees also!

[Hoagie]

This website is limited to the Western U.S., but their database of campsite photos is growing.

http://www.campsitephotos.com/

Here's one just for Yosemite NP

http://yosemitecampsites.com/

And here's one that purports to have ratings, photos, videos and more on over 3,000 CGs. It currently lists only National and State Parks and Forests, at least in the 1/2 dozen states I checked. It looks like this site is just getting off the ground. They are looking for photo submissions.

http://www.campsitereports.com/

HTH

[Jim K in PA]

We just reserved a campsite in SD (Custer SP) and they have a fantastic setup where EVERY camp site has a picture and a description.  They too have the "side of the road" pull through sites, which I do not care for.  But at least you can see them, both on the campsite map, and in the photographs.

IT can be frustrating, but with a little homework, you can usually find a good spot.  I much prefer the effort to having "standardized" camp sites and facilities.  Far too much predictability.