Tent camping VIBE in a TT

As always primitive and wilderness are in the eye of the beholder. I certainly would not try to define it for someone else.

One of the most isolated spots I pulled my RV into was a State Park in the Ozarks near Osage Beach. I commented to the Ranger how quiet and peaceful it was, with Turkeys greeting us in the morning.

His comment was “Yes it is but this is April; wait till June when the beach is open.”

rbpru wrote:
Lantley,

You hit the nail on the head. You cannot have pristine trees, lakes and scenery when you have to dig, bury and pave in improvements.

Electricity is perhaps the best compromise and the least obtrusive. RVing and camping are two different animals, each with its own pleasures and drawbacks.

For those who asked, LBL is Land Between the Lakes and BWCA is the Boundary Waters Canoe Area in MN.

After seeing Charlestown State Park I would have to disagree, though I'm sure this place is more of the exception than the norm.
They pulled it off perfectly. Even many of the full hookup sites were tucked into the woods.

DutchmenSport wrote:

sacmarata wrote:
...
Headed tonight to Charlestown State Park in Indiana, not far from you.
Ever been there?
It looks fairly remote and the guy said only 50 of 200 sights were booked for this weekend. Not sure if thats a good or bad thing???

We went to Charlestown last summer. You'll enjoy the park. We sure did!

WOW! Charlestown state park is just what we were looking for.
There were around 200+ sites to choose from with about 1/3 of those being full hookup. We chose an electric only spot in the back that was surrounded by trees on a huge site. According to the attendant, there were about 75 RV's there but the closest one to us was about 125 yards away, through the trees.

It was quiet as a tombstone and the restrooms/showers were spotless. Nearly every site we looked at was flat as a pool table with paved pull in. There was a fire ring in every site and a drinking fountain & spicket close by to wash pots and pans in. In all, we only used about 15 gallons of the 32 we brought with us.

We didn't bring the kids with us this time. Not exactly a kid friendly place because there is no pool or playground near the RV camping area, but there is plenty of groomed trails, access to the Ohio river with piers and there is a playground down the way in a primitive "event" camping area.

Total tent camping VIBE! Glad to know places like this exist.

Solar and lots of trees don't do well together. Air conditioning requires a generator and if you think they cost a lot, wait until you see how much gas they go thru running a AC.

Lantley,

You hit the nail on the head. You cannot have pristine trees, lakes and scenery when you have to dig, bury and pave in improvements.

Electricity is perhaps the best compromise and the least obtrusive. RVing and camping are two different animals, each with its own pleasures and drawbacks.

For those who asked, LBL is Land Between the Lakes and BWCA is the Boundary Waters Canoe Area in MN.

sacmarata, have you done "dry camping" before? That is using a camper without electric / water / sewer hookups. Many state parks in Connecticut are dry camping, and you can get really large, semi-private campsites in the woods and usually on or near a river or brook.

If you are careful with electric and water usage, you can very comfortably dry camp for a weekend. You can stretch that to a week if you want - I bring a spare battery for the TT, and plan on using a 5 gallon container to bring water to the camper if necessary.

rbpru wrote:
The campgrounds mentioned sound like a good match to what you want. It depends on what level of wilderness satisfies your VIBE. Unfortunately, camping and RVing are not the same. As soon as you add electricity you automatically open an area to any and all vehicles that will fit.

The most secluded spots I have been in were in WI and MI because they had no electric. We also had seclusion in a FL state park, with full hooks-up, because of the dense jungle type growth. Our experience in Kentucky and Tennessee were mostly RV parks similar to what you wish to avoid.

In my encounters, as a canoe camper in the BWCA, the people who want the rustic or wilderness type experience do not want to wake up and find an RV next to them. Likewise, many RVs do not want to dodge trees and buck brush to wiggle their RV into an isolated spot with no hook-ups.

Usually it is the State areas offer the more rustic choices and they limit the days you can stay.

All those trees and seclusion need to be disturbed in order to install water and electric. Sewer requires even more infrastructure.
Finding a balance between hook ups and nature is tough and expensive.

MD state park has electric only sites, which I have come to believe is the best compromise. Without electric campers use generators which creates noise issues.
In the end its all a compromise but a tenting experience/vibe and RV experience are truly different and will never totally merge

We have never been to a commercial park that I want to go back to. We are going to a corp of engineers campground next week on Lake Hartwell, SC. Lots of trees, nice spacing, and all sites are waterfront. You might check their website for places near you.
Good luck.

I still refuse to believe they arent out there if I just keep digging and searching, but sounds like I just need a good boondock setup. I hate the thought of running a generator though, even a super quiet one and they are just CRAZY expensive for what you get. Maybe I should go solar...IDK. I'm more confused than ever...LOL

I bet, if I did some networking, I could find farmers willing to allow some boondocking. I have land and farm and wouldn't mind allowing this. I'm sure theres others out there.

why am I thinking out loud now? See what this camper has done to me!!!

In my neck of the world it seems like I can get a beautiful campsite surrounded by trees close to a lake/stream OR I can get one with full hookups... I can't seem to get both. Even the camp grounds with the beautiful camp sites segregate their full hookup sites in basically an RV parking lot with little privacy and little scenery. I think it is simple economics that full hookup sites have to be pretty close together to minimize the infrastructure costs.