Check In / Check Out Times

[SoundGuy]

Here in Ontario in the provincial park system check out time from a campsite has been 2 pm for as long as I can remember. Obviously if someone else is on the site we're checking in to the current occupants have the right to not vacate the site until that time, 'though in most cases folks do seem to not drag their departure out to the last second so if we arrive early and the site is empty we're free to start setting up. If it is still occupied because we've arrived early then we'll wander off to the beach or elsewhere until 2 pm. Seems fair enough and most seem to be happy with this policy :B

Today I started the reservation process for a campsite in a nearby conservation area where the campsite departure time has always been 1 pm, a bit earlier than I'd prefer but acceptable. As I worked my way through the new reservation system they're now using I was shocked to read that their check out time is now 9 am and the check in time for the next occupant is 10 am! Say what?!! Do they seriously expect people to pack up and get off a site by 9 in the morning, especially if it's a family with a gaggle of kids and all the additional "stuff" any family tends to drag along with them on a camping trip?!! Seriously? All this and they've simultaneously raised the campsite fee so it's now over $53 Cdn per night and raised the reservation fee to a whopping $15. :E

Needless to say I used their contact email addy to express my disgust but likewise needless to say I expect no response justifying such ridiculous changes in their camping policies. I've got one reservation for this place that I made back in the winter that we'll keep because we're camping with my nephew and his family but after that I doubt we'll ever go back there again. :M

Time to get our NEXUS cards so we can quickly slip across the border for more camping in the US! :B

[toedtoes]

I'm not a morning person either. So I do my camp cleanup the day before departure. Then I can get up at 10 am, have a breakfast and be off by 11 am (or whatever the check out time). If I want to take a leisurely stroll around the campground, then that's one day I "need" to get up early while on vacation.

Also, remember that if you don't leave until 4 pm and someone is coming in, they may be setting up camp in the dark depending on time of year.

That's why most places make it between 11 am and 2 pm - it is the most convenient for both those coming and going.

Any earlier and it is a major inconvenience and even if you aren't leaving, you have to listen to those around you packing up at 6 am while you're trying to sleep in.

Any later and people are setting up in the dark and even if you aren't leaving, you have to listen to those around you packing up or setting up while you're trying to enjoy the afternoon/evening.

Having to break camp by 11 am - 1 pm is a minor problem when you think of all the other inconveniences to folks by changing the check out time. And at that time, you are least likely to disturb other campers who are late risers or early to bedders or who have small children taking naps, etc.

[SoundGuy]

toedtoes wrote:
No mocking involved.

You're mixing up two completely different things here. My question was for the folks on this board who have stated they need more time to pack up and leave. Even with a morning hike, I can easily be packed up and ready to go by check out.

Tent campers in my area get up and eat breakfast then the adults break camp while the kids take a last play/hike. They don't seem to have any trouble with an 11 am (or later) check out time.

So what takes so long to pack up for the folks on this board??

My apologies, I obviously took your comment the wrong way. 😮

Case in point though ... back when we camped in a popup with our 2 young boys it always seemed to take at least 1.5 hrs to strike camp and because it was a popup there really wasn't a whole lot that could be done the night before. On our long 4 week trip west in 2005 we managed to reduce that time to ~ 1/2 hr but only because we took just the absolute necessities. These days it's just my wife & I and because we now camp in travel trailer we can if needed be off the site in ~ 20 mins, particularly because with a TT we can easily put away almost everything the night before. If the next morning's forecast calls for inclement weather I'll sometimes clean & retract the awning the night before and because our slide doesn't limit interior access in any way I'll also sometimes sweep the top clean and retract it also. This all helps but if we were still camping in a tent or popup there's no way we could do this so quickly.

Second example ... at least once each season we camp with my nephew & his wife who have 3 boys, the oldest who is now 23 and severely autistic. This imposes a heavy financial burden on them but they do manage to own a popup camper and try to get out whenever they can. Believe me, it's a real process for this family of five to set up and tear down after a few days of camping. Getting off site by 11 am would certainly be a challenge, 9 am impossible.

[drsteve]

Trekkar wrote:

drsteve wrote:
Here in Michigan the state parks all are 11AM checkout, 1PM check in. Some parks have no-alcohol rules, but they operate on the wink and a nod system. The only people I have ever seen getting busted for alcohol by the rangers are the ones making noise and causing a disturbance.

The online registration site FAQ shows Michigan State Parks check in at 3 p.m., and check out time at 1 p.m.

That's what it listed in Muskegon State ParK when I stayed earlier this month.

It sure does... I stand corrected. I wonder when they changed it?

[afidel]

toedtoes wrote:

SoundGuy wrote:

toedtoes wrote:
How many hours does it take folks to pack up? I usually do a basic clean up the night before and then the actual pack up takes less than 15 minutes.

Sure, for a well organized adult couple with minimal gear, camping in a travel trailer ... but for a family of 5 with small kids, camping in a tent or popup, perhaps with additional tents, a dining shelter, and all manner of extraneous "stuff" 15 mins isn't going to do it at all. So easy to always look at a situation from your eyes only and mock others who don't meet your standards. :R

No mocking involved.

You're mixing up two completely different things here. My question was for the folks on this board who have stated they need more time to pack up and leave. Even with a morning hike, I can easily be packed up and ready to go by check out.

Tent campers in my area get up and eat breakfast then the adults break camp while the kids take a last play/hike. They don't seem to have any trouble with an 11 am (or later) check out time.

So what takes so long to pack up for the folks on this board??

Not everyone is a morning person, on vacation we often don't wake up until 11 or noon if we don't have to, getting up at 8am so we can have breakfast and break camp by 11am makes the day much, much less enjoyable for us.

[toedtoes]

SoundGuy wrote:

toedtoes wrote:
How many hours does it take folks to pack up? I usually do a basic clean up the night before and then the actual pack up takes less than 15 minutes.

Sure, for a well organized adult couple with minimal gear, camping in a travel trailer ... but for a family of 5 with small kids, camping in a tent or popup, perhaps with additional tents, a dining shelter, and all manner of extraneous "stuff" 15 mins isn't going to do it at all. So easy to always look at a situation from your eyes only and mock others who don't meet your standards. :R

No mocking involved.

You're mixing up two completely different things here. My question was for the folks on this board who have stated they need more time to pack up and leave. Even with a morning hike, I can easily be packed up and ready to go by check out.

Tent campers in my area get up and eat breakfast then the adults break camp while the kids take a last play/hike. They don't seem to have any trouble with an 11 am (or later) check out time.

So what takes so long to pack up for the folks on this board??

[Atlee]

Colter Bay RV Park at Grand Teton NP, check out is 11am. Check in is 4pm.

Both Madison Campground and Fishing Bridge CG at Yellowstone the check out and check in is 11am.

[Trekkar]

drsteve wrote:
Here in Michigan the state parks all are 11AM checkout, 1PM check in. Some parks have no-alcohol rules, but they operate on the wink and a nod system. The only people I have ever seen getting busted for alcohol by the rangers are the ones making noise and causing a disturbance.

The online registration site FAQ shows Michigan State Parks check in at 3 p.m., and check out time at 1 p.m.

That's what it listed in Muskegon State ParK when I stayed earlier this month.

[SoundGuy]

toedtoes wrote:
How many hours does it take folks to pack up? I usually do a basic clean up the night before and then the actual pack up takes less than 15 minutes.

Sure, for a well organized adult couple with minimal gear, camping in a travel trailer ... but for a family of 5 with small kids, camping in a tent or popup, perhaps with additional tents, a dining shelter, and all manner of extraneous "stuff" 15 mins isn't going to do it at all. So easy to always look at a situation from your eyes only and mock others who don't meet your standards. :R

[SoundGuy]

2gypsies wrote:
If you have an early check-out time... say 1pm and want to stay longer, many state parks have a day use area.

A 9 am check out time (which initiated this discussion) is early but I wouldn't consider 1 pm as "early" or unreasonable. Personally, I prefer 2 pm but even 1 pm means we can still enjoy a full morning at the beach, return to our campsite for lunch, then strike camp and depart by the required check out time, especially if we do some of the prep for departure the night before. The idea posed by some of an extended check out time on Sun afternoons may seem attractive to weekenders but for those of us with flexible schedules who often arrive on Sun afternoons this idea wouldn't work at all and in a publicly funded system like we have here in Ontario provincial parks just wouldn't sell. 😞

[2gypsies1]

toedtoes wrote:
How many hours does it take folks to pack up? I usually do a basic clean up the night before and then the actual pack up takes less than 15 minutes.

Exactly:B

[toedtoes]

How many hours does it take folks to pack up? I usually do a basic clean up the night before and then the actual pack up takes less than 15 minutes.

[Lantley]

wnjj wrote:

2gypsies wrote:
If you have an early check-out time... say 1pm and want to stay longer, many state parks have a day use area. Pack up and move there until 5pm or so. I would think your fee would be covered because you're already in the park. We've never used this method to stay longer but you might look into it. Sure better than paying another day for a campsite.

Not to mention that paying for another night in a busy park means someone else can't use it. We've used the day use area after camping at several types of parks.

Buying nights to extend the hours seems like a waste of money and limited resources.

Checkout times before 1pm belong at hotels. It takes time to pack up a campsite. I really like the idea of a late checkout on Sundays even if the other days don't have it.

I have learned to just pay for another night and leave at my leisure.
There were times when I would pack up and move to the day use area.
But that got old. Packing and Parking got to be a waste of time.I would leave dog in the RV with genset/A/C running. It was just easier to pay and stay. In the grand scheme of my camping expenditures a few more days of camping fees don't really matter.
I would spend just as much hanging out, using snack bar, running genset etc. vs. just paying for another day.
Really not concerned about the next guy. The next guy can have it as soon as I'm done with it. There is always a next guy whether I leave in the AM or in the evening someone is always waiting their turn.

[drsteve]

SoundGuy wrote:

drsteve wrote:
Here in Michigan the state parks all are 11AM checkout, 1PM check in.

As I mentioned earlier we've camped quite a bit in the US but I've not really paid much attention to check out / check in times as we're usually traveling and therefore most often leave early in the morning and arrive later in the day. Reading these posts it seems that 11 am check out / 1 pm check in is pretty common in many US state parks - my question therefore is, is it much as it is here in Ontario where you can leave your site by the required time but remain in the park for the rest of the day? And if so, are there generally parking areas available where one can park the trailer while off at the beach, etc? :@

Yes. There are always a few RVs sitting in the beach parking lots, especially at the Lake Michigan parks.

[wnjj]

2gypsies wrote:
If you have an early check-out time... say 1pm and want to stay longer, many state parks have a day use area. Pack up and move there until 5pm or so. I would think your fee would be covered because you're already in the park. We've never used this method to stay longer but you might look into it. Sure better than paying another day for a campsite.

Not to mention that paying for another night in a busy park means someone else can't use it. We've used the day use area after camping at several types of parks.

Buying nights to extend the hours seems like a waste of money and limited resources.

Checkout times before 1pm belong at hotels. It takes time to pack up a campsite. I really like the idea of a late checkout on Sundays even if the other days don't have it.

[2gypsies1]

If you have an early check-out time... say 1pm and want to stay longer, many state parks have a day use area. Pack up and move there until 5pm or so. I would think your fee would be covered because you're already in the park. We've never used this method to stay longer but you might look into it. Sure better than paying another day for a campsite.