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

[SoundGuy]

toedtoes wrote:
Oh, and here is the first response to my question on the tent camping forum:

8am would be too early for me
scout camping we generally have 30-50 people packed and ready to go by 10am
if 30-50 scouts and parents can be packed and out by 10am no eeason anyone else cant be ready by 10am
can always do activities after your packed and out

I don't see any commonality at all between teen scouts who are individually expected to be responsible for getting themselves organized by a certain time and are chaperoned by adults monitoring that they do so and a family with a couple of young kids camping in a tent or popup struggliing to meet such an unreasonably early check out deadline. Silly comparison. :R

[SoundGuy]

toedtoes wrote:
The current times have been standard for the past 50 years I've been camping and there hasn't been an uprising so I suspect it works well for the majority of people.

SoundGuy wrote:
What "standard" is that? :h In this thread alone people have talked about check out times ranging from 11 am to as late as 4 pm.

toedtoes wrote:
The standard is between 11 am and 1 pm. There are places that have different times, but the standard has always been this.

Hilarious - perhaps you should inform Ontario Parks (the second largest park system in N America) of the error of their ways. :S

I've noticed also some saying "ask the Camp Host" if you want to leave late. Not here in Ontario you won't - a Camp Host has no control over check in / check out times as all site rentals are coordinated through the reservation systems being used, regardless of whether a site is reserved online or by phone or is sold on a first come / first serve basis. Can't have some camp host randomly thwart the system and cause endless chaos. Too funny. :W

[SoundGuy]

micar wrote:
What annoys me about the Provincial Park reservation system is the fact that I can only book sites large enough for my >32ft RV, but someone with a tiny 2 person tent can also book the same site. I know I can't physically fit on a small site....but Large sites should only be available to larger campers.

Annoyed as you may be this is an argument you'll never win. 😛 Although you & I pay to visit and camp in Ontario provincial parks it's still a tax supported public system owned & operated by the Ontario government. As such availability must be offered equally to all, whether one camps in a tent or a monster 5th. As you know, the reservation process requires you to select a size category most suitable for your size of rig, referred to as Allowed Equipment. If you instead select an alternate size the understanding is it's your responsibility if you later discover your rig won't fit on that site. Based on my own trailer's size I should be selecting Trailer or RV up to 25' but in fact I always select Trailer or RV up to 18' as I know from experience that these site characterizations are quite conservative and doing so increases the number of sites shown as available for the dates I've selected. If I later find my trailer actually won't fit on the site I've reserved then it's my problem, not Ontario Parks' ... but that's not yet ever happened to me. No one forced you to buy a large rig which naturally brings with it many more limitations in site availability no matter where you go and is one of many reasons some of us intentionally choose a smaller trailer instead.

Now back to our regularly scheduled program discussing check in / check out times. :W

[micar]

I can work around check in/check out times.
What annoys me about the Provincial Park reservation system is the fact that I can only book sites large enough for my >32ft RV, but someone with a tiny 2 person tent can also book the same site. I know I can't physically fit on a small site....but Large sites should only be available to larger campers.
We went to Killbear to try and get a non reservable site, we drove around to find a site only to see all the large pull thru's occupied by tents and the small tent sites empty!!

[SDcampowneroper]

A great deal of the conversation in this thread seems to be coming from weekenders. Thats fine as long as they understand that if they are in a popular park during prime season that is also busy weekdays. A common occurance in tourism areas away from Metropolitan centers.
We understand weekenders would like to have later check in/ out times due to short travel times and work schedules. This means late arrivals which is bothersome to other guests, late check outs which do not give camp staff time to prepare the site( think cleaning out the firepit, mowing) could leave the next guest waiting for their site.
Many camps like ours weve been to make reasonable allowance for both scenarios with a parking area where the earlies can wait, the lates can park in while they play at the pool have lunch or sightsee. If the site is available early or late allowance can be made for that use. A small fee may be charged to cover costs.
Campgrounds are not a rent by the hour place, that place is on the other side of the tracks.

[toedtoes]

Oh, and here is the first response to my question on the tent camping forum:


8am would be too early for me
scout camping we generally have 30-50 people packed and ready to go by 10am
if 30-50 scouts and parents can be packed and out by 10am no eeason anyone else cant be ready by 10am
can always do activities after your packed and out

[toedtoes]

SoundGuy wrote:

toedtoes wrote:
The current times have been standard for the past 50 years I've been camping and there hasn't been an uprising so I suspect it works well for the majority of people.

What "standard" is that? :h In this thread alone people have talked about check out times ranging from 11 am to as late as 4 pm. Also the notion that there must be a gap between check out and check in is nonsense - in our Ontario conservation areas a 1 pm check out / 2 pm check in seems to be fairly common but in the Ontario provincial park system it's a 2 pm check out / 2 pm check in ... nothing "standard" about any of this.

The standard is between 11 am and 1 pm. There are places that have different times, but the standard has always been this.

And I never said there MUST be a gap - I said that some campgrounds want that gap for various reasons.

Again, if you don't like a campground's check out policy then go elsewhere, pay for an extra night, or ask the host if you can leave late. Your desire to stay late doesn't mean that everyone else wants it.

[SoundGuy]

toedtoes wrote:
The current times have been standard for the past 50 years I've been camping and there hasn't been an uprising so I suspect it works well for the majority of people.

What "standard" is that? :h In this thread alone people have talked about check out times ranging from 11 am to as late as 4 pm. Also the notion that there must be a gap between check out and check in is nonsense - in our Ontario conservation areas a 1 pm check out / 2 pm check in seems to be fairly common but in the Ontario provincial park system it's a 2 pm check out / 2 pm check in ... nothing "standard" about any of this.

[toedtoes]

But they have to consider the folks coming in too. If you don't leave until 2 pm, then others can't come in until after 3 pm. They may want to be able to setup camp and have a coup!e hours to relax/explore before having to start prepping dinner. They may want daytime hours for their kids to burn off energy that first day.

And some campgrounds want/need more time between the check out and check in times. It will reduce opposing traffic on the narrow roads, it lets the camphost do a bathroom clean, reservation checks, etc., without trying to deal with incoming traffic at the same time.

Most places have check outs between 11 am and 1 pm. If you don't like the 11 am, then choose the places with 1 pm. If that's still too ear!y then pay for another day.

The end result is that if they all change their check out times to suit your preferences, then someone else will be unhappy. The current times have been standard for the past 50 years I've been camping and there hasn't been an uprising so I suspect it works well for the majority of people.

[SoundGuy]

toedtoes wrote:
As I stated before, most of the campgrounds where I camp have tent campers and they normally pack up and go after breakfast. I do not see tent campers struggling to meet the check out times. When I was younger and we tent camped, it was just part of camping - that last morning was for packing up, not hiking, swimming, etc. It was never a big deal for us at either 11 am or 1 pm - mostly because parents were ready to go home by then.

Different strokes for different folks I guess. Personally I'd stay all afternoon on the day of departure but I have to admit my wife does like to get going so we're home by mid afternoon, mostly so she can still do some gardening. I HATE gardening so I guess that explains why my only concern is to be home before dark. :W A check out time of 2 pm satisfies both those needs nicely but as I said earlier I can live with 1 pm, just don't prefer it.

We also sometimes camp with friends & relatives and find that on the day of departure most like to get together that last morning after brekkie to enjoy some time together around the campfire before starting the process of breaking camp. After that we grab lunch so by the time we're actually ready to depart it's at least 1 pm ... anything earlier and we'd have to forego that get together. 😞

[docsouce]

Wow. 9am check out time is certainly early. It's just my wife and I and we usually like to be on the road by 10am at the latest. However sometimes we just like to hang around and have that second cup of coffee or maybe take a quick dip in the pool or lake (if there is one). 9am just seems odd. As mentioned, thinking about it, mostly it's out by 11am in after 1pm. We like to quit early though, and we have never been turned away if we show a little early (an hour or so). I always mention we can come back later if they want, but if there is a site available we have never been turned away. Then again we have a smaller rig and that tends to make things a little easier.

[toedtoes]

SoundGuy wrote:

toedtoes wrote:
There's always an exception, like your nephew's family. However, those exceptions should not dictate the rule.

My my nephew and his wife certainly face extra challenges but I wouldn't say they necessarily represent all that much of an exception - lots of families camp, lots of them camp in tents and popups that take a l-o-n-g time to set up and tear down, certainly much longer that my wife & I do with our travel trailer. JMO, but a check out time any earlier than 1 pm is asking a lot of these folks.

OK. So in that vein, I posted a poll on a camping forum I frequent which has mostly tent campers. I asked them simply what check out time is too early:

10 am and earlier
11 am
1 pm
2 pm and later

I'll post the numbers here (it's not a big forum and folks may take a few weeks to get their votes in).


As I stated before, most of the campgrounds where I camp have tent campers and they normally pack up and go after breakfast. I do not see tent campers struggling to meet the check out times. When I was younger and we tent camped, it was just part of camping - that last morning was for packing up, not hiking, swimming, etc. It was never a big deal for us at either 11 am or 1 pm - mostly because parents were ready to go home by then.

[SoundGuy]

toedtoes wrote:
There's always an exception, like your nephew's family. However, those exceptions should not dictate the rule.

My my nephew and his wife certainly face extra challenges but I wouldn't say they necessarily represent all that much of an exception - lots of families camp, lots of them camp in tents and popups that take a l-o-n-g time to set up and tear down, certainly much longer that my wife & I do with our travel trailer. JMO, but a check out time any earlier than 1 pm is asking a lot of these folks.

[goducks10]

I've been so tired I slept right thru checkout and woke up after check in and got charged for one more night. Geesh. 🙂

[toedtoes]

SoundGuy wrote:

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.

There's always an exception, like your nephew's family. However, those exceptions should not dictate the rule.

For those who can't meet the rule, then there are ways around it - book an extra night and leave later the day before; ask the camphost on arrival if there is a problem if you leave later in the day; and so on.

But for everyone who wants a later checkout, there's someone who wants an earlier check in. Who takes priority?