Layout of campgrounds

[jarata1]

Just started getting into camping one thing I noticed is the campsites are all in a row right on top of each other.Its really frustrating.They almost look like refugee camps.
Does anyone else feel this way and is it a matter of just looking to find the best campgrounds.
I like the state campgrounds they seem more speadout but im wondering if they are a little more wild do to maybe not as much rules about noise

[Dennis_M_M]

Best bet is to go to RV Park Reviews.com and check the reviews.

I also look at the satellite view on Google Maps to see if the site I want has a clear view of the sky for the sat dish.

[phillyg]

And, some of those CGs are from a time when RVs were smaller, and often have electric, water and sewer issues.

[Cloughfam]

My family and I tend to do state parks in order to have some space and quiet. The fact that alcohol is prohibited helps things stay quiet. Fewer golf carts and less water parks allow us to enjoy nature....but certainly to each his own.

[2gypsies1]

For our 16 years of full-timing we used public parks 90% of the time...or else boondocking on national forest or BLM lands.

We absolutely hate campsites right in a row. Even in some public parks - national forest, state parks, COE or city and county parks, they are able to have hookups without loosing the space and privacy. Having to look at RVs on all 4 sides of us is awful and especially having the neighbor's sewer connection at our picnic table. Ugh!

[Jebby14]

you my friend are in the wrong parks. find some more wilderness style parks (I almost exclusively look for provincial parks around here)or better yet go boondocking you are in a way nicer part of the planet than me for wilderness

[parkmanaa]

The biggest difference between a private park and a Govt. park be it Corps of Engineers, or just a park built by a state, is one is privately financed, the
others are Govt. subsidized. One must make a profit or close it's doors, the others can lose money forever and still remain open.
Cost of building a nice park is extremely high. A few years ago The National Assn. of Campground Owners came out with a cost figure of $14,000 per site to construct, AFTER you buy your land. That means a 100 site park costs $1.4 million dollars to build plus cost of the land, which is also expensive if located in a good location with high traffic count.
It's a matter of Govt. supplying or private industry supplying the park.

[Halmfamily]

We looked at a private campground in GA and you didn't have enough space to open your awning, needless to say we won't be staying there.

We mainly camp at state and federal parks. Alabama state parks are well run with little to know issues. I know at Wind Creek SP where we spend our summers there is zero tolerance with the Rangers. Do you research and visit prospective parks ahead of time if you can.

[tpi]

jarata1 wrote:
Just started getting into camping one thing I noticed is the campsites are all in a row right on top of each other.Its really frustrating.They almost look like refugee camps.
Does anyone else feel this way and is it a matter of just looking to find the best campgrounds.
I like the state campgrounds they seem more speadout but im wondering if they are a little more wild do to maybe not as much rules about noise

As posted it's the economics for many commercial campgrounds. If you're looking for something more spread out, gather up some candidates in area you're interested in. Use google satellite view to see the general layout. Use review pages or google image search to see photos of the campground. As said, utility runs, land, landscaping, and paving can be expensive. No hookup public campsites in natural terrain tend to have better spacing. Once in a while I've stayed at public campgrounds with full hookups with huge spacing-such as Sand Hollow State Park in southern Utah. Occasionally even some commercial campgrounds can be relatively spread out. For me, for an overnight stop, even a tightly packed campground is fine. I've also found them to be fine if I'm sightseeing an area and basically coming back to the campsite to sleep. As for noise, I think you're best bet is to avoid big holidays/weekends if you can. I've had many, many quiet nights in public campgrounds. Far more good nights than bad.

[SoundGuy]

Dutch_12078 wrote:
There are parks with better sites if you look for them.

Sumter Oaks RV Park, Bushnell, FL:

Jacksonville North/St Mary's KOA, Kingsland, GA:

The Villages at Turning Stone, Verona, NY:

Those are "better" sites? I'd call those maybe a 3 out of 10! :E

You need to come north here to Ontario where a "better" site would look more like this ...



Obviously of the tens of thousands of sites available in the provincial park system, conservation areas, etc, not all are this generous but as a general rule this is what you'll often get. Neighbours? ... sure, might be lucky to see part of the site next to you ... maybe. One downside - those camping on electric sites in the provincial park system would be well advised to have lots of main service cable on hand as 100'+ runs aren't unusual at all. :E

And yes, we have camped in many various parts of the US and haven't often found sites as private as those here in Ontario. :B

[Oasisbob]

We camp Oregon State parks & USFS campgrounds. Some are as you describe. Much like parking lots. In my opinion they re all way too close to one another. Always that one group that ignores quiet time as it does not apply to them. It's an attitude & perspective thing I suppose. We spend little time in camp. Usually hiking kayaking or fishing .

[NCWriter]

You get kind of used to it if and when you are in narrow grid campgrounds which are fine for an overnight on the road.

In theory, everyone's living space (awning/picnic table) is on the passenger side so your own RV blocks what the neighbors are doing on their side. Of course, in a "view" campground, a lot of people, but not all, will park front in (instead of backing in) - and some campgrounds are even laid out so that your picnic tables face each other - so you never know.

We like state, provincial, and NP campgrounds. Just stayed in a great site in Des-Rosiers CG in Forillon NP on the Gaspe Peninsula. Lots of foliage, privacy, and each site had a sort of "room" where the picnic table and fire pit were placed. Great CG, with the Gulf of St. Lawrence for a view in some sites, too, but a short walk to the water for all sites.

Still, if WiFi, cable, etc is important, you'll want a commercial CG.

RV Park Reviews dot com can help.

[doxiemom11]

Try the Corp of Engineer Parks. Most times the sites are spread out and woodsy on or near water. We look for smaller (fewer sites) parks and they tend to be less like a parking lot.

[westernrvparkow]

Yes, it is all about costs, profitability, terrain and zoning. It easily costs $250 a linear foot in construction alone when figuring width of a site. Each foot has to have electrical wire, water line, sewer line, cable TV line, irrigation lines and landscaping. These lines have to be trenched in and the square footage of the site figured into the irrigation needs of the site. Each foot of site width adds a foot of road. So you are looking at $2500 in construction costs alone to make a site 10 feet wider. If the site and road together are 100 feet long, that's 1000 square feet of additional land per site. That means a 100 site park would be a minimum of 2.5 acres larger (and probably much more due to terrain) and cost an additional $250,000 to build. And that is only getting you an additional 10 feet.
Then you would have all the recurring costs of irrigating, mowing and maintaining an additional 2.5 acres. On top of that, those two and one half acres of land could cost upwards of several hundred thousand per acre, depending up where the park is located.
All this is the bare minimum of costs based on constructing a new park. Those costs would soar if it were upgrading an existing park since the old sites would have to be removed along with the existing infrastructure before the park could build the new sites.

[CWDoc115]

It varies by park. 1 I was researching wanted to know how many slide outs we had due to space restrictions. We didn't even bother with it... We just spent 6 months at Big Cypress CG near Clewiston, FL & it was one of the most spacious CG's we have stayed in. When we moved to another CG we visited both CG close to where we wanted to be. One had the campers stacked together like cordwood. We chose the other one because the campsites had a little more room.

[Dutch_12078]

There are parks with better sites if you look for them.

Sumter Oaks RV Park, Bushnell, FL:



Jacksonville North/St Mary's KOA, Kingsland, GA:



The Villages at Turning Stone, Verona, NY: