RVers who buy up campsites
We went to camp at a nice state park just north of Denver. Got a site for the first night, then for the second night we drove over to another open site that was on the water and had a better view. No...
Forum Discussion
Lantley wrote:toedtoes wrote:
I think where we're losing sight to the OP's post is that the person who reserved that campsite DID go to the campground and paid for the campsite for 5 days and then LEFT and didn't return for at least 2 days. This wasn't someone who had an unforeseen circumstance happen, this wasn't someone who made a reservation online and added a day for an early arrival or late departure. This was someone who intentionally booked a campsite they had no intention of using for several days.
Out here, in campgrounds that are close to a large town/city, this is why there is the "must be occupied the first night" rule - because otherwise locals drive up to the campground and reserve 2 weeks so they can have their favorite spot on the weekends. For those who are from outside the area, they drive up to a no-reservation campground that is fully booked but there are a dozen empty sites.
For me, that's why I stay at reservable campgrounds in high season. I don't want to arrive after a 4 hour drive to find that the locals booked all the sites and are sitting at home watching tv while I'm driving around looking for a place to park, or worse, driving the 4 hours back home.
But that's why there are different rules at different campgrounds. Because there is no one rule that makes it "fair" for everyone. You just have to find the campgrounds with the rules that work best for you and stay away from the ones that don't. Or start boondocking. :)
I'm not naive enough to believe the drive away camper scenario does not exist. But I imagine it is not a major issue. I'm sure there are locals that may game the system sometime but I don't think it is an epidemic. Most people don't have that much time or money to waste on NOT camping.
There are areas where it is an "epidemic". Not every area, campground, etc., has this problem, but it does exist and in some areas/campgrounds it is a major issue. That's why there are different rules - because every campground and every area is different. Again, there is no "one size fits all" when it comes to campsites.
