Far enough away.

In hilly terrain, if you park on a ridge, you may be within sight and sound of someone on the next ridge. In valleys or canyons, you may be more isolated.

I try to find a campsite where no one else can possibly boondock nearby -- very hard to find. But not impossible, with enough hunting.

You can all most bet that you can park almost out of site of another RV, leave for an outing and come back home with someone close enough that you can speak without shouting.
About the same as parking in a shopping center. Park way off by yourself and when you come back from shopping someone is parked beside you.

IF you can see them you're too close :B

Folks boondock to get away......so park far enough away to provide a 'zone' where your activities don't intrude on others.

And as soon as you get set up.......someone will show up and park right next to you :S

Just like when you go into a public restroom.......empty urinals up & down the wall but the next guy in will use the one right next to you :H

Depends on the terrain for me...if it's well vegetated a couple hundred yards might be fine. But when out in the desert one needs more distance.

A second consideration might be style of camping, especially as regards noise. An important thing for me is enjoying the quiet surroundings one can only find when away from the crowd. I think this is a common goal for many booniers....so those who use generators or stereos etc. might want to maintain more distance from established campers.


I always try to make sure that any noise I make won't penetrate into a neighbor's "perimeter", and appreciate it when others follow a similar rule-of-thumb.