Quiet hours

[karead7]

Anybody have any suggestions on the best way to enforce "quiet hours"?

http://www.travelwithkevinandruth.com/2013/08/quiet-hours-1100pm-to-700am.html

I've even suggested to some late nighters that maybe I'll be doing some gas powered weed whacking around their site at 7:00am when quiet hours are over so maybe they want to get some sleep!

[JiminDenver]

If you want absolute silence, boondock by yourself. We do and the only noise you hear are the ones you make. ( oh yeah and the wildlife which isn't always so quiet)

Sound travels at night, we could hear two guys quietly chatting around a camp fire till 2am and they were a few sites away. We could also hear water heaters, fans, AC units, doors opening and closing and can't they make a outhouse door that doesn't sound like a screeching bird followed by a slam that can be heard across the campground.

BTW, we didn't go to the host or even mention it to them. They were trying to be quiet and enjoy their campfire. I've done the same.

[ryegatevt]

qball6 wrote:
Put in some earplugs and go to bed. I don't expect the world to revolve around me, why do you? Quiet hours were started by complaining. If I complained about everything that annoyed me, I'd go crazy. I love camping, and will camp no matter what!

Agreed! Earplugs solve lots of problems - anything from noisy neighbors and barking dogs to fireworks and my own loud AC...

[Campfire_Time]

In WI State Parks, the definition of "quiet hours" is that the people in the next site should not be able to hear you. Restrictive? Maybe. Nice to camp at? Absolutely! If you don't like it, go to a "party park".

The hard reality is that people are there to have a good time. Having a "good time" means different things to each of us. Regardless of your definition, people need to be respectful of others. I really don't mind a a group of people next to us talking and laughing until late at night. Its when they take it well into the wee hours that it goes beyond being disrespectful of others. And sorry, just because you think your country western music is the greatest thing in the world, others don't agree. Would you like to hear my progressive rock and bebop jazz? Yea, I didn't think so. Headphones are a marvelous invention.

Then there are "party parks". These are ones, public or private, that management allows to get out of hand. I've seen wild parties with 1/4 barrels and 30 bottles of booze on a picnic table, with dozens of people there. I've seen (rather heard) "stereo wars" where 5 or 6 people in the loop put speakers on their car roofs and try to out blast each other. But the management puts up with it. Why, I have no clue.

[Redhound]

We've been on both sides of the fence: At a CG wanting some rest and at a CG wanting to visit with friends/family later than quiet hours. When we've been on the wanting rest side, I try to understand that the neighbors have just as much right to mingle with friends as we have to be quiet. Now if someone is out of control and really obnoxious, that's a different issue but if they are just enjoying each other and their voices get a little above normal from time to time, who am I to stop them from enjoying themselves? I can turn up the TV, Turn on a fan/ac or put in some ear plugs. I'm not sweating that small stuff. If they are having a bean bag tourney as mentioned above and everyone is cheering loudly after hours, maybe that needs to be respectfully addressed. If they are hammered and being belligerent, treat it accordingly.

Maybe the answer is to have space in the CG that is geared more toward quiet hours and another area where it isn't that strict. Kind of the Knot on a Log loop and the Live it up Loop. The CG could also price accordingly. If the Knot loop is full, they can put Knots in the Loud loop at a discounted rate. Maybe charge a premium for one or the other based on demand.

[markmontana]

I would put all obnoxious seniors on double secret probation.

[qball6]

Put in some earplugs and go to bed. I don't expect the world to revolve around me, why do you? Quiet hours were started by complaining. If I complained about everything that annoyed me, I'd go crazy. I love camping, and will camp no matter what!

[mileshuff]

When I was college aged we had our pop up trailer at an RV park in San Diego. After a night out we got back to the trailer around mid-night and went to bed...or tried to do so. It was a large group of seniors partying it up loud, stereos and all. Us kids just cannot handle these partying seniors!!

[lizzie]

I believe that the observance of any CG rules (quiet time, dogs, kids, etc.), is enhanced by the presence of Rangers or camp hosts or staff. Just an occasional ride-by with a wave and a "howdy folks" can do wonders. Maybe "Can I help you in anyway?", or "Is everything ok?" My son (the ranger), finds that asking "Has anybody seen a six foot rattler over here?" to be very effective with dog and children issues. lizzie

[path1]

Maybe that's the next step, Camp Hosts doing bed checks.

[Terryallan]

Dog Folks wrote:

HappyKayakers wrote:

Dog Folks wrote:

korbe wrote:
I believe the general term "quiet hours" has evolved over the years. It used to mean not being load. Now it means, "go to bed". Happened twice in our visits to Oregon State parks. No drinking, no music, just family get togethers and talking around the camp fire - and still told to wrap it up since we could be heard from the access loop road.

Sounds draconian in nature to me. They are going too far.

IMHO, quiet hours means that the people in the tent nearest to you can sleep without being disturbed. Just because you're not drinking and don't have any music playing doesn't mean you're being quiet. I've seen/heard many family get togethers where there's 15 or 20 people talking around a campfire. When there's that many people, there are usually several different conversations going on at the same time and people talking over somebody else to be heard. And if everyone laughs at a joke at the same time, you can hear that 100 yards away in the middle of the night.

It may not seem loud to you but to the tenters trying to sleep next door it sounds like they're in the middle of a bar.

+

I guess I wasn't clear. I am talking about forcing someone to go to bed, not be quiet. People can gather and talk softly around a campfire without being loud.

Being told to go to bed is over enforcement of a "quiet" rule and is bound to cause even more conflicts. Now you have a camper that does not want to follow the rules being told to "go to bed." That is trouble waiting for a place to happen.

I was at a CG once, when they came over the loud speaker, and told every one they should be in their beds. We have NOT been back. I'm a big boy now, and I know when I need to go to bed. I don't need some control freak to tell me. As long as I'm just sitting, and staring at the fire. Leave me alone.

[Dog_Folks]

HappyKayakers wrote:

Dog Folks wrote:

korbe wrote:
I believe the general term "quiet hours" has evolved over the years. It used to mean not being load. Now it means, "go to bed". Happened twice in our visits to Oregon State parks. No drinking, no music, just family get togethers and talking around the camp fire - and still told to wrap it up since we could be heard from the access loop road.

Sounds draconian in nature to me. They are going too far.

IMHO, quiet hours means that the people in the tent nearest to you can sleep without being disturbed. Just because you're not drinking and don't have any music playing doesn't mean you're being quiet. I've seen/heard many family get togethers where there's 15 or 20 people talking around a campfire. When there's that many people, there are usually several different conversations going on at the same time and people talking over somebody else to be heard. And if everyone laughs at a joke at the same time, you can hear that 100 yards away in the middle of the night.

It may not seem loud to you but to the tenters trying to sleep next door it sounds like they're in the middle of a bar.

+

I guess I wasn't clear. I am talking about forcing someone to go to bed, not be quiet. People can gather and talk softly around a campfire without being loud.

Being told to go to bed is over enforcement of a "quiet" rule and is bound to cause even more conflicts. Now you have a camper that does not want to follow the rules being told to "go to bed." That is trouble waiting for a place to happen.

[karead7]

HappyKayakers wrote:

Dog Folks wrote:

korbe wrote:
I believe the general term "quiet hours" has evolved over the years. It used to mean not being load. Now it means, "go to bed". Happened twice in our visits to Oregon State parks. No drinking, no music, just family get togethers and talking around the camp fire - and still told to wrap it up since we could be heard from the access loop road.

Sounds draconian in nature to me. They are going too far.

IMHO, quiet hours means that the people in the tent nearest to you can sleep without being disturbed. Just because you're not drinking and don't have any music playing doesn't mean you're being quiet. I've seen/heard many family get togethers where there's 15 or 20 people talking around a campfire. When there's that many people, there are usually several different conversations going on at the same time and people talking over somebody else to be heard. And if everyone laughs at a joke at the same time, you can hear that 100 yards away in the middle of the night.

It may not seem loud to you but to the tenters trying to sleep next door it sounds like they're in the middle of a bar.

Exactly, thank you!

[HappyKayakers]

Dog Folks wrote:

korbe wrote:
I believe the general term "quiet hours" has evolved over the years. It used to mean not being load. Now it means, "go to bed". Happened twice in our visits to Oregon State parks. No drinking, no music, just family get togethers and talking around the camp fire - and still told to wrap it up since we could be heard from the access loop road.

Sounds draconian in nature to me. They are going too far.

IMHO, quiet hours means that the people in the tent nearest to you can sleep without being disturbed. Just because you're not drinking and don't have any music playing doesn't mean you're being quiet. I've seen/heard many family get togethers where there's 15 or 20 people talking around a campfire. When there's that many people, there are usually several different conversations going on at the same time and people talking over somebody else to be heard. And if everyone laughs at a joke at the same time, you can hear that 100 yards away in the middle of the night.

It may not seem loud to you but to the tenters trying to sleep next door it sounds like they're in the middle of a bar.

[Gau_8]

One warning then shoot them.

karead7 wrote:
Anybody have any suggestions on the best way to enforce "quiet hours"?

http://www.travelwithkevinandruth.com/2013/08/quiet-hours-1100pm-to-700am.html

I've even suggested to some late nighters that maybe I'll be doing some gas powered weed whacking around their site at 7:00am when quiet hours are over so maybe they want to get some sleep!