Motorman355

As a follow up to my post about the camp etiquette article, here is your chance to get it off your chest. What is your pet peeve when camping in a state park. We're not picking on just the state parks, but any camping facilty. This is all in jest.


1. If you have a yappy dog, leave it at home. Just because Precious doesn't make a sound when you are around, doesn't mean he doesn't bark his head off the entire time you go into town or fishing.

2. Reserved a screen shelter? Please quietly close that spring-loaded screen door behind you. Last campout, the folks in the next site had a chartered fishing trip so they were up at 5AM going in and out of the shelter and letting the door slam shut each time.

3. Going to step on toes here. Pet Peeve - Hog motorcycles, just the loud, abnoxious ones. Camped at a state park once which had a multi-site biking group staying for a couple of nights. Every morning there was one particular hog bike that was cranked up. Birds scattered in fright at the noise. Dogs barked. The rider would wake the whole park as he rode the short fifty yards to the bathhouse for his morning pee.

srds

Cutting thru campsites late at night,people who don't pick up after the pets,and wally world plastic bags flying all thru the camp grounds.

srds
Have Fun

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To Camp or Not to Camp -Lets go Camping- Have Fun

baytownbert

Burn Bans - stop the nonsense and improve the burn rings, place hoses at the sites (or inform campers they must have them), have education classes or online classes for campers who wish to have a fire.

MonkeyMamma

Since my last camping experience was terrible I can add to this.

1. Loud and obnoxious people - kids and adults. Kid should not be running around screaming at the top of their lungs unsupervised. Adults shouldn't be cursing so loudly the next campsite can hear. And if the adults can't keep a handle on their children they shouldn't take them in public.

2. People cutting through my campsite. Walk AROUND the site NOT thru it.

Honestly those are the only two issues I have ever had.

4everfrio

Ya know what is sad ?? The people that need to read these lines are not looking in. I have had the same problems as everyone else; people walking thru camp, loud and trashy neighbors, little heathons running and screaming everywhere, etc.. It has happened at state and private campgrounds. For the most part, the state sites have been great.
If you have problems with people cutting through your camp, Stretch a clothes line by or across the path that is causing a problem. Most people will respect it and go around.

Me vs. Wild

Top 3 less than pleasant camping experiences for me:

Garner State Park: Late arrival campers set up at the site next to mine around 10:00 pm and commenced to whack away at the live ashe junipers in their site with a canoe paddle(!) attempting to start a campfire, succeeding in making only a smoky cloud of allergy triggering smoke. That of course drifted directly across my camp.

Garner State Park (sigh... again) Drama in the camp next to me... a couple yelling, screaming and fighting complete with a car peeling out in the middle of the night to leave only to come charging back a few minutes later. Somehow, keys soon after became lost and a search ensued with headlights and flashlights turning the campground into a light show to rival a hollywood premiere.

HCSNA: After pushing myself all day for just a little bit extra of trail mileage, I set up camp in the backcountry backpack area and went off to source water for dinner. Upon arriving back to my camp, a sizeable group of youths (very crude and impolite at that) on some sort of "inner city get out and camp" getaway set up right on top of me. So much as to be using my fire ring even! My telling them "this isn't going to work for me guys." set up for a night of crude comments and general rudeness in my direction. Speaking to the counselors/guides was useless.

Ahh.. much better to get that out... glad this thread came along!

Fortunately, these are uncommon occurances... 3 bad times out of maybe 50-60 trips... not bad.

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"All those who wander are not lost."

Orllas

"Less than pleasant experiences" are also NOT the norm, but we have had our share...

1) Inks Lake SP - One multi-site group that kept walking through our campsite to get to the water. We left for a while to drive through the park. When we got back, we found that they had driven to the water and had completely taken up our parking spots.

2) Lake Livingston SP - Being jolted awake at 1AM by some idiots blasting their music. And they were half-way across the loop, not next door.

3) Bastrop SP - People who think the rules don't apply to them. We were there in February during the burn ban. We sadly left all of our campfire gear at home. But that didn't stop our neighbors from lighting up both nights. I kept wondering where were the rangers were who had patrolled all afternoon and evening. These same people had 4 kids who were early risers (I'm not) and they didn't know how to play without yelling. It was technically after quiet hours were over so I guess it was my problem, not theirs.

Motorman355

I forgot a rant. One should be able to instantly use the campsite coupons upon buying the annual passes. I bought two passes ($75) and had to pay full price for three nights of camping.

sblanck

Dont feed the animals. The raccoons at one SP were so beligerent and not afraid of us whatsoever. Had to be fed by other campers.

Last camping trip I didnt realize how close we were to the sites. Why are sites so close together.

I agree with the post about fire burn bans
I bring a shovel and a 5 gallon bucket. Bucket is filled with water, both are kept near the fire ring. If you have the sitew with water and electricity bring the hose and a spray nozzle.

Oh fire rings just quit putting the flip top grills or any grill at all. It always looks like someone beat the grill part to death and it bent beyond recognition. Nice 10-12 inch tall iron ring would do the job nicely thanks

Troop198

Dislike those early morning woodpeckers (tounge in cheek rant)

honeask

We have generally always had good visits to the state parks and I have thought about this particular thread off and on but nothing never came to mind. As I was talking about our upcoming trip to the Frio I was reminded of something that has happened at Garner. We have a park pass and when we were entering Garner on our trip the line to enter the park in the day use lane was very long. When we finally got to the front of the line we showed them our park pass. The park host looked in the truck to see just how many people there was. Just two adults and two very small yorkies. He asked us questions about just being in the park for just the day and then he wanted to see my ID. He made us feel like we were doing something wrong. I think we were lucky to get in without a strip search. The incident left us feeling very unwanted. It happened two more times during our visit. Most times on summer visits you can expect a little more of a wait time but 15 minutes for ten cars to enter is a little bit too long. I have a great admiration for Park Hosts but at times they can be a little over zealous. We have used our pass at several parks and have never been treated like that anywhere else. That was two years ago and although we go back often, we still remember the incident.
Sandy

Choderus

Copper Breaks State Park will give you a free night of camping if you buy your pass there. That was a pleasant surprise for us.

I really think the day use fees should be waived if you pay for a camping site. The day use fees could add $12-20 per day to camp for a family. I went to Arkansas for Memorial Day weekend and found out that all of their State Parks are free for day use. You only pay to camp. I hate to say this but I'm actually looking forward to leaving the state and camping there again soon.

riverrat

LMSNA- late night arrivals (around 11pm) trying to set up camp. Never had even taken the tent out of the box. Couldn't find the directions for setting it up. Let everyone within earshot know how po'd they were about the situation. And, get this: they were up and gone shortly after daybreak (just as noisily), leaving trash behind.

Balmorrhea SP - nice , dark night sky disturbed be neighbor's HUGE extremely bright light on the unused backside of their very expensive RV. It was so bright, it lit up that whole side of the camping area, which is very large. Add to that the fact that there were several sites they could have chosen since most were open but NOOOO they had to get right on top of us with that stupid light. I could have said something, true, but I am not a confrontational type of person. And you never know how the other person might respond.

And in general, the people that do not realize that sound carries very well in the outdoors, along the river, and against cliffs. Watch your language!

txcamp78704

As a new camper, I was bummed that on two of three camping trips this year, we could hear loud music playing from nearby campsites. (at Garner and Davis Mountains.) The music went on all afternoon and evening. I was unsure whether it's ok to ask them to turn it down or tell a ranger, but since then I've read the official rules that music shouldn't be heard from other sites at any time.

People have said this is something you have to put up with unless you go to primitive sites, which we're going to try but don't want to give up car camping for good. Anyone have any advice or relatively quiet sites they can recommend?

camperone

Please don't give up on the state parks! it is really upsetting to read all these bad reviews about our state parks lately. I have always found the park host to be helpful at the parks we have stayed in and if not then a quick call to the office or find a ranger. I don't think I would recommend approaching the offending camper especially if they are drinking. Thats what the host and rangers are for. In all the years we have been camping at the parks i can honestly say that there has never been an issue that they couldn't resolve.

Please don't give up or they will win and take over!!!!!

Happy camping!